Holland America Line

MS Ryndam

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Operator: Holland America Line
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1994 / 2004
Length / Tonnage: 719 / 55,819
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 630 / 1,260
Officers / Crew: Dutch / Indo / Filipino
Operating Area: Caribbean, Panama Canal
Telephone / Fax: Tel 130 2562 / Fax 130 6563

A RYNDAM built in 1902 brought plenty of immigrants to America and a second RYNDAM built in 1952 catered for the burgeoning postwar tourist class trade. You might say that the second RYNDAM ushered in a whole new era of tourist oriented ships while making quite a hefty contribution to the modern concept of a cruise ship. Today a new RYNDAM sails the seas and this new ship is quite unlikely to carry either a single emigrant nor a tourist class passenger. Sister of the brilliant STATENDAM, MAASDAM and VEENDAM, this RYNDAM is a big, classy ship and in fact she may be more than the equal of her slightly older sisters STATENDAM and MAASDAM because the RYNDAM is simply the most beautiful ship I have ever seen (and including the 8 I worked in among the 71 ships I have sailed in, I've been aboard over 300 ships). Any cruise in her reconfirms Holland America Line's commitment to their "Tradition of Excellence" and this magnificent, spotlessly clean behemoth rides the seas easily indeed. Hers is the sophisticated atmosphere of a great liner in a modern setting, exquisitely executed and oh so comfortable! Like each of her trendy sisters she, too, boasts a $2 million antiques and art collection. Rest assured that she will stimulate your senses and mind, coddle and comfort your body.

Bars and lounges here are as distinctive as those on the sister ships, only prettier. Vast and shiny is the two deck high Vermeer Lounge where most entertainments and Captain's Cocktail Parties are held. Undoubtedly the most successful of the recent two story show lounges aboard cruise ships, the Vermeer Lounge is both truly a lounge and a showroom. Perhaps it is the skillfully executed decor of this big room, for despite its size the warm brown of the upholstery and several other decorative choices imbue the intimate feeling of a beautiful Dutch Bruine Kroeg, a "Brown Cafe", those places so central to nightlife in the Netherlands. Wonderful and hardly as controversially decorated than the same room in the STATENDAM is the Crow's Nest. High atop the ship on Sport's Deck with a 320 degree view through its walls of windows, it's a wonderful place to sit and drink, read, eat hors d'oeuvres and late at night, dance. Cocktail hour crowds come here, or go to the Piano Bar or the Ocean Bar where a quartet plays dance music. The combo playing there was simply top-rate! At 9:00 PM the Rosario Strings play in the Explorers Lounge where a refined atmosphere almost calls for formal wear! Stop in for cognac or a specialty coffee or do what I do - head straight for the selection of delicious, fresh chocolates, artfully served here nightly. With a cinema, Java Cafe for afternoon coffee, Library, card room, shops, terraces, promenade spaces, you won't be bored.

The ROTTERDAM Dining Room in the RYNDAM is stunningly beautiful yet embracingly warm. Based on blues as opposed to the fiery reds in her sisters, the RYNDAM's duplex dining room truly coddles you. Make an entrance on either of two decks - the pair of curving staircases within allows you to make a grande descente if you are seated downstairs. Tables are widely spaced and the noise level very low. Depending upon demand, smokers are seated in the upper section of this room where floor to ceiling windows on both decks provide fabulous views and wonderful lighting. Our only complaint about the food aboard the RYNDAM when we sailed in her this February was this: The food is SO good we could hardly stop eating! Not only that, she is one of the world's BEST Indonesian restaurants, so, if you prefer that cooking above all else, as I do, let the dining room staff know and they will do the rest.

