This was an excellent cruise on a great ship with an outstanding crew. We have cruised with HAL five times in the last 2 years or so, and this was our second trip on the Statendam. We chose it again, because of how much we enjoyed our first 10 cruise on it in January 2003.

Departure: We literally boarded the ship as they were pulling up the gangway at 4:53 pm for a 5 pm departure. We had multiple problems with Southwest Airlines due to them not having a pilot for our plane leaving Sacramento for San Diego. We arrived at the San Diego airport at about 4:25 and the HAL ground personnel were absolutely no help. We finally got our luggage, ran for a cab, and fortunately made all the lights green along Harbor.

Cabin: We were in an S Suite and it was very nice. It was clean, had no odors, and was ready for our arrival. The one downside to S suites on the non-Vista ships is that they are below the Lido Deck. I have heard the noise from above does not bother others. It bothers us, particularly when the masses are moving to the 11:15 pm feeding along the starboard side of the ship, right above us. By the end of the 16 days, we were actually getting used to it tho. Read more