Ryndam (Retired) Review
Great cruise with some interesting ports
Rating by category
Additional details
Before we decided on this cruise, we had looked at several other scenarios’ taking the cruises from central Florida instead of driving all the way to Ft. Lauderdale to get on a cruise. We looked at RCI out of Tampa and then driving over to Port Canaveral and getting another RCI. However, the cost for 2 weeks with 2 hotel stays would be almost as much as 3 weeks on the HAL out of Tampa. The main problem with this scenario was that we had been on the Ryndam for 36 days the previous fall and the entertainment would be the same; however, we elected for the 3 weeks on HAL.
We drove from our home and stayed at the Holiday Inn Westshore using their stay, park and cruise package. This was fantastic because it included a free shuttle to and from the cruise port, 3 weeks free parking and it's a great hotel!
The first 7 days were considered one cruise, returning to Tampa, and the last 14 days were considered another cruise, so there was a repeat of the musical production shows. When we went back to Tampa we had to disembark and go through passport control after everyone else who had cleaned customs. The process took less than an hour and I did have a chance for free wifi before going back on board.
Cabin Review
Large Interior Stateroom
We signed up for an inside cabin, which we had never stayed in on Holland. The cabin is slightly narrower and there is only a shower and not a shower over a tub. Maybe because the sofa made into a sofa bed, there was a cabinet missing which would be between the wall and the sofa, however, there was sufficient storage room for all of our clothes and other stuff.The cabin was quiet and we didn't get much rocking even if we were toward the back of the ship.