My father and I had always wanted to go to Tahiti, he was turning 80 and I was wondering if we would ever get a chance to travel together since his health had suddenly deteriorated. Regent was the perfect cruise line. We were tired of the up charging for this and that. Wanted a cruise that we didn’t have to check our receipts for the day or worry about the extras. Everything was taken care of! This was a truly all inclusive trip. Of course there were crazy expensive drinks and cigars were extra ( which should be). Being people who enjoy finer scotches and Bourbons we were still satisfied with the selection on the ship. The staff went above and beyond to make our vacation unforgettable. The Crew even arranged to get us on a tour that had already left! It was the first time my mom was in the ocean with stingrays and sharks. Amazing! We got to know some wonderful passengers and staff which I know our paths will cross again. The entertainment was not like the mega ships, but we didn’t care. The craft sessions far surpassed anything on the mega ships! Unfortunately, I can’t remember names since I am writing so late. Broke my back riding horseback in Nuka Hiva. Do the Le Truck! Don’t go off and make your own plans there. My husband and I went diving and though the cruise line did not offer any assistance, some of the crew were very helpful in assisting us with getting some dives in and communicating with the dive shops for us, as well as making sure we got out on the first tender if needed. Definitely a trip of a lifetime! Read Less

I have read some of the reviews about this cruise and couldn't disagree more with some. We are 3 star mariners with Holland America - not that this means anything - other than we wouldn't cruise Holland America if we didn't appreciate what they do; but we have also taken other cruises. I would agree that the ship could use some updating - but our suite was very acceptable. The food was very very good - yes, the meal choices were harder on this cruise but the staff was obviously trying to meet the dietary needs of all diners - which means you must provide vegetarian, gluten-free, restrictions based on religious beliefs, diabetic restrictions, and on and on. And they also tried to feature the many places we visited. The servers, wine stewards, dining room supervisors, etc. were all very focused on making sure the experience was exceptional ... on a number of occasions I asked for a modification to the standard dinner and always received what I requested. There wasn't a meal that we had where we weren't asked if our meal was satisfactory. And our order was taken and our first course delivered within 10 minutes of sitting down at the table. Our glasses were kept full as well. The shows were very good for what you'd expect for ship entertainment; throughout the entire cruise (we got off in Aukland) people seemed to really enjoy them - the showroom was packed every night and the applause was loud. We ended our evening with coffee and reading in a number of the lounge areas and the music was great in every one we sat in. Keeping in mind that we had a number of "sea" days, they tried to provide a variety of things to do - cooking classes, digital classes, a movie every afternoon in the showroom, health related classes, massages, talks on the cultures we encountered by people of the region and the history of those areas, talks on the various animals of the region, a library full of books to read, updates on the coming excursions, puzzles to work on, card games to participate in, board games to play, etc. BUT, we took this cruise knowing that we'd have to be able to entertain ourselves as well and we came prepared. We also told our children not to expect a lot of communication from us because we anticipated that wifi and internet could be sketchy. We went on a shore excursion at every stop but one (this is not typical for us) because we wanted to meet the people and experience the culture of the area and we were not disappointed - what an education. I really couldn't pick my favorite - they were all wonderful. Every member of the staff that we encountered was absolutely phenomenal - from the dining room to the ship maintenance people to the room stewards. Wonderful wonderful people - always smiling and always making you feel important. These people work hard and sometimes at very unappreciated positions. It was amazing being with them for 32 days and really getting to know them - all of them with a story to tell about their life journey. This was one of those trips where you get home and wonder how you're going to explain the trip to someone so that they can get a feel for what you experienced. Would we go on a Holland America cruise again - absolutely. Read Less

We enjoyed four days in Honolulu prior to the arrival of Le Boreal. The ship was actually a day late as she had been stuck in ice attempting a Northwest Passage transit in August. After disembarking her passengers in Greenland she sailed full speed for Hawaii via the Panama Canal, encountering Hurricane Rosa on the way across the Pacific. We felt it too on our flight from Sydney to Honolulu! Anyway, Ponant very generously covered our additional night's accommodation in Honolulu, arranged transfer to the ship and offered generous compensation for the late arrival and subsequent cancellation of two port calls on our voyage to Valparaiso. Boarding of the ship was very well organised, especially for a full complement of passengers and we were soon settling into our cabin and preparing to enjoy the sail out from Honolulu. Although rather small, the cabin is beautifully fitted out with plenty of storage and good amenities. The ship itself, in my view, is a beautiful design with very sleek lines and complimentary colour scheme. Fitted with stabilisers, she rides nicely through rough seas and is one of the quietest and most vibration free ships that I've sailed on...and I am a professional Master Mariner. Being a small ship, she only has two dining venues; a grill buffet restaurant on deck six for a more relaxed atmosphere and the formal restaurant on deck two. We enjoyed excellent service in both with very friendly staff who we got to know very well during our six weeks on board. Waiters are Indonesian with senior staff French, all speak excellent English and tolerated my limited use of French and Bahasa Indonesie! Downstairs the food had a tendency to be somewhat bland, but I guess this may be deliberate as not everyone appreciates a lot of seasoning and spices or chilli. One area that could be improved is catering for those requiring a low sugar diet, e.g. Diabetics. The only low carb drink available,other than water, was Diet Coke. It would be nice to see some other options available. The French influence is apparent but not overwhelming and in fact is rather charming. The officers and crew are very approachable and being such a small vessel are easily accessible. The bridge of the ship is generally accessible to passengers except during critical periods such as emergency drills. Our Captain changed halfway through our cruise and there was a marked difference in style. The first Master was very visible, approachable and interested in meeting all his passengers whilst managing the vessel, whereas his successor seemed more interested in his French passengers and could often be seen interacting with them. He seemed reluctant to engage with English speakers and non French nationals. He did make many announcements of interesting sights in both French and English however. The entertainers on board were excellent and I was surprised how involved the dancers were in other aspects of the hotel/excursion activities. Our final ocean voyage from Hanga Roa to Valparaiso (with about 70 or 80 pax) was the most relaxed part of our cruise and we had some enjoyable informal evenings with the musicians and dancers. We found that the cruise director was sometimes giving contradictory information in her announcements and the planning of some on board activities could have been better organised. We shouldn't forget the unseen heroes such as the galley, laundry and housekeeping staff who did so much behind the scenes to ensure our comfort. All so cheerful and enthusiastic. The range of shore excursions was fantastic and so interesting and informative to learn about the different cultures that we encountered. Our tour manager worked very hard on our behalf, especially so when the internet link was disrupted for several days. We would recommend taking some excursions when they are offered as we consider they were good value for the price paid. The ship lost twhe internet and tv links for several days which, although not disastrous, was somewhat annoying. Our disembarkation in Valparaiso was very relaxed as the ship didn't arrive until late morning. This enabled us to have lunch before leaving the ship around 1:15pm. Our tour manager coordinated our transfer to Santiago for €70 in a comfortable Mercedes minibus as there were nine of us travelling, very helpful. We enjoyed our voyage immensely and have future cruises booked on Le Boreal's three sisterships through to late 2020. Read Less

