Dave’s Live from Ryndam Southern Caribbean Feb 16 – March 2, 2014

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Dave

Just catching up on the cruise we missed.

I hope you don't mind but I copied and pasted one of your pictures showing the dining times -- of course I noted that it was from your thread. There was a thread about how early HAL is starting the fixed dining times.

[wanderlust268]

Thanks for the information. It didn't look like a house wine was offered by the glass on the wine menu. I'm good with either a Merlot or Cab. - both sound good to me!

 

House Merlot & House Cabernet Sauvignon are under $7. They're by Vina Santa Carolina of Chile. I've seen people post that those wines are no good, but the wine magazines I read give them mid to upper 80s on a 100 point scale. That equates to Good to Very Good. The Cabernet has been the better of the two, ratings wise.

[Linden Lea]

Thank-you Retired Mustang for providing us with so much information about the Ryndam. :)

 

We are taking a cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Dover( 27 days) April 6th and so I was curious to see how the ship compared to the Statendam which we've traveled on quite extensively - about 100 days in all. I see it's an exact copy and the meals are just the same too. I do so love HAL's soups and like the plainer everyday dinner choice - the chicken, 6oz steak etc. http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a485/retiredmustang1/Ryndam%202014/17Febmenu1_zps878e6471.jpg

 

Hilary

[RetiredMustang]

Hi Dave

 

Just catching up on the cruise we missed.

 

I hope you don't mind but I copied and pasted one of your pictures showing the dining times -- of course I noted that it was from your thread. There was a thread about how early HAL is starting the fixed dining times.

 

Good to hear from you! By all means, you are welcome to take info and share on other threads -- sharing info is why I do these blogs. I saw the thread about wine prices and posted to it, but must have missed the one about dining times. Yes, they are 5:15 and 7:45, and we were told this is fleet wide. As you know, we are early people, so the earlier dining time doesn't bother us. And, I suspect what with the three show times, more people are able to dine and see the show now.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 22, Antigua (cont.)

We returned to the ship, showered and shampooed the salt water out of our (OK, mostly just DW’s, as I have very little) hair. We then lounged on our balcony until about 4, when we went for a pre-dinner drink, and then into dinner at 5:15. Here are the dinner menus:

I had the tempura shrimp for starter:

For entrée, we both had prime rib again (no photo – it looked the same as the first night). We then looked at the dessert menu:

But we decided nothing really appealed, so we passed on dessert.

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sunday, Feb. 23, St. Lucia

Yesterday was St. Lucian independence day, and today is Sunday, so not much is likely to be open. So, we have booked a ship’s excursion called “Nature’s Wonders” that includes a visit to the Lushan Country Life attraction. We had not heard of that before on our several previous visits to St. Lucia, so we thought we would give it a try. I’ll report later.

Here are the info sheets on St. Lucia from the Explorer:

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

Here are photos of today’s program:

More later,

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

Good to hear from you! By all means, you are welcome to take info and share on other threads -- sharing info is why I do these blogs. I saw the thread about wine prices and posted to it, but must have missed the one about dining times. Yes, they are 5:15 and 7:45, and we were told this is fleet wide. As you know, we are early people, so the earlier dining time doesn't bother us. And, I suspect what with the three show times, more people are able to dine and see the show now.

 

Dave

 

 

Thanks Dave

It is hard finding threads since the "search" was disabled.

We are also early dinners but 5:15 is too early. JMO

[catl331]

I am having a ball playing a game called "Guess what Dave will have for dinner Tonight"! I don't do well on your desserts but carrying a good score on the Entrees. Then I play "What would I eat". 100 percent on that one!

[RuthC]

We then looked at the dessert menu:

But we decided nothing really appealed, so we passed on dessert.

 

You didn't want the cappuccino bomb? :eek: Then couldja order one for me??? Please?

[Copper10-8]

........................More later,

Dave

 

If you go to the show and get "picked" by Bob Arno, watch your wrist watch, your belt, any jewelry, your shirt, just about everything you have on, or in your pockets............he's fast! ;) Continue to enjoy your voyage Dave! Enjoying the comprehensive review! :)

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

We sailed into Castries harbor before 8, passing the cruise ship pier area of Pointe Seraphine:

We turned in the basin and started backing in. It became clear that we would be morring at the Carrenage in downtown, while the Princess ship that was behind us was pulling into Pointe Seraphine.

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

We were one of the several tours leaving about 8:30. We drove through Castries and out north along highways and narrow roads. After about 25 minutes, we arrived at the Lushan Country Life center, a museum and nature center that showcases St. Lucia’s flora and birds, and recreates what life on the island was like before modern technology.

We were given walking sticks, and set out with a guide along a rough trail:

The trail was not really that difficult, and there was very little elevation change, so it was more of a stroll than a hike, although the sticks helped steady a step now and then.