Breakfast and lunch are served at open sittings though most passengers take lunch from the buffets in the Lido Cafe and the Hamburger Bar. And why not? The set luncheon menus in the Dining Room are extensive, but the Lido luncheons served daily aboard the RYNDAM are panoplies of food. Offerings seem endless and include a full hot and cold buffet, a deli/pasta and occasionally Oriental food bar, a grill for the ever popular burgers and franks, complimented by special sausages of the day and even a lighter fare salad and low calorie buffet. Don't let that last fool you. It's located between the very popular ice cream bar on one side and the dessert carts on the other! Dinners are served at two sittings and the menus are geared to American tastes, but frequent theme buffets like Indonesian and Filipino buffets satisfy cravings for exotica while the ship's European cooks show off their skills at Dutch Night and French and German buffets during the voyage. There's even a Japanese buffet one night! It should come as no surprise that the RYNDAM offers some of the best food at sea.

We like all the Holland America touches - especially the bellman ringing chimes to announce dinner while circulating through the ship's public areas with a small chime and much appreciated the live music played from the orchestra platform in the dining room.

On the other hand I can do without the cartoon noise on the PA welcoming me and some 600 other guests to the Rotterdam Dining Room on sailing night...and I know I am not the only one who has seen the hokey flaming baked Alaska procession once too often. And mine is by no means the only voice that cries out against that of an insipid Cruise Director whose unwelcome intrusion over the PA in the dining room shatters the mood so painstakingly imbued by this line. Chefs do their best work in a kitchen and I don't like to see them parading through the dining room to illustrate the cruise director's summer camp style speech.

A hotel service charge of US $10 per passenger is automatically added to each guest's shipboard account on a daily basis. Passengers can adjust this amount at the end of the cruise by visiting the hotel manager's desk. A 15% service charge is automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine purchases.

The RYNDAM has the expected recreational facilities. High up in the ship and commanding premium views forward is the large spa and gym. Though weight training equipment does not satisfy the needs for serious workouts (and doesn't on most ships for that matter), a bit of improvisation will allow you a good session and the aerobics room is large and airy. Segregated by gender, the sauna/steamrooms are exceptional. Way up top is a jogging track, so isolated from cabins and other activities that thudding footfalls of runners will upset no one. Swim in one of two pools - one aft surrounded by nice deck space or in the midships pool or bask in one of three nearby whirlpools under the retractable dome on Lido Deck. At matinee time and evening showing in the 249 seat cinema, there's hot popcorn for the asking and the video library (for use of passengers occupying suites and cabins deluxe) boasts some 500 selections. The library is well stocked with reference and travel books while the nearby card room accommodates 48 players at a time. Days at sea are complimented by the usual range of activities but a snooze on a comfortable pad on a wooden deck chair on the Lower Promenade deck can be quite compelling, especially when anticipating one of the ship's numerous shore excursions.

Everything said about the STATENDAM, MAASDAM and VEENDAM cabins applies here so here it is again. Attractively decorated in warm earth tones are all 633 cabins and suites. Top of the line among the ship's accommodations is the penthouse. And what a place it is. These digs cover about 1,100 square feet and is actually a modern apartment with terrace, living room, dining room, bedroom and two baths. It even comes with its own butler's pantry. Off the bedroom is a separate dressing room but if you book this one, there is no need to go out - EVER - so why bring many clothes? Mounted on the wall over the oversized whirlpool tub in the master bath, the water faucet is a bronze lion's head! Not only that, the penthouse aboard the RYNDAM is exquisitely decorated. But let's be more practical and look at the more accessible accommodations. Prized by passengers for the special perks of the Line's suite life program and their 563 square feet of space are the ship's 28 suites, ultramodern rooms with large private verandas. If you want a suite and like shade over your private deck - ask for Suite # 30 or 45.

