Good experience with friends experiencing the Amazon together.

The itinerary was the main attraction for us. Always wanted to see the Amazon. 5 stops along the river. Manaus was the best thanks to a wonderful day on the river observing pink dolphins, visiting an indigenous tribal village, observing several species of monkeys, viewing giant lily pads, enjoying a lunch on a floating restaurant, and getting into the meeting of the rivers. The Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins was exciting. Belem was dreadful, be very careful in the market area. A thief tried to mug me but I along with some market vendors subdued him. Leave jewelry on the ship and hold cameras close. 8 stops in the Caribbean along the way, some good---Aruba and St. Lucia, some so-so---Trinidad and Barbados, some bad---Martinique and Tobago. No desire to return as this was a one time event. Sad to see the towns in Brazil to be so neglected and run down, piles of trash, graffiti, infrastructure in disrepair everywhere we went so it was a bit demoralizing.

Outstanding food---especially the soups, salads, and fish---, entertainment, and service aboard the ship. The crew was very friendly and responsive to inquiries. Captain Steve MacBeath was superb! Wine packages a bit overpriced but the quality of the available options was good. Showroom at Sea speaker system needs work, sit toward the rear of the venue. Some bench seating in the Showroom at Sea is not comfortable so choose seating carefully. Excellent enrichment lecturers speaking about the history and environment of the region. Outstanding cruise director and future cruise consutant.

Best crossing the equator ceremony I've attended since my Navy days! However, I'm told the ceremony will be discontinued.

Excellent Filipino and Indonesian crew performances, arrive early to get a decent seat.

Tender operations, especially those provided by locals, a bit tenuous. Too many people with mobility challenges tried to make a go of it. Know your physical limitations and don't hazard yourself or other passengers and crew. Saw several falls both boarding and disembarking from tenders. HAL was lucky there were no significant injuries but the potential was there every tender operation. HAL needs to be more proactive prohibiting those with obvious mobility issues from putting thmselves in harms way. It's a tough call to make but it's necessary.

Absolutely dreadful internet service onboard, very slow speed even at 4am or 11pm when nobody else was using the internet. 20+ minutes to log on, type a one sentence message and send it to 2 addresses Don't waste money or shipboard credit on the internet service.

Nice selection of box games onboard. Microsoft Digital Workshop and America's Test Kitchen venues both excellent, informative, and very helpful adding to overall enjoyment of the cruise.