whystayhome

Don't get me wrong. For the price we paid, the cruise was terrific. And we had a very good time over all. As I am an early riser, I never had problems getting a lounge chair and I tend to stay parked on deck all day. Later in the day, there were some nasty interactions over chairs in the enclosed pool area, however. Even the open deck chairs at the stern were filled, with passengers buzzing around looking for a place to sit.

The problem was we had higher expectations because of our Med cruise experience. We have sailed Crystal, Siverisea, and Seabourn and are not comparing those cruise lines to our HAL experience. We get that there is no "free lunch." We were just surprised how much the line seems to have gone down hill.

Nice to know there are ships without cabanas.

We have not crossed HAL off our dance card. If we saw an appealing itinerary at a good time and a good price, we would go. Just our expectations would be very different and we would not be setting ourselves up for disappointment.

We had done a Med cruise on the Noordam a few years ago and had a wonderful time. Happy with everything. So, we were very excited about returning to HAL, this time for a Caribbean sailing.

Things started off well. Embarkation was easy and our room - Deck 8, right in the center - was ready when we boarded around noon. Our cabin was, and remained throughtout the cruise, absolutely spotless. The stewards were pleasant people who clearly worked very hard, maybe too hard, as we never saw them lounging around even for a minute.

I had called HAL before embarkation and asked if people in the glass elevators would be able to see us on our balcony. I was reassured that there was a wall that would block their view. In fact, a large portion of our balcony was on public display. Kind of put a damper on things, but we understood that's the risk you take when you book a guarantee.

Then we went to the welcome back lunch. We were given a lovely table at the stern, but the scene in the dining room was chaotic. There were simply not enough waiters. The servers were killing themselves, trying to take care of everyone, but lunch took forever and was mediocre. The first surprising thing I noticed was the tablecloth: it looked like someone had opened it after using it for years of origami practice and didn't even try to iron it before putting it on the table. In addition, our waiter's uniform was pilled and clearly needed to be replaced.

On deck for the afternoon, it was obvious that there were not enough lounge chairs for ~2,000 people. Also, private cabanas @ $50/day lined the rails of the ship, blocking the view of the ocean and eliminating space that could have been used for much needed lounge chairs in the shade for people who were not interested in incurring that additional expense. Unrented cabanas had curtains drawn at their entrances and were blocked with a velvet theater-style rope. Some people who had rented the cabanas complained that they were stifling hot, owing to being so enclosed.

Then it was time for dinner. Again, chaos reigned, even though we had an 8PM reservation. The "no reservation" line seemed to move more quickly than the reservation line. Once again, the meal took forever and the food was forgettable. For some reason, there was only one show that night, at 9:30. As it took over 2 hours to get our dinner, we - and many others - missed the show.

The next morning, breakfast in the Lido was chaotic, again because they did not have enough staff. The lines never seemed to diminish. One woman told me she waited 30 minutes to get an omelet. My "hot" cereal was cold.

The most annoying aspect of breakfast in the Lido was the relentless hawking of alcoholic beverages at 8 AM. It seemed like every organized activity on board was just another reason to try to sell drinks. Service at the pool or in any public areas, if you didn't want to spend $3 for a can of coke or buy alcoholic beverages, did not seem available if all you wanted was water or iced tea.

For the most part, the food was nothing special, although we did enjoy dinner in Caneletto and the Pinnacle Grill and lunch in Tamarind. Lunch on deck was mediocre and took forever! I was waiting in line for pizza, and the man in charge left a bunch of us standing there while he cleaned up the food preparation area even thought there was cooked pizza in the case - I just didn't get it. SImilarly, if you wanted pasta in the Lido, there was only one person making all the pasta-to-order dishes, with up to 20 people waiting at times to get pasta.

Even on formal night, dinner was not that good. A lot of people complained their lobster was mushy. "Artisanal" cheese was straight from Costco and served with - I kid you not - matzoh. Rack of lamb was a happy choice.