We had travelled on Ponant (L'Austral) previously and found that the size of ship, crew numbers, facilities suited the style of cruising which we look for. The destinations are different to other cruise lines with experts on board to give detailed information about the destination and customs of the local people. Disembarkation at the ''ports'' is via zodiacs which makes for a fun experience. Travelling with only 200-230 passengers and 140 crew makes for an intimate cruise experience. Crew are aware of each passengers requirements as the same crew look after you whether it be the bar or restaurants. There are two dining options - a more formal dining room and buffet. There is a wide variety of food at both venues. Two main lounge areas are available serving beverages. Cabins are well appointed, always well looked after by cabin crew for whom nothing is too much trouble. There is a spa area with gym equipment which is open 24/7 - small but has enough equipment to counteract the food and beverages if required. Crew are obviously loyal to Ponant as we met crew on this cruise who we had met previously. We have since travelled on 2 more Ponant cruises and again met crew who we had met before and they remembered us. This is not a cruise for people looking for big bands, large shows but looking more for background music in a more relaxed environment. Shows performed by 5 dancers who also have other duties so are able to mingle with the passengers. There are activities arranged for sea days. All in all a wonderful small ship experience. Read Less

Of our many cruises, the one we took years ago on the Noordam is the only one we cannot remember. Having sailed her again, we think we understand why. It was a plain vanilla cruise, good vanilla ice cream, just not exciting or tremendously memorable. Embarkation was reasonably fast and our room was ready, which was appreciated. The first glitch happened when we decided to leave the ship briefly to look around the area. No one mentioned that the US government now requires picture ID to reboard ships in US territory. The port agent, not a HAL staffer, asked our cabin number, checked it against a manifest dating to five hours before we had boarded, and refused us boarding, despite the valid cruise cards around our necks. We instructed her to call the ship, and she reluctantly took their word for it that we were paying cruisers. So, if you are in the US, bring picture ID anytime you leave the ship. Boat drill was mildly bizarre with our officer sounding like someone from Costa Concordia as he said that if we should hear the abandon ship whistle, to stay in our cabin “and not get in the way.” We hope that was a lack of English skills, but that would be eerily “Costa” too. Oh dear. The main dining room gave us a good table, a good meal and reservations for the rest of the cruise. Oddly, they put us at different tables every night for a few nights and then assigned us back to the window table with waiter Rana for the duration. Since that was the best of our various tables, we were pleased. Noordam has a marvellous “walk right around it” walking deck. Only the Westerdam’s, which has drinking fountains, is better. There is no more smoking on the walking deck, which is lovely. It’s too bad that they take away all of the chairs and cushions so early. It wouldn’t cost a cent to let passengers enjoy that deck for another hour every night. Our cabin was the old style with lots of storage, though drawers were mostly at floor level. It wasn’t HAL’s fault that our balcony neighbours talked loudly, non stop, which made conversation or reading, or even listening to headphones, impossible. HAL’s Achilles heel, though, is plumbing. Whether it’s a single bucket catching a leak from the ceiling on Westerdam or what seemed to be sewage being vacuumed up in a corridor on Maasdam years ago, a HAL cruise will always have some plumbing issues. Usually the cruise is good enough that it doesn’t really matter. Our cabin had issues with lukewarm bathwater, a dripping shower head, a tub stopper that neither kept the water completely in nor let it drain completely out, and a troublesome toilet. We finally got one acceptable bath on the last night by turning the water to the hottest possible setting and running the water at half volume. Theoretically, by the way, the tub drain works by turning the coverplate on the overflow, and the shower diverter must be pulled up and also turned. There is no nightlight in the bathroom, but they are often too bright anyway and a phone works well. We did appreciate that the room was set up so that nobody had to have the bright light from the hall that shines in from under the door in their eyes as they lay in bed. When you have experienced this, it is delightful not to experience it. Breakfast in the Lido was always a disappointment. Things were never quite ready, never quite up to scratch. There was no evidence of any management presence. Goodness knows what they were calling whipped cream, but it was a lot like the whipped butter, which was not much like whipped butter. A breakfast in the restaurant was the only way to get a decent waffle, warm and crisp and with something like real whipped cream. Lunch in the Lido was another story. At lunch, management was visibly in action and they ran a tight ship, so to speak. Food was ready, hot, and reasonably tasty. Selection was fine. The Asian and the salad bar were always good. Sugar free ice cream, which is often freezer burnt on cruises, perhaps due to low demand, was so good that we wondered if the amaretto really was sugar free. Those strange little mousse things that always show up in sugar free were actually tasty a couple of times. This is not something that many cruise ships can do. The Dive In and Pinnacle were both as good as they claim. Except for the back deck, the Lido staff are very good about offering drinks but didn’t aggressively push the booze, which was appreciated. There is no hard selling anywhere on this cruise, which is another very large plus. On the negative side, you couldn’t get a good scone at tea, and one day we couldn’t get a table for two. They were “out” of them. We never saw the lava cake, (one of the best desserts at sea) and not once, but twice we had bar staffers banging on our door wanting to exchange items they didn’t want in the bar for items from our mini fridge. We wouldn’t have minded except that they acted more like SWAT teams taking down terrorists than people wanting favours. It was not smooth. On the upside, the macaroons in the Explorer’s Lounge, a.k.a. Library, were wonderful. There were more books than we have seen in a cruise library in many years. We got an okay scone there one day, too. The two rooms are large comfortable, quiet, and much used. Because it is still on the third floor, they haven’t messed with the Crow’s Nest. The ship, itself, is hard to beat. So, with this excellent old ship, why was it just a good cruise? One thing that seriously impaired our comfort was the nearly toxic cleaning product that was lavished on our cabin twice in an eight day cruise, so clearly it wasn’t carpet cleaner. We have no allergies, but it made our cabin very unpleasant for hours even with the balcony door open for ventilation. Anyone with allergies or even sensitivities would be sick. This is another thing that wouldn’t cost a cent to fix and could well keep us from sailing an otherwise great cruise line again. The Noordam is a great ship, but with a few problems and no pizzazz, though the chocolate surprise night was a nice try. It was a good cruise, but not much more memorable than our first cruise on the Noordam. Like the bathwater, it was better than lukewarm but just didn’t quite hit the mark. Read Less

