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, ...
I've been to Hawaii RT 6 times and this was the worst for activities and on any cruise ever taken as well and that numbers about 40. There was no Hawaiian enrichment speaker unlike last year. No guest speakers. NO COOKING CLASSES on way over. No singers\dancers until the return. Etc etc. Everyone was complaining and one lady canceled two future HAL cruises. Finally in Hawaii HAL got the word ...
We booked this cruise 2 weeks before sailing. The itinerary and price was too good to pass up. Leaving from San Diego was the perfect start of this 17 day cruise. Embarkation was a bit chaotic as a Disney ship was embarking at the same time. This caused an hour or more of standing in line and wait time. This was the perfect way to visit Hawaii. The 5 days on the Pacific crossing were warm ...
We chose this cruise because we have never been disappointed with HAL, and they continue to provide excellent service and MDR dining, which are the two areas that we scrutinize when cruising.
The great service continues at most levels from room stewards to managerial staff, with a personal touch in knowing your name.
Dining in the MDR has always been semi-gourmet, with small portions like ...
Excellent service excellent vegetarian food good place to meet a lot of World Travelers. I enjoyed the Lincoln Center this time around I wish I had more great classical music or modern music on this ship line. I met some very nice people and in hindsight I wish I hadn't gotten Roberts information who I had High Tea with on October 13th 2019.Heathe Millard Fbk okay I have to add 65 more words I did ...
It was my husband's fall break from school and my dad and his wife could fit this cruise into their schedule so for the first time we were able to take a cruise together. We had been looking forward to it for many months. We flew into San Diego a day earlier and got a night at the nearby Best Western prior to embarkation.
Embarkation went smoothly. After checking in, we had to wait about ...
We travelled as a party of 9 and had really looked forward to seeing Alaska with Holland America. Boy were we disappointed.
Every show, talk, movie on the cruise was an attempt to sell something. Although we are used to cruises and expect this to happen, their selling attempt was too blatant and started to ruin our experience.
A season on the history of diamonds led to a pushy sales effort ...
We took this cruise with another couple, long-time friends and traveling companions, booking two balcony cabins with adjoining doors and balconies, and we had a very good time. We were nervous about the weather sailing south down the coast, but needn't have been, because the weather was gorgeous and the seas were very smooth. Boarding was wonderfully efficient - we arrived at the port a bit ...
I wanted to try a 1 day cruise and it was really more work getting packed and it was over the moment I woke up. However we did upgrade to the Pinnacle Suite which was a lot of fun, and fairly affordable considering this was only one night. The golden marble in the bathroom was beautiful and it is much more tasteful than the newer HAL Pinnacle Suites, however the furniture is silly and the shower ...
THE GOOD: Very efficient at embarking and disembarking passengers smoothly. Smiley, welcoming and attentive staff. Very clean and comfortable stateroom. Good entertainment (we watched the dancers). Several choices of bars and lounges, all with excellent service. Pretty good food.
NOT SO GOOD: I couldn't help compare this ship with the one I sailed on 20 years ago. It was nothing like ...