Ryndam 2-15-08 Cruise Review

[Rat]

Holland America Ryndam

Mexican Riviera and Sea of Cortez

February 15, 2008

10 Nights

San Diego, sea, sea, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Topolobampo, Loreto, Pichilingue, Cabo San Lucas, sea, San Diego

Our short flight from SFO to SAN was uneventful. After arriving in San Diego, we took a short cab ride from the airport to the cruise terminal. The cost was a reasonable $9.00 plus tip. Being among the first to arrive at 11:00, the luggage drop off area was empty. The porter happily took our luggage and I had to relieve myself of five $1 bills. We checked in right away with no wait but were told that boarding would not commence until 11:30. Also, they said our cabins would not be ready until 1:30. So we took a seat and were given a number. At 11:40, our number was called and we made the journey onto the Ryndam. En route, we were stopped at the photo stand. We plastered on big smiles and had our pictures taken. Finally onboard, we headed straight to the Lido restaurant and surprisingly found it packed with other passengers. What, can these folks be back to back cruisers? We found a table, placed our bags down and headed toward the long buffet line. Since we were hungry, we tried a variety of food items to get a taste of what to expect for the next ten days.

This was our second cruise with Holland America; the first was on the Oosterdam in 2005. On our first experience, we were disappointed with the food and service. The food wasn't bad on the Oosterdam; we thought it wasn't comparable to our Celebrity and Princess dining experiences. To make matter worst, our waiter had a major hygiene problem; body odor. Either he didn't shower or didn't use a deodorant, the smell was simply overbearing. We actually lost our appetite. The waiter also had problems with our dinner orders. He often would give us the wrong entrees. He was forgetful and seemed confused. Maybe he was new, but in hindsight, we should have brought this up to his superiors.

When we booked this cruise, we wanted an ocean view triple. They were sold out and we ended up with an inside on the "A" deck. The cabin was a standard sized, 180 sq ft room with plenty of drawers and cabinets. We had no problems with storage and were able to place the four pieces of empty luggage under the two beds. The bathroom was laid out efficiently with the shower being twice the size of the ones we were accustomed to on Princess ships. Since we were right above crew quarters, noise was a problem due to the crew going in and out of doors at all hours.

There were six port calls on the sailing but we were interested in the ones inside the Sea of Cortez (Topolobampo, Loreto, and Pichilingue). We've never been there before! Having been to the Mexican Riviera (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas) a few times, we weren't sure if we were going to get off the ship at these ports.

Puerto Vallarta – Last time we were here in 2006, DW and DD stayed onboard the ship. This time, we decided to take a cab ($3pp) downtown and walked along the waterfront. We noticed there were quite a few large sand sculptures on display on the beach. They were all beautifully constructed. The proud owners stood by them and of course they all ask for tips from all of us.

We walked in and out of many shops looking to buy gifts for our daughter's friends. Like in the past, there were no items that caught my daughter's eye. We even went to the large flea markets by the river. If you can't find souvenirs in Puerto Vallarta, where can you find them in Mexico? So after a few hours in town, we decided to head back to the ship to play tennis and read.

Mazatlan – Again we were debating if we should go onshore or not. After we docked, we headed to the excursions deck to see what was available. We decided to book a walking tour of the historical district for 35pp. The desk was opened every morning on port days for last-minute passengers like us!

We met at the designated meeting place (Vermeer Lounge) and soon afterwards, headed off the ship to the awaiting open air shuttle. Since the Ryndam docked in an industrial port, we were required to take the tram to the front gate of the port facility. At that point, our group of 22 took a few taxi vans into downtown Mazatlan to begin the tour.

An American born (Sheila) from the state of Washington was our guide. She fell in love with the Mazatlan region and moved down here almost 30 years ago. Our tour started by the coast near the Mazatlan's cliff divers. She pointed out various famous statues as we strolled. We even saw a version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame! The stars embedded in the sidewalk honored famous Mexican celebrities and heroes. We watched the divers for a while and then walked inland.

