Writer Rob Lovitt based this independent review on his 7-night Mexico cruise departing from San Diego, California.

First launched in October 1994, then relaunched in October 2004 -- exactly 10 years later -- Ryndam offers traditional cruising with a trendsetting twist. Go ahead, stroll the teak-decked promenade, but check out the multimedia library in the new Explorations Café, too. Sample the canapés during afternoon tea, but don’t miss the mango gazpacho in the new Culinary Arts Center. Reinvented, yet still refined, this ship may be tied to the past, but she’s definitely set course for the future.

Why Ryndam?

• Tradition lives: Afternoon tea, dancing before dinner, and multiple formal nights recall the gracious charms of an earlier era -- and social strolling on the promenade deck is simply delightful.
• Upgraded amenities: New (or improved) facilities, including a high-tech library/café, state-of-the-art Culinary Arts Center, and expanded spa, lay the groundwork for the traditions of tomorrow.
• First-class cabins: Renovated cabins offer bathrobes, daily fruit baskets, and flat-screen TVs with DVD players. Larger balcony suites add minibars, jetted tubs, and concierge services.

Heard on the deck (from a woman exploring the ship on embarkation day): “Oooh, it still has that new ship smell!”

Who should go
Ryndam attracts a lot of return passengers and other veteran cruisers looking for traditional amenities and a relaxed, refined ambience. Guests tend to be older (60s and 70s), well-heeled, and more into ballroom dancing than hitting the disco. That said, the ship’s new Culinary Arts Center, kids’ club, and travel library/Internet café will appeal to baby boomers, teens (and tweens), and other tech-savvy travelers.

Who shouldn’t go
Younger cruisers looking for daily deck parties, late-night action, or a hot casino won’t find them here. Likewise, although there are first-class facilities for kids, families with very young children may feel a bit out of place.

Hits and misses

• Don’t miss: Steep in tradition, afternoon tea features white-gloved waiters serving pots of tea, cucumber sandwiches, and assorted cakes and pastries.
• Best part of the ship: Part library, part living room, the Explorations Café features leather chairs, music and Internet stations, and more than 3,000 books and DVDs.
• Best experience: Big band dancing -- a silver-toned chanteuse joins the ship’s orchestra as romantic couples turn the Vermeer Lounge into an aquatic ballroom.
• Best shipboard activities: Epicurean passengers savor the free culinary demos, hands-on cooking classes ($19), and regular wine tasting seminars (four tastes for $2.95).
• Needs improvement: Poor signage means no labels in the buffet line and confusion in the corridors. (In the elevators, “UP” doesn’t mean up, but rather Upper Promenade).
• Activities to skip: The blackjack tournament -- odds are good that it will be cancelled because too few players show up.

How to meet the captain
Head to the captain’s welcome reception (generally held on the second night) and you can mingle with the cruise director’s staff, sip free champagne, and get your picture taken with the captain. He also puts in appearances at invitation-only receptions for international travelers, returning Holland America cruisers (aka "Mariners"), and certain suite guests. If all else fails, you can always walk by his big table on the lower level of the Rotterdam Dining Room on formal night.

Heard on the deck (during a hands-on cooking class in the Culinary Arts Center):
Her: “So, do you like to cook at home?”
Him: “I’m a pretty good amateur -- just enough to be dangerous.”

From the pianist in the Rotterdam Dining Room to the orchids on the tables in the Lido Restaurant, Ryndam puts the “class” in classic cruise-ship dining. The waiters in the Rotterdam remember individual preferences, the sommelier in the Pinnacle Grill truly knows his wines, and even the buffet restaurant offers modified waiter service. Generally speaking, dishes are mildly flavored and skew closer to comfort foods than haute cuisine, which fits the ship’s clientele just fine.

Rotterdam Dining Room
With 650 seats on two levels, the Rotterdam offers a less busy, less noisy ambience than many cruise ship dining rooms. The menu highlights upscale comfort foods -- prime rib, glazed ham, even meatloaf -- with just enough surprises (curried mussels, escargot) to add a bit of zip. Overhead, a ceiling of blown-glass blossoms casts a soft glow over the well-spaced tables, while a pianist plays softly, underscoring the air of tradition. And there isn’t a Macarena-dancing waiter in sight.

Lido Restaurant
This casual restaurant features buffet dining with a service-oriented twist. Waiters stand ready to carry guests’ trays to their tables, while others circulate with ice water and hot coffee. As for the food itself, the daily stir-fries and pasta dishes are better than the otherwise bland buffet items, while the rotating flavors and multiple toppings at the ice cream bar are a hit with everyone. A different ethnically themed buffet is offered each night between 11:30 PM and 12:30 AM.