Embarkation: Since we live in Hawaii, it was just a short drive to Aloha Tower. First of all, as far as Holland was concern, it was great and fast. Very friendly and they were so helpful. Now regarding security at Aloha Tower, that was a different story. They told us were to go and when we got there, they told us to go back to another place. Without getting into details, I thought TSA was bad, These guys take the cake. Ship: Been watching YouTube a lot regarding the ship so I was a bit familar with the lay out. I feel that helped with what to expect. Personally, I like the midsize ship. That being said, the disclaimer is that I never been on a mega-ship yet. But it was nicely laid out. The only thing I wished was that the atrium area was bigger and had more activities. They have a bar but it was only open whenever they had a tasting. Ship was very clean. Had a few nice quiet places if you just wanted to read a book. The canopy over the pool was good when it rained a little and when the weather got a little colder. Dining: Since we upgraded to the Neptune Suite, we where able to eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grille. It was nice and quiet, unlike the MDR and buffet. After all, we just got up! Breakfast had the same menu as the MDR. Did a couple of nights there for dinner. I rarely ever get full of crab legs but the King Crab legs they served......I almost couldn’t eat dessert. And It tasted good. Food in the MDR was excellent too. Buffet was good. I would say it was one of the better buffets we had. Activities: To be honest, there really wasn’t much. However, one of the reasons I wanted to try this cruise was to unwind. With 5 days at sea, I was wondering if I would be bored to death. On the contrary, during those days, I joined my wife at the America Test Kitchen, went to the Windows classes twice a day, did on trivia contest, a meet and greet, and hung out by the pool a little. They had some shows but we only went to 2 out of the 3. It was okay. Honestly, I was okay with all of that since I really just wanted to unwind. Perhaps a few more things would be nice. Shore Actitivies: Since we live in Hawaii, we didn’t sign up for anything. Just took a walk down Front Street in Lahaina and a very small shopping center in Kauai. Service: Excellent. In our case, the Neptune Lounge relationship personal, Stewards, waiters and bartenders knew us and addressed us by name. Felt they went out of their way to make us welcome. Disembarkation: Fast and easy leaving the ship. Terminal was a little confusing in find out transport to the airport but since our flight was in the afternoon, no big deal. One bonus was that Holland lets you stay in your cabin until your group was called. Overall Impression: After talking it over with my wife, YES, I would sail with them again. Concerning what I wanted for this cruise, I got it. Granted, If I was going with a bunch of my friends, I would go on another cruise line with more activities like NCL. But for what I wanted, this was great. Thanks again Holland America!!! Read Less

We did a New England cruise on the Jewel in 2010 and had a wonderful time: Staff was friendly, entertainment was great and food was outstanding. Sad to say that none of this applied to the cruise we just completed: Embarkation: We were directed into the wrong line up as attendants were not aware of the priority check in for diamond members. First impressions: The ship appeared in good condition. The decor might be a bit dated, but it was functional, comfortable and clean. The cabin: The first big disappointment. The cabin was very small with insufficient space for luggage. But what grossed us out immediately was the filthy carpet. So bad that we did not want to take off our shoes! We were told that it was scheduled for replacement next year but that did not help us now. O'Sheedans: Touted by Norwegian as the 'wildly popular' pub turned out to be the wildly unpopular replacement of the Blue Lagoon 24hr fast food joint which we all loved. On our first visit we waited 40 minutes for a waiter before we got up and just left. A few days later we tried it again, and this time we got fast service - grouchy, but fast. But the food was awful. The spinach artichoke dip looked more like wall paper paste with a taste to match. I could not eat it. The food: Although there were a few bright spots (great croissants, roast beef and some fish dishes), the food ranged from mediocre to lousy. Sometimes luke warm, sometimes heavily salted, sometimes long waits and sometimes not resembling what the menu said. The entertainment: The Burn The Floor dance group was spectacular. Most other shows were cruise ship average. And the comedians were mostly Australians with heavy accents so we could not understand them. Port services: This cruise had a lot of tendering and this worked very well. What was missing was any information about the port, like the little map you used to get to see where they drop you off. Even worse, in some ports we were told it was unsafe and too long a distance to walk to town from the port. They wanted us to buy their bus service. Turned out the walk was 0.6 miles on a nice sidewalk - totally enjoyable and safe. The staff: It looked to us that this ship had a higher than normal amount of crew members with issues. This was particularly the case in the food serving areas. In summary, we feel that in their quest to become the lowest price operator, Norwegian has crossed the line of what we consider acceptable food quality and service. We will not be back anytime soon, at any price.Thanks for the good memories of days past!! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of itinerary (ports of call). There were a lot of sea days, but past experiences told us that we would have decent entertainment and events to fill the time. Wrong! Holland America, has cut back so drastically on the quality of the cruise experience, that we would avoid travelling with them again. We paid substantial money, and did not get decent value for it. The nighttime entertainment on our 31 day cruise, included 4 evenings with juggling acts (that were appropriate for a child's birthday party), a movie that was featured twice, the ships own singers and dancers that did their 3 shows, twice, as well as some Australian singers that were promoted as professionals of high calibre, but may have been appropriate as lounge singers. Gone are the days of afternoon entertainment and live music on the Lido deck. I was told that this has been taken away frome all Holland America's fleet. The Sailway parties are now unhosted, so they never get started as a party, and the only music for them is not age appropriate to the crowd, and is only over the PA system. There are no more on deck parties, as they have had in the past, and forget about any organized events like they have done in the past with horse races and decorating the horse or karaoke. Sincerely, you can stay home and read or play bridge at no cost, whereas they charge a bundle to supply a chair for you to do this. The portion sizes of meals have shrunk, although you can always order more, but you pay an additional cost to eat in their other restaurants, and the food in no better. Their beef meals are outstanding, but be prepared to be disappointed with overcooked and mushy fish. Five out of six fish meals I ate, including in the premium restaurant were overcooked, and these are professional chefs! Be prepared to pay $13.50 per person per day, for gratuities, plus an automatic 15% gratuity added to all drinks, which are already overpriced. Don't expect to find anything more than a mediocre bottle of wine for only pennies under $30. Keeping in mind that they purchase all their alcohol, Tax and duty free, they still charge prices equivalent to mid to high-end market prices. We asked for the daily paper to be delivered to our cabin. Never saw it. We booked and had written confirmation for dinner nervous reservations at a premium restaurant, they screwed up the date. We had our Australia visas all lined up and printed. They told us that one of ours wasn't registered, but for $35, they could do that for us. When I proved it was all in order, they discovered it was another passenger that wasn't registered for the visa. This after I waited in a long line up to prove my point, and I am not sure that I got a sincere apology. The best ports of call seem to have very limited stop overs, and some secondary ports have long ones. Ship excursions are priced significantly higher than the equivalent tours purchased directly from local vendors. It seems that this cruise line constantly has their hand in your pocket, once you have paid for the trip and boarded the ship. The well to do, like to be ripped off. Those of us of average means seem to get ripped off as a result. Many of the free seminars, are just sales pitches to promote the over priced spa treatments, or to sell you their "snake oil" health and beauty products. All in all, for value for money, there are better options available than Holland America. Shame on their management for down grading what was a great Company! Read Less