Grand indeed - and my favorite accommodations aboard these ships I so favor - are the 120 deluxe category A and B cabins. At 284 square feet (including veranda), each comes with its own VCR, minibar, and sitting area and, like the suites, bathrooms are equipped with whirlpool tubs. If it's plenty of private deck space you're after, the 2 aftermost category B cabins - # 225 and 220, are particularly fine buys for their longer private balconies. But most numerous are the 336 outside and 148 inside standard cabins and these rooms really deserve the lion's share of praise. Designed for the long haul traveler, they are probably the best standard cabins at sea. Each is roomy enough for a sitting area and comes equipped with ample storage space for a month long cruise. We very much liked the fluffy pillows on each bed and the variety of cabin lights. Of course every cabin has its own bathroom, all outsides but the four rooms for the handicapped have tubs, insides showers only and all have a hair dryer. Passengers appreciate the line's thick bath and hand towels (more for the asking), complimentary fine soaps, shampoos and ginseng body lotion beautifully packaged with miniature reproductions of vintage Holland America posters. There really isn't a bad cabin aboard these ships but naturally, some are more desirable to many travelers than others. If you want a flood of sunlight and demand total privacy, avoid the Lower Promenade Deck cabins because these are set back from the ship's sides and some strollers try to peek in. One way glass does not always make the occupant invisible so you might want to keep the curtains drawn.

Cabins to consider booking are those in Category F, identical to the more expensive C cabins but all are located midships. If you want the best bargain aboard and want an outside cabin for the price of an inside room, book any of the I grade cabins on Lower Promenade Deck, except the two forwardmost. The 12 other I grade rooms, identical to higher priced category C cabins next door, have picture windows but lack a sea view. That's why they are sold as inside cabins. Speaking of inside cabins, we looked at cabin 565, a Category K room and were amazed at how big and well appointed it is.

The RYNDAM attracts the same kind of experienced cruise passengers who prefer their cruises refined with a gracious elegance rather than loud parties and raucous entertainment. An older crowd generally but plenty of people of all ages here. During spring and summer cruises to Alaska there are special shore excursions for kids as well as those limited to teens so more and more families are booking Holland America Alaska cruises and quite rightly! There's much for most people here. Nearly everyone loves the Indonesian and Filipino service crew.

The RYNDAM works the 10 day "Seafarer" route from Fort Lauderdale to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Thomas (with a service call at St. John's early that morning for beachgoers to get off) and Nassau. In April she sails for the Panama Canal and Vancouver where she takes her place in the 7 day Alaska trade.

On a negative note...one few other passengers will share - When a company builds a ship as perfect as this one, the only thing that can go wrong is service. Although the service was correct, much of it lacked the genuine warmth and friendliness we so enjoy on Holland America ships. In German and Yiddish the proverb reads: "A fish stinks from the head", and I found Captain and Hotel Manager just a hair's breadth short of rude. I found these gents so clearly disinterested in their passengers that they reminded me of how United Fruit Company twisted that Line's "Every Passenger a Guest" motto into the far more amusing but sad way to treat their charges: "The banana is a guest, the passenger's a pest." I was taken aback when I perceived a very cold and unwelcoming pose here. A ship's attitude results from Captain and Hotel Manager and I feel that their indifference towards their passengers allowed a degree of indifference in many departments. Lacking the expected cheerfulness and goodwill, I felt unwelcome aboard the RYNDAM, disembarked early and flew home. That said, please note that Holland America rotates senior staff members as often as Zsa Zsa Gabor used to change husbands so don't let this one lousy experience talk you out of a trip in the RYNDAM.

I consider the RYNDAM and her sister ships to be the ships against which all others must be measured. Had they an alternative dining restaurant for dinners, in cabin dining from the restaurant menu, and VCRs in every cabin, they surely would rate five stars plus, and our recent sailing proves my conjecture that these ships perform as well as any other luxury ship and for the tremendous value that Holland America represents, perform better than any other! Add a bathrobe for each guest and improve a frankly poor and limited selection of movies in the cinema and on cabin TVs, the RYNDAM would be impossible to beat. Her quiet atmosphere is a treat and with few public announcements to interrupt and soft classical music the ship has the right tone.