MS Ryndam ????

I sailed the Ryndam out of Tampa a few years ago and really enjoyed her. Has anyone sailed her within the last year or so (regardless of itinerary)?

I know she was refurbished but wondered how cost cutting may have changed her overall.

Considering a late Nov sailing and wondered if she is being maintained, and if food and service are still OK.

Thanks

Tom

You did see this recent review on the HAL CC board, didn't you?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2006895

I know she was refurbished but wondered how cost cutting may have changed her overall.

I was on her in April 2011, not long after her "refurbishment" so I cannot address any cost cutting measures since. I felt the refurbishment was done on a limited budget and the ship felt to me as if "that will do" was the mantra. Although I liked some of the new areas that were completely redone, they did not mix well with the older decor at all.

It felt like an old ship. Not an older ship, but an old ship. The hallway to our cabin (on Deck 6 - Lower Promenade Deck) felt bleak, institutional and depressing. It had sewer odors, combined with stale cigarette smoke. The paneling on the walls looked like what I would expect on a 1950's ship even though it was probably designed in the 80's (another decade not known for esthetically pleasing design). The art on the walls, copies of older HAL ship photos, seemed cheap, even though the subject matter was something I was very much interested in. Perhaps it was the cheap framing they were in? The overall feeling was of cheaply framed posters, rather than art. Later in the week I discovered that we had the best of the hallway art on the ship! I was grateful for being on Deck 6.

I did like our cabin. It was evident that it had been remodeled in recent past with new carpets, curtains, and upholstery, mattresses, and bedding, and a flat screen TV. There was plenty of closet and storage space. It has a safe for valuables, but there was no refrigerator.

The bathroom has been completely remodeled too. It has new flooring, tub, tile and countertop to name a few. It is all done in calming earth tones and has a spa-like feeling to it. You can tell they paid attention to details and quality. It is very well done.

There were many original areas of the ship that were well thought out as far as design and decor. Some that come to mind are the Rotterdam Dining Room, Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, Crows Nest, Ocean Bar, Lido Bar, Greenhouse Spa, The Oasis, Marabella, and guest cabins. Others seem well executed as far as either design or decor: Mix, the main theater, and the Wajang Theater. Still others miss the mark completely: The Shops, Art Gallery, Explorations Cafe, Explorer's Lounge, the Casino, the Atrium, Champagne Bar, Sea View Pool, and the Lido Pool.

Most areas do not relate well to their neighboring areas. The new ambiance in Mix is spoiled by the ultra bright Wallmart type, florescent lighting of The Shops next to it. We always felt that we needed sunglasses when walking by. The lighting does not feel conducive to shopping, and certainly detracts from Mix.

There are too many different types of carpeting everywhere, that do not relate to neighboring areas, such as around the elevators, stairs and hallways. There seems to be no consistency to anything. For instance, the Explorers Lounge has 3 different types of wall paneling on it's three walls. To me this says "Let's just use what we have", rather than "Let's make it right".

Even cabin doors in the hallways have no logic to them. Some were of one color while some were another. Decorative wall panels in the hallways are the same way - again, no rhyme nor reason as to why they chose what they did. It seems that there is no forethought into the design, just "Well, we have some of this, so let's throw it up on the wall." I guess I just expect more when I go on a cruise ship. I have become spoiled by the competition.

The overall effect of the ship is one of inconsistency. The feeling I came away with was of, "Let's just put it here", "Let's just use what we have, since we have extra", and "Let's just make do". Many things feel like an afterthought, which gives the overall look of the ship one of a patchwork quilt, made up of mismatched leftovers. Even the light colored "wood" paneling that is used everywhere, feels like it is better suited to a 70's trailer.

I liked the extensive amount of antiques used on the ship. A number of them stand out: Two batik wall hangings of people, horses and coaches in two of the stairways; an Asian inspired chess set in a glass case in Explorations Cafe; copies of decorative panels from the original Maasdam; large copy of a smaller oil painting that occupies a large wall in Explorer's Lounge; the large fountain in the Atrium.

Although there are many antiques I found interesting in the public spaces, they are not showcased to highlight their true beauty. A few examples are: All of the showcases with 16th, 17th, and 18th objects could be greatly enhanced with proper lighting and better signage. There is a beautiful life size classical sandstone statue of a woman from the 18th century, but it is against a background of jarringly bright gold tile. A beautiful black sideboard is plopped down against a dark wood background in the Explorer's Lounge.

There is a lot of wasted space on this ship. There are spaces that make no sense, such as the atrium area on Deck 6. There is a large Italian style Fountain that rises up into the deck above (deck 7's Atrium area). It is impressive and is one of my favorite pieces of art on the ship. Unfortunately it sits in the middle of a large open area that feels like wasted space.

There are no windows on this deck to be able to sit and enjoy, not only the fountain, but a view. The space has two large desks sitting in it. The desks are there for no particular reason. You get the feeling that they did not know what to do with them so they stashed them there.