Sailed on Le Soleal before and really like these vessels, not huge , excellent service and well appointed cabins , also around 250 passengers and around 140 crew, no casino or Pokies , these ships cater for a mature audience with a sense of adventure hence the Zodiac inflatables on board to explore and land on remote beaches . With this in mind we booked on a cruise from Honolulu to French Polynesia , passengers mostly French , this can be a challenge if your French language skills are not up to scratch and , on their turf the French mostly keep themselves , a pity we had a great experience when sailing along the Australian coast ( Our Turf) on Le Soleal , more English speaking passengers , however the Crew from the top down are English speaking. This is a very important factor, Ponant is doing all it can to include all pasengers, but you have to keep this in mind when booking a cruise with Ponant and the area you visit, On our last cruise we stayed on Deck 5 , this time deck 3, the only difference a door to and instead sliding door and a partly enclosed balcony , the cabins are identical . Read Less

To see paradise in the South Pacific, the Marquesas Islands. Embarkation and disembarkation very smooth operation.Greeted and farewelled by the Captain and members of the crew. The ship is small and intimate with luxuriously appointed cabins,complimentery mini bar,and French toiletries. The crew are friendly and no task is a problem. Would love to have brought some home. Dining is a pleasure with top French Cuisine,good wine, a choice of 2 dining rooms, and snacks available in 3 lounge/bar areas, The ship has a nice library and internet centre.also a small fitness centre and Spa. Enjoyed the entertainment, dancers,musicians,the Cruise directors programmes also the lectures on the South Pacific. The Port and shore excursions were excellent plenty of time and no pressure or rush to leave the ship or the destinations. My sort of holiday, relaxing and laid back with plenty to do if you wished,but no pressure. Would love to go again and fully recommend Ponant. Enjoyed it so much have booked another trip. Read Less

My wife and I were looking for a quick get-away. We booked our cruise five weeks before departure as a package. The booking process went smoothly and all arrangements turned out as described. The boarding at the Pier in Honolulu was efficient as there were only about 300 people joining the ship at that time and our photos were on file from a previous cruise with HAL. Our veranda stateroom was on the 7th deck had ample storage space and the main room was spotless. There were, however signs of wear and tear on the furniture and the wallpaper. There was a musty odour in the bathroom that we expected would dissipate as the day progressed. When it did not go away, I mentioned it to the room attendant who promptly attacked it with a spray and poured something in the drains. The odour returned and we reported it to the front desk. Again, it was attended to, but to no effect. I suspected that there was a water leak behind the bathtub or in the floor area that required a more intensive approach. I need to note that when we mentioned it again to an attendant at customer service when we settled accounts, she did not seem to note our concern or to really care. We did this so that the problem could be seen to before the next occupant of the room was subject to the same odour problem. A second problem emerged as the cruise progressed from the heat of Hawaii to the cooler waters of the North Pacific. The air vent in the room continued to blow cold air in our faces as we lay in bed and the temperature in the room became quite uncomfortable. Adjusting the thermostat had no effect. Calling customer service had no effect. I finally went down in person to voice my concern and a maintenance attendant soon appeared to adjust the fan and the thermostat. We did get some warm air for a few hours and then the unit returned to blowing cold air over us. Again, when we mentioned the problem at the desk on check out, we were met with an apathetic response from the customer service representative. The public areas of the ship were generally clean and in good shape. We had the early seating in the main dining room. When we arrived at our assigned table on the first evening aboard we met four other passengers who had just embarked and were assigned to our table. Unfortunately we also encountered another couple who had been assigned to that particular table since New Zealand. It was embarrassingly obvious that they had expected to retain that seating for the whole voyage. They were accommodated elsewhere, but did not seem too pleased, and with good reason. Our servers at dinner were very attentive and pleasant. However this was not always the case for breakfast and lunch in the dining room, when we had different attendants. Some days it was great, other times we had long waits for food and really had to search for a second cup of coffee. My wife and I were not overly impressed with the food on board. Portion control was inconsistent and generally the meals were not up to the quality that we expect from this line. On the evening that we had surf and turf, the meat was barely recognizable as filet mignon and came very rare instead of the medium rare that we had ordered. The lobster tasted and appeared to be undercooked. We were not expecting the same quality of dining that could be found in the specialty restaurants, but do expect well-prepared food served at an appropriate temperature. The entertainment on the Noordam was at best, spotty. The B.B. King Band was the best show on board. They are very talented musicians who put tremendous energy in to each performance. Of the main stage acts, only one stood out: a pianist, who was skilled and who also put a lot of himself into his act. The others could be described as “lame”. (I thought that we were beyond “fat” and “drunk” jokes.) The one production show that was scheduled had to be cancelled because of a problem with a computer. It was rescheduled but at a very inconvenient time. Perhaps it was just us, but the other activities did not have much of an appeal – attending a lecture about the “Indians” of the northwest, playing very expensive Bingo, or learning to make poutine was not what we were looking for. Other cruises that we have been on seemed to have a better selection of shipboard activities that suited the ages and stages of their guests. My overall impression was that the ship and crew were tired. The cruise began in New Zealand, proceeded to Australia and then through the South Pacific to Hawaii where we embarked. At each major port, some passengers left and others came onboard. On cruises where the whole contingent of guests turns over at the start of the voyage there seems to be an energy and an striving to impress that permeates all departments. This is what I missed on this cruise. Given the right itinerary and value, we might choose to cruise with HAL again, but I would need to be convinced that the myriad of difficulties that we encountered would not be repeated. Read Less

