We arrived early and spent two nights at the Westgate Hotel booked through Priceline for 75.00 a night. This hotel is old European elegance at it's finest, walking distance to the Gaslamp Quarter, the Embarcadero, shopping malls. small delis, fine restaurants, convenience stores, trolley stop and bus stop. The room was beautiful and spacious.

Embarkation on Saturday morning was a breeze. We were at the Lido enjoying lunch just before noon. The surprise was that the cabins were ready at 12:30 with bags arriving about 3:00 making settling in quick and easy.

Stateroom: We had a superior suite which had a fair amount of extra room with lots of storage space. The bathroom was the largest we've had on ship. The jacuzzi tub had a shower in addition to a separate stall shower. We even had dual sinks! The verandah had two lounge chairs plus a table with two more chairs. If we decided to invite friends in we could easily seat 12 if we used both inside and outside chairs. Our stewards, Fausi and David, were marvelous. Everything was always spotless. HAL advertises flowers in suites which consisted of one bud vase with one stem of alstroemeria. Dining: The food in the Lido was good but it was always crowded. The service in the main dining room was outstanding! Our waiter and assistant, Yaya and Anang, were attentive, caring and devoted to making our cruise experience stand out. The food left a great deal to be desired which took us completely by surprise. We always said HAL had the best food of any cruise line but they now have added lots of spicy ingredients to almost every dish...a bit overboard on the "exotic". The standout dish of the cruise was the lobster on formal night~it was fabulous. Read more