My husband and I took this cruise for the unique itinerary, The Black Sea, Egypt & The Holy Lands. We are both 60, and this is our 10th HAL Cruise. We looked forward to revisiting some places we had been before, and experiencing the Black Sea. We were not disappointed! We flew on Air France business class (booked our own air) from Los Angeles to Athens and were met by a HAL Representative, who had a cab waiting to take us to the Athens Ledra Marriott. We had a 2-½ hour layover in Paris (CDG), a comfortable connect time for passport control and security. We booked the pre cruise night with HAL with transfers, and were pleased with the arrangement and accommodations. The HAL Desk welcomed us with a packet of info about the hotel and optional tours on the way to the port. Great hotel! We met fellow cruise critic members for breakfast, skipping the tours, as we have been to Athens before. EMBARKATION We departed for Piraeus with HAL after 11A.M. for the 30 minute bus ride. We joined the line, filled out the health questionnaire and sipped lemonade while we waited to show our passports. The check in line was long, but there were many agents to handle the process. We had been upgraded to a suite, so we enjoyed being checked in immediately and were soon on the Lido enjoying lunch while waiting for staterooms to be ready. While we waited I filled out the shore excursion request and dropped it in the express box at the shore ex office. Rooms were ready at 1:30. Yes, embarkation was hectic, but we waited 10 months for this day, so we tried to be patient! SHIP AND STATEROOM The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship, in tiptop shape. Very elegant, with fresh flowers everywhere. With 1400 passengers she is just the right size. The staff was very welcoming, and there were plenty of places for quiet reflection, even though the ship was full. There were many activities to choose from. Susan Wood was a great cruise director. All HAL cruise directors seem to follow the same script, but she made it sound fresh. Our stateroom was a real treat, with fresh flowers, fruit, flat screen TV, dressing room, ample storage space and a spacious verandah with 2 lounges, a table and 4 chairs. I love the Elemis bath products! We have traveled in every category on HAL, and have found the same great bed, amenities and service to be consistent. Our steward, Ohandi, took good care of our room, quickly learned when we were at dinner, and readied the room for the night. We chose Open Seating, table for 2, at 5:15. We liked our stewards so much, that we kept the same table and time for the entire cruise. The elegant dining room was not very busy at 5:15, so we got lots of attention. Eko, our headwaiter, said the open seating really filled up starting at 7 P.M. Overall the food was good, with some selections being better than others. Presentation was always beautiful. An excellent violin soloist played on formal nights. We had dinner one night in the Pinnacle Grill, courtesy of our TA, and it was a disappointment. During the cruise they dropped the price from $30 back to $20. There were 3 formal nights on this cruise. Attire ranged from gowns and tuxes to "Sunday Best." We used room service for breakfast almost every day, which we enjoyed on the verandah while we sailed in to a new port. Selection was good, but no hot cereal is offered. We had room service lunch while cruising the Dardanelles: club sandwiches, salad and apple strudel. Very tasty. The Lido Buffet was average for lunch. I like the salads and my husband likes the Terrace Grill. The best dessert is warm bread pudding with a scoop of ice cream! We ate off the ship in a number of ports, so we didn't use the Lido often. Show times were 7 and 9, so we were able to go to the first show. We didn't attend every show. The Australian group, "Black Tie" was great, the Rotterdam show cast performed well, and the costumes looked new. We took in a movie one formal night. Love the popcorn! SHORE EXCURSIONS Because this was such a port intensive itinerary we didn't stay up late in the lounges or casino. The fitness center looked good, but I never made it there. We didn't use the Spa either. We only took HAL excursions. A port lecturer was onboard, but she was disappointing. She just read from her books and gave inaccurate information about acceptable currency. Istanbul: The ship offered a shuttle to the Grand Bazaar each day. We took "Dinner Cruise on the Scenic Bosphorus,"great choice, beautiful sights, excellent dinner. Next day, "Best of Istanbul," a good overview with lunch at the Topkapi Palace overlooking the Boshporus. Very crowded everywhere. Dollars or Euros accepted. Varna: "Scenic Varna" Very interesting. Roman Baths are heavily restored. Beautiful cathedral. Fascinating Ethnographic Museum with folk costumes. The folklore show was well done, out in the countryside in the woods, so you got to see a lot of Varna. Bulgarian wine, cheese and sausage were served. Touristy but not tacky. No Shuttle. Dollars or Euros accepted. Odessa: "Odessa Highlights" Overview tour was fine, but guide was rude. We took the shuttle back. An interesting walking city. I think a private guide would be good here. They wanted their own currency. Not to be missed: The Passage Mall, beautiful fountains and parks. Lots of restoration, much more than in Varna or Constanta. Constanta: " Histria, the Ancient Citadel" interesting 1 hour drive into the countryside with a great guide who provided lots of information about Romania. Excellent small museum. Creatively restored ruins. A beautiful walk in the country. Folk Art Museum was fascinating. Shuttle service. Dollars and Euros accepted. Haifa: "Jerusalem and Bethlehem" 800 people from the ship went. Very crowded at Christian sights. The Wailing Wall was very solemn. We had an excellent lunch at a hotel and a wonderful guide. It was about a 3-hour ride to Jerusalem. No Shuttle. Dollars and Euros accepted. Limassol: "Pafos & the Mosaics of Dionysus" Pretty drive up the coast. Breathtaking views and amazing Roman ruins. Pafos is a busy tourist harbor. Euros accepted in Pafos. Shuttle service in Limassol. Alexandria: 800 passengers went to Cairo in convoy with armed guard on each bus. It was 3 hours each way through the countryside. We took "Giza Pyramids, The Sphinx & Nile in Style." Unbelievable to see the Pyramids. Our guide discouraged entering a pyramid, but you could if you wanted to. It was 105 degrees. Vendors weren't as aggressive as I expected. Take Euro coins to pay police to let you touch the pyramids. The whole experience was amazing and worth the trip. Lunch on the Nile cruiser was very good, along with belly dancers. We heard people who took the Museum of Antiquities tour only got about 45 minutes in the museum. No Shuttle. Dockside market for last minute souvenirs accepting Dollars and Euros. HAL gave us a checklist for what documentation was required for each port. As US citizens local visas were provided for us. The ship kept our passports until we needed them for Odessa and Egypt. Israeli officials came on the ship and interviewed everyone, including the crew, before granting a Shore Pass. Ship's officers were in the terminal to welcome passengers back from tours in Israel and Egypt...a nice touch! We bought an Internet Package on the ship. Service was terrible. There were a few rough spots with getting everyone off the ship for tours, but overall things went well. DISEMBARKATION The ship returned to Piraeus around 4:30 A.M. Greek authorities came on board to stamp passports. Passengers were called in groups to pick up passports. Disembarkation started at 7:45 with self-disembarkation, followed by early flights. Our flight left at 12:45 P.M. We were called at 8:45. Our luggage was taken directly to the Airport, so we didn't have to claim it, our bus departed before 9. Traffic was heavy, and it took an hour to get to the airport. We picked up our luggage at the airport and went to the Air France counter. We had a 45 min. connection in Paris CDG, impossible! Air France met us (there were 12 all together making the connection to the Los Angeles flight) as we got off the plane and escorted us to the departure gate. Hats off to AF!

This cruise lived up to our expectations. Seeing the haunting, faded beauty of the Black Sea ports was impressive. We would recommend this itinerary and Holland America!