Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East) Cruise Reviews

This particular sailing was a shocker from the get go.  While the checkin process was very smooth, the port address on my Sea Pass form, sent us to the wrong port.  Couldn't believe it. $10 out of our way for no apparent reason.  

Once on board, we ran into Diamonds and Diamond Plus guest who were furious about the internet changes.  No more buying minutes, it was listed as $49.95 a day,or you could get a whopping big savingsavings by buying a package for the entire cruise that appeared to be over $299.00.  I joined the furious, stood in line and expressed my disappointment.

I mean come on RCL.  Your bean counters attempting to increase profits is mecenary on this level.  In 2015, Internet is cheap and almost a necessity to stay in touch for both business and personal means.  To charge people that much money is going to cost you customers in the future.  Bad move.

The next shock was reading that anyone signing up for a Beverage package would get 15% off, but wait, it doesn't apply to those who ordered one on line for the benefit of RCL. I needless to say, complained about this and they appeared to credit my account. Without telling me they had, so I thought it hadn't happened.  But they really didn't.  I ended up paying twice, even though they don't think I did.  Very bad move RCL.  Not cool at all.

Next as a Facilitator/Trainer for years teaching Diversity Training, Non-Discrimination Practices, etc. It was a shock to see a Senior Manager Tour Director put down a staff member in public on the stage, by mocking her accent, accusing her of being late when in fact she was in the back checking people in, and telling her to speak slowly because no one could understand her.  IT was disrespectful, rude and left a bad taste.  I lost a tremendous amount of respect for Graham, who can be quite humorous, when he doesn't practice it at the expense of another staff member.

On the other hand, the regular staff are excellent. From the bartenders to the room stewards, to the restaurant servers almost all are excellent.  Management should take a lesson from their dedicated staff.  It just seemed they were all inexperienced and incapable of dealing with the simplest of issues.

I'm not sure I'll be sailing with RCL in the future.

We hate this trip becuase

1: check in process  takes 3 hours just to take the plan

       We have filled in all the documents, and gave credit card, but still at check in process, they asked cards, and other documents.

and take over 3 hours to wait for a line, and immigration, and fill in, drop off .  for Princess cruise, or Seven Seas, never happened like this.  mostly 1 hours for check in process, and staff does know what to do.  

2: suitcase was not delivered to the room

We have dropped off the suitcases. and after we checked in the room, They cannot find our suitcases.  

3: Rude ; Chops Grills Steakhouse manager.  We had bad experience for this manager.  its not the attitude to do Customer service.  

after angry, we cancelled reservation with them.  

4: Toilet broken.  cannot flush on the water

I share room with my kids, after 3 days of the trip, cannot flush off the toilet.  it was really bad.  

5:  ELSAFE safety box is broken.

We used safety box, and brand is elsafe, so  I did not think much as its well known brand.  then, after we are almost checking out, the box is broken.  we needed to call someone to help.

The cruise schedule was a great one but we encountered a lot of hiccups during the trip.  We missed a stop in Nha Trang due to some problems with the ship.  The captain was very apologetic and explained the situation. We also had a lot of complaints about tours where a lot a buses went to the same places at the same time (in Taiwan) and they had long crowded lines to see the places. I also love Princess Caesar's salad. When I ordered it the first time, it was not the usual delicious salad I was used to.  The second time I ordered it, it was even worst than the ones you get from the supermarket pre-made dressing. I was quite disappointed with the menu's too.  They had scallops two days in a row and the menu's were not really as good as they usually are.  Not very varied selections in the dining room.  We cannot say enough good things about the service from the staff,  They really go above and beyond; very patient and very accommodating.  The shows were mediocre and some of them we have already seem a few times from previous cruises.  In the Casino, I had a specific problem with a slot machine.  I called the slot attendant (I lost her name but she was from Zimbabwe)  and she was very helpful.  I asked her to watch me and explain why the machine was not paying amount that was posted as my winning.  I kept playing and it kept underpaying me (example:  won  $10 but only paid $2, etc.)  I suggested she call the supervisor and she did but he said there was nothing he could do and that new machines were coming.  A few other players were making comments that they lost a lot of money from the machine since it did not pay the right amount of the winnings.  I then suggested to the slot attendant to have the supervisor put a "NOT IN SERVICE" sign so that players would not be cheated of their money.  The Supervisor refused and they kept the machine open for players to play.  This type of actions should not be tolerated by management.

We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise/vacation.  The logistics were handled expertly by Ama Waterways and the service at the 5 star hotels was impeccable.  We have already made a deposit for our next Ama Waterways cruise because of the excellent experiences we had, not only from the tour guides, but from the hotels that were chosen and the fantastic all-inclusive excursions that were offered.  

ok but should have had a free party the last night like many cruise lines.

more info on ports so people have more actual knowledge of how to do on their own.