We were not the only unhappy campers. I spoke to a number of people who were 4- and 5-star Mariners who said they were not coming back. One woman on Half Moon Cay, who had been on many previous HAL cruises and seemed like an otherwise reasonable person, essentially had a mini meltdown over the tasteless food at the BBQ and how it was served and presented, carrying on about the overall poor ambience of the cruise.

Overall we had a good time getting away and were happy to be in a warm spot instead of freezing to death at home. The upfront price of the cruise was excellent, but the service and other amenities were lacking and the food was just so-so for the most part. Maybe it is just the nature of holiday and/or Caribbean cruises, but this did not seem like the same cruise line we enjoyed so much in the Mediterranean.

Comments welcome!

Thank you. I know we wil have a lovely time.

We were just upgraded from a VD guarantee to a V for the Eurodam New Years sailing. They told me this was the "best" veranda category, but I'm a little concerned about the noise on New Years Eve, being just under the lido deck. No chance of up sell. On our previous HAL cruise! we were upgraded from a veranda guarantee to a VC or VB - can't remember which- very nice cabin and location.

Just called about cabin assignment for new year's cruise on Eurodam. I was told that ship's inventory is still trying to figure everything out and it will be at least Monday before I find out if there are upgrade or up sell possibilities. They are completely sold out, but there are still possibilities for an improvement on our VD guarantee. So, we'll keep waiting. If we get an up sell offer to a suite, what do you all think a reasonable price would be? So far as a possible upgrade is concerned, the rep I spoke with said star mariner status is a factor in assigning upgrades. Is that everyone's experience? I thought not...

Taxis run 24/7 so you don't have to worry about this. Just call 954-777-7777.

1)There won't be any traffic, so any of the airport hotels would be convenient, but there won't be anything fun to do without a car. If you stay at any of the beach hotels south of Sunrise Blvd you'll be very close to the airport too...you just have to allow a few minutes in case the 17th St drawbridge is up.

2)It will take extra time to return the car and you are already getting up so early.

Thanks a million! You ARE the best. Linda

We selected Private Greece Tours based on recommendations on CC and because of their competitive pricing. We arranged for pick up from our cruise ship and a half day's sightseeing with airport drop off. There was some discussion back and forth as to the number of folks we had and I told Nikos I wasn't sure if it would be 4 or 6. He quoted a price for a van and it was quite reasonable. I told him the van would be fine. The day before we landed, I shot him an email telling him there would be 4 of us after all.

When we landed, a very nice driver was waiting with his Mercedes taxi. No way that would accommodate 4 people and their luggage from a month of traveling in Europe. We spoke to Nikos who explained that in his mind, 4 people meant a car was needed. After some back and forth, he sent a huge van and knocked 50€ off the price for the inconvenience. Our first driver repeatedly refused any remuneration for having come to the dock, lost the fare for the day, and waiting with us for our bigger vehicle to arrive.

The rest of the day was fine. Our new driver told us he would be happy to take us to Corinth, but that it would be a lot of driving. He recommended we go to Cape Sounion instead as less driving was involved. He was probably right, and if we ever land in Athens again, I think that's what we will do, but I am glad we saw Corinth which has an amazing museum and very picturesque ruins.

Wold I use Private Greece Tours again? Most likely. other than the early communication problem, it was an excellent experience. The driver was knowledgable, drove safely, and got us to the airport on time.

Now I know that what I have packed for me will be appropriate and I kow what to pack for him.

Sorry. I found the answer elsewhere. Unlimited is $400. Will search more diligently next time.

I am interested in Internet rates. I read somewhere that there is an unlimited plan. Anyone know how much that would be for 20 days?

Does anyone have any coupons left to share? We just booked the Quest for a 20 day Med starting July 28. How might I contact you. Or you could contact me if you prefer. Email: lsmeadephd at aol dot com. Thanks so much. Linda