Dave's Live from Ryndam, Feb. 6-20, 2011

What a great pic of you and Momma Lou. Thank you for sharing.

 

I have enjoyed your posts so much I'm seriously considering booking March 18, 2012 on Ryndam. I just need to find a cruise partner. DH doesn't like the beach or snorkeling like I do. Is there any golfing at the ports or a golf net on Ryndam. HAL is the only cruise line he wants to sail with.

 

What are the mini-suites like on Ryndam? Is there a table that is chair height instead of coffee table height in a mini-suite?

Golfing

There are netted areas on either side of the sports deck on Ryndam, but one has basketball hoops and the other a tennis net. I did not see anything like a driving range. There were shore excursions offered by the ship at some of the ports, but I don't remember which ones. Probably Key West and Grand Cayman, I suspect. I believe other HAL destinations also offer golf, especially Bermuda and Barbados.

Perhaps you could do a bit of roaming in the shore excursions section of the HAL site and find some golfing excursions, and no doubt the port call boards should have info about independent golfing arrangements in the various ports.

Mini-suite

Ryndam does not have the SS/SY/SZ size of cabin like the Vistas, but has a verandah cabin that IIRC is abit larger than the "V" cabins on the Vistas. I didn't notice/remeber what the table was like when seeing into one on turnaround day. Maybe Joanie's web site has some pictures that would help.

Dave

Dinner menus

I didn't keep/re-type the ones from the first cruise, but I have for the second one that I thought some of you might like to read.

Dave

Ryndam dinner menus 13-19 Feb 2011, part 1.txt

Ryndam menus, part 2.txt

Sheila,

 

It has been six years since we were on Maasdam, but she was our favorite of the "S" class ships we had been aboard. It's a bit hard to compare the "feel" or Ryndam with six-year-old (or more) memories, but I would say that Ryndam is comparable to our experience on Maasdam. This has been a very comfortable and relaxing cruise, with no obstacles to overcome; the staff from the captain down has been wonderful.

 

Bottom line: I think someone who enjoys Maasdam would feel at home on Ryndam.

 

So far as the ports go, the only one of this 14-day period that matches or exceeds the ABCs is Key West, although we enjoyed our visits. Ocho Rios is what it is, but should soon be replaced on the itinerary with a new port at Falmouth. Cozumel is still a great place, as is Costa Maya, and we enjoyed our first visits to Belize and Mahogany Bay very much. The new inclusive cruise ports are much like the ones we and you visited on Noordam last year --Grand Turk, and to some extent St. Maarten and Crown Bay in St. Thomas; they are very nice, new, safe and convenient, but somewhat anonymous. But, you can get out to see the Mayan history, or the countryside and the people, and be able to come back to a great relaxing oasis by the sea in each case.

 

Hope to see you on another Dam ship one day,

 

Dave

Thanks Dave :) We've been considering the Rhyndam and your posts have been very, very helpful :):) So glad you met up with Mamma Lou. Great pics :)

Dave

We took the back-to-back Caribbean Cruise (that you are now on) from Jan 23 to Feb 2, 2011 and had an absolutely fantastic time. I am really enjoying your perspective on all the ports, etc. and agree with you on almost everything. The Adagio Strings were wonderful.

I am wondering if you and your wife do not attend The Showroom at Sea performances?? You may have addressed this in one of the 9 pages I've read, but I missed it if you did.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Ryndam singers, dancers, and musicians. They were very talented and just outstanding. We had never been on a back-to-back cruise, so were a little surprised that we saw the same shows each week, except for the comedians. We even enjoyed the shows "the second time around."

Thanks for your sea journal. It has been fun reading it and reliving our own cruise. :):)

Thank you Dave for answering my questions. The second week of your cruise is the one I want to do which departs March 18, 2012. Unfortunately, I can't take 2 weeks off from work to do both itineraries.

Saturday, Feb. 19, at sea

It was a very pleasant day at sea, with nice warm sunny weather; a lot of people spent the day around the pools. We did many of the usual activities of a last day of a cruise -- attending the disembarkation talk, buying T-shirts, etc.

The disembarkation talk was well done and relatively brief and to the point, although we did get an opportunity to applaud a good many of the staff. There is no self-debarkation in Tampa as there has been in Ft. Lauderdale for the last few cruises. We had to leave our large luggage outside the cabin for collection and will pick it up in ther terminal.

We also attened a Mariners Brunch at 12;30. The captain told us that we were at the second brunch of the day, as there were so many Mariners on board they had to hold two seatings. He said there were 999 Mariners on board. Considering the ship usually carriers less than 1300 passengers, that meant 75-80% were repeat HAL cruisers.

