We took the 14-day South Caribbean Cruise on Holland America Ryndam from January 5 to 19. This was our ninth cruise on Holland America, and, even though there seems to be disagreement about the quality of service and dining, we thoroughly enjoy the size of the ships, the friendliness and attention, and the wonderful cuisine and service. We have not found that anything is going downhill.

We spent Friday night in the Kansas City Airport Hilton. It is a great place to stay before a cruise. We flew nonstop from Kansas City to Tampa and took the hotel shuttle to the cruise hotel – the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore. The hotel, itself, was fine, but very noisy. I think we heard every shower running through the pipes! We should have walked to dinner at Charley’s Steak House (right next door). I cannot recommend the dinner or breakfast in the hotel. Very slow service.

The next morning, we sat in the lobby waiting on the HAL busses. HAL was not very organized as nobody would tell us when to load. We finally went outside and saw a line forming, so we were able to get on the first bus to the terminal with a terrific bus driver. This was absolutely the smoothest embarkation process we have ever experienced. There was no waiting to get our key cards. Our cabin was ready, so we left our carry-on bags and went to the Main Dining Room for lunch, signed up for Internet minutes in the Exploration’s Café; signed up for the Navigator’s Wine Package; attended the muster drill; unpacked all of our luggage, and dressed for dinner. Read more