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Why Go?
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 Cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center's show kitchen
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Moderately sized ship feels cozy and homey
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Outstanding Pacific Northwest fare at Pinnacle Grill restaurant
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Elegant afternoon tea with live music
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Explorations Cafe offers Internet, library and music center
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Itineraries and Ports of Call: Alaska • Baltics & Northern Europe • Caribbean - Western • Cruise to Nowhere • Europe - Eastern Mediterranean • Europe - Western Mediterranean • Panama Canal & Central America • Transatlantic
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Ryndam Review
As cruise ships go, Holland America's 16-year-old Ryndam is approaching its "golden years." But instead of slowing down, the ship has just undergone the second of HAL's "Signature of Excellence" (SOE) makeovers, with even more upgrades (including the addition of a few dozen cabins and a makeover to the aft pool area) to come in 2012-13. The result: She's fresher and livelier -- and not just because of the new carpeting and drapes everywhere.
During the last SOE makeover, Ryndam gained the Explorations Cafe, which functions as a library, coffee shop and media space; the Culinary Arts Center, a demonstration kitchen that now shares a stage with the Wajang Theater's movie screen; a sleek (though small) wine-tasting nook; and the you've-got-to-see-it teens-only Oasis, where designers have actually added a level to the ship for a Gilligan's Island-style tropical club with a waterfall and hammocks.
Ultimately, what was most compelling about Ryndam's second transformation was that it gave a mid-sized, older ship some fresh new flash. And yet, the ship also retains its status as a marvelously intimate, moderately sized ship that offers a uniquely cozy ambience.
"Guests love this size ship," says Hotel Manager Simon de Boer, a 16-year veteran with Holland America, who oversees all the Signature of Excellence makeovers. "On bigger ships, by the end of a seven-day cruise, you have lost some of the new friends you made." The makeover team began with Ryndam's 924 cabins, installing new drapes, carpeting, lampshades and granite countertops and flooring in the bathrooms. Most of the public areas were also re-carpeted. While a lot of that is simple housekeeping, there are three major changes to the public areas, and two of them are smashing:
 The main showroom, the Vermeer, received a dramatic new terraced first floor, which greatly enhances the sightlines for the audience.
A clever collection of three specialty bars, together called Mix, has been laid out side-by-side near the casino. It's the hippest area on the vessel.
A horizontal slice of the Lido Deck Buffet restaurant converts in the evenings to an Italian specialty area with its own waiters. It's an interesting idea, but diners in the Lido already had an Italian option from the buffet, and the venue was largely forgotten on my sailing.
Read Complete Ryndam Review
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Holland America Ships: Amsterdam • Eurodam • Maasdam • Nieuw Amsterdam • Noordam • Oosterdam • Prinsendam • Rotterdam • Ryndam • Statendam • Veendam • Volendam • Westerdam • Zaandam • Zuiderdam
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