The Ryndam

The first three days of our journey started on a cruise ship called the Ryndam.  It was my first time on a cruise ship and I enjoyed it.  The Ryndam offered many features such as two pools, shuffleboard, dining, shows, cooking classes, bars, a casino, a movie theater, a spa and salon, a gym, and night clubs.  The crew conducted different activities like bingo and dance lessons.  I learned how to make animals by folding a towel.  The Ryndam had something for everyone; if you could not find something to do, you could always enjoy the view.

The first day on the ship, we had to learn the evacuation plan.  Our instructor went over where the life boats were located, how to inflate a life jacket,  and how to exit the ship during an emergency.  During the instruction I kept thinking, "This boat won't sink; why do we have to listen to this?"  After the instruction, we walked around the decks snapping pictures of the landscape and the ship.  The first day was about exploring; I was amazed how many rooms they fit on one ship. Later we played shuffleboard on the upper deck, and then we went to dinner in the dining room.  The dining room offered a variety of fine dining selections, like steak and salmon.  After dinner, we explored the ship more, then returned to our rooms to go to sleep.  In my room I found an adorable dog made out of a towel.  I loved the towel animals so much, I took a class that taught me how to make them, and bought the instruction book.  I went to sleep knowing that this would be a wonderful vacation.     

The second day on the ship was more eventful.  We were in the middle of the ocean with nothing surrounding us, so the waves rocked the boat more.  I could not walk in a straight line, it felt like I was dizzy and spinning; I even fell down once.  It took hours, but eventually I got used to the rocking of the ship.  After breakfast, we participated in some of the activities offered.  My mom and I played bingo; however, we never won.  We also took a ballroom dance lesson.  We explored the ship more then went to dinner.  The dining staff was really nice and accommodating to all of my food allergies.  After dinner, we headed to the theater to see a show.  Being a dancer for most of my life, it amazed me how the performers could execute high skill dance moves with the ship rocking back and forth.  I was surprised by the quality of the performance.  After the show, we went back to our rooms to find another towel animal; this time it was an elephant.

By the third day I had enough.  I was sick of constantly moving back and forth, side to side.  I just wanted to be able to stand or sit still; I wanted to be on solid ground.  Thankfully, the Ryndam was scheduled to stop in Juneau, Alaska.  When we exited the boat, I was so excited to be on ground that did not move; however, we were about to board a boat that would take us whale watching.  After we spent four hours in Juneau, we returned to the ship and set sail.  For dinner that night we went to the Lido Restaurant, one of the many restaurants on the ship.  After dinner, we went back to our rooms to find a towel turtle on the bed.  My dad set a wake up call, because we had to get up early the next morning to leave the ship.  Around 4 A.M. we heard a loud noise coming through the intercom system.  My first thought was, "Wow this is a weird wake up call."  So we started to get ready for the day.  As soon as my mom hopped in the shower, a message came over the intercom stating that there was a fire in the crew's quarters.  My first thought was, "Why didn't I pay more attention to the safety instruction?"  I got my mom out of the shower and my family entered the hallway.  We saw elderly couples trying to use the elevator to get to the deck with the life boats.  I asked my parents, "Don't they know you can't use an elevator when there is a fire?"  Soon, another announcement came on saying that the fire had been put out, and we can all go back to our rooms.  After all the excitement, I managed to fall back asleep.  We woke up two hours later to get ready to leave the ship.

 This a model of the Ryndam

 This is the towel elephant.  Yes, I did name him but I forgot the name.

 This is the outside of the Ryndam.  The orange things are the life boats.

   This is a picture of me and my family at the Lido Restaurant.  Sitting from left to right are, my Uncle Pat, my Aunt Ginnie, and my brother, James.  Standing from left to right me, Laura, my dad, Dennis, and my mom, Jennie.