Interesting destinations, good lectures on middle east.  Probably more days at sea then we needed but excellent price for the number of days for the cruise. 

My father is a tourist from Kazakhstan, currently on a board of Princess Sapphire.

Today (31 March 2015) hw found his lock-safe opened and 1500$ stolen out of safe. He asked security service to show him video records from the deck to figure out if strangers entered the room, but his require was denied without any explanation. The staff said nobody paid any liability for the accident. 

My father is rather old man and he is in a worry he has to look after his belongings in the room but not to spend a vacation in excursion or on the board out of his room without fear his things can be stolen again.

If anybody knows accident details, please let me know. My father's name is Mikhail Bodazhkov

I'm a lawyer in Russian-Chinese International Trading Agency in Guangzhou. My name is Artem. Thks in advance for assistance

P.S. 1500$ is not a big lost. I should pay twice more if somebody help me to make the accident solved and bring a good mood to my father back

a very nice cruise....  Had heard stories of the Millennium being run down and in need of a face lift but I did not find that to be true. Main dining room was quite good and service was always very good. Specialty restaurants were very good. Ship was clean and well run. When you spend 14days on any ship, you can find things you like and things you don't.  IE: I don't know if this is the same on other cruise lines but on the two cruises we have taken on Celrbrity over the last year, the pastries you get in the morning all taste like cardboard. They taste like there is a giant sack in the back that they bought somewhere full of old croissants and they pull a few out every morning and pass them around.  So i don't bother with them. I found the drinks and bar personnel to be very good.  The wine was surprisingly good. We stayed in a PH1 suite because we wanted the extra room.  I think it is worth the cost if you are not too worried about the extra expense.  We were on the 9th deck toward the back and never had a problem with soot as has been previously reported. A very nice experience.

Having been reluctant to ever cruise due to our worry about getting sea sick, we finally decided to try a short 7day cruise close to home. We departed from Singapore, stopped at Penang,Port Klang,Phuket and return.  Ship: Although it is not brand new, it is wonderfully maintained. Promenade with  Lovely walking track, fantastic 3 tiered dining room. we had the late seating and met a great couple from Australia who we are still in touch with. It was great to meet up each day at dinner and exchange notes on our different excursions. We did not use the pools much as there were always quite busy and we were worried about the sheer numbers of bodies using it each day but then noticed that each pool was drained and cleaned every night and re-filled so after a few days we felt it was safe enough to use.  Staterooms: We had a Jnr.Suite at 282 Sq ft and were amazed at how large it was. The balcony was great with a chair and sun lounger . The walk in wardrobe was plenty spacious for all our stuff with room for two large suitcases. Bathroom was adequate with full tub and shower although the water temperature was never quite hot enough to want to use the tub. The bed was comfy and we had the best ever sleep every night.  Our steward was great and we started to look forward to which towel animal we would get each night. Entertainment was great, food was lovely. Even in the buffet dining room there was lots of variety and food was good. The tablets I had bought for sea sickness never needed... so we were sold on cruising as the BEST ever way to vacation...

We just spent 18 days on the Regent Voyager.  I would like to caution future cruisers to be aware of something that we encountered for the first time in the over 15+  cruises we have taken.  Four of us were quarantined to our room for 24 hours  Three of us were PERFECTLY healthy, showing zero signs of illness, and were never seen by a doctor to make this decision.

My husband had bariatric surgery five years ago.  For any of you who have had this, you would know that diarrhea can occur for a variety of reasons.   One can be a change in diet. 

Well, as it usually does with my husband on vacation, he had this problem and had forgotten his medication.  He was not sick otherwise.  He went to the doctor to get some Imodium.  The doctor never ran any tests and had the nurse take his temperature.  It registered 2/10ths above normal.  The medical office immediately put my husband in isolation for 24 hours. 

Shockingly, they also immediately put myself and parents in a 24 hour isolation as well.  We were never seen or examined.  A request by me to see the doctor was met with a letter from the doctor saying "contagious illnesses can spread easily from person to person in closed communities"--so why put 3 healthy people in the same room with a "sick" person for 24 hours?

We paid $133,488.00 for four us to be on this 18-day cruise in the Master Suite.  They put three healthy people, against our will, in isolation (same room all together) with someone who is perhaps sick with a contagious illness?  Is there logic there?  They had multiple service employees going in and out of the room all day--where is the logic there?  So under their rules, instead of one sick person, you now have four sick people, and a variety of employees who will perhaps get