Solstice a nice ship overall, staff service great, 2 choices for dining either Oceanview cafe deck 14 or Grand Epernay deck 3 or 4 all other dining places take your fat wallet you'll need it. ( Remember the charges are US Dollars plus 18% Tax) Bar prices are expensive plus you pay 18% tax on every drink which makes the humble Corona beer around $15 AUD that's each not a six pack gents. Veranda Staterooms are comfortable and serviced well each day, entertainment is somewhat repetitious, the resident ship band certainly missed out on the TV talent quest, The Lawn Club deck 15 with Sunset Bar quite relaxing however Port Side is designated Smokers area depending on wind direction can be unpleasant for non smokers. Embarkation and Disembarkation is punishing long queues stretching for 100 meters or more, be prepared to move at snails pace with frustrated passengers surrounding you on all sides. Most importantly remember on board currency is US Dollars with 18% TAX on everything you purchase ( even bottled water) the Solstice is a floating Sales market with more than willing Sales Staff after your Dollar. Read Less

Boarded ship in Honolulu and was onboard within 30 minutes. Went straight to Grand Epernay dining room for lunch. Bags arrived promptly except 1 which went astray but turned up early evening. Stateroom was Concierge 2102 up on the 12th Floor nearest the lifts. DO NOT choose this cabin as it has a storeroom right next door and then a ladies toilet. Being located close to the lifts was handy, but the lift bells were going throughout the night. All in all a very noisey cabin that should not be classed as Concierge. The afternoon Canapés served in the Stateroom are embarrassingly bad and it would be best they not serve them at all. Chose 1st seating in the main dining room. Table was located under the stairs and we were separated from the rest of the dining room, no atmosphere at all. We saw the Maitre de and he managed to change us.to anytime dining which was fantastic. Food was of a high standard. Visited the 3 select dining restaurants which were amazing. Went to the Solstice Theatre each evening where the entertainment was very good. Service was of a high standard and all of the crew, apart from a few were always smiling and seemed to enjoy themselves. Nothing was too much effort. Did our own thing in each of the ports and had fun. Apart from the noisey cabin, this was a great cruise. Met so many new acquaintances and some of them will be lifelong friends. Would highly recommend Celebrity Solstice. Ship was heading up to Singapore for a refit. Apart from some worn furniture, the ship is in really good shape! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the smaller size of the ship, the French language (although everything on board is bilingual French/English) the food, the trip, the reputation of this company and the itinerary. It was our first cruise and we are hooked. The service was impeccable, the captain and crew outstanding, the cabin modern, gorgeous and luxurious, the food was absolutely wonderful, the best we have ever had (in our lives). The itinerary was the stuff of dreams, the lecturers of the highest possible qualifications and knowledge. I honestly don't think we would consider another cruise company. We are aware that we have found perfection and need look no further. We immediately pre-booked our upcoming trips while on board and are still suffering from withdrawal symptoms. What I appreciated the most was the peace and quiet, and the sophisticated quietness (no rowdy parties, loud discotheques, queues) and the lack of formal palava (no need to wear tuxedos and ball gowns), just to be correctly dressed for dinner for example. For us this cruise ticked every box on our dream list, and more. Read Less

i was offered a deal by your sydney sales woman,gina. i had to take advantage of it.the only part of the cruise that was 5 star ,was the service provided by the receptionists, the excursion officer, all the cabin attendants,the house keeping supervisor,the restaurants serving staff and supervisors,most of the bar attendants and some of the crew members. some of the a la carte food would be considered illegal in australia. the quality of food was from sizzlers 3 star quality to 5 star. embarkation was not pleasant. logistically not well organised. the on board lectures by sophie and pascal were a high light. the theatre has great atmosphere. the stage performances were french formula type. pleasant ,but average. the islands childrens and dancers visiting at night were very pleasant. the trivia games were very retirement village type. the incidental music provided by the onboard singers/musicians was average. the rudeness towards some of the staff and fellow passengers by some of the french passengers was intolerable. from the time of the the meeting in the theatre regarding disembarkation,some of us felt abandoned. the company has our money . so get off. we have to start to think about the next group of arriving passengers. the cruise director should of gone around to every table the night before disembarkation and quickly thanked everybody. but we noted it did not happen. he represents the owner and senior managers of the company. but overall it was a french experience,but certainly not 5 star. that was reflected in the attitude of the captain, officers and hotel management. you may not like it ,but we passengers do talk to each other about the various qualities of the 5 star cruise ship market. i sent an email to head office regarding employment for somebody. but typically ,no reply. i would like to embark on another ponant cruise, but it depends upon where and how long. i want to go to antarctica. but so far what you are offering ,is inadequate. Read Less

