Ryndam Review 5/28 - Alaska Northbound

Overall Rating:

Cruise: 6/10

Alaska: 10/10

Biggest Plus – Long times in port

Biggest Minuses – No naturalist on ship, cutbacks evident

Cruisers & Cabins:

Me (34) and SO (27) – my 7th cruise, 2nd on HAL (first was Statendam Alaska in 1998 – rated 9/10); his 1st cruise – outside cabin on main deck (647)

Parents (50s) and Grandmother (70s) – all numerous cruises, >75 days on HAL – suite on navigation deck (023)

Route / Shore Excursions:

Vancouver to Seward, with stops in Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines, Hubbard Glacier

I can’t say enough about the beauty of Alaska. I’m posting a review of my shore excursions on the Alaska ports of call board.

Embarkation / Disembarkation:

Both very smooth. Embarkation - Completed immigration forms online, arrived at the Vancouver port about noon and walked right on the ship. Cabin was ready by 1:30 and bags were already there. Disembarkation – I love that you can now wait in cabin until disembarkation. They called our number nearly right at the estimated time and off the ship we went.

The only negative here was that they lost my grandmother’s scooter following disembarkation. HAL helped us find a wheelchair and recovered the scooter by evening, but it still caused my grandmother a good deal of stress as she’s so reliant on it. (Now, if you’re like me, you’re asking why on earth she let it out of her possession. Her response was that the staff in the Neptune Lounge told her to do so. I don’t think she’ll be doing that again on the next cruise!)

Activities:

As I mentioned as one of the biggest negatives, despite HAL’s advertising of “an onboard naturalist†on every Alaska cruise, there was not one on ours. On my 1998 Statendam cruise, we had a naturalist who gave talks during the day on everything from whales to Eskimos. I went to at least 5 such discussions, plus spent hours with her in Glacier Bay. On this cruise, we had a port shopping ambassador instead. There was NOT ONE talk on the wildlife, the glacier (even the day cruising Hubbard glacier), the people of Alaska. Instead, we had the best places to buy gold jewelry. In HAL’s defense, I did send them an e-mail regarding this issue post-cruise and they responded very quickly that the naturalist had a last minute cancellation. They also offered a shipboard credit for the next cruise as a result.

Activities were the standard bingo (with the accompanying obnoxious announcements), art auctions, ship building, games, etc. I didn’t attend any so can’t comment on those. My mother and grandmother went to the tea every day, which they enjoyed.

Photos:

Wow – these get more and more expensive each time we cruise. Prices varied from about $10-$20, depending on the photo. I, like others, think they would sell more if they lowered the price. However, I didn’t make much of a statement in this regard since the photos were so good, I purchased nearly all of them

Food / Room Service:

I ate breakfast and lunch solely in the Lido or at the surrounding taco/snack bar. Food there was decent, particularly given the number of people they serve. They did run out of cranberry juice, cheese at the taco bar and ice cream (gasp!) on the first sea day by about 1:00, but they were replenished after our first stop. I probably didn’t need them anyway as I overindulged quite a bit on the taco bar guacamole (very yummy).

As far as Lido service, I primarily filled my own beverages; however, a couple days someone came by with refills of water, coffee, etc. I didn’t notice any issues with clean up and we always found a suitable table. On prior cruises, there was normally someone available to carry my grandmother’s tray, but didn’t see anyone this time (although it was no problem for us to do it).

The staff in the Lido/pool area did push the soda cards nearly every time I saw someone the first few days. There was a little pressure after the initial “noâ€, but not unbearable.

We ate in the dining room every evening, 8:30 seating. While the food was generally good, particularly the soups, and the waiter was very accommodating, it wasn’t “like it used to beâ€. They ran out of our chosen desserts two nights (although they did offer to make one again the next evening) and I couldn’t even tell you our waitstaffs’ names, they were so busy. We tipped our waiter and assistant waiter extra anyway and they were first concerned, wanting to make sure we didn’t remove the auto tip and “get them in troubleâ€, then they were grateful. I sure would not want to work their hours!!

The wine steward was good. He always made sure we got the menu in advance so we could order wine at the 15% discount. He was also very busy, so it sometimes took awhile to get our wine opened/poured.

This is the first cruise where we never met the maitre de. My parents commented on it, but truly it was a non-issue for me.

What seems minor but was very sad was the lack of a yum yum man for our seating. After the first night’s dinner, when we exited, there was no yum yum man. We asked one of the staff where he was and he told us he was upstairs. So into the elevator with my grandmother’s scooter we went, but the yum yum man had already left. We didn’t see him for the next 5 nights, then suddenly, on the last evening after dinner, there was the room service fellow playing the part of stand in yum yum man! I’m guessing quite a few people noted it on their comment cards earlier that day. We were happy, but poor guy, it was probably his only hour to sleep!

