Husband and I were thrilled to be coming back to HAL after a seven-year absence. This was my 16th cruise, hub's 13th, and 4th/3rd on HAL, respectively. We chose this itinerary because it had four of our favorite ports, all of which we can do on our own without having to utilize shore excursions – and because Holland America was offering a great deal on the sailing.

The Ryndam had been fully refurbished since we sailed it last (2001) and, apparently, is well overdue for another drydock. While overall the ship is beautiful and a perfect size, it was hard not to notice the wear and tear that has accumulated (worn brass fittings and torn up leather coverings in the elevators; stains on the rugs and pool backsplash tiles; etc.). Maybe it’s because they are CONSTANTLY wiping surfaces down to keep communicable illnesses at bay.

We were also surprised by how significantly older our fellow passengers seemed. We usually sail during ‘shoulder’ or ‘off’ seasons because of our work schedules. This being ‘high season’ and on the very edge of the beginning of school breaks, we did not think that we might be one of the youngest on the ship (including the six kids under the age of 18 we saw). We learned later that we were the second (short) leg of a 21 day 'collectors cruise,' which might have explained things. Ironically, it didn’t necessarily make for a significantly politer corpus of passengers: it was not unusual to have people block hallways with group conversations or just plunk down at your table at the lido deck without so much as a by your leave. Read more