The menu for the brunch has changed a bit:

Appetizers

Warm Chicken and Gourmet Salad - With chicken and tomato, drizzled with orange-olive oil dressing.

Apple and Pear Gazpacho

Entrees

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Roasted Garlic Cloves - Slowly cooked in a rich gravy, served over classic mashed potatoes and carrots

Butter Basted Salmon FIllet with Leeks - With a timbale of golden yellow rice and roasted basil flavored cherry tomatoes.

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche - Served with orzo pasta and grilled tomato.

Dessert

Key Lime and White Chocolate Tart - A sweet and tart filling baked in a flaky pastry tartlet, tiopped with a dollop of whipped cream.

The rest of the day we spent packing, playing the slots, reading, wandering about the ship. For dinner, we passed on the Master Chef's Dinner again and tried the Lido dinner for the first time in years. I have to say we thought it was great. Service was buffet-style, with most of the same dishes as in the dining room, including DW's favorite baked brie. We had an unhjurried dinner without the floor show, and enjoyed it very much. After dinner, we went one last time to listen to the Adagio Strings before putting out our bags and turning in for an early wake up on Sunday.

I will update you from the road home.

More later,

Dave

Oh Dave, how sad it is coming to an end. I have enjoyed following your posts so very much. Glad you got one more listen to the Adagio strings! One of our favourite things :D Thank you so much for taking us along on your cruise and such an excellent thread :):)

OK, I finally met up with Mama Lou ... at the casino. We chatted for a long time, and she is a very charming lady. We think we may have met on the old Noordam III in 1996. (In the Piet Hein bar ...;))

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/504/RetiredMustang_with_Mama_Lou.JPG

 

Dave

dave

glad you caught up with mama lou

great picture

sad that your cruise is coming to an end

enjoyed your live report

dave, thank you so much for your journal. i have greatly enjoyed following it as have so many others. it is very thoughtful of you to spend so much time on this to inform us and deeply appreciated. becky

Dave, thanks for taking us on your cruise. Brought back many wonderful memories of our December MS Ryndam cruise.

One of the best live reviews this year. Can't wait to get back to our " Dam second home" in May.

CC'ers,

I'm checking in from a high-speed hotel connection in South Carolina, en route to our home in the D.C. area. The connections on Rydam via MTN on the past couple of weeks have been actually very, very good by satellite standards. But, of course, it _does_ cost a bit more on board than free from the hotel. :D

This morning, after our last breakfast on board (about 2,000 calories for me), we watched from our balcony as the forklift operators unloaded the bins of baggage. They moved pretty quickly, but DW encouraged and exhorted them to help speed the process. We found it funny that it would take three or four forklifts to shift a bin from the ship to the terminal. One would take it off the ship and put it down a little bit away. Another would pick it up and move it a bit down the pier, and then put it down again! Another would do the same thing, and finally a fourth one would move it into the terminal -- we figured out that the first forklift had longer blades the better to reach into the ship staging area, but for the life of us we could not figure out why it took three more to shift it into the building.

But, I suppose watching the forklifts kept us occupied while waiting to be cleared. DW and I also used the time to discuss a few things that struck us during the cruise that I have not mentioned yet:

- DW was happy to finally be able to get the flourless chocolate cake last night. Yes, it is on the dessert menu in the dining room on Master Chef Dinner night, but just try to get your poor frantically busy waiter's attention to order it. So, we usually ended up with the Baked Alaska (for some reason almost always the strawberry).

- There were no gentlemen hosts that we could see. We tried to remember the last time we had seen them, dancing with the ladies in the Ocean Bar, and it has to have been several years. Does anyone else remember seeing them lately?

- On Ryndam, the bulkheads around the wine bar and Wajang theater are where the art is displayed, but we never noticed an art auction during the entire two weeks. Once, at happy hour in the Ocean Bar, we noticed housekeeping staff picking up folding chairs, and the bartender said they were from the art show that afternoon. Obviously, we never were bothered by an art auction this cruise ... and that's a good thing, in our book. Yes, it earns HAL money, but the auctions can be intrusive. This time, they were not.

- When I was typing out the Pinnacle Grill dinner menu I posted a few pages ago, I noticed that they described the salmon as being troll-caught (for sustainability). Now, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and fished for salmon, so I do know what they were trying to say ... but, is it just me, or does anyone else wonder where HAL finds the trolls to go catch the fish for them? And how do the trolls make a difference for sustainability of the salmon?

About that time, 7:45 a.m. or so, luckily we spotted a staff member sprinting from the terminal with a piece of paper in her hand, and started gathering up because we guessed it was the ship's clearance papers. Sure enough, a few minutes after she dashed aboard, the CD announced that we had been cleared and the first groups could go. We had Pink 1 (suite independent arrangements, or just someone they really wanted to see the last of quickly), so were among those at the first traffic jam at the gangway.

