cruiserchuck
January 8th, 2009, 08:35 AM
We recently returned from a 10 day Sea of Cortez cruise on the Ryndam. We had only traveled once with HAL before, about 5 years ago, and were not that impressed. At the time, Celebrity was our favorite cruise line, and we did not think HAL was as good as Celebrity. More recently we had taken several cruises with Crystal, but went back to Celebrity for a cruise last January. We felt Celebrity had slipped, and decided to try HAL again, especially since we could drive to/from the San Diego pier.
The drive down from Los Angeles was uneventful, and we arrived at the pier shortly around 1:00 pm. The boarding process was very quick, and we were on the ship in about 10 minutes. We went to our ocean view cabin on the lower promenade deck, and the room was large and in good shape. We had not realized that people walking on the wrap around deck could see into the room at night; thus in the future we probably would avoid cabins on this deck. The cabin was generally quiet, and smoke free, although we did notice a smoke smell some days in the hallway. We assume the smell was coming from other cabins, which all had a ventilation grate on the door. We otherwise were not disturbed by smoke on the cruise. HAL had a special questionnaire regarding imposing further restrictions on smoking on board. We hope they do so.
When we booked, only as you wish dining was available, and we were very pleased with how it worked. We asked and received a table for two every night. The food on the cruise was very good, and service was very quick and efficient. We felt the food and service was far superior to that on our last Celebrity cruise. The beef, lamb, chicken and pasta dishes were especially good. We liked the fact that we were allowed to order main course pastas dishes as appetizers whenever we wanted (except in the Pinnacle Grill.) Celebrity, in contrast, had told us they could not serve main courses as appetizers.
We were also pleased that the main dining room was open for lunch on most days. On Celebrity, it was closed on most days in port. We enjoy being served in the main restaurant much more than the eating at the Lido. We find it more relaxing, and we eat less. On the days we ate in the Lido it was usually crowded, and the food was not as good. Although we never ate dinner at the Lido, we went every night to look at the main courses dishes, which were on display there. Our Lido viewing helped us decide which courses to order in the main restaurant.
We thought the ship was a perfect size – not too big, and not too small. We went to the shows most nights, and never had a problem getting a good seat, even if we arrived late. The singer from Australia was the best.
We had been to Mexico many times before, and did not really take the cruise for the ports. The tours we took were good, but we really did not do too much off the ship.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill one day for lunch, and as we had almost every day in the main dining room, we asked for a pasta main dish as an appetizer. We were first told that we could not do so. When I asked why, I was told it was corporate policy, and we would be charged an extra service charge if we did so. This made no sense to me, since we had done so every day in the main dining room, and it was not like we were trying to order extra steaks – it was a chicken pasta dish. The waiter finally said he would talk to the manager and see if we could have the pasta as an appetizer. He never let us know what the decision was, but we eventually did get the pasta. The onion soup that I received was served in a fancy bowl with a top, but it was luke warm at best, and was one of the worst soups that I had on the cruise. If I had not already worn out my welcome by asking for the pasta, I probably would have said something, but I did not really want to find out what the corporate policy was on luke warm soup. We were somewhat worried when we received the bill, but were relieved to find out there was no extra charge. We feel that HAL should inform customers about the extra charge policy, assuming it really is the policy. We looked at HAL’s website, brochures and cruise documentation, and did not see any reference to a second service charge for additional courses.
We were also not too happy with the folks at the front desk. Only the woman in charge seemed to know how to handle issues. The other people were pleasant, but did not really appear to know how to resolve any issues. I had a concern about a prebooked shore excursion, which we learned several days into the cruise had been substantially changed. When I went to the front desk to ask about a refund, I was told that I would have to deal with the shore excursions folks. Since the shore excursion desk was closed, I asked the woman to talk to them, and have them call me. I was told that I would have to come back during the very limited time the excursion desk was open. Since I had other plans for that time, I again asked if they would let the excursions folks know about my issue. I was again told no. Finally the head woman came out, and told me she would provide my concerns to the shore excursion folks. She did so, and the matter was easily resolved. I was standing at the front desk on the last day of the cruise, and a fellow passenger was receiving similar treatment. She was worried about getting to the airport on time with a HAL transfer, and the gentleman at the desk did not seem to comprehend her concerns, even though her flight was in about two hours. I was relieved that I did not have to worry about getting to the airport.
We were also not pleased that the $9 a day fuel surcharge was not refunded, apparently based on the price of oil on one day in early November, even through our cruise started in mid December. Oil was much lower at the time we started our cruise than at the time HAL first instituted the initial $5 a day surcharge. In fact, oil was at a five year low during our cruise. When we inquired about a surcharge refund, we were told it was corporate policy not to refund it, and that there was no one on board who could discuss it, since it was a Carnival corporate policy, and HAL had no authority to deviate from it. We called HAL after we returned home, and were essentially told the same thing. We believe it was inappropriate for HAL to not refund the surcharge, given the extremely low cost of oil before and during our cruise.