All of us were getting hungry and the guide brought us to this little bakery. Nothing beats the smell and taste of fresh baked cookies! We were able to tour the small kitchen and observe the lone baker perform his magic. After spending $15 on various pastries and cookies, we headed with the group towards the opera house.

After reaching this site, we noticed it was heavily guarded by soldiers. Apparently there was a joint Mexican/Canadian conference in progress. We were still able to enter the hall after going through a security check. It had such a beautiful interior.

Since it was very warm, our next stop was a cantina! The cantina, located next to the main park, made the atmosphere so much nicer. We had salsa and chips and of course the local Pacifico beer. Musicians played alongside our table; we constantly had to feed the tip bowl.

Our last stop was the Mercado. The area was packed with locals shopping with tourists wandering about. We spent an hour at the Mercado shopping for gifts.

The tour was over and we were herded into the back of pickup taxi. With bench seats with no seatbelts, any quick acceleration would had all eight of us sliding onto the street. We held on for dear life and made it back to the ship safely.

Topolobampo – This was the port for the Copper Canyon train tour. About a third of the ship's passengers were on this 18-hour excursion.

Since we weren't doing the train excursion, we decided to take a cooking class ($29pp) at the Culinary Arts Center. There were six of us plus Christina (HAL party planner) and the Pinnacle Grill head chef. This was something new for HAL and our class was a work in progress. We had full access to the kitchen and utensils. The chef explained what we were going to have for lunch and then we were given recipes to make them. In short, we made ceviche, tortilla chips, salsa, quiche and a pineapple dessert. After we finished making our meals, a waiter brought them up to the Pinnacle Grill where we dined. The class was fun and one of the highlights of our cruise.

Since the ship was in port for 18 hours, we still had plenty of time to explore. There was nothing to see or do near the dock so we ended up taking a $20 cab ride to the town of Los Mochis. It was almost a 25-minute ride on the highway and we were dropped off near the town center. After walking around for an hour and a half, we didn't see any other cruise passengers. There were many street vendors so we just meandered through searching for a bargain. There wasn't much else to do here either and we headed back to our awaiting cab. Our cab driver was happy to see us (must have been a very slow day).

Loreto - This was a tendered port. It was great to visit a sleepy town that has not been spoiled by tourism. It was a short walk along the beautiful waterfront to the historical district. The district reminded me of an old cowboy town. Small shops with locally made goods made our shopping and browsing enjoyable. We saw only a few restaurants. At the town square, a stage was set up where local kids danced for the cruise passengers.

The gorgeous beaches I believe are part of the Mexico's national park system. Uncrowded and unspoiled, they sure were tempting for us!

Pichilingue – The port for La Paz; we took the complimentary shuttle (1/2 hour ride) into town. This town reminded me of how I envisioned Cabo San Lucas of many years ago. It has a beautiful waterfront with a few stores and resorts. We walked around town center and visited a local historical museum. My daughter finally found souvenirs worth buying for her friends. We negotiated back and forth with the vendor for eight magnetic bracelets. I even bought a wrestling mask! J

After taking the shuttle bus back to Pichilingue, we visited the local vendors at dockside. Most items were of the locally made variety which was nice.

There was also dockside entertainment for the passengers. This time we had Indian dancers. They performed high energy type native dances; I was tired for them! After all this ended, the Port of Pichilingue held a treasure hunt for the cruise passengers. They placed a bunch of black colored Xs on the floor and whoever found the specially marked one would win a treasure chest. Well, I found the special X and won the treasure chest! Inside the chest was locally made necklace, ear rings, a small bottle of alcohol, variety of food items. I finally won something!

Cabo San Lucas – Our last stop, this was a tender port. After receiving our tender numbers, we had to wait over an hour to board one. This was due to the noro virus outbreak and the tender had to be sanitized after each trip. Finally ashore, my DW and DD took the water taxi to Lover's Beach to sunbath while I had lunch at the Shrimp Factory. I've been to this restaurant many times and have always ordered the ½ kilo of the large boiled shrimp. Along with guacamole and chips and a Corona, this is as close as heaven I'll ever get. After lunch, I just walked around and waited for my family to arrive back from the beach.