Board ship and find stateroom not clean. Personal property including credit application belonging to previous passengers. Windjammer restaurant full of cigarette smoke from smoking area just outside the door on the starboard side. Pool full of sewage and ship cannot leave port. Delayed overnight and all next morning. A stateroom on deck 8 has sewage coming up through the bathroom. Travelling as a party of 4 and meant to be dining together, but we are split up onto tables on different sides of the dining room. Advise Guest Services they are to take US dollars from our Global Wallet account only as stipulated. Next day again advise Guest Services they are using the wrong account on our card because they did not fix it the day before. Purchased merchandise from onboard store that is to be delivered to our stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Problem with pipe in our stateroom and advise Guest Services who state they will immediately advise Maintenance. Maintenance does not come, ring them and they know nothing about it. Maintenance comes and can’t fix the problem, say they will advise Guest Services immediately re moving us to another stateroom. Hours later check with Guest Services who state they know nothing about it and Maintenance did not contact them. Moved to a new stateroom which is under the pool deck and outdoor dance floor. We no longer have an outside room with a window. We have an inside room that rattles and creaks. Air conditioning in room not working properly and have to get maintenance. Loud noises overhead all day starting from 4.30am through to 1.30am. Can’t sleep for 17 day cruise. Eventually ask if another stateroom is available and get sent to a tiny room where all the drawers open and shut on their own with the gentle rocking of the ship. Bang, bang, bang. Tried jamming them closed with hand towels, washers etc but that didn’t work so we couldn’t use this room. Advised Guest Services of this and the next day they tell us they have another room we can try. It’s the same room. Derrrrr! Other people moved in to our 1st room with the faulty pipe and they lasted 3 days. Advise Guest Services merchandise has to be delivered to our new stateroom and they state they will advise the store via email. Check with Guest Services the next day and they have no record of having to redirect the merchandise. Go to store and advise them of the change of stateroom. They write it down. On the last day of the cruise again advise the store of new stateroom for delivery of the merchandise. Merchandise not delivered to our stateroom. Our room attendant finds it in our 1st stateroom. Stateroom corridors are filled with the smell of sewage and cigarettes. Crew using fans to try to clear it. Raise this issue with one of the room attendants and he advises it is a common problem and nothing is being done about it. Theatre on the first night is full of the smell of sewage and cigarette smoke. The rest of the cruise it is only full of cigarette smoke which comes out of the casino and straight into the theatre. All passengers on board were given certificates for crossing the equator. We didn’t get ours and reported it. They had been delivered to our 1st cabin and when they were brought to our cabin they were screwed up and left in the door handle (not by our stateroom attendant, who was fantastic). Overhear a man telling Guest Services he is sick of putting up with the smell of sewage in his stateroom and wants something done about it NOW. Also overhear a woman complaining her stateroom had not been cleaned when she first boarded the ship. Early one morning strong smell of cigarette smoke in the Windjammer restaurant. Get told it is burnt toast. Yeah sure. Raw fish served in the dining room to some guests. Cigarette butts on the decks, rust everywhere, the mini golf course in a terrible state of repair with broken floor, ripped carpeting blowing in the wind etc. Excursion in Moorea was with a foul mouthed tour guide. Mentioned this to the excursion desk for their records and it was like the young lady didn’t care. Disembark in Sydney and find we have no AUS. dollars in our account. RCCL has deducted from the wrong account despite us have advised them twice, and they have taken more $100.00 more than we owe. We have no AUS. dollars to pay for airport transfers etc. Royal Caribbean has also put a hold on the rest of our funds. (About $2000.00 in AUD & USD). Get home to Brisbane and send an email to RCCL about them taking from the wrong account and putting a hold on all our other funds, leaving us with nothing in the account. Get an automatic reply stating the email will be answered within 21 days so ring RCCL and speak to a very unprofessional person in Guatemala who doesn’t allow my wife to speak and just keeps talking over the top of her and cutting her off. I take the phone and abruptly tell him not to be so rude and let her explain. He denies RCCL has taken too much money despite us emailing him a copy the account and a copy of our Global Wallet statement. It’s in plain black and white but he won’t acknowledge it. He rings back the next day and my wife answers the phone. He starts talking over the top of her again and not letting her get a word in. It's too much and I get really angry, take the phone and have a go at him. He just keeps talking over the top of me. I ask to speak to his supervisor and he refuses. Eventually he agrees to send a fax to Virgin Global Wallet telling them they can release the money RCCL has on hold. 2 days later we ring Global Wallet and they have not received any fax. Ring Guatemala again and want the fax sent. They say it was sent but will do it again. Still no mention by RCCL of the excess they took out of our AUD to pay the account. Now 4 days and 7 phone calls later and still release of the money on hold, no repayment of the extra they took to pay for out account, the Australian contact number does not answer and no one in Guatemala has any idea. Read Less