The drive down from Los Angeles was uneventful, and we arrived at the pier shortly around 1:00 pm. The boarding process was very quick, and we were on the ship in about 10 minutes. We went to our ocean view cabin on the lower promenade deck, and the room was large and in good shape. We had not realized that people walking on the wrap around deck could see into the room at night; thus in the future we probably would avoid cabins on this deck. The cabin was generally quiet, and smoke free, although we did notice a smoke smell some days in the hallway. We assume the smell was coming from other cabins, which all had a ventilation grate on the door. We otherwise were not disturbed by smoke on the cruise. HAL had a special questionnaire regarding imposing further restrictions on smoking on board. We hope they do so.
When we booked, only as you wish dining was available, and we were very pleased with how it worked. We asked and received a table for two every night. The food on the cruise was very good, and service was very quick and efficient. We felt the food and service was far superior to that on our last Celebrity cruise. The beef, lamb, chicken and pasta dishes were especially good. We liked the fact that we were allowed to order main course pastas dishes as appetizers whenever we wanted (except in the Pinnacle Grill.) Celebrity, in contrast, had told us they could not serve main courses as appetizers.
We were also pleased that the main dining room was open for lunch on most days. On Celebrity, it was closed on most days in port. We enjoy being served in the main restaurant much more than the eating at the Lido. We find it more relaxing, and we eat less. On the days we ate in the Lido it was usually crowded, and the food was not as good. Although we never ate dinner at the Lido, we went every night to look at the main courses dishes, which were on display there. Our Lido viewing helped us decide which courses to order in the main restaurant.
We thought the ship was a perfect size – not too big, and not too small. We went to the shows most nights, and never had a problem getting a good seat, even if we arrived late. The singer from Australia was the best.
We had been to Mexico many times before, and did not really take the cruise for the ports. The tours we took were good, but we really did not do too much off the ship.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill one day for lunch, and as we had almost every day in the main dining room, we asked for a pasta main dish as an appetizer. We were first told that we could not do so. When I asked why, I was told it was corporate policy, and we would be charged an extra service charge if we did so. This made no sense to me, since we had done so every day in the main dining room, and it was not like we were trying to order extra steaks – it was a chicken pasta dish. The waiter finally said he would talk to the manager and see if we could have the pasta as an appetizer. He never let us know what the decision was, but we eventually did get the pasta. The onion soup that I received was served in a fancy bowl with a top, but it was luke warm at best, and was one of the worst soups that I had on the cruise. If I had not already worn out my welcome by asking for the pasta, I probably would have said something, but I did not really want to find out what the corporate policy was on luke warm soup. We were somewhat worried when we received the bill, but were relieved to find out there was no extra charge. We feel that HAL should inform customers about the extra charge policy, assuming it really is the policy. We looked at HAL’s website, brochures and cruise documentation, and did not see any reference to a second service charge for additional courses.
We were also not too happy with the folks at the front desk. Only the woman in charge seemed to know how to handle issues. The other people were pleasant, but did not really appear to know how to resolve any issues. I had a concern about a prebooked shore excursion, which we learned several days into the cruise had been substantially changed. When I went to the front desk to ask about a refund, I was told that I would have to deal with the shore excursions folks. Since the shore excursion desk was closed, I asked the woman to talk to them, and have them call me. I was told that I would have to come back during the very limited time the excursion desk was open. Since I had other plans for that time, I again asked if they would let the excursions folks know about my issue. I was again told no. Finally the head woman came out, and told me she would provide my concerns to the shore excursion folks. She did so, and the matter was easily resolved. I was standing at the front desk on the last day of the cruise, and a fellow passenger was receiving similar treatment. She was worried about getting to the airport on time with a HAL transfer, and the gentleman at the desk did not seem to comprehend her concerns, even though her flight was in about two hours. I was relieved that I did not have to worry about getting to the airport.
We were also not pleased that the $9 a day fuel surcharge was not refunded, apparently based on the price of oil on one day in early November, even through our cruise started in mid December. Oil was much lower at the time we started our cruise than at the time HAL first instituted the initial $5 a day surcharge. In fact, oil was at a five year low during our cruise. When we inquired about a surcharge refund, we were told it was corporate policy not to refund it, and that there was no one on board who could discuss it, since it was a Carnival corporate policy, and HAL had no authority to deviate from it. We called HAL after we returned home, and were essentially told the same thing. We believe it was inappropriate for HAL to not refund the surcharge, given the extremely low cost of oil before and during our cruise.