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

RetiredMustang

By RetiredMustang,
in Holland America Line

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Floridiana

Floridiana

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I see you've booked 2/6 on the Maasdam next year - I like those dates but am wondering about St. Vincent's...any idea what that's like? I'd like to see St. Croix and St. Kitts so it sounds like a good itinerary.

 

 

St. Vincent is mountainous similar to St. Lucia and Grenada. It's a rustic island which I love. We took a walking tour into the rainforest, very steep trail. I wish I had brought a walking stick. Next time, I would walk through the town and up to the Botanical Garden.

 

People who go to the Carribbean for shopping should get their fix on other islands. The pier has a few shops, one of them carries bottles of St.Vincent's water. The band in the shopping area had cans instead of drums, very interesting and good music.

 

I was there in November 2010 on the Grand Princess.

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RetiredMustang

RetiredMustang

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Dave, I've enjoyed your posts and especially the pictures. I'm anxious to see how they do the Mix on the Maasdam. If you can, I would love to see a picture of the piano bar and how it opens onto the Mix. Enjoy the second half of your cruise.

 

Carol,

The MIX is arranged with the beer area forward (roughly where the casino bar and part of the sports bar used to be), with the cocktail/martini lounge next, and then what used to be the piano bar, with the piano in the middle, the small champagne bar aft, and another seating area behind the piano. I've taken some photos that perhaps will help.

In the first one, I was standing to the right of the piano, looking a bit forward. The chairs with the yellow backs are at the martini bar. Just to the left of the bar person is a wooden half-wall that separates out the beer area. Behind him is the main passageway and beyond that part of the shops. http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/Ryndam_MIX_piano_area_1.JPG

　

In the second one, I was standing to the left and a bit behind the piano. TO the left is part of the martini bar, to the right seating for the champagne area. You can clearly see the passageway and shops beyond. Further on to the left is the beer area. http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/Ryndam_MIX_piano_area_2.JPG

　

In the third one, I was standing near the passageway shooting back toward the piano and the seating area beyond. The martini bar is at the right rear. http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/Ryndam_MIX_piano_area_3.JPG

　

In the fourth shot, I was standing in the beer area, shooting aft a bit. To the right is the martini bar, beyond which is a seating area for the piano bar area. The piano is in front of the curtain in center photo. To the left, with the very high-back chairs, is a seating area for the champagne bar area (if you look closely, you'll see someone seated in that area). http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/Ryndam_MIX_piano_area_4.JPG

Sorry if the photos are dark -- my camera just doesn't have much power to push a flash very far (which is why I haven't posted photos of some areas of the ship, such as the show lounge).

Hope this helps orient you,

Dave

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RetiredMustang

RetiredMustang

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Monday, Feb. 14, Key West

Today began bright and sunny, and warmer than Tampa had been, but still cooler than we would have preferred. But, the sun was shining through mostly clear skies, and it promised to be a fine day in the keys.

We exercised and walked the deck, showered, had breakfast, and then went to the Explorations Cafe to have a latte and chat with Joanna, who had been an attentive server for us in the Ocean Bar on the previous cruise, but was now assigned to the coffee bar at the Explorations Cafe. Many of the bar staff had swtiched places, as did the dining room staff -- we havea new dining steward and assistant this cruise. Luckily, we knew that the crew does swap now and then, and had tipped our previous dining room stewards before the end of the first cruise. Our stateroom stewards are the same, as are the conscierges in the Neptune Lounge.

Then, I finally finished that Agatha Christie paperback (staying awake this time). We had a bit of lunch in the Lido, and then returned to our cabin to watch the approach and docking at Key West. I got a cell phone signal then, and we called a couple of people to check in with them and let them know we were fine. I have noticed that I do not get a cell phone signal when we are away from port, so I presume that Ryndam does not have a repeater like Eurodam and Noordam have had our last couple of cruises. I am still able to check email via the onboard internet (MTN) dome, so someone could get word to us.

We passed the Zachary Taylor state park beach, which had several people enjoying the fine weather, passed a U.S. Navy cruiser berthed at the Navy pier (USS Monterey, CG-61), and the MSC Poesia docked at berth B. We pulled into Mallory Square as we had last week. We were tied up and cleared a bit before our scheduled 1 p.m. DW and I set out to wander and shop. We encountered many people, from the MSC ship we presume, speaking SPanish, French, etc.

We first went to the sponge market stalls and an adjacent small enclosed market to find post cards. We then asked where to find the store DW wnted to check out called something like Calihoa that specialized in clothing and fabrics made from bamboo. It turned out that it was in the first floor of the Westin hotel, behind the red-brick musuem. It had a door to the outside; you did not have to enter the Westin to find the store. There were several other shops as well. I was intrigued, never having heard of bamboo T-shirts before, so I cheefully went along. The clothing was extremely soft and smooth and felt like it would be very comfortable. The bed sheets they had on display were likewise, and very tempting. The prices were pretty high compared to cotton clothing, but it might be fun to have a shirt or two of the material, although we decided against it, primarily because they did not have anything in our sizes that were red.

