(long) review of the Ryndam New Year's Eve cruise

We broke tradition and booked the Ryndam sailing from December 29 to January 5 from Tampa. I will post a day by day photo review later when I have a chance to resize the pictures. We are a family of 4 with Dh and I in our late 40s and early 50s and a DD who was 12 and DS who was 9 at the time of sailing. I acknowledge that his review is very subjective and I can only report on our feelings and opinions. This was a renewal cruise for our family of 4 after the death of my mother December 21, 2012. Our anniversary is on December 31 so we decided to go all out and have a full highland vow renewal too.

We left from Toronto International airport on Christmas evening. It was supposed to be 3 hours earlier but after 3 days of an ice storm we considered ourselves very fortunate to leave at all. We stayed at the Tampa Sheraton Suites hotel Westshore as we had enough points to stay for free for the 4 nights pre-cruise. The hotel provided us with enough space to be comfortable with a king sized bed (supposed to be 2 queens but a large group was coming in and we were upgraded to the Starwood floor and given one king and a free cot), and a double pull out sofa in the living room. The hotel had a free shuttle for anything in a 3 mile radius of the hotel. This worked out well for us. The hotel also made the shuttle available on Dec 29 to take us to the port for a small fee, less than it would have cost us to take a taxi.

Embarkation: We arrived about 11:30 and the only wait we had was about 5 minutes in the security line. We were on the ship before we knew it. Easy and fast!

Cabin: We had booked cabin 417 on the lower promenade deck which is an inside. It was right by the corridor to get to the promenade deck which is why we booked it. Although it was made up when we first arrived, it was only made up for 3 and we are 4. There were flowers in the cabin but no note to tell us if they were ours or who they were from. They looked like they had been left over from the last guests as the roses were all brown on the edges. It turns out they were part of the vow renewal package but since there was no information in the cabin on the vow renewal we had no way of knowing.

There were no under bed drawers like we had in 2011 on the Volendam, but there were 6 desk drawers instead of 3. We had lots of space to put both our formal clothes and our everyday clothes. The bathroom had a shower only. A large shelf under the sink and two small glass shelves on the wall provided plenty of storage for our bathroom needs. There was a hairdryer in a bag on the under sink shelf and a lighted magnifying mirror on the desk. Also there were two drinking glass holders on the wall in the bathroom with glasses and a wall soap dish. The shower stall had the dispensers for shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

I have to admit that starting on the second day of the cruise we encountered a sewer gas issue in our room. At first it just smelled of urine and I thought DS had “missed the moving target”, to be honest. But it got worse and worse. DH said “don’t look at me”. Then we knew we had a problem and Dh went to the front desk. He was expecting to be told to go away but there was an officer and she accompanied DH to our cabin and as soon as he opened the door she was on her phone to get the issue rectified. I will leave it to you to imagine how bad it was, but when the plumber showed up he was in the bathroom for 1 minute tops and excused himself and made retching noises in the hallway. He fixed the issue and it never returned

Muster Drill: I was busy unpacking when the announcement was made that it was time for the muster drill. Remembering a few posts on CC saying to wait a few minutes to go because then the standing time will be less and we would be in the front instead of pushed to the back like what has happened on prior cruises. I took, at most, 2 minutes to finish what I was doing and already we had a knock on the door telling us to leave. Since we were on the lower promenade deck it was a short walk to our assigned life boat and we were among the last to arrive. The drill went relatively quickly because everyone showed up which was good as it was pouring rain. Next time we will not wait the 2 minutes as my family were not happy with me!

The Ship: We were very happy with the ship in general. We didn’t notice anything out of order or in need of replacement although there were issues with plumping and air systems and the captain noted that the ship will be in dry dock in March. We loved the size of the ship and the ease of movement and never felt crowded or cramped.

We found the library and some other parts of the ship, like the Crow’s Nest to be frigid. Some people were complaining of lack of heat, Mama Lou being one of them. I noticed one person on our deck, midship, posted a sign on their cabin door asking for heat. I didn’t overhear anyone complaining of lack of air conditioning.

I must say though, plumbing is an issue and many public restrooms were out of order. We had one delayed flush in our cabin on the first sea day and called the front desk. By the time someone came, within 20 minutes, the toiled had flushed. That was the limit of the flush problems until the last day when it happened again and then it overflowed. Service wasn’t so fast and DH had called our room steward who did not pick up. He found the assistant steward who said to “just put towels down and throw them in the shower”. I said this was not good enough as it was 2 hours to dinner and the 4 of us had to have showers and get ready and I was not going to have my children walking on a floor covered in dirty toilet water. The room steward never did show up by the assistant steward did finally show up with some bleach.