Rotterdam dining - We had traditional late dining (8:00pm) at the Rotterdam restaurant. Our four-top table #45 was on the second level starboard tucked away near the exit. It was a great location because it was less noisy. Our waiter Ari had four tables and he did an excellent job serving us. Efficient and friendly, Ari was so much better than the other waiter we had on the Oosterdam. Our assistant waiter whose name I can't pronounce or even attempt to spell was also outstanding.

Overall, we found the dining room food to be comparable to Celebrity and at times better. We especially love the soups served on HAL. This sailing was no exception. If there was a weakness, it had to be the desserts. The crème brulee was runny and left a funny aftertaste. We didn't care for some of the various chocolate cakes.

Lido Restaurant – We dined at the Lido for breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, we were served the standard fare, but it always stayed warm, thanks to the lids on the plates. I really enjoyed their standard scrambled eggs. They weren't crumbly and unlike other cruise lines, they were scrambled in small portions.

For lunch, we enjoyed the various selections offered at the Lido. From Asian to pasta and everything in between, we tried most dishes. We never encountered a bad dish.

Entertainment - We went to see all the shows on this cruise. This is not the norm for us as we usually only go half the time. There were three production shows, (Club Nevada, Street Singin' and the Hits of Broadway). All were very good. The cast consisted of four singers; two of each sex, seven dancers total, of which four were girls.

Other shows included comedy ventriloquist Ken Groves, illusionist Chuck Jones, jugular Barnaby, singer Brenda Cochrane and comedian Jeff Burghart.

The Ryndam Experience – The ship is on the smaller size; 55,000 tons and carrying approximately 1200 passengers. On our sold out sailing (President's Week), we were surprised not to be overwhelmed with kids! As a matter of fact, we didn't see any of them for the first couple of days. J There were probably no more than 25 kids on the cruise. By our estimation, the average age for our sailing was 65+.

The 14 year old Ryndam was in excellent shape! The soft goods in the theater and lounges were not worn out or stained. The decks and railings were also in great shape. The Ryndam was in better shape than most of the newer cruise ships we've been on!

The crew of the Ryndam was the friendliest we've ever encountered. The greeters at both the Rotterdam and Lido restaurants would greet us by our names daily! How the heck they know our names? We felt like VIPs!

Noro virus struck the ship on day six. Approximately 120 passengers reported their illness to the doctor. Who knows how many didn't; causing the virus to spread quickly. We were under code red conditions, no salt and pepper shakers, food served to you at the buffet, certain venues closed including the library. We were very fortunate not to contract the virus. There were quite a few cabins near ours quarantined.

Final thoughts – After our first experience with HAL, we thought we'll never sail with them again. Thanks to our latest experience on the Ryndam, we have to admit they redeemed themselves. We enjoyed the HAL experience so much so that we purchased an open booking. We can see HAL being our line of choice. Even with the virus outbreak, we would rate our overall experience a 9 out of 10.

[JoeyandDavid]

Ray thanks for a detailed review... I agree I would have mentioned something to the Maître'D about my server

[cruisetarp]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us through your great review Ray. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[rogue]

Thanks for sharing, Ray. I'm happy you enjoyed the cruise.

[lashl]

Thanks for the review Ray. It was very interesting. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

[Lisa63]

Thank you for the great review, Ray! We'd love to do this cruise someday.

[mercedes]

Thanks for a great review.

[KeithnRita]

Thanks for the very nice review, Ray!

[hazelson]

Ray - super review. Sounds like and interesting itinerary.

[TheSkipper]

Thanks Ray, I've been waiting for your review as you know. Thinking of this ship for our next group cruise, but I have seen some less than reviews regarding the food and the last thing I want to do is have 50 0r 60 people on my case for less than good food. Your review makes me feel better about the Ryndam.

So, it is still in the running along with the Princess ship out of San Pedro. Will let you know when I finally make a selection.