This was our 6th HAL cruise. Our interest in this crossing was sparked by the interesting ports (Cork, Waterford, Torquay, and Dover) in Ireland and the UK. Our cabin stewards (Rio and Ewan) were phenomenal and kept the cabin in perfect shape. They are assigned approximately 35 cabins to take care of by HAL which is an unreasonable workload. We had great dinner and lunch in the Pinnacle Grill with the most delicious tenderloin we have ever been served by HAL, while there is an extra cost we deemed it worthwhile. We ate many meals in Lido and found a wide selection of nicely prepared dishes, usually the same fare that was being served in the MDR. We arrived early for meals in the Lido to grab a preferred seat in an area where some great teams of super friendly servers were stationed who took great care of our beverage requests. At peak seating times, the Lido became pretty crowded. The food in the MDR was very good for the most part though the portions have been noticeably reduced and there are more items with upcharges. The service was good though the wait time for food could be long.

The major disappointment was the lack of the Lincoln Center quartet and BB King group on the music walk. On past cruises these groups have been the highlight of onboard entertainment for us. We understand there is some sort of contractual issue that precludes the groups being aboard. HAL should really amend all of their advertising to remove any mention of groups that are not currently performing on their ships.

Having the docking location moved from Cobh to the industrial port of Ringaskiddy was not appreciated. Otherwise port tendering went smoothly. Read more