Julie Ovens

Age: 43
Occupation: Executive
Number of Cruises: 12
Cruise Line: Holland America
Ship: Ryndam
Sailing Date: March 16th, 2005
Itinerary: Mexican Riviera

This is our first cruise with Holland America, and the smallest ship we have been on. The average age of the passengers we estimated to be 70.

The activities were very limited compared to other ships we have been on. The ship was completely dead at night. The evening shows were poorly attended, and quite frankly were not very good.

When we boarded the ship we noticed a very unpleasant odor, and it only got worse as the cruise continued. The Captain even made an announcement regarding the odor, stating that it is a chemical they use in their waste system that often filters back through the air vents. It was bad! The toilets often did not flush in the staterooms.

The Copper Canyon excursion was extremely disappointing. If you have seen one Canyon you have seen them all. We had to meet at 4:15am, however the ship did not dock until 5:30. Then all 340 people boarded 8 buses for a 2 hour ride. Then we got on the train, where only one side of the train had a view on the way up to the canyon, then on the way back you switched with the people on the other side of the train so they could see on the way back. So for 6+ hours you saw nothing! We had about 1 1/2 hours at the canyon and half of that time was lunch. The guides pointed to the viewpoint that you could walk to, or you could walk down to a cave. The steps up to the viewpoint are very uneven, and the stairs down to the cave are steep. Several elderly passengers were having great difficulty walking, or couldn't do it at all. There were many unhappy passengers that complained about this excursion. It is too much to fit in one day.