Pinnacle Grill
Moments after you’re seated in this contemporary-styled specialty restaurant, a waiter rolls up with a cart topped with sample cuts of meat, including a filet mignon, rack of lamb, and massive 20-ounce porterhouse. “We have seafood,” he’ll say, “but here, you should eat meat.” Listen to him. Cooked on a 1600˚ grill, the steaks and chops explode with flavor, especially when paired with one of the restaurant’s signature sauces. And desserts are downright decadent and delicious. Cover charge: $10 for lunch, $20 for dinner.

Other dining options

• Terrace Grill: This take-out window near the Lido Pool offers burgers, hot dogs, and other light bites. The pizza is passable, but the taco fixings are nice and spicy.
• Afternoon tea: White-gloved waiters, silver tea service, and a selection of canapés, cucumber sandwiches, and cakes and pastries draw a civilized crowd each afternoon.
• Room service: Hot and cold breakfast items, the dining room menu (during select hours), and light bites around the clock means no one ever has to go hungry.

Best dining

• Dish: The Pinnacle Grill’s porterhouse is a 20-ounce slab of premium beef, served with a choice of buttery Béarnaise, tangy sun-dried tomato, or creamy horseradish sauce. (Tip: Get all three.)
• Dessert: The Baked Alaska in the Rotterdam gets the big production number (marching waiters, etc.), but the Pinnacle Grill’s chocolate volcano cake is sinfully rich.
• Restaurant: Bulgari china and fine crystal provide an elegant accompaniment to the Pinnacle Grill’s menu of premium beef, lamb, and seafood, all cooked on that 1600˚ grill.
• Food seminar: After attending the large-scale demonstration in the Culinary Arts Center, true foodies sign up for hands-on cooking classes based on the Rotterdam menu.

How to…

• Get a table for two: Make your request when booking your cruise, or visit the maître d’ on the first day. Many passengers enjoy the social side of dining, so the odds are surprisingly good.
• Celebrate a birthday/anniversary: Stop by the front desk, provide the details, and somebody will make sure a cake and singing waiters appear tableside on the appointed day.
• Change seating: The maître d’ takes requests in the main dining room every day at 5:15 PM. (Note: It’s often much easier to change from first to second seating than from second to first, at least on Mexico cruises.)
• Dress for formal night: Many women break out the black velvet and beaded gowns for the two formal nights, while the men don dark suits and more than a few tuxedos.
• Dress for casual night: Anything but shorts, tank tops, and swimwear is okay, but classic “resort casual” (blouse or golf shirt, skirts and slacks) predominates.

Tips:

• The front desk usually has the next night’s Rotterdam Dining Room menu the evening before -- a handy tool when deciding when to eat at the Pinnacle Grill.
• When considering the Pinnacle Grill, book early. Those who wait until late in the cruise often find out it’s fully booked.
• The two ice cream lines in the Lido Restaurant offer different flavors. If you don’t see your favorite, try the other line.
• Afternoon tea is phenomenally popular. If you want to get a seat, get there early (it starts at 3:30 PM).
• Table 26 in the Rotterdam Dining Room is the only table for two located right next to a window.

Heard on the deck (at the beginning of the kitchen tour): “Gee, there are so many people here, you’d think they were going to feed us.”

Thanks to her recent renovation, Ryndam’s cabins are stylish, spacious, and equipped with everything from pillow-top mattresses and 250-thread-count sheets to DVD players and flat-screen TVs (with a number of channels including CNN and movie channels). Decorated with blond-wood furnishings and muted colors, standard oceanview cabins measure 197 square feet (inside cabins are 182) and feature terry cloth-lined bathrobes, four-position massaging showers, and complimentary fruit baskets that are replenished daily.

Suites are nicer yet, with minibars, jetted tubs, and wall-to-wall windows overlooking private balconies. Guests in deluxe balcony suites enjoy even more room (563 vs. 284 square feet) and bigger balconies, along with complimentary extras, including personalized stationery, CDs/DVDs, and laundry/dry cleaning service. They also have access to the Neptune Lounge, a cozy, club-like room that offers continental breakfasts, afternoon tea and hors d’oeuvres, and a host of concierge services.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
Of the ship’s 15 disability-friendly cabins, only six feature wheelchair-wide doorways and lip-free bathrooms with roll-in showers, and none of these has a balcony. The other nine are considered “modified wheelchair accessible,” which means that they have standard-sized doors and shower-only bathrooms with a small step (three have balconies, but alas, no ramps). Bottom line: The ship is best suited for those wheelchair users who are also able to maneuver without one when necessary.

