Just returned from HAL Med cruise on the Oosterdam - so many issues - mainly on embarkation and debarkation, and these thoughts are shared by other people on the cruise who all had the same feelings and complaints so it isn't just us. Moving embarkation from Venice to Trieste was a big mistake - I never ever want to experience this again. Apart from the 2 hour coach journey which wasn't the best, the actual embarkation process was totally shambolic. Not going into too much detail as it would probably be very boring to some folk and seem like just a moan to others, I will never ever want to do this again. HAL totally failed us on a lot of issues. By the time we eventually got on board and were then told we needed an antigen test - despite having just produced the results of the previous day's tests (which we had to pay for) - there was mutiny. There were about 25 of us and we refused point blank to comply as it was totally unnecessary, we were then just herded on to our staterooms and left to 'get on with it'. Lido was shut, it is no longer open all the time, so we were hungry and had nowhere to eat, had to get the beverage and food managers involved. Finally got something to eat, waited until midnight for our luggage despite the fact it came on the coach with us ! The actual ports of call - well a couple of them were really just bases from which to do excursions, nothing much there to see in the actual stop, shuttles were either unprovided or had to be paid for, and HAL seemed to have a habit of dropping anchor in the further away commercial port rather than one which made it easy to get into town. We did feel that they were trying to cut costs. Had to call maintenance to our cabin twice for the shower and bathroom sink tap, we weren't the only ones either, and the windows in the Crows Nest were filthy obscuring what should have been a nice view. After a couple of years not in service you would have thought that these issues would have been checked and dealt with before sailing, they had plenty of time. The food was good, but limited menu compared with previous cruises we felt. Out of around 4 or 5 choices in the dining room, at least 2 were the same every night. They cancelled our Pinnacle and Canelletto dining experiences due to lack of spaces, yes they credited us for this, but ironically then were giving over the tanoy they had lots of availability if anyone wanted to book ! Crew were wonderful as usual, really they made the trip really pleasant for us they couldn't do enough. Entertainment wasn't brilliant, and there was nothing really that appealed to us for daytime activities. No information provided about the next port of call as there used to be, we had to ask guest services for information many times. So many of the guests we spoke to said HAL seemed to have lost their way at least on this particular cruise. Disembarking was a mess too, no coaches were labelled as to who was on what coach, people were herded on, then off again, it was total confusion at times. I can't say we didn't enjoy the cruise, but it wasn't what we were hoping for, it was booked 3 years ago before Covid struck, and since then HAL have changed the itinerary and the ship twice, . I know they are still finding their feet after opening up again, but really they need to get themselves sorted at Head Office if they want people to continue cruising with them and maintain the reputation which they have earned in previous years.
