We are a couple - I am 54 and DH 63 and while we have cruised a few times (around 20), this was our first cruise with HAL. We were a bit cautious about going on an older ship but this was alleviated soon after boarding. What a great ship! She is in very good condition and lovingly cared for by a top notch crew. Without exception, all staff we encountered appeared to be happy to be onboard and genuinely wanted to please the passengers. We also loved the small size of the ship (we had ~1350 passengers). It felt like our first cruise on Celebrity Horizon - could walk end to end in less than 3 minutes.

Food - excellent in all locations. Appreciate that most of the food is served (instead of a free-for-all germ exchange in the buffet area). We had a lunch in the Pinnacle Grill - what a bargain at $10 for a super lunch! The pizza and burger offerings were very nice. Liked they were made to order versus getting a piece of pizza that might have been lying under the heat lamp for a while. Also like that ice cream was served (versus self-serve machines) - ate way too many waffle cones! We had some B,L,Ds in the MDR and all meals were great. Finally, we ordered coffee and some food from room service from the breakfast menu. Quick in delivery and got what we ordered.

Entertainment - good. The ship's singers and dancers did a good job with better than average costumes. Wow, the couple that did a tango dance was wonderful. The "bar entertainment" was nice - good mix of offerings and good locations. However, please note the ship is very laid back and there just isn't a lot going on. No sail away party, no big screen on the pool deck blasting away constantly - simply not a lot of noise. We LOVED it, but some we talked to were surprised at the lack of action (first time HAL cruisers that didn't research before hand). Oh, almost forgot, I very much enjoyed the America's Test Kitchen classes. I wasn't looking to become a certified chef after attending the classes (some say the classes are too pedestrian for "real" cooks), but she shared some good ideas and I appreciated having an alternative to port shopping talks. Read more