We were shopping for red shirts or nice tops or dresses for DW to wear for Valentine's Day aboard the Ryndam. It was not formal night, so the red bow tie/cummerbund set and the black gown (for DW, not for me) that we had packed were not on, so we were looking for something appropriate in red and/or black. We can wear our formal gear on Tuesday, the first sea day, which is scheduled for formal night, but we wanted to try at least to find something for the 14th.

We went to Duval Street and looked in a great many other shops, and found several shirts bearing writings along the lines of "I'm with stupid" or much ruder -- which in some cases were pretty amusing, but not something to wear to dinner on board. The nicer clothing just didn't seem to be the right color or right size, so we ended up giving up on the search and went to one of the multitude of bars and got a drink. We chose one that had a table near a large open window so we could enjoy the pleasant breezes and watch people go by. DW wrote greetings on the post cards she had bought, and we walked a couple of blocks to the post office (clearly marked on the map the ship provided) and mailed them.

We then resumed our modified Duval Crawl, checking out the occasional store, looking at menus (but not really being hungry), and I shopped for candies to take back to the office. I found some key lime flavored salt water taffy, and some similarly-flavored jelly beans. We passed on the piece of key lime pie dipped in chocolate that we saw on offer now and then. (Although I have had one before, and it is good.)

We came back aboard and spent what remained of the afternoon on our balcony, which once again overlooked Mallory Square and enjoyed the fine sunny warm weather. We then changed (but not into anything red, darn it) and went in to dinner. The ship had decorated the dining room and entrance with red and white, and had a banner wishing us happy Valentine's Day. There were also a few specials, like flowers for sale and a dance/ball later in the evening.

After dinner, we did a bit of slots time, and then went to listen to the strings, but the word has gotten out and all the seats were taken! So we listed a bit while standing to the side, but gave it up after a short while. Looks like if we want a seat, we need to be there earlier next time!

More later,

Dave

Edited by RetiredMustang
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ironin

ironin

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Well, actually I use the "borrow" a copy of the menu from the MIX and do a real fast re-type method. Luckily, I can type quickly and reasonably accurately from reading a page. (And, yes, I did take the menu back to the MIX).

 

Dave

 

Wow, Dave. In that case, your outstanding typing skills are outshone only by your impressive commitment of time while aboard. Thanks so much for sharing all the menus, etc.

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innlady1

innlady1

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St. Vincent is mountainous similar to St. Lucia and Grenada. It's a rustic island which I love. We took a walking tour into the rainforest, very steep trail. I wish I had brought a walking stick. Next time, I would walk through the town and up to the Botanical Garden.

 

People who go to the Carribbean for shopping should get their fix on other islands. The pier has a few shops, one of them carries bottles of St.Vincent's water. The band in the shopping area had cans instead of drums, very interesting and good music.

 

I was there in November 2010 on the Grand Princess.

 

Thanks for answering so quickly, Dave! We don't go for the shopping...except to bring back a few trinkets for our granddaughters...this time some local handcrafted (and inexpensive!) jewelry from the islands - we go to enjoy the warm weather, the beaches, and the local culture. I was more concerned with the crime aspect as Fred had read something about that. Not a problem?

Edited by innlady1
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Seamo

Seamo

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Good evening Dave and to your Lovely Wife,

 

Dave, we thank you ... 10+ ... for your unselfish, time consuming HELP of others ( mainly us lurkers -- awaiting our turn on Ryndam ). BRAVO!!! Really ... is GREAT HELP!!

 

A transatlantic repositioning is in our star charts ... and ... one of the strongest pulls to "make that happen " was a brochure we received that said the Ryndam has a

string group playing several times per day and AT THE DINING ROOM during dinner!!!

And ... they will be aboard on the trans-repositioning................

 

Is this true??? Any Pics of those folks ? ( pretty -- please ) Your Post is a reflection upon you ... and what a fine image it is ...!!! Thank You.

 

Seamo

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ricki

ricki

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Many thanks, Dave, for the photos and for continuing to take us along on your cruise. You can see how many people appreciate your photos and commentary!

 

We board on Sunday, so please leave the ship in good shape for us!:D:D:D

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Ricki

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RetiredMustang

RetiredMustang

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Tuesday, Feb. 15, at sea

A pretty relaxing day at sea, with several activities on board, but mostly we just got lazy after our morning walking of the deck. We had another coffee at the Explorations Cafe, and looked through the HAL brochure of grand and exotic voyages that we got from the future cruise diretor's display. We found several that we plan to book as soon as we get home and cash in that winning lottery ticket.

At 11:30, we went to the special Indonesian luncheon for Collector's Cruise guests in the dining room. We were seated and served, unlike the buffet on Noordam. Free wine was offered as well. Here is the menu:

Appetizer

Gado Gado - A refreshing green salad with tofu, steamed green beans and hard boiled eggs tossed with creamy peanut dressing.