I did take notice of the sign posted at the Sea View Pool that said children under 16 were to be accompanied by an adult at all times. This surprised me as I thought children were not allowed in the Sea View Pool. Most children did only go in the Lido pool which was very busy. I took my son on two occasions to the Sea View Pool when no adults where using it and he enjoyed it very much. I noticed one younger girl who was not supervised using the pool for hours and she did make a nuisance out of herself, always putting herself in line of swimmers or jumping and splashing people. Nobody told her to leave. On the second visit there was a larger family group of 5 or 6 adults and a just-walking child in a swim diaper. At first the child was only splashing through the overflow water in the tiled area but soon the adults had her in the pool. I didn’t see any officers and since DS wanted to go in the pool I did catch the attention of a bar server and apologized for telling him that the child was in a swim diaper and asked him if he could tell an officer. He waited about 5 minutes until an adult lifted the child out of the water and he saw the diaper himself and he told them that the child could not be in the pool. They all left in a huff.

Food: We tended to eat breakfast and lunch in the Lido/terrace grill and dinner in the main dining room. We ate the embarkation lunch in the dining room and did attend the Mariner’s brunch. On the evening of our vow renewal we also ate in the PG. We ate one dinner in the Canaletto. We like the Lido; it suits our family as everyone can eat what they chose. We were not disappointed in any meals in the dining room or the Lido. We didn’t feel that the Pinnacle Grill was anything special and were very surprised. Dh felt his cut of meat was tough. Although he enjoyed the Canaletto, I did not. The service was good but it all went wrong. I cannot eat cream and the menu did not mention that there was cream in the main course I chose. The children were served first and by the time our main course was served they were finished and wanting to go to Club Hal. There were few people in the Canaletto but service was very slow. I took one look at my meal and knew instantly it was swimming in cream. Dh spoke up and asked if it was cream and he was told yes. He reminded the server than I had said I could not eat cream and I was told “of course that dish is a cream dish”. I replied that the menu did not state cream sauce. He argued with me until he looked at the menu. I had to wait nearly half an hour while the kitchen made the same dish with a tomato sauce. So everyone was finished and sat watching me eat my dinner. It was not a pleasant experience.

Entertainment: We did not go to any of the shows in the auditorium as we gravitate towards the library or piano bar in the evenings while the children are in Club Hal. We very much enjoyed the quiet the HAL ships provide and this makes a perfect holiday for us.

New Year’s Eve: What a party! For the first time the Ryndam tried something new. The Lido pool area was closed off from 5:30 until 10:00 and the staff worked tirelessly to get it ready. It was transformed into a wonderful party space with balloon arches and a countdown screen. There were hats for the men and headpieces for the women and horns and noisemakers. Free champagne and non-alcoholic beverages flowed and the Hal Cats performed. It was spectacular. The Lido staff put on a full buffet spread – there was something for everyone. I will include the pictures in my next day by day review.

Club HAL: Our children always love Club Hal (DD even more than the Disney programs on the Disney ships) and want to be there when it is open and we are sailing. The only disappointment this cruise is that they did not distribute the back packs that they have on other cruises. DD said she saw them, with the different items they usually put in them, but for some reason they were not given to the children. There were about 40 children registered in the 3-7 and 8 to 12 age groups but only about 8 to 12 came regularly and some only came the last night, we guess to get their back packs.

Shore Excursions: We took two Hal shore excursions and enjoyed both. The first was in Roatan where we did the semi-submersible. We were first taken to the shell cameo shop but since the power was out limited shopping could be done. We were a small group of about 15 people and all fit in the semi-submersible vessel at the same time for the 30 minute ride. DH doesn’t swim so it was a first for him to see what it looks like under the water. Having been to the Great Barrier Reef myself, it was nothing like it, but for DS, DD and Dh it was a whole new wonderful world and the highlight was seeing a huge ray swimming away. In Costa Maya we went to the Mayan archeological site of Chacchoben. I was worried that this excursion would be crowded but as one bus filled it left for the site so we never felt crowded. It was about an hour drive on the air conditioned coach. Our guide was interesting and full of information and we learned much from our tour. It was just the right mix of information and letting us explore the 3 main ruins that have been uncovered. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Disembarkation: All non US citizens were to report to the theatre early in the morning, starting at 6:45 (I think, can’t remember exactly) to pass through immigration. This process was quick and we were on our way. One cabin didn’t appear and were called repeatedly until the announcement was made in their language (Asian dialect). After that the ship was cleared for disembarkation. We waited in the library for our colour and number to be called. Once it was, we were quickly on our way, located our luggage and stood in line to go through US immigration again. Why, I don’t know, but it was fast. We got on a shuttle right outside the doors which took us to the airport for the cost of $25 for the 4 of us. There we picked up our rental car and were on our way to Cape Canaveral to board the Disney Magic the next day. We have prepared a comparison between HAL and Disney and the results were surprising to us. DD, DH and I did it together to try to make it as objective as possible. That will be the subject of another threat as this one has gone on long enough!

