We took the Ryndam on what as part of their repositioning from the US to Europe. Boarded in Barcelona and stopped in Valencia, Alicante, Motril (for Granada), Gibraltar, Cadiz, Lisbon (Portugal), A Coruna, Bilboa, Portland (England) and ended in Dover. HAL only has this cruise twice in 2014 and the second time was at the end of August. We decided August would be way too hot--so opted for mid/late April. Weather were generally in the 60's--most days it was great with one or two days being just a little cool. But, the ports were the best--this was exactly what we were looking for--an in-depth view of Spain. It was fun starting in Barcelona and then going virtually all the way around Spain in the ship.

To put our comments in perspective, the four of us have cruised extensively--primarily on Princess, but also on Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. (Also two of us have done a number of river cruises with Grand Circle.) We had all wanted to try HAL and this trip fit the bill. The Ryndam is an older ship (built in 1994) that carries about 1280 passengers. It's apparent that it is older when viewed from the outside--and the lack of very many balcony cabins (they are restricted to two levels). But, once you board the Ryndam it does not seen like an older ship at all. Our overall impression of the Ryndam is that it matches, and in many aspects exceeds, the quality of what we have experienced on other ships.

What we really liked about the Ryndam. Read more