Soto Ayam - Lemon grass and lime leaf flavored Indonesian chicken soup with glass noodles finished with a hint of coconut milk.

Entree

Indonesia Reijsttafel - A traditional Indonesia style lunch consisting of Oven Baked Indonesian spice rubbed chicken leg, beef Sumatra, Stae, Chopped Omelet, and Indonesian fried rice served with pickles and scallions.

Compuran - Condiments

Krupuk - Shrimp crackers

Sambal Katjang - Peanut sauce

Sambal Pedas - Sharp chili sauce

Ketjap - Soy sauce

Dessert - Rice pudding

The meal was excellent! The entree included the fried rice called nasi goreng, and also included a bit of fried banana. The dish called nasi goreng sometimes appears on the dinner menu, and it includes the chicken leg, beef, rice, banana and slices of omelet. I almost always order it when it is available. I usually pass on the sambal pedas, though, as that is weapons grade heat.

We also used to get the krupuk as part of the hors d'oeuvres in the bar before dinner, but it has been a while since we've gotten them.

For the afternoon we just wandered a bit, read, played the slots, had a cappucino, etc. Then we dressed into formal wear for dinner. I put on my bright red cummerbund and tie and DW her long black gown that we had packed in anticipation of Valentine's Day being the formal night. Turns out, we weren't the only ones, as there were quite a large number of fellow passengers wearing formal red and black.

The dinner was the Captain's Gala Dinner, and DW and I were happy to see on the menu what is perhaps our favorite dish on HAL -- osso bucco Milanese. It is a dish of veal shanks slowly braised for a long time in white wine, tomatoes and aromatic vegetables, served on HAL over mushroom risotto with some reduced sauces. In past cruise blogs, I have mentioned the dish, and some readers were not familiar with it. This time, I took a picture: http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/514/Ryndam_osso_bucco.JPG

After dinner, we once again went to the Explorer's Lounge to listen to the strings. TO answer a question, they had played in an alcove in the main dining room upper level during our dinner, and we presume they did the same during late seating. They had played there on a formal night last cruise as well (and had played in the atrium area to greet guests arriving on board in Tampa). They were kind of hard to hear in the dining room, since the diners were making a lot of noise in conversation, but it was a nice touch to have them, I thought. As I memtioned before, my camera's flash has a hard time lighting up much in a large room, but I got adark shot of them in the Explorer's lounge that may give you a little bit of a view: http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/Ryndam_string_quartet.JPG I'll try to get a better picutre later in the cruise.

When we turned in, we found that we had an extra hour of sleep, as we set the clocks back to conform with Honduras time -- we visit Mohagany Bay on Roatan island on Wednesday.

More later,

Dave

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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Good evening Dave and to your Lovely Wife,

 

Dave, we thank you ... 10+ ... for your unselfish, time consuming HELP of others ( mainly us lurkers -- awaiting our turn on Ryndam ). BRAVO!!! Really ... is GREAT HELP!!

 

A transatlantic repositioning is in our star charts ... and ... one of the strongest pulls to "make that happen " was a brochure we received that said the Ryndam has a

string group playing several times per day and AT THE DINING ROOM during dinner!!!

And ... they will be aboard on the trans-repositioning................

 

Is this true??? Any Pics of those folks ? ( pretty -- please ) Your Post is a reflection upon you ... and what a fine image it is ...!!! Thank You.

 

Seamo

 

when we were on the ryndam not too long ago -- the adogio strings played in the explorer's lounge in the evenings -- usually started at 6 or 7 pm -- they also played some evenings in the dining room -- our were a group of 4 young women

the adogio strings are on all hal ships -- on the vista and signature ships they do not play in the dining room

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Seamo

Seamo

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Dave, the Retired Mustang and Krazy Kruizers,

 

We extend our 'Thank You' to both. The trans-Atlantic Ryandam is 21 days

Tampa-Rotterdam and whilst we are the "mature" sailors [who enjoy a little rowdy interlude here and there] ... we would prefer, most times, to live the 'gentile and calm' ... as we had when on the Zuiderdam (1/2 pan-am canal) and in a suite such Dave is now enjoying.

The string quartet made that trip a real treat.

 

Thank you again for the picture and the info.

 

waiting our chance to , Seamo

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AtlantaCruiser72

AtlantaCruiser72

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Dave -

 

Thanks for all the great Ryndam info - I will be doing the Ryndam April 3rd and your details are really helpful in me planning my time aboard :D

 

2 Spa related questions .....

 

What is the price for the week-long Thermal Suite pass?

 

Are there Sauna/Steam rooms available for use w/o buying a pass to the Thermal Suites?

 

And a Canaletto question - is the menu the same every night or does it change daily?

 

Many Thanks - Scott A Miller

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