maxout
April 13th, 2010, 01:26 AM
Well here's one more perspective on a well documented cruise (thank you Copper :D )
Embarkation was exceptionally smooth and we were informed that to minimize the potential for Noro, the ship (and apparently most of the fleet) was under a "modified food service program" at the Lido / Terrace Grill as a precautionary measure for the first 48 hours after boarding. As others have stated, this consisted of both the food and drinks being served by staff and all silverware being handed out as pre-wrapped "set-ups". The salt and pepper shakers and sweeteners were still available at each table. This process defiantly slowed service and it was especially noticeable with all the embarkation crowd impacting the Lido/Pools. (We had another 12 hours or so of this following Puerto Vallarta as well)
No bones about it, this was a "kids cruise" due to spring break, there were 552 children on the "O" this is the largest number ever according to the crew I spoke with. We also brought along our 10 year old daughter as a small part of the herd :D. For the most part they were well behaved but I did witness (and hear) running in the passages and stairways as well as them pushing the buttons for all of the elevators on a given deck as patience was not in abundance... The Club Hal staff numbered about 16 on this cruise and they divided up the kids by age groups and "took over" areas of the ship such as unused meeting rooms, the Northern Lights (before 10 PM), etc. I must say they did a great job with such a difficult task managing to keep a smile throughout. ( oh, I forgot to mention they had 450 kids the week before! :eek:)
I really think the housekeeping staff took a beating as well with lots of food/drink spills and gooey fingers touching everything! They seemed hard pressed to keep the O as ship-shape as usual. Maintenance wise the ship was in decent shape though a number of light fixtures were out or blinking, a few elevator buttons inoperable and one elevator down for the duration.
Staff were a joy as always. Very responsive and a fun group as well. They had the added pressure of having Mr. Stein Kruise, family and friends aboard which can't be easy. My family and I did have the opportunity to meet him in the Explorers Lounge on the first formal night and he was very gracious and friendly. No, I also did not ask him about bathrobes in the Lido, lack of trays or the status of the great smoking debate ;).
The food overall seemed to be improved over our last experience in '07. We ate in the Canaletto (first night) it was fair but service was very slow. We had open seating in the Dining Room (first time) and I think we both would prefer to go back to fixed. Though we met some wonderful people at the different times/tables and did enjoy the flexibility of dining times, we truly missed developing a relationship with our servers and those at our table. It can be truly magic when you are all just "clicking" together and that decafe cappuccino just appears without request :D. Lido Food was good but not great. Our Pinnacle dinner was wonderful.
Our Cabin (5122) was too small for 3. We knew it would not be what we have gotten used to to with Deluxe/Superior Veranda suites in the past but didn't realize how truly spoiled we had become! The cabin was in good shape and the wi-fi connection was excellent. No issues with cooling/heating or plumbing and our Stewards (Dodik and Oom) were a joy.
Ports: Mazatlan, weather was good but a little crowded with 2 ships in port and still a lot of Spring break/Easter travelers in town. Temps in the mid 70's humidity was moderate.
Puerto Vallarta, Cool in th morning but much hotter and very humid in the afternoon (temp around 79F but felt much hotter) Very crowded at the port with 4 ships HAL, NCL, Carnival and Sliver Seas ( who had to tender in )
Cabo San Lucas, Windy in the morning but clear and sunny in the afternoon without being too hot. A bit crowded with both us and the Sapphire Princess arriving together and the Coral Princess a few hours later.
Disembarkation was a bit of a mess ( getting off the ship went well) with three ships unloading at the same time getting off the pier was a slow go and took nearly a hour.
We truly enjoyed our experience and are looking forward to our next Hal adventure.
Embarkation was exceptionally smooth and we were informed that to minimize the potential for Noro, the ship (and apparently most of the fleet) was under a "modified food service program" at the Lido / Terrace Grill as a precautionary measure for the first 48 hours after boarding. As others have stated, this consisted of both the food and drinks being served by staff and all silverware being handed out as pre-wrapped "set-ups". The salt and pepper shakers and sweeteners were still available at each table. This process defiantly slowed service and it was especially noticeable with all the embarkation crowd impacting the Lido/Pools. (We had another 12 hours or so of this following Puerto Vallarta as well)
No bones about it, this was a "kids cruise" due to spring break, there were 552 children on the "O" this is the largest number ever according to the crew I spoke with. We also brought along our 10 year old daughter as a small part of the herd :D. For the most part they were well behaved but I did witness (and hear) running in the passages and stairways as well as them pushing the buttons for all of the elevators on a given deck as patience was not in abundance... The Club Hal staff numbered about 16 on this cruise and they divided up the kids by age groups and "took over" areas of the ship such as unused meeting rooms, the Northern Lights (before 10 PM), etc. I must say they did a great job with such a difficult task managing to keep a smile throughout. ( oh, I forgot to mention they had 450 kids the week before! :eek:)
I really think the housekeeping staff took a beating as well with lots of food/drink spills and gooey fingers touching everything! They seemed hard pressed to keep the O as ship-shape as usual. Maintenance wise the ship was in decent shape though a number of light fixtures were out or blinking, a few elevator buttons inoperable and one elevator down for the duration.
Staff were a joy as always. Very responsive and a fun group as well. They had the added pressure of having Mr. Stein Kruise, family and friends aboard which can't be easy. My family and I did have the opportunity to meet him in the Explorers Lounge on the first formal night and he was very gracious and friendly. No, I also did not ask him about bathrobes in the Lido, lack of trays or the status of the great smoking debate ;).
The food overall seemed to be improved over our last experience in '07. We ate in the Canaletto (first night) it was fair but service was very slow. We had open seating in the Dining Room (first time) and I think we both would prefer to go back to fixed. Though we met some wonderful people at the different times/tables and did enjoy the flexibility of dining times, we truly missed developing a relationship with our servers and those at our table. It can be truly magic when you are all just "clicking" together and that decafe cappuccino just appears without request :D. Lido Food was good but not great. Our Pinnacle dinner was wonderful.
Our Cabin (5122) was too small for 3. We knew it would not be what we have gotten used to to with Deluxe/Superior Veranda suites in the past but didn't realize how truly spoiled we had become! The cabin was in good shape and the wi-fi connection was excellent. No issues with cooling/heating or plumbing and our Stewards (Dodik and Oom) were a joy.
Ports: Mazatlan, weather was good but a little crowded with 2 ships in port and still a lot of Spring break/Easter travelers in town. Temps in the mid 70's humidity was moderate.
Puerto Vallarta, Cool in th morning but much hotter and very humid in the afternoon (temp around 79F but felt much hotter) Very crowded at the port with 4 ships HAL, NCL, Carnival and Sliver Seas ( who had to tender in )
Cabo San Lucas, Windy in the morning but clear and sunny in the afternoon without being too hot. A bit crowded with both us and the Sapphire Princess arriving together and the Coral Princess a few hours later.
Disembarkation was a bit of a mess ( getting off the ship went well) with three ships unloading at the same time getting off the pier was a slow go and took nearly a hour.
We truly enjoyed our experience and are looking forward to our next Hal adventure.