We recently returned from our Alaska cruise on the Ryndam from Seward to Vancouver. My wife and I both thought it compared very well with our Crystal Serenity Mediterranean cruise last October. Though shell still give the nod to Serenity, we had a wonderful time and were very impressed by the Ryndam and her staff.
We are cruise travel agents in our 40s and have been on many cruises but, for a variety of reasons, this was our first Holland America Line cruise. We enjoyed the smaller ship size and smaller crowds, but the ship still had plenty of room and large ship amenities. A spacious ocean view cabin, friendly helpful service, mostly excellent food, wonderful ship facilities, very good entertainment and an outstanding Club HAL experience for our 6 year old son all contributed to a great cruise experience. And, of course, the landscape and wildlife of Alaska also played major roles in our enjoyment.
I would like to touch on several of the details that HAL got right and added so positively to the mix. The Indonesian and Filipino staff, especially our wait team of Chandra and Herry, were always looking to please. Our dining room experience was really good. There were many outstanding dishes during the week. The breakfast and lunch buffets had a wide variety of fresh and tasty foods. I especially enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice in the Lido buffet. We even were able to order it from room service a couple of mornings as well as asking for hot items not listed on the room service menu. The excellent Lido pool was usually covered except for a couple of very nice days and contained fresh water heated to a very pleasant 80 degrees. My son and I used it quite often.