scopewest
January 4th, 2005, 11:33 AM
This was our first HAL trip and about our 12th cruise. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and after a slight hassle managed to get to the port around 11:30 a.m. We were onboard eating at the Lido deck at noon. This was the fastest and easiest embarkation we've ever had. The fact that we had ALL our paperwork filled out ahead of time, including the credit card stuff, may have helped.
We were in cabin 6136, aft. Our cabin steward Budi was the best steward we've ever had on any trip. He couldn't do enough for us. We were on two packages, Just for Us and Renewal of Vows (which I'll discuss under another thread) and we had a table for two next to the windows in the rear. Although at times there was vibration and noise, I ignored it. Our waiter and asst. waiter introduced themselves and our service was excellent, but I could tell they were rushed. They did their best to talk to us. We enjoyed the food and found the Lido deck selections to be far superior to what we were used to. Imagine, someone would actually help you carry your tray to a table! Imagine, fresh orange juice! Was the coffee poor? Since I dump a ton of sugar and cream in mine, how would I know what it really tastes like??
We also ate at the Pinnacle twice (due to our packages) and frankly we weren't all that impressed with the service. Yes, the food was beautifully presented and my filet mignon was good...but so was the one in the regular restaurant. Now I at least know what the volcano cake is! The restaurant was also nearly empty every night.
The weather was cool and windy which was fine with me, I live in the desert where it's hot nearly all the time and I was delighted just to see a large body of WATER. My disappointment with shore excursions is that we docked too late in Grand Cayman and they cancelled. I was sorry they couldn't rebook it but it's understandable. We wandered away from town to see local sights and there's still hurricane damange although the dock area looks pretty cleaned up.
HMC is as beautiful as everyone says. To me (who likes to swim in bathtub temp water) the ocean was too cool to go in but the sun was hot enough. Thanks to everyone who said to rent a clamshell. It saved me from getting burnt. We did the eco lagoon cruise which was enjoyable.
I felt sorry for some people whose suitcases were still arriving long after we sailed. As we started to sail from GC, the captain stopped the ship and announced some luggage had just arrived at the airport and they were sending it over in a tender. Yeow.
My only complaint about the cabin is the bedside nightlight is useless for reading in bed. I was sorry I didn't bring my $1 booklight to read by.
I found the crew very friendly. I found the ship not very full as the shows drew only about 1/3 to 1/2 the seating in the showroom. The shows were very poor, NCL is the clear winner in this area, but what did I care? A show is a show. And they even had a slightly overweight crew singer/dancer. I was thrilled to see that HAL didn't discriminate against entertainers who weren't a size 2. She had a fine voice.
I loved the free popcorn at the movies and we stocked up the day before we came back to port to eat on the plane. Thank god we did as it took us 13 hours to get home but that's another post.
As for nickle and diming, WHAT nickle and diming? Go on a Carnival cruise and then you'll see nickle and diming!!! Even my husband commented on the lack of that. Not to mention the lack of announcements about activities.
I can see where HAL has changed from reading everyone's comments. But please, people, HAL is NOT Carnival. It's still superior. We can't wait to try another HAL ship.
We were in cabin 6136, aft. Our cabin steward Budi was the best steward we've ever had on any trip. He couldn't do enough for us. We were on two packages, Just for Us and Renewal of Vows (which I'll discuss under another thread) and we had a table for two next to the windows in the rear. Although at times there was vibration and noise, I ignored it. Our waiter and asst. waiter introduced themselves and our service was excellent, but I could tell they were rushed. They did their best to talk to us. We enjoyed the food and found the Lido deck selections to be far superior to what we were used to. Imagine, someone would actually help you carry your tray to a table! Imagine, fresh orange juice! Was the coffee poor? Since I dump a ton of sugar and cream in mine, how would I know what it really tastes like??
We also ate at the Pinnacle twice (due to our packages) and frankly we weren't all that impressed with the service. Yes, the food was beautifully presented and my filet mignon was good...but so was the one in the regular restaurant. Now I at least know what the volcano cake is! The restaurant was also nearly empty every night.
The weather was cool and windy which was fine with me, I live in the desert where it's hot nearly all the time and I was delighted just to see a large body of WATER. My disappointment with shore excursions is that we docked too late in Grand Cayman and they cancelled. I was sorry they couldn't rebook it but it's understandable. We wandered away from town to see local sights and there's still hurricane damange although the dock area looks pretty cleaned up.
HMC is as beautiful as everyone says. To me (who likes to swim in bathtub temp water) the ocean was too cool to go in but the sun was hot enough. Thanks to everyone who said to rent a clamshell. It saved me from getting burnt. We did the eco lagoon cruise which was enjoyable.
I felt sorry for some people whose suitcases were still arriving long after we sailed. As we started to sail from GC, the captain stopped the ship and announced some luggage had just arrived at the airport and they were sending it over in a tender. Yeow.
My only complaint about the cabin is the bedside nightlight is useless for reading in bed. I was sorry I didn't bring my $1 booklight to read by.
I found the crew very friendly. I found the ship not very full as the shows drew only about 1/3 to 1/2 the seating in the showroom. The shows were very poor, NCL is the clear winner in this area, but what did I care? A show is a show. And they even had a slightly overweight crew singer/dancer. I was thrilled to see that HAL didn't discriminate against entertainers who weren't a size 2. She had a fine voice.
I loved the free popcorn at the movies and we stocked up the day before we came back to port to eat on the plane. Thank god we did as it took us 13 hours to get home but that's another post.
As for nickle and diming, WHAT nickle and diming? Go on a Carnival cruise and then you'll see nickle and diming!!! Even my husband commented on the lack of that. Not to mention the lack of announcements about activities.
I can see where HAL has changed from reading everyone's comments. But please, people, HAL is NOT Carnival. It's still superior. We can't wait to try another HAL ship.