We were waiting our turn to get off, and heard a woman ask her husband what time their flight was. He said "9:15", which we assumed was a.m. and not p.m., and were so startled that anyone's TA or themselves would book such an early flight that we paused in amazement ... which meant that three silver-haired but spry ladies were able to give us a hip-check and beat us to the gangway.

We quickly got ashore and gathered our bags. Immigration was a snap, and Customs seemed uninterested in our card declaring T-shirts, a bottle of wine and a tote bag, so we quickly cleared and soon presented our claim ticket to the parking valet. After a bit of clearing up that, yes, we really _had_ paid for two weeks parking when we dropped off the car, we were clear and headed for the freeway, which we hit by about 8:20, it being Sunday and downtown Tampa in consequence being basically a ghost town.

And, after several hours drive, we are in Carolina and expect to be home early afternoon tomorrow.

I will still answer some questions you have posed, or may ask later. Also, I still have the daily programs and may try to scan and post those, and I might find a photo or two to add that I have not already uploaded, but basically, this is the end of my "live from" blog. I had a blast doing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Thanks for sailing with me,

Dave

Dave

 

We took the back-to-back Caribbean Cruise (that you are now on) from Jan 23 to Feb 2, 2011 and had an absolutely fantastic time. I am really enjoying your perspective on all the ports, etc. and agree with you on almost everything. The Adagio Strings were wonderful.

 

I am wondering if you and your wife do not attend The Showroom at Sea performances?? You may have addressed this in one of the 9 pages I've read, but I missed it if you did.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the Ryndam singers, dancers, and musicians. They were very talented and just outstanding. We had never been on a back-to-back cruise, so were a little surprised that we saw the same shows each week, except for the comedians. We even enjoyed the shows "the second time around."

 

Thanks for your sea journal. It has been fun reading it and reliving our own cruise. :):)

humingbird,

No, I did not post earlier about the Showroom at Sea performances. We did not go to them, so I would be a poor source of information on that and I am glad you offered some recent experience.

DW and I don't really care for revue-type shows, and generally just enjoy listening to the strings instead. Sometimes we attend the show with a comedian or magician, but did not do so this b2b cruise. About the only act I have seen in the last 10 years that I would without fail attend is Joel Mason -- he really is superb.

Thanks,

Dave

Hmmm yes the baked Alaska always ends up strawberry for me too and I don't like strawberry ice cream.

We did have gentlemen dance hosts on Rotterdam for the French Polynesia thirty day in January. I don't know if I mentioned it or not on my thread "My Ship has arrived".

Ah---a man on a mission.:D

Sapper,

Yes, indeed. You pegged me on Eurodam in 2009 as a man who focused ... I took that to mean "keyed in on the important things" not as in "ooh, look --goldfish!" ;)

Dave

Dave,

Am really sorry that your cruise has ended, have thoroughly enjoyed all your reports and photos.

Thank you for allowing us all to share the cruise with you.

Have a safe journey home.

Thank you Dave for sharing your cruise with us, it sounds like you had a very relaxing vacation. Have a safe drive home.

humingbird,

 

No, I did not post earlier about the Showroom at Sea performances. We did not go to them, so I would be a poor source of information on that and I am glad you offered some recent experience.

 

DW and I don't really care for revue-type shows, and generally just enjoy listening to the strings instead. Sometimes we attend the show with a comedian or magician, but did not do so this b2b cruise. About the only act I have seen in the last 10 years that I would without fail attend is Joel Mason -- he really is superb.

 

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

I have really enjoyed your review----has helped me relive our wonderful week on the Ryndam.

I will try to give some insight for the evening shows for 2/6/11 to 2/13/11.We both thought the entertainment was outstanding.It was different than the last few cruises we had been on.The Ryndam had an excellent 8 piece show band (Hal Cats), 4 male singers,2 female singers,and 2 gorgeous dancers.The singers were all very good and had Broadway and other credits.They were not your typical twenty year olds but much more talented and experienced on stage.Shows were usually at 8PM and 10PM---we always went to the late show.The theater is intimate and the seating in the lower level was very comfortable with nice wide aisles.

2/6/11 Welcome aboard show at 9:30 Wife went to a movie and I watched the Superbowl, so we unfortunately missed it.

2/7/11 "Street Singin" The 4 guys did a production show on a "doo wop" group ---- very good

2/8/11 "Bob Mackie's Broadway" all 8 entertainers in a fantastic production shows with Broadway tunes. The costumes were all designed by Bob Mackie and were beautiful Don't miss this one.