I know this area was once occupied by escalators going to the deck above, but it feels like they took the escalators out to save money, on maintaining them, and did not know what to do with the space and left it empty. Odd, is how it made me feel. It is not an area that you feel you want to hang out in, despite the beautiful fountain. I found more examples of this thru out the ship. It feels like there was no thought given to these spaces and makes the ship, as a whole, feel like it was kind of a patchwork quilt of scraps.

Another area that feels like wasted space is outside the Wajang Movie Theater/Culinary Arts Center. There is a wide hallway with "auction art" on the walls. It goes on for about 25 feet and leads to a door that says "Crew Only". Next to that area is what is billed as the "Art Gallery".

HAL had discontinued Park West Art Auctions on this ship though you could see remnants that nobody bought, and that Park West did not want. The "Art Gallery" is full of nothing but these pieces. There seemed to be a sports theme to it at first glance yet, if you look closer you notice there is a piece or two with an entertainment theme, in addition to a couple of animation pieces. Inconsistency once again. My feeling is that this stuff should all be trashed but they do not know what to do with the space so they keep it up. The area is just wasted space.

Explorations Cafe consists of a coffee bar with snacks, a puzzle area, some computer terminals, and the library, which is chopped up into three sections. There is no cohesiveness to any of it and feels very disjointed and unconnected. The best part of the area were the Aames Chairs and Ottomans, which are extremely comfortable, and were very popular for relaxing guests. They are situated so you have a wonderful view out the windows.

A special feature about this ship is the full wrap around Promenade Deck that is teak and has wonderful wooden lounge chairs that are reminiscent of old ocean liners. There is no jogging allowed on this deck so it is perfect for enjoying a stroll, reading, or just lounging in one of the chairs and enjoying the view with the sound of the waves against the ship.

Joggers can avail themselves of Deck 12, above the Lido Pool. There is a great, yet smaller, deck for walking or jogging with wonderful views. I used this area daily and enjoyed the fact that few people went up there. There are a couple of areas with lounge chairs for relaxing that do not interfere with jogging/walking. Unlike the Vista Class of HAL ships, there are expansive views to be had over the Lido Pool area. There is also Deck 13, above the Crows Nest for great views!

Greenhouse Spa and Gym was one of the most appealing spas I have been to on a ship. It felt like an oasis of calm. I believe it was redone during the 2010 enhancement of the ship. I used the gym daily and I found it to be quite large for a small ship with adequate equipment and plenty of space for stretching.

The Oasis - Too bad this area is for 'teens only' as it is very enticing. It has "palm trees", hammocks, a hot tub, and a waterfall. It is very private and has great views as it is on the topmost deck towards the rear of the ship, overlooking the Sea View Pool. We felt jealous that we could not use it - though I did on port days when nobody was around.

"Mix" is actually a combination of many areas: Piano Bar, Champagne Bar, Martini Bar, and Sports Bar. There are several seating areas so you could have an intimate conversation if you wished. There is even an area next to the aisle (for foot traffic) that has high back chairs and cocktail tables looking out the windows. These are in four groupings of two and offers surprisingly good privacy. Mix appears to work well as each different area seems to be popular depending on the time of day. The only area that did not seem to work well to me was the Champagne Bar. It appears as though it was squeezed in. There is no real bar to sit at and, although there is a spot that looks like a bar, there is no bartender there. I guess you are supposed to sit in one of the lounge chairs and order a glass of champagne from one of the servers, of which I saw few, if any.

During the day the Sports Bar area seemed to have a loyal following, especially since there are monitors with sports on. Also there are interactive cocktail tables with seats around them. They seemed to be popular with different age groups, and families, and an area to sit for a beer or two. There was a guitar player in there from 5 - 9 pm, though he did not seem to be a big draw. I saw a few people at the Martini portion of the Bar each evening, but not many. In the evening, the Ocean bar seemed to be more popular to me than this area. The Piano Bar was busy late at night.

I could not decide if I liked the casino or not. It feels like a low budget Vegas Casino of the 70's or 80's but, in a way, that is cool. There is no real theme to it as I have experienced on most other ships. There is a walk way through the middle of it which makes it feel like an afterthought. Although not many people seemed to be in there at any one time, the poor air circulation led me to detour thru Mix instead, to avoid the cigarette smoke or smell there of.

There are laundry rooms on three of the decks which is great for longer voyages or to iron a shirt in a pinch. I believe the washer and dryer are each $1 or $2, but I am not sure, as I never used them.

The shops on board the ship are uninspiring. They seem small to me except for The Shops next to Mix, which has the horribly bright lights. Marabella, which is like a private jewelry store, is very well designed.

Ocean View Pool

I never used this pool although it was quite popular. I found that it lacked any escape from the sun. It could use some umbrellas or cabanas. It also seemed to be a favorite area for those who liked to smoke.

