Our philosophy has always been that there is no such thing as a bad cruise...just better ones. Our cruise on Ryndam to the Sea of Cortez April 14-24, 2009 seriously tested that philosophy!!

A little about us....me retired, 61; wife 46, a Phd candidate in theological studies. We are experienced cruisers and were travelling on this cruise with friends. Our last cruise was 5 weeks that included cruising 1000 miles up the Amazon River on the Veendam.

First, we arrived the day before in San Diego and went to check into the Sheraton Marina. We knew the day before that there was a problem with our reservation but we had been unable to resolve it before we left home. Upon arrival the young man at the check-in desk confirmed that the problem still existed and he went off to find the Reservations Manager for some direction, but, she could not be found so he undertook the solution himself. The result was a bump up from what we had reserved to a deluxe penthouse suite on the 12th floor with a full length balcony facing the ship channel and a connecting room for the couple that was travelling with us! AND....we got the suite for free! That is what I call a motivated employee who understands that his primary job is to satisfy customers! Read more