One keeps hearing that Holland America ships cater to an older crowd. After our two-week November cruise in the Southern Caribbean, I suspect that the source of all those rumors is the older crowd itself. They want to keep this jewel to themselves.
In all honesty, even though we are in our mid 50s, we were well on the young side for this cruise. But, that's what we anticipated for a cruise of this length in the fall. Plus, most of the oldsters we met were well traveled, interesting, and lively. They had to be lively with eight ports on eight consecutive days, this was not a laid-back itinerary!
The Ryndam itself is a beautiful ship, a bit old but recently refurbished and in excellent condition. Its old-fashioned genuine veranda went all the way around the ship on one deck, lined with padded teak chaises. The Crow's Nest, high up and to the fore, was a wonderful place to read and gaze out at the water during the day, and a nice nightspot in the evening. Explorations the library/internet hub/game room was a complete joy. We enjoyed the design of this ship thoroughly, except for a weirdness getting to the dining room depending on where you started, you had to go up and then down a deck to get there. But, that's a small detail.