We looked forward to this trip to the Martimes, Quebec and Montreal. Having found on previous cruises that HAL was more than careful with their passengers comfort and the quality of offerings, we had no worries about the weather in the spring. We were disillusioned quickly. The meals in the main dining room were forgettable including tough steaks, compounded by slow service, cold hot dishes on the Lido, inadequate preparation for specialities on the Lido (people waited in line for more than 20 minutes on New England Dinner night only to receive a skimpy plain skinny lobster piece on a cool bun.)

And then there was no heat. Speaking to the crew resulted in a " we'll look into it ". Our cabin thermostat was turned up full, and we froze. Passengers wore their parkas and coats to read in the Explorations Lounge. Finally, on day 3 or 4, there was central heat, and we were comfortable indoors!

The entire tenor of life on board felt like this was an exercise to train new crew or retire departing crew. Not even close to our expectations, but for one or two crew members who could not make up for what appeared to be management level indifference. Read more