The Lido Bar, next to the pool, was one of my favorite areas on the Ryndam. It had a resort feel to it with a retractable roof that lets in fresh air and sunshine but allows for some shady areas as well. The tables and chairs are sort of wicker and comfortable. In contrast, the Lido Pool area itself feels dated to me. One thing I liked about the Lido Pool area was that it does not sound like an echoing gymnasium, as is my experience with the covered pools on Princess ships. The retractable roof really helps with that. Both pools are fresh water.

I will not talk about food or service, since this was 3 yrs ago and all the cruise lines have made many cut backs since that time. I did enjoy what I experienced at the time though.

The main theater, Showroom At Sea, is two stories and was reconfigured (during the 2010 retrofit) to resemble more of a cabaret theater than what I am used to on other ships. It seems they took out the first three or four rows of seats and put in small bar tables and chairs. It has an intimate, cabaret feel to it. It is done in red tones and I really like it despite some very bad sight lines from a lot of the balcony seats.

The Wajang Theater, on deck 7, is a very comfortable, large theater, yet has a small screen for showing movies. Having been on the Disney Wonder prior, I got spoiled with their full size movie screen.

The "Card Room" which is next to the Cinema, is a bleak room with about 5 tables and chairs, no windows and feels rather claustrophobic. I prefer Royal Caribbean's game rooms, with their great views overlooking the ocean (which by the way, are disappearing from their ships to generate more revenue areas).

The Pinnacle Grill is something that was added to the Ryndam. It was not part of the original design. Part of the space was previously a small room extension to the upper dining room. The new space is very nicely appointed with an intimate feel to it. I think it is better than the ones on the Vista Class ships as it affords much more intimacy and privacy. It is not really well equipped to hamper noises from neighboring areas though, which tend to impair the overall ambiance a bit. While sitting at our table we could hear the string quartet next door, the main dining room noises, and recorded music intended for the Pinnacle. Unfortunately, the recorded music was not adding to the atmosphere of what we perceived to be an evening at Le Cirque as it was rather brash. Some Ella, Sinatra, Tony Bennet, or other softer music would have been more appropriate.

Hope you find some of this info helpful.

Last June, we were on the Maasdam, which had the same general "updates" as Ryndam. The previous poster summed these ships up better than I can, and I agree with them in everything they said.

We really disliked the ship. As soon as we walked on, we were bombarded by really ancient yellow fluorescent lighting. The whole ship felt like a really old Vegas hotel. Yes, the rooms were really well-updated with great decor and furnishings. But that was the only space that really felt modern. The Mix area of separate bar areas was nice, but was made to look very cheesy by the bright white lights from the tacky shops across the hall. The public restrooms were more often out of order than working, which created a bottleneck trying to get into working restrooms. We found the ceiling leaking in the lobby, our deck smelled like sewage and the bathroom towels were dingy and grey. Everything onboard seemed dreary and depressing. I took my mom on this cruise, and was very embarrassed by how much she disliked it.

On the plus side, we found the food to be very good - even in the MDR, which is a location we usually avoid on ships. And the service was competent and gracious.

We would not sail on this ship again - even if they were offering a great itinerary. We would consider HAL again due to the service and food, but only one of the newer ones like the Eurodam or their upcoming new class.

Michael

I proposed to my husband on the Rydam many years ago, so a special place in my heart. The Cruse director helped me with some little arrangements then after I had done it she and the Captain came by and she said "Hows it going? I held up my finger with the ring and she and the Captain sent us a good bottle of champagne. The people sitting with us had no idea what had happened or that we were even gay. They were amazed the bottle was sent and I offered a glass to all...finally I told them...there was the instant of not understanding then the realization of what I had meant, they were very happy for us and toasted our engagement. Long ago on a Thanksgiving Night on the High Seas....

Instead of booking Ryndam (which I really enjoyed in the past), I booked the NCL Sun for March 1, 2015. I wanted a Tampa based ship this time and also wanted a smaller ship. I know the Sun is somewhat dated but the reviews have been so positive I thought why not. Got a wonderful cabin overlooking the bow on the pool deck and am very excited to sail her. I find these days I prefer a smaller ship even if its not a new wow gimmick loaded ship. I will plan in dinning in the specialty restaurants and hope I can find some fun dinner companions to join me. Thanks for the Ryndam responses as it helped me decide what to select.

Tom

Instead of booking Ryndam (which I really enjoyed in the past), I booked the NCL Sun for March 1, 2015. Thanks for the Ryndam responses as it helped me decide what to select.

Tom

Wise choice! ;) :D Enjoy your voyage! David

When Ryndam heads down under, I wonder what HAL ship will sail out of Tampa ?

I could see Maasdam as a replacement but would like to see a different class of ship be selected....maybe Nordham. Since Carnival Legend can fit into Tampa, a HAL Vista class should be able to home port there as well.

Any thoughts out there?

Interestingly, Olivia just sent out an email advertising a Thanksgiving 2014 cruise on the Ryndam. It's of course priced sky high due to the huge "lesbian premium," but nonetheless appears to be selling well. Olivia has done a great job of finding a "niche" group of lesbian cruisers who will pay for the lesbian full charter experience.