My mom wanted to cruise with Holland because of an excellent experience she had on another Holland ship years ago. She too was very disappointed with the overall experience of this cruise.
Dining room waiter was a highlight of the trip. The portions for dinner entrée were very small and took a fair length of time to receive our meaL There was never an option for requesting more even if we had ...
We booked this cruise thinking that there was an amazing area for our 3 year old to enjoy her vacation while on the ship. We saw pictures and read the HAL website noting theme nights and activities for her to do. This was not the case! My daughter's play areas was a left-over conference room 20x12 room (give or take a few feet) with some games, Play-dough and some Legos. There wasn't any sort of ...
1. Lack luster entertainment. The cruise director was extremely boring. Trivia games were not entertaining. Overall, there was nothing to do on the ship. DJ the comedian was good. The magician Leone Ettien was good but tried to sell his magic kit which was very tacky. The friday 7p show was terrible.
2. Staff was unfriendly.
Wait staff Cleaned dirty dishes on dining tables instead of going ...
We are a family of multi-star Mariners, and for some in our group, this was our third time on this ship. For our children, it was their second time on this ship, with our previous sailing in 2018.
Our children always look forward to their adventures with Club HAL, the Holland program for children and tweens but when we boarded the ship, it was abundantly clear that their beloved Club Hal was ...
Embarkation was smooth with only a handful of people in line for security and key cards. Arrived about 11:30 and were on board by 12:15 without special boarding privileges since we are still 3 star mariners.
Lido food was good for buffet. Salad bar is excellent with Asian, Cobb or other themed options or DIY combo option with seared Ahi everyday. Carvery selection was nice varying between Leg ...
Very clean, well appointed ship.
Dining @Lido and Dining Room was usually top rate. Lots of variety, well presented, variety of options through the cruise.
Staff, without exception, were terrific for the whole cruise - friendly, responsive and efficient.
Cabin steward was very responsive and helpful - very knowledgeable.
On board entertainment - numerous and varied - from magicians ...
We’ve sailed in HAL and I find they have excellent service. This was no different. I really loved the itinerary (Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and the Bahamas) and they had great choices for shore excursions. It was a lovely way to experience the canal and parts of Central and South America. Delicious food too. The ship is a little dated. Wonderful entertainment ...
My sister is a 4 time mariner and after the loss of her husband of 56 years asked me to join her for a cruise that she and my brother-in-law had wanted to take during Thanksgiving. I did! I am 58 and had such a great time. I went without picking up any internet packages (no phone calls/texting, no FB...., -I called my husband 3 times in 16 days to check in. I was able to relax like I ...
This is our 4th cruise this year. First cruise with HAL. We were in a Neptune suite.
I will start with the things that were nice - friendly people, efficient embarkation and disembarkation, the food in the Pinnacle (cost extra) restaurant was good.
MY opinions:
Food and dining: Overall choices timing and availability of food was poor. Whenever I went to the Lido Market they were ...
This cruise has several cons.
Too many days at sea ( 12 ) which would be ok except the ship had a very poor entertainment program. The evening shows on the first leg were poor quality, better on the return leg, but still not great. The daytime presentations were uninteresting to most, spotty in number, - who wants to do towel folding, teeth whitening, sarong tying? The days at sea were boring, ...