For the 4 of us it was just what we needed. A few hiccups along the way but they were mostly quickly resolved. We enjoyed ourselves and our family time and look forward to doing it again in 2015…for 20 days!

Thank you so much for the review.

Great review. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share with us.

Can't wait to see the photos. :)

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your Ryndam New Year's cruise. Sounds really nice especially New Years eve. Like Sails, can't wait to see your photo's.

great review, thanks for taking the time. eagerly awaiting the pictures

Love that cabin! We were in 417 for 14 days last winter...then for the next 7, switched to 421 Ocean View on the stern. It's a great location back there with such easy access to the Promenade Deck.

We were booked in the same cabin on the Maasdam in two weeks...until I took an upsell to a lanai.

Very nice and thorough review! Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you had a wonderful time.

Looking for forward to your pictures as well as the review of your Disney cruise.

How was your renewal of vows ceremony?

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the rest of us.

Thanks for taking time to tell us the thoughts of you and your family. Can't wait to hear about your Disney cruise. Congrats on booking what looks like a wonderful cruise in 2015!

Thanks for this nicely written rev :)

What a great review!!

objective, fair and a great read.

Thank you so much my friend. I can't wait to see your pics if you have time to post them. They are always so well done:)

It sounds like despite some bumps (which you dealt with well) that you had a great time and I just know that vow renewal was something special.

Sad that browned edged roses were part of your package. You are kinder than I - I would have probably told them to take them back - I love flowers (as many know) and half dead ones do not excite me.

Thanks again for a great read.

And of course, welcome home:)

I enjoyed reading your detailed report. How was the renewal of your vows? Sad that the floral arrangement was already turning brown, hope the rest of the package was better!

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Sad that browned edged roses were part of your package. You are kinder than I - I would have probably told them to take them back - I love flowers (as many know) and half dead ones do not excite me.

 

I enjoyed reading your detailed report. How was the renewal of your vows? Sad that the floral arrangement was already turning brown, hope the rest of the package was better!

Thanks everyone. I will get more specific on the vow renewal in my day by day photo review. I am working on the pictures at night after dinner and before bed. Those that know me, know this is a short window as I get up so early! But it shouldn't be too much longer as I will start the review and do photos as I go.

But I didn't want to leave you all with the impression that HAL didn't make the flowers right!

When we first arrived into our cabin it was mass confusion: only one set of shore excursion tickets were in the cabin and we had purchased two excursions; there was no information on the vow renewal at all, there was only 3 beds made up and our steward was no where in sight. So I was a little upset as I had no idea of the flowers were leftovers that the steward thought we may like or they were new.

Note to HAL - it would be a great idea to include a note when you deliver something to the room to say what it is for!

Here is a photo of the cabin when we arrived. You can see the small flower arrangement on the table.

An officer phoned right after and asked how we found the folder with all the vow renewal information and I said it was not there. She was not happy and described the folder in detail and I again told her no such folder was in the cabin. so she came down to show me the folder. I again let her see for herself that there was no folder in the cabin. She saw the flowers and I asked her if she thought they were left overs. She said no, they are part of the vow renewal package but she took them and said she was bringing them back to the floral department as they were old flowers.

After dinner this is what was left in our cabin and we enjoyed them for the whole week:

DD was still unpacking her treasures when I took the picture. The wall hanging is thanks to a suggestion here to bring something Christmas. Well a 3 day ice storm hit and I didn't get to the shops so I brought a wall hanging that I had made before we married and we really enjoyed it so thank you for the suggestion!

The steward finally showed up and asked if we liked the "better" flowers that "he" had put in the cabin for us. I said I did.

For the record, the vow renewal folder showed up while we were at muster drill. Our Happy anniversary card from the captain showed up a day late and we never got the cake in the dining room and when the servers found out it was our anniversary on Dec 31 their faces fell. We were okay with it but someone dropped the ball.

Here is our anniversary card that was received the day after our anniversary:

Oh thanks so much for sharing this!

I am so glad they replaced the flowers. It does sound like the ball was dropped but at least the officer reacted quickly. That's one nice thing.

The flowers are beautiful and far more appropriate for your wonderful celebration.

Love your wall hanging too.:D

No cake?? hmmmmmm

When we got on the Westerdam in the spring of 2013 -- the normal flowers in our PS -- all 3 sets -- were all pretty much dead.

Glad you got your new ones right away.

We have never gotten a birthday card or an anniversary card. On one cruise, for days our servers kept talking about DH soon going to celebrate his birthday. Day of his birthday -- nothing!!

We have never gotten a birthday card or an anniversary card. On one cruise, for days our servers kept talking about DH soon going to celebrate his birthday. Day of his birthday -- nothing!!

Sorry to hear this KK. Disappointing to say the least.