We chose this cruise (14-day back-to-back) because the price was right and we wanted to experience the Eurodam. We've always had good luck with HAL which is why we keep going back. This cruise was no different. HAL caters to folks in our age group (retirees) and generally you can expect a laid back cruise. If you're into rock climbing walls, water slides, arcades, partying into the late hours and the like, you'd be sorely disappointed with this or any other HAL cruise. When departing out of Fort Lauderdale, we drive to within 30 -90 minutes of the port, stay the night in a hotel and drive in early the next morning to arrive by 11:00 pm. We use Park-N-Go which is just a half mile from the port. They are excellent and highly recommended. Embarcation was a breeze and our luggage arrived while we had lunch. While we usually opt for an inside, this trip we went with a balcony cabin. The room was nice and the bed slept fine. The flat screen TV mounted on the wall in front of the bed is perfect for late night viewing. It was also nice to have a small refrigerator. The balcony was good size and came with two lounge chairs, two footstools and a drink table. At one stop a Princess ship was docked directly across the pier from us and I could see that our balcony was considerably deeper than those on that ship.

Since we'd been to all the ports except Amber Cove, we didn't opt for any land excursions. This trip we stopped twice at Half Moon Cay which is our favorite Caribbean stop. The beach is pristine and HAL puts on a great island BBQ. For entertainment, the HAL singers/dancers put on two good shows (repeated the 2nd week) and comedians filled in six nights - three were very good but one just couldn't find his mark. The BBC film with live music was especially good. The B.B. King band provides heart pounding R&B and the two piano players in the Billboard-On-Board lounge were entertaining. This ship had a nicely stocked library. The partnership HAL has with America's Test Kitchen is a real improvement. Our host (Conrad) was exceptional and very entertaining even if didn't like what he was cooking up. This guy could have his own TV show.

Speaking of food, we found the food on this ship to be excellent, probably the best overall of any HAL ship we've been on. For most all diners, we ate in the main dining room or one of the specialty restaurants. One thing worth noting. If you have anytime dining, it's not like a regular restaurant where you can just walk in and get a table. The dining room opens at 5:30 and generally fills up shortly after 6:00. Dinner takes between 1 1/2 and 2 hours depending upon how large your table is. That said, you're typically looking at a 30 - 45 minute wait if you arrive after 6:00. We like to eat later and found that 7:30 is a good time to arrive if you don't like waiting. We ate in each of the specialty restaurants once with the exception of the Tamarind which we went to twice. If you love sushi, this is the place to go (although it offers a lot more than just sushi). We ate all breakfasts in the Lido as the choice is almost endless. Same for lunch. My wife loved the Dive Inn hamburgers and I loved the New York Pizza. Our room stewards were great and the service provided by the dining staff in all the restaurants and the Lido were exceptional (as usual). Debarcation went smoothly. The only thing we didn't like about this cruise is that it occurred during what is spring break for most schools. That said, the crowd was a lot younger than your typical HAL cruise. The first week we had about 400 kids of all ages on board and 200 the second week (as opposed to maybe 10 or 20 on a typical HAL cruise). The Lido pool area was completely taken over by the kids and a number of them attempted to invade the adults only pool at the rear of the ship. Most all the kids were well behaved and looked after by their parents but there were about a dozen who ran wild. The lesson here is that if you want a typical HAL cruise, don't book during spring break.