They had a good many signs explaining the trees:

and our guide elaborated on some, such as the cocoa and coconut palm. They had an area where they had feeders set up for a bird sanctuary:

And we saw several birds, but I was never quick or agile enough to catch one in a photo. The many flowering plants stayed still, though, and I was able to get a shot:

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

After a short walk, we went to a recreated house of the 1800s or so, where a woman who said to call her Mum discussed life in such a house:

She and her granddaughter had fried some cod fritters and small bread pieces, which our guide offered to us to try (they were delicious, as you can probably tell from the fact that my fellow tourists had snarfed most of them before it was my turn to try):

As we left the house, the granddaughter was frying larger pieces of bread in a traditional way (although the metal utensils are probably not traditional):

We then went to a place where our guide demonstrated husking and opening a coconut, offering us a taste of the water and of the flesh. Afterwards, we went to a small covered area, where our guide offered us tastes of local fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit and mangos. He also showed us several of the local fruit and seeds, including a ripe cocoa pod, a calabash, tamarind seeds, etc.:

Our last stop was at what our guide described as a recreated hut from the time of the Carib, Arawak and Taino natives:

We then had a glass of juice and re-boarded the bus. We then took a windshield tour of the town of Gros Islet and nearby Rodney Bay resort. We passed the cathedral at Gros Islet, but as it was Sunday, mass was being celebrated, so of course we were unable to tour it. We then returned to the port, arriving back on board Ryndam about 11:15.

All in all, this was an interesting excursion, and well worth the time spent – we enjoyed ourselves and we learned a bit as well.

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

You didn't want the cappuccino bomb? :eek: Then couldja order one for me??? Please?

 

Oh, no, we've horrified Ruth!:D Sorry, we love drinking cappuccino and we like ice cream, but just don't seem to care for coffee-flavored ice cream. If it had been a dark chocolate bomb, we might have gone for it. (But, you know, after a week of all that rich wonderful food, it is sometimes nice to give a rest now and then.:))

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

If you go to the show and get "picked" by Bob Arno, watch your wrist watch, your belt, any jewelry, your shirt, just about everything you have on, or in your pockets............he's fast! ;) Continue to enjoy your voyage Dave! Enjoying the comprehensive review! :)

 

Yeah, we've discussed that -- we decided that if we go, we will sit no closer than the fourth row ... of the balcony!

 

Dave

[Copper10-8]

Yeah, we've discussed that -- we decided that if we go, we will sit no closer than the fourth row ... of the balcony!

 

Dave

 

Good move! I forgot about ties; watch that one closely also; He likes to swipe those! ;)

Edited February 23, 2014 by Copper10-8

[hpf]

Oh, no, we've horrified Ruth!:D Sorry, we love drinking cappuccino and we like ice cream, but just don't seem to care for coffee-flavored ice cream. If it had been a dark chocolate bomb, we might have gone for it. (But, you know, after a week of all that rich wonderful food, it is sometimes nice to give a rest now and then.:))

 

Dave

 

Oh, those "Bomb's" are so delicious. We liked them so much and raved about them and then the next night our waiter didn't bring us a menu but brought a bomb for everyone at our table. (On the Prinsendam)

 

I am really enjoying your post's. Thanks for keeping us all up to date.

 

Helen:)

[erewhon]

Enjoying all your posts.

 

5.15 for first dinner seems very early. Do you know why so early?

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

We cast off from Castries about 3 p.m. and set sail down the coast of St. Lucia to pick up passengers at Soufriere. There were several villages along the coast, and sailboats were sailing in the sun:

At one point, I took a panorama of the coast:

Outside Soufriere, we turned and headed back inland, toward the Pitons:

The two Pitons are the iconic emblem of St. Lucia:

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

We went in to dinner as we were maneuvering near Soufriere. At one point, we could hear the winches hoisting the tenders back aboard. Shortly thereafter, we set sail for Curacao, which we are scheduled to visit Feb. 25.

Here are the dinner menus:

I had the cioppino for starter:

Followed by the braised short ribs:

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Feb. 23, St. Lucia (Cont.)

Here is the dessert menu:

I ordered a light one – orange sherbet:

After dinner, we attended the show, and it was both very funny, and educational – Bob Arno showed how easy it was for a pro to pick your pocket, or take your watch (or tie, or suspenders, etc.)

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Monday, Feb. 24, at sea

After four ports in four days, we now have a relaxing sea day as we proceed toward Curacao. Here are the photos of today’s program:

More later,

Dave

[1of4]

Enjoy your sea day. I notice it will be 27 today....if I close my eyes I can almost remember what that feels like.:)

 

Thanks for posting. I enjoy reading and seeing your adventure.

[Mtn2Sea]

I'm enjoying your live review. It brings back a lot of fond memories of our recent cruise on the Ryndam. We certainly enjoyed our sea day after four straight port days.