2/9/11 Craig Diamond Comedy show It as OK PG comedy some good jokes

2/10/11 "Encore" Production show with the Hal Cats,Adagio Strings and Bethany Barber, and Mark Donato Maybe the best show I have ever witnessed at sea----simply outstanding---Bethany Barber has an amazing voice----My musical taiste is pretty much Lynyrd Skynyrd (props to Johnny Van Zant) but this lady is just pure talent and a very nice person too.

2/11/11 "Stardust Lounge" Production show The best of

classic Las Vegas a trip back to a !970's vegas show lounge very good show.

2/12/11 The Marriage Game and Ryndam Superstar Finals

we did not attentd these two we needed to pack and we attended the 10 PM movie "Secretariat" very good movie

While my wife was packing I ran in to Bethany Barber in the Mix and had a drink with her.Meaning no disrespect I asked her what she was doing on a cruise ship? Bethany told me the Us economy had not been kind to the arts community---or any of us.She told me it was steady work without the challenges of touring with a traveling Broadway production.She told me they signed an 8 month contract with HAL.Bethany lives in Indianapolis when not touring.She is a very nice,approachable lady with amazing talent.

We both thought the talent on the Ryndam was excellent! I did not hear any "Skynyrd" but their "God N Guns" cd was waiting in the car for me for the drive home---at least until my wife turned the CD player off.\

Hope this hepls and thanks again Dave for taking the time to post your Live reports----sorry I did not get to meet you personally.

Dave, I appreciate your taking the time to tell us about this cruise and the ports. It sounds like a wonderful cruise. We are booked for 14 days in December and I will be rereading your posts as we are closer to the cruise to help in our planning. Thanks again, Shirley

My family just got home after 7 wonderful days on the Ryndam. Dave did such a terrific job with this blog! I got to meet him briefly, as well as Debbie and her mother, and we shared some wonderful adventures with CCer Barbara! This cruise had delightful people, who were very kind to my children. I just wanted to add a word about taking this trip with kids--my 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son loved it! Highly recommended. Eliana liked Club HAL. Barbara and her trivia team kindly invited Alex and I to join them, and I now have a pre-teen trivia fanatic! My husband and I popped into The Mix nightly for a quick drink and a few songs by Barry from Boston, who was the best piano bar entertainer we've ever seen on HAL.

The ports were the highlight for us. In Roatan, we visited an elementary school. We met the teachers, and Eliana made friends with some 6-year-olds. The kids were thrilled to climb the Mayan ruins in Costa Maya. Alex and my husband loved the air boat trip that Dave described. The Belize Zoo (a wonderful animal rescue center) was a high point of Eliana's life so far--she had up-close and personal encounters with a jaguar and a boa constrictor! I strongly recommend taking kids beyond the port areas to explore these wonderful countries.

CCers gave me great advice and encouragement when I posted concerns about my son, who has a rare GI disease. Our waiter, Ery, was very helpful, and our dinners in the dining room were great. Alex did become ill one evening, and Ery was extremely concerned. Our only negative was the mini-bar attendant. Alex needs a constant flow of fluids, and we repeatedly contacted the front desk, mini-bar personnel, etc., about replenishing our stock (also the fridge was broken in my mom's room the entire cruise--couldn't be fixed.) The mini-bar steward came once, and when I explained Alex's issue, he said, "Well, that's not my problem, Ma'am." We just kept running down to the bar to get the stuff, but his attitude shocked me. I know I should have reported it.

Thanks to Dave for the blog and to all the kind and helpful people who post on this board!

Lisa

CC'ers,

We are back home, and have sorted through all the things that needed doing. I have now had time to scan the daily porgrams from our 14 days on Ryndam, and will attempt to load them. A few points:

1. They are scanned a lower resolution, since the higher resolution setting yielded files larger than the 976KB limit for CC, unless I wanted to have a file per page or two, which would have been unweildy. They are still readable at the lower resolution, however.

2. Sorry about the black line down the left side of each page -- I could not figure out how to fix that.

3. The maximum number of attachments per post is five, so I will load these in three batches.

Hope you enjoy looking at these.

Dave

Ryndam Feb 6 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 7 2001.pdf

Ryndam Feb 8 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 9 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 10 2011.pdf

Second batch. The one for Feb 13 includes some info intended only for those staying on for the second cruise, so if you are on only for 7 days, your program will probably look like the one for Feb. 6.

Dave

Ryndam Feb 11 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 12 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 13 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 14 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 15 2011.pdf

Third/final batch of programs.

Dave

Ryndam Feb 16 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 17 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 18 2011.pdf

Ryndam Feb 19 2011.pdf

thanks dave

Thank you Dave. Really enjoyed looking at them. Can't wait until my cruise. Enjoyed following your blog. Take care. Joe