We boarded easily in Honolulu without any difficulty even though a trainee checked us in (under close supervision by a manager). Unfortunately, after entering the ship, there was no one accessible to guide us-thank goodness we were familiar with cruising and knew what to do, but it missed the Welcome Aboard factor. We had a superior balcony and it was just a bit larger than we expected. It was neat, clean, and well prepared. The only downside was that the rail on the balcony was badly chipped and in need of a sanding and additional varnish. All the rooms adjacent to us had rails with similar conditions but the public areas were all well in tact-in fact they were sanding and painting during part of the cruise. The ship while not the newest was still in good shape and was cleaned very well all the time. We ate twice at Izumi-almost privately on both occasions and the food was quite good. The Chop House and Samba were also excellent-great food and great service. Just not sure why the ship did not advertize or sell the specialty dining package-we heard about it on the sixth day and then saw a sign in the elevator but it was never promoted that we saw earlier on the trip-it would be worthwhile so look for it early on the trip. The main dining room was fair-in terms of atmosphere and food. The service was good and we had the same waiter in the MyTime restaurant which was a nice surprise and he was quite good-pleasant, helpful and attentive. The buffet is less than average-not great service and the food was mediocre-not well presented and not with a great variety. Need to like Indian food to eat here. Thank goodness it was appealing to us. Also, the hours should be expanded a bit as it was limited, especially when we embarked on the ship. Can't say enough about the entertainment-this was the best we have ever seen on a ship. All 5 Star performances-the band was great; the singers and dancers quite good and the other entertainers the absolute best-Karen Grainger-female impersonator/singer was fabulous; the trumpeter/singer was great, and the comedian/illusionist was also top notch. There was a pianist whose fingers travel at the speed of light and he too, was gifted and a great entertainer. They all performed an extra show on the last day and it was SRO and the audience was so appreciative. The bar entertainers were good, solid performers(we have seen better but they were still competent and well received). There were onlhy 3 stops and two tender excursions-one of which was extremely poorly managed by RCCL-it was a bit wavy and they could not control the tenders no matter what they did but they surely did not look confident or sure as to what to do. Almost lost a passenger between the tender and the ship. Also, the daily newsletter was mostly informative but they could do a better job with giving passengers a small map of the area where the ship will dock so you can easily navigate the local streets and know what to expect (it is what Princess does). A good trip overall-just a few areas for improvement. I will say the service in general was good-the cabin attendant was helpful, pleasant and gracious; the room service quite good; and the bar staff also generally pleasant. Read Less

This was a wonderful back to back cruise. We started in Honolulu and sailed to Tahiti and did a round trip there for the second segment. Embarkation was super-easy in Honolulu. We had a mini-suite that provided us with more than enough storage space. The cabin and ship were always immaculate. The public areas looked brand new, except for the furniture in the 10th deck Pacific Lounge; it was rather "tired." We have sailed on Oceania, Celebrity, and Regent; but the service and attention by the crew was superior on this ship. We have sailed over 14 times; but we have never seen such a happy crew and well-run ship. The ship's tours ran the scale from outstanding (Waterfall Hiking Tour on Maui; and the archaeological tour with Paul on Huahine) to near-disaster (Off-Road tour on Bora-Bora in a vehicle with no seat belts and a flat tire!). The best of the best was the private tour with Patrick Tairua of MaoHinui on Bora-Bora; it was an amazing experience) The entertainment on the ship was quite good; better than expected for a ship of that size. The sea days featured Ukelele lessons by Elua, a Latin dance workout, and ballroom dance lessons from the outstanding staff and my wife liked the beauty salon. The only negative was the mediocre food in the dining room and buffet. There was no lox, although the omelet station was good. Read Less

Our most recent cruise on CELEBRITY SOLTICE from HI to Sydney was 17 days long – give or take a day for the crossing of the International Date Line. The Ship is lovely but didn’t offer the same amenities at a reasonable price that we enjoy of the ROYAL PRINCESS just a few months ago. Celebrity did NOT honor certain “ON-BOARD Credit” programs like Princess does. They said we could use ‘one or the other ~ no combining of credits’. Nor does Celebrity provide Military on-board credits; or stock holder credit – all recognized and granted by Princess routinely. On a recent Princess cruise my husband and I enjoyed almost $1000. EACH in on-board credit, while on the recent Celebrity cruise of 17 days, we had $250. apiece in on board credit. I’ll take Princess over Celebrity any day! I had to pay for all shore excursions via credit card BEFORE we set sail! Not so with Princess. Solstice Drinks and wine were much higher; too many “specialty” restaurants; no Night Club venue for relaxing with a drink or to see a smaller show or to read in the afternoon except the Sky Lounge and frequently it was used for ships activities or private parties.. There was no Movies Under the Stars – a special pleasure on some Princess ships! The Buffet Dining was nice, but often very congested. The Royal Princess was much better! The Solstice Class ships do have the Cornell Hot Glass Show – very, very nice. The food was pretty good, however the bread on Princess if fabulous. Celebrity had a lot of baguettes. I will add that offering Escargot every night was a nice touch! The Celebrity Balcony Stateroom (Concierge class) was small and narrow – hard to walk around the bed! The storage was better than Royal Princess with 6 drawers in the cabinet next to the refrigerator. Two throw pillows made the plastic couch fairly comfortable. The bed was wonderful, as were the linens. The bathroom was very nice; not roomy but very adequate. Stateroom Service was pretty good – but nothing extraordinary. NO LAUNDRY ROOM – Celebrity does not offer a laundry room for passengers. Instead they charge an exorbitant rate to do a small bag of laundry == the bag was about 18 inches by 20 inches. (46cm by 50cm). Washing Exercise clothes and underwear out in the tiny stateroom sink is not my idea of “Holiday”. I LOVE the Laundry Rooms on Princess Ships. It enables me to pack less – maybe buy more! Internet/WIFI – So expensive and NO CREDIT was issued on this cruise. We always get some FREE Internet time with Princess. Overall – I do prefer Princess over Celebrity. I don’t like Royal Caribbean at all and won’t sail them again for reason I won’t go into here. I have never sailed with NCL or any other line. We have 12 cruises or 100 days at sea under our belt. Our next cruise (2 actually) will be on Princess - already booked!   Read Less

Six of us sailed on this cruise from Hawaii to Sydney and from embarkation to disembarkation the whole trip was appalling. The people at the check in didn't seem to know what they were doing and gave us all the wrong cruise passes. Once on the ship we seem to have many a communication problem with the staff who on most occassions barely spoke english. Whilst they seem friendly enough, the fact the you needed to do sign language to make them understand on a cruiseship full of Australians and Americans was disgraceful. The ship is old,tired and very unhygienic and I have photos of the mould all over my parent curtains in their balcony suite. Totally agree with some other reviews I have read re the bathrooms, which are very small and have ridiculous plastic shower curtains. With all the money this line is making you think they could afford proper shower screens. I hate to think what would happen in rough seas as you would tumble out of the shower very easily. All cabins that were not balcony suites had mini bars in a cupboard as there were no fridges in the room. Again I have photos and can't believe they couldn't afford to put a small fridge in each room. No iron facilites was also ludicrous as even P&O provide a supervised Ironing room and laundry. I spend a lot of money on my clothes and I do not let anyone but me wash and iron my clothes, so I spent 17days wearing unironed outfiits, charming! As for the onboard entertain we had RSL club acts and people who appeared on Australian Variety shows 20 years ago. What a disgrace! This line sells it self on providng lavish productions and broadway musicals. on a 16 night cruise got two decent shows, neither of which fell into the above categories. I don't think I have ever been so bored or more glad to finish a holiday in my life. Finally when we arrived in Sydney (Hallelujah) we were thrown off the ship into kaos. Whilst this was not all the fault of Royal Carribean and more the fault of the government, they still were very unhelpful and didn't seem to care that 2000 odd passengers were trying to work out how to get out of the internation terminal. All I can say is that the people who rave about this line don't have very high standards as I would not recommend this ship or this line to anyone. Read Less

