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Cruising
the Sea of Cortez
Holland
America (HAL) Ryndam
by Kathleen Dunn ©
2004
Kathleen Dunn shares a recent cruise along the
Mexican Riviera with her
parents March 2004
For those looking for a little different experience than the usual large
ship Mexican Riviera cruise experience, this may be a good option. My
parents and I sailed on the Holland America (HAL)
Ryndam from San Diego on a
7-day cruise to the Sea of Cortez.
Ports included Loreto, La Paz, and
Cabo San Lucas.
The Ryndam is an older HAL ship that accommodates about 1200 passengers,
and we were already familiar with her, having cruised on her on a
South
American/Cape Horn trip in 2001. We had the same cabin (7109) we had on
that trip, although it has been redecorated and improved since that time.
On this ship there are only 2 fully accessible cabins (7104 is the other
cabin) that will sleep 3 (with a roll-away bed). Some Ryndam cabins that
are "accessible" have a tub and are quite a bit smaller, while we need a
roll-in shower, and these cabins will not accommodate a third person either.
We needed a cabin that would allow us to have not only a roll-in shower,
but also use our portable travel lift and take both my mother's power and
manual wheelchair. Our only complaint was that the bathroom was quite small,
and there is not sufficient room to turn the wheelchair in a complete 360
degree circle. The wheelchair only fit under the sink by removing my
mother's feet from the foot pedals as well. Although these cabins are
quite a ways from the elevators on HAL,they do not use service carts for
the room stewards, so we did not have to worry about them blocking the
hallways in the morning or early evening as often occurs on other ships.
Embarkation was a little scary as the portable elevator at the port in
San
Diego was broken, requiring the use of a very steep and scary ramp. Once
we were aboard, we were assisted to our cabin, made sure the room was set
up as needed, and then headed up to the Lido deck for lunch.
The buffet on
the Lido readily accommodates a wheelchair, and staff are willing to help
by carrying the tray for the person using a wheelchair. The path of travel
is well set up to enable you to reach all stations and all seating areas.
After checking out our assigned life boat station, we made sure to arrive
there well ahead of the announced drill time to allow us to use the
elevator and avoid the usual crowds when the drill is officially
announced. The departure from the port of San Diego was lovely and
occurred just at sundown accompanied by a nice sunset.
The first two full days were sea days. We enjoy these as they are less
frantic than port days, but we did not see the sun at all the first day,
and only after noon on the second day. We attended a few movies (free hot
popcorn!) and took part in Team Trivia (winning a couple of times), as well as
catching up on our reading and watching for whales and other ships.
About
noon on the second day, we rounded but did not stop at
Cabo San Lucas.
The captain brought the ship in close to shore to allow us to see the
beautiful coastline and get some fine photos. After rounding the cape, we
traveled up the east coast of the Baja
peninsula inside the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California),
with whales spouting all around us as well as in the distance. The sea was
noticeably calmer here. About 4 p.m. the ship stopped
and sent a tender out to check on an object that the captain feared was an
overturned boat. It was actually a dead whale, but it did give us the
opportunity to see the crew in action on a possible rescue mission.
HAL ships have traditional dining, and we were very happy with the service
we received in the dining room. We prefer eating all three meals in the dining
room when possible due to the better service, but did eat some meals at
the Lido or the snack-bar (hamburgers, hot dogs, fajitas and tacos). We
were seated at dinner with another couple traveling with their adult
daughter, and we became great friends. As usual, our waiter quickly
learned our preferences, always took care to set up the table for the
wheelchair and cut my mother's food for her after requesting this on the
first night. The food was generally good with a few exceptions, although
not terribly creative. The music in the bars was very good, and we enjoyed
watching the dancing before and after dinner. We attended most of the
shows. While there is no reserved seating for wheelchair users, by
arriving early we were able to find decent seating together for every show
we attended as the chairs can easily be rearranged. We prefer this to the
"theater" type seating on some ships, which relegate wheelchair users to a
small area in the back of the room where it is often difficult to see or
hear the performers, and where you may not be able to sit with the AB
members of your party.
