I choose this cruise because I wanted to see places in South America. I had a great time with all my cruise critic friends that I planned this trip with on our Roll Call. All the excursions that we chose were wonderful and would recommend them to everyone. I stayed at a local hotel that supplied a shuttle to the ship which went without a hitch. Embarkation went smoothly and my room was ready when I boarded. I had a lanai cabin mid-ship and aside from some worn/scratched spots on the chair I found the room perfect for me. The ship is an older one so of course it is not in tip top condition but that did not stop me from having a good time. The one thing that enjoyed the most was having a reserved lounge chair right outside my door on the promenade deck where I could sit and watch the world go by.

I travel alone since my husband passed away and I still have no problems while cruising on HAL. The room stewards took care of anything I requested of them and always with a smile. If they saw me in the hall they always greeted me by name and asked how my day was going. The entertainment in the show lounge was good. The cruise director was good and I enjoyed the afternoon trivia games that he hosted. The one complaint I did have was after the first show host (cruise director assistant?) left the ship in Peru and a new one arrived there were no bingo games on sea days. She had one the first day after she joined the ship and there were no more until the last sea day. I did not see her around the ship at all until the 7 PM trivia in the MIX and then she was rushing off as soon as it was over. The first show host we had hosted different activities during the day on sea days but she did not. I guess I was spoiled on the Westerdam 30 cruise to the South Pacific where we had a lot of activities all day long on the sea days (and bingo).

Another complaint I did have was I had anytime dining but I was limited to when I could go to dinner. It seemed that unless you had a reservation you couldn't get seated before 7:30 PM. I don't blame the hosts, they did their best to seat me whenever I requested. I think it was because there seemed to be a lot of older cruisers (not that I am young) who ate at 5:15 and then were off the bed by 9 PM. The service by the waiters was good and they do their best considering HAL has cut back on staffing the dining room Read more