This was our second Royal Caribbean cruise and first time on this ship and it was wonderful!!! The Radiance is definitely a beautiful ship and the crew are very polite and always took the time to greet us where ever we were on the ship. We opted for My Time Dining and this worked well most nights as we got to sit next to different people and on the last few nights we opted to dine with people we had came friends with and this worked well. We loved the choice of food on the menu but we always asked for extra vegetables and this was never a problem. A couple of times food didn't come out cooked as requested but wait staff were quick to rectify the problem. A very negative point was that there were not enough Australian or New Zealand wines on the wine and dine package and with over 1500 Australians onboard there should have been more choices. My other little gripe is that we could never get a lounge chair in the Sanctuary as people would reserve the chairs and then go away for hours. Unsure how you police the area but it would be nice if people went for lunch gave up their lounges for someone else. Overall, we would definitely cruise again with Royal Caribbean and recommend the Radiance of the Seas Read Less

We booked this cruise a year before and longed for it to come oh we're we to be disappointed. Good: Embarkation Smooth and very fast Radiance is as beautiful as I remember her ( have sailed twice on her before) Stayed in cabin 9000 good cabin, james our steward was great and looked after all our needs. Diamond lounge, Mary our bar attendant was wonderful and looked after us so well, the other guy there (don't even know his name) was anything but pleasant and infact ignored us for most of the cruise. Dinning room staff wonderful food was so so and was very hit and miss. Bad Entertainment on this ship was extremely poor, the cruise director was invisible and infact I think I saw him twice on the 18 days we were on board. We had a total on 12 days at sea on this cruise and boy I have never wanted so much to get off a ship as I did this one boring was the understatement. Entertainment staff poor and shows were awful. Movies on the big screen were repeated on a rotation basis so on 18 nights I think I saw the same movies 3 times. Sad that watching movies was the highlight of the evening. Centrum singers repeated the same sets of songs night after night after night I have never been so disappointed on a cruise as I did on this one royal needs to step up there game, people were bored and I have never heard so many people complaining about the lack of entertainment. Ports were great but very few and I think royal could have sped up the shop and did less days at sea and more ports. Overall radiance is still a beautiful ship but I would never recommend this cruise to anyone.   Read Less

Traveling to Honolulu on the day of departure from Sydney on Ha452 Hawaiian Airlines was good and comfortable and when we arrived in Honolulu picked up our bags and made our way to the Hawaiian Taxi Service which took us to the Pier2 in Oahu we were their in plenty of time. We came into the Terminal in Oahu we are gold class so we got on board with no trouble at all after that things started to go down hill you might say, Windjammer buffet was serving so went there and ended up going there quite a few times after that because the food there was better than going to the main dinning area.We did find the waiters did a good job serving us but the food was luke warm to cold and lacked taste.We have been on Rhapsody of the Seas before and noticed a big let down in service everywhere.Also we ended up eating twice at the Chops Grill and a big welldone to the staff and waiters you did a good job both times you pay a fee of 30usd pp it was worth it,and then we also went one night at the Giovanni,s Table it was great as well and you pay 20usd/pp but well worth it. Port excursions we had three tours which we booked online before we left home and found them very enjoyable and informative.Sydney was a nightmare with all that work going on at terminal .Altogether not happy with Royal Caribbean so we will not be back. Read Less

We did 3 back to back cruises aboard the Millennium: from Honolulu to Sydney; Sydney to Singapore; and Singapore to Hong Kong. The greats: 1.The Elite Club was fantastic: great happy hour each day (ok two hours) with complimentary adult beverages and hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. The hostess, Rose , was especially good. 2.The itinerary was good (that's why we choose the cruises). One recommendation is that in the ports of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and Hanoi, it is really time effective to do the overnight in the cities. They are reasonably priced and it avoids as least one long bus ride. 3. The staff is very good - overworked perhaps, but very upbeat and attentive. I think this line does personnel very well. The mediocres: We've sailed with Celebrity quite a bit and the quality of food has slowly diminished from "Wow" to pretty good. The buffet has come up a bit thanks more choices and the Asian section, but the dining room food is a little less than it was. Having said that, the wait staff was good. Celebrity seems to be coming down to the level of Royal Carribbean and there is beginning to be a lack of brand differentiation between the two lines. The Millennium's décor is a little tired but the cabins are good and very clean and we were on the 2000 level. I think with the cost of airfare going up all the time, back to back cruises are the way to go.   Read Less

After a wonderful experience on the Solstice last year we booked - at more money per day - on the Millennium from Ensanada to Hawaii and then on to Sydney. What a disappointment and its not the ship. The Cruise Director was on an ego trip, he failed to properly direct his staff and only wanted to tell everybody that they were having a good time we had a small issue which , frankly he wasn't interested in and suggested "Perhaps this Product doesn't suit you" We also noted an elderly German couple where the old gentleman had been knocked off his chair by another passenger trying to get a photograph. They received little 'Proactive " care and attention despite their ages and it was only after I spoke with the Guest relations manager that anyone regularly checked on them. The man walked on the ship and went off in a wheelchair. The individual activities staff were pleasant but not given proper direction and consequently often failed to come up with the goods. Our cabin and the food were both acceptable to good , it basically boiled down to the fact that the forward facing staff were not as good as the Solstice, it is not about the ship its about the staff We will not support Celebrity in future, they've demonstrated a lack of concern or interest in any issues - only trying to convince one and all in a superficial manner that - You're having a Great time !!!!!! Read Less