Tips:

• The ship offers a free shoe shine service. Simply put your shoes in the provided basket and call for service. You’ll have them back within four hours.
• Cabins on Deck 6 overlooking the outside promenade lose a little bit of room; and, if you don’t close the shades, any sense of privacy.
• Bathtubs are a lovely touch, but they do require stepping over a 22-inch-high lip. If mobility is an issue, consider an inside cabin -- they’re all shower-only.
• Leave the hair dryer at home. Each cabin has two: A wall-mounted unit in the bathroom and a salon-quality portable one in the desk drawer.
• Guests in deluxe balcony suites can enjoy afternoon tea and happy-hour hors d’oeuvres in the Neptune Lounge -- or have them delivered to their suites.

With her teak decks and paneled walls, Ryndam features a refined, almost retro décor that highlights gracious spaces over grand salons. Hallways filled with maritime paintings and historic charts trace the history of Dutch exploration, while recessed doorways lead to cozy lounges, quiet card rooms, and other parlor-like spaces. With the exception of afternoon tea in the Explorer’s Lounge and cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center, you’ll rarely find a crowd.

Then there’s the Explorations Café, the ship’s new library/espresso bar/Internet café, where guests can surf the Web (high-speed or wireless), work on table-top–sized crossword puzzles, and reserve any of 2,000 books and 1,000-plus DVDs. (Books are free; DVDs, $3 per night.) Raising the cool-quotient even higher, guests will find personal listening stations where they can use headphones and touch-screen displays to access a multi-gigabyte playlist from Aaron Copland to ZZ Top.

Bars, lounges, and casino
The most popular lounge is the Ocean Bar, just off the atrium, where couples dance cheek to cheek while a three-piece band plays popular standards. Not far away, other passengers play Name That Tune in the Piano Bar or soak up the 300˚ views in the Crow’s Nest. All three venues are popular for pre-dinner drinks (with free appetizers), less for late-night action. Likewise, the casino often has more tables than takers, and by midnight, even the clattering of slot-machine coins fades away.

Swimming pools
Set beneath a retractable glass roof, the main Lido Pool is flanked by bronze dolphins, two hot tubs, and fewer than 50 lounge chairs. That’s okay, though, because most passengers would rather sit at the surrounding tables -- reading, chatting, playing cards or dominoes -- than roast in the sun. Golf chipping contests (in which guests hit ping-pong balls into the pool) are about as rowdy as it gets, while a smaller, outdoor pool sits on Deck 10 aft, underutilized and library quiet.

Shore excursions
From carriage rides to kayak trips, Ryndam guests choose from a diverse selection of activities. Not sure if you’re up to a walking tour or snorkel trip? No problem: The staff is happy to share insights about appropriate attire, walking distances, and levels of exertion. Other nice touches include a plasma-screen monitor near the desk that lists sold-out tours, coolers of ice water and lemonade on the dock, and priority tendering for guests staying in deluxe balcony suites.

Click to view a virtual tour

Shows
The stage is small and many sightlines obscured, but the Vermeer Lounge still fills nightly for comedy shows, magic acts, and (two) big production numbers. The performers are all talented, but chances are you’ve seen better. That said, the Great Pretenders Lip Synch Show, in which guests in pompadours and poodle skirts “croon” classic rock songs; and the Indonesian Crew Show, in which several dozen crew members play haunting tunes on homemade bamboo instruments; are worth staying up for.

Weddings and vow renewals
Since onboard weddings are handled by an outside company, Ryndam is probably a better bet for vow renewals rather than full-on nuptial festivities. The standard vow-renewal package ($129) includes a group ceremony performed by the captain, complete with hors d’oeuvres, beverages, a photo, and dinner for two in the Pinnacle Grill.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: Six thickly padded recliners, soundproofed walls, and a half-hidden location in the spa make the ship’s relaxation room an oasis within an oasis.
• Liveliest spot: On sea days, golf-chipping contests, guest-crafted model ship regattas, and other offbeat games draw an enthusiastic crowd to the Lido Pool area.
• Most popular activity: Slow dancing before dinner in the Ocean Bar -- then heading to the Crow’s Nest for some swing or country line dancing.
• Best view: Settle into one of the leather chairs in the Crow’s Nest (they actually recline!), and you can take in the scenery or a sunset through wraparound windows.
• Best show: The guest lip-synch show gets the loudest laughs -- picture your uncle channeling Tiny Tim -- but the waiters and stewards in the Indonesian Crew Show get the biggest cheers.
• Best drink: Many guests are happy with their martinis and Manhattans, but those hand-shaken mojitos and margaritas are el primo.

