Mixed Emotions

Ryndam Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

AlanC23235470

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 12

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Ancient Discoveries (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 23, 2012

Ship: Ryndam

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 12 years ago

Review summary

This was our first oceanic cruise (as distinct from river cruises) and our main objective was transportation whereas for many of our fellow passengers the \"cruise experience\" seemed to be the thing. That explains why Holland America provides so many different activities and frankly pampers its guests--but from a personal standpoint, we didn't need that much attention and thought the prices were a bit steep.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The Lido restaurant was a special favorite.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

While the multitude of activities is obviously a priority for many passengers\, many of the options were wasted on us because of our own focus on transportation instead of entertainment.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Every crew member we met was helpful\, cheerful\, and friendly.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

As a long-ago U.S. Navy veteran\, I was amazed at the Captain's ability to handle such a large vessel. Overall\, the Ryndam impressed me as a \"taut ship\" and pleasing over 1\,000 civilians cannot be an easy task.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our stateroom was smallish (our choice) but our room steward Marko and his assistant did a splendid job of keeping it clean and attractive.

Pros: The Itinerary. We got to visit many interesting ports we had not seen before.

Cons: While the multitude of activities obviously serves many passengers\, we were primarily interested in getting from place to place.

Recommends Ryndam? Yes!

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