We are first time cruisers (55/57) who chose this cruise for the ports of call and the small size of the ship. We are not "late night" people so reports that HAL did not offer a great deal of "night life" was not of concern to us. We also wanted to ensure that our first cruise did not include a lot of children - and this itinerary/timing did achieve that goal. We also very much appreciated that HAL allows you to bring wine on board for in stateroom consumption and took the opportunity to pick up a few bottles in Rome prior to departure. Also as we are not Coke drinkers - having the opportunity to bring on an alternate choice was most appreciated.

We joined the cruise after spending two weeks of independent travel to Athens and Egypt - flying into Rome and transferring to the port by bus. We boarded at Civitavecchia and our initial impression of the ship was old and somewhat rusted from the exterior. Our embarkation process was amazingly fast and we were boarding in less than 10 minutes after our arrival. We had a glitch with my picture and upon boarding were asked to go to the front desk sometime over the next two days for a re-do which we did immediately as well as ordering the "unlimited laundry package".

We also checked our table for 2 for early seating - which was great and re-confirmed that we had a reservation in the Pinnacle Grill for a special anniversary event. All of these steps were "tips" I learned from the Cruise Critic Boards and proved to be very good advice. As it turned out there was no reservation at the PG but that was easily corrected. Read more