Tips:

• Internet access in the Explorations Café is 70¢ per minute (with discounted multi-minute packages available), but news junkies can access The New York Times Web site for free.
• The Explorations Café library is officially open 8 AM–6 PM, but there’s usually somebody on hand who can help check out books and DVDs until 11 PM.
• The small (13 people), hands-on cooking classes aren’t listed in the Daily Planner, but can be reserved through the front desk.
• For a quiet, semi-private sunbathing spot, head down the stairwells next to the aft pool. They lead to a small deck just wide enough for a single row of sun beds.
• Shore excursions requiring equipment (kayaks, ATVs, scuba gear) tend to sell out quickly. Consider booking them online (up to 10 days before sailing).
• Be sure about your shore excursions before you book them -- a 10 percent cancellation fee applies from the time of booking.

Heard on the deck (from two women at breakfast):
First woman: “There sure weren’t a lot of people in the bars last night.”
Friend’s response: “Look around; there’s a lot of ‘snow’ on the ‘mountaintops’ around here.”

Spa and salon
The Greenhouse Spa packs a lot of style (and dozens of services) into a fairly small space. A salon and nine treatment rooms offer everything from mini-facials to a coconut rub and milk wrap, while a special “thermal suite” features five tiled beds with embedded heating elements. The discreet and friendly staff promotes a sense of pampering (not products) -- even a simple Swedish massage starts with a rosemary-infused exfoliating scrub.

Fitness areas
The adjacent fitness center features 30 machines, free weights, and a small corner studio with free health seminars and aerobics classes -- enough facilities, in fact, that although it gets busy, you can always find an open machine or empty step. The outdoor shuffleboard, basketball, and (half-sized) tennis courts go mostly unused, although strolling the teak-floored promenade on Deck 6 remains a popular, time-honored pastime. (If you’re counting, four laps equal one mile).

Tips:

• Yoga, Pilates, and other advanced exercise classes are held twice a day. They cost $11 per class, but you can buy an unlimited pass for $49.
• Take a spa tour on embarkation day and you can enter to win a free spa treatment. (The free champagne and mimosas are nice, too.)

Ryndam’s five shops offer the usual duty-free goods, along with daily deals on T-shirts, designer watches, and gold-by-the-inch. You can also drop several grand on a two-carat diamond ring, but many passengers opt for stocking stuffers from the $10 Boutique or a “Dam Ships” T-shirt or baseball cap from the logo shop. On Mexico cruises, don’t miss the “Mexican Bizarre,” when crew members in sombreros and serapes set up hallway tables to hawk silver jewelry and handicrafts.

Tips:

• Buy your duty-free liquor on the first day and you’re automatically entered in a raffle. Win and your order is free.
• The ship’s port consultant keeps regular hours at a desk just outside the Explorations Café.

As the first Holland America ship to feature the reinvented Club HAL, Ryndam is also the company’s coolest. Little ones (ages 3-7) love the paint brush pillars and palette-like tables in the play room, while older kids (those ages 8-12) bounce between separate rooms for foosball, arcade-style video games, and Sony PlayStations. Just outside, teens can escape their parents in The Oasis, an “adult-free zone” with hammocks, “palm tree” lights, and a cave-like pool with a nine-foot waterfall.

Ryndam offers 7-, 8-, and 10-day cruises from San Diego to Western Mexico until late April, 2005 (plus two 10-day Panama Canal cruises in January and February). She then sails north to Vancouver to set the stage for one-way and roundtrip itineraries between Vancouver and Alaska from May through September. She’ll then return to Mexico, offering 10-day cruises to Western Mexico through the end of 2005.

Tip: If you’re traveling to or from the San Diego airport, the cruise line’s shuttle is convenient, but a cab is faster and cheaper (around $9.50 vs. $15).

Heard on the deck (from a man noticing that the rugs in the elevators are changed nightly to track the days of the week): “Can we just keep the one that says Saturday out all week?”

• Cruise line - Holland America
• Ship name - Ryndam
• Type of cruise - Elegant
• Passenger capacity - 1266
• Decks - 10
• Total cabins - 633
• Private balcony cabins - 149
• Total crew - 602
• Year entered service - 1994
• Tonnage - 55451
• Officers nationality - Dutch
• Ship size - Large
• Registry - Netherlands
• Ship length - 720