The third day we were anchored off the port of
Loreto. Loreto is the oldest continuously occupied community on
the Baja peninsula and has the oldest surviving mission building. It is a
quiet and beautifully located town, with the Baja mountains in the
background and lovely and very empty beaches right in front of the town.
This was a tender port. We used the tender lift on the Ryndam for my
mother in her wheelchair. This lift is similar to a stair lift. They will
only accommodate manual wheelchairs of 18" width or less (no power chairs,
no scooters), and will not allow anyone other than the person in the
wheelchair to board at the tender lift exit. We had to walk to the other
end of the ship and get on this tender at the regular gangway. It did work
well, and it was easy to get off the tender at the town pier as well. The
Malecon (beach-side walkway) is
wheelchair accessible with curb cuts, unlike many
Mexican Riviera towns.
The streets in the tourist areas (the old downtown) are cobblestones and
brick and can be real teeth-rattlers, but we were able to get into most
buildings and shops, including the old mission church. The town sponsored
a mariachi band in the town square, with traditional dancers to entertain
their visitors, and the shops and cafes were welcoming and mostly
accessible. There is an Internet cafe on the town square for those who
want to avoid the high prices for Internet access on the ship. We did not
find any accessible bathrooms though, but fortunately did not need this
for our short trip ashore.
Returning to the ship, we found that the seas had grown, and there were
large waves on the side of the ship with the tender lift. The captain
actually tried moving the ship, so it was on the more protected side, but
the waves were still too rough. My father and I were required to get off
the tender leaving my mother all alone with the crew, many of whom did not
speak English. After 45 minutes of bobbing around in the swells, they
decided to lift the entire tender up to the ship and get my mother off
this way. After the entire crew put on their life jackets but did not
offer one to her, she grew a little concerned (and was already a little
seasick). We watched from a distance as they lifted the tender up on the
divots to the level of the promenade deck only to discover that the
tender's door did not match the opening in the deck rail. This resulted in
the crew having to lift and tilt the wheelchair with my mother inside to
get it onto the deck. Quite a hair-raising experience for all involved,
and probably needs some better planning on the part of the crew for a
contingency such as this.
The next day we were in La Paz. The
port here is at a pier about 10 miles from the town of La Paz. Since no
wheelchair accessible transportation is available here, we only went
ashore to the pier where there were many small booths selling crafts and
other souvenirs. My father took the provided free shuttle bus into town in
the morning, and I did the same in the afternoon. The town of La Paz is
easy to walk and has a nice promenade along its Malecon as well as an old
historic church and many more shops. There were no crowds, although this
is a popular resort and living area for many American ex-pats. Many people
went snorkeling in the nearby waters at this port.
The next day we arrived once more at Cabo San
Lucas. This was also a tender port, but it is not our favorite
port (too crowded, too touristy), and we have been here several times
before, so my mother and I stayed on the ship and lounged around the pool
while my father went ashore and explored the port and town. There were
three
other cruise ships in the port while we were there, so we also got a good
opportunity to check out some other ships. It was warm in all the ports,
and we had no rain the entire trip.
Our final full day was at sea, traveling north along the western Baja
coast. We arrived back in San Diego the
next morning, and were able to drive home to the
Los Angeles area without any of the hassle of flying, which
made it a very relaxing trip for us.
I would recommend this trip to
cruisers who may have already done the more traditional
Mexican Riviera ports and are looking
for something different. It is not a trip for die-hard shoppers, but we
had no problem finding small gifts for everyone on our list.
Enjoy Dunn's other cruises on the following pages.
Alaska: A
Regal Princess Cruise
Trans-Pacific Crystal Harmony Cruise
South
America: Holland America Ryndam Cruise
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