Room service was good. We ordered at least 5 times, mainly breakfasts and beverages. The order was always correct and delivered on time.

Room / Steward:

Our room, outside cabin on main deck 647, was fine. It had enough space for all of our belongings and was reasonably clean. We had a few issues with the toilet, but they were resolved and luckily it stayed in service the entire week We also received a fruit basket, replenished every day and robes. The new beds were wonderful.

My parents’ room, navigation deck 023, was very spacious and clean. We had appetizers in there as a family one night and HAL put together quite a spread. It was also nice having a large enough verandah for all 5 of us. No complaints.

Entertainment:

We attended 3 of the shows – the opening night, the first production number and a magician. The magician was decent, the first production number (“Copacabanaâ€) was only good because EVERYONE around us (including my parents) was sleeping and we got a kick out of watching them wake up only long enough to clap for each song, then right back to sleep. It was not an engaging performance.

With an 8:30 dinner seating, I would expect that most of the shows would be after dinner (as the reason we chose a late dinner was so we wouldn’t have to get ready so early). However, less than ½ the shows were at 10 or 10:15. Most were at 6:45. That was probably okay as after the first couple shows, I may not have attended more anyway. My parents/grandmother did go to the 2nd production number and said it was better.

There was no entertainment the last night, which I found unusual.

Suite Perks:

My parents really enjoyed their “suite perks†and didn’t really comment on any of the cutbacks in this area. They made ample use of the “free†laundry service, which is pretty much the main perk besides the obvious – the huge room! The Neptune was just so-so as far as food/appetizers, but the staff was helpful.

Shore Excursions:

I will post a review of my shore excursions in the Alaska board. They were:

Ketchikan – George Inlet Wilderness Crabbing

Sitka – Sea Kayaking

Juneau – Whale Watch, Helicopter/Glacier Trek

Haines – Glacier Point Wilderness Safari

Seward – Kenai Fjords Boat Tour

Gym / Spa:

Facilities were good, exercise classes were a waste of money. The classes were $11 each for a ½ hour class and even the instructor told me I’d be better off using the equipment. The participants were just not of the level where he could teach a challenging class.

Additionally, while the gym is owned by Steiner rather than HAL, there was similarity with the unhappiness of the crew. One of the staff told me he spent hours crying about being stuck in a contract and he couldn’t leave the ship because he wasn’t a US citizen and he had no money to return home. My mother heard similar from the woman who did her nails. (Incidentally, this was a fairly common theme throughout the ship from the non-Filipino, non-Indonesian crew and each time, while they were complaining, they said, we may work 90 hours a week, but the Filipino and Indonesian staff work like slave laborers. It made me really uncomfortable to hear this repeatedly.)

Conclusion:

The cruise was fair. Yes, I’d rather be on any cruise than making my own bed, cooking my own meals, etc.; however, I don’t pay a lot of money to do those things The cost cutting was apparent and was to the point where my family would joke about what we’d have to pay for / be hustled for next (“I’m going to the gym, do you think I should bring quarters for the treadmill?â€) I’m interested to hear Gonnago’s review of the same sailing to see if my opinion is colored by nostalgia for what HAL and cruise lines in general “used to be.†I’m guessing it is. I still believe cruising is the best way to get around, particularly with less mobile family/friends and particularly someplace like Alaska. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Trying Radisson next, stay tuned…

I was on the same cruise and I agree about the lack of naturalist.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> The staff in the Lido/pool area did push the soda cards nearly every time I saw someone the first few days. There was a little pressure after the initial “noâ€, but not unbearable. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This was our HUGE complaint about the bar beverages. I expected to be asked about buying a drink in a lounge, but not elsewhere. We were bombarded by the bar staff. I am wondering if the 15% tip wasn't a big incentive for them.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> the unhappiness of the crew. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>. I can attest to this. Our great head waiter, Made, has just over a month left on his contract. I got the impression he wasn't returning. We were told by staff about the "slave labor". In fact, the CD slept about 3 hours a night and the cabin steward looked exhausted. They work well over 12 hours daily.

Heard one other Lido busboy discussing with two Mariners the unhappiness of the crew with the new tipping policy.

Holland may have a problem, not for sure.

"Thanks to all for your help & advice. Our May 28th cruise was much better for it!"

We will check back later

We will check back later

Check back on ___ ?

Our great head waiter, Made, has just over a month left on his contract. I got the impression he wasn't returning.

He's back, but on the Oosterdam where we were in his section last month. He always found time, each night, to stop by and chat for a moment. He also produced the crew show in his 'spare' time!