In April, 2014, the classic Holland America ship ms Ryndam
crosses the Atlantic Ocean, switching from her winter home to her summer home.
After calling Tampa, Florida her home port for the winter months, Ryndam moves
east to spend most of the summer out of Dover in the U.K.
Ryndam’s Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise does not go from
Tampa to Dover but from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Barcelona, Spain. Holland
America Line has special pricing on this 15 night cruise right now with an
inside stateroom going for as low as just $700 per person, or just under $47
per night per person before government taxes and fees.
The Cruise
Ryndam embarks from Port Everglades at Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 4pm sharp. She arrives at Barcelona on
Monday, April 21, 2014 at 7am. Along the way, the does a bit of an island tour
with three of her five ports of call located off the mainland. All port calls
are either in Portugal or Spain.
After several days at sea, guests on ms Ryndam can get out
and stretch their legs and minds at Ponta Delgado on the island of Sao Miguel
in the Azores. The ship docks on Monday, April 14 and is in port from 10am to
6pm. Ponta Delgado is the capital of the Azores Islands and has a population
somewhere around 70,000.
On Thursday, April 17, Ryndam makes a stop on the mainland
of Spain. From 8am to 6pm, she will be docked at Malaga on the southern coast.
This is a large tourist area on the Mediterranean and has a metro population
over one million.
The following day, ms Ryndam moves east along the coast to
Cartagena, Spain. She is docked from 8am to 5pm at this city with a population
about a fifth that of Malaga.
The final two stops are out in the Mediterranean Sea. Ibiza
is a small island with a population of around 135,000. It is the third largest
of the Balearic Islands, belonging to Spain. Ryndam will be at Ibiza from 8am
to 5pm on Saturday, April 19.
The final stop is Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the
Balearic Islands region. Ryndam docks at Palma from 8am to 5pm on Sunday, April
20.
The Price
For the moment, Holland America Line has reduced some inside
staterooms to as low as $700 per person. Typical of any flash sale, the choice
of stateroom is limited and will be assigned at the time of check-in.
Additional government fees and taxes come to $115.24 per
person. This means an inside stateroom for two can be had for as low as
$1,630.48 with the fees and taxes added in.
Just to give an idea of what a great deal this is, let’s
look at Ryndam’s return to Tampa from Barcelona in November, 2014. The lowest
price for that cruise is currently $1,500 per person! The price for two,
including government taxes and fees, would be $3,236.64. The itinerary is
nearly identical, except the ship goes straight to Tampa, not stopping in Ft.
Lauderdale.
The Ship
A Statendam Class (S Class) ship, ms Ryndam has been in
service for Holland America since 1994. She is the third of the four Statendam
Class ships. Statendam and ms Maasdam both came into service in 1993 and ms
Veendam came along in 1996.
Ryndam is a smaller ship with a gross tonnage of 55,819. She
is 220 metres or 720 feet in length and has ten decks accessible to the
capacity 1,258 passengers. 602 crew members are also on board.
As mentioned, her home port in the winter is Tampa, Florida
with her summer home mainly in Dover. She makes the return Transatlantic voyage
from Barcelona to Tampa on November 1, 2014.
The Small Print
·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.
·Prices are in Canadian dollars.
·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!
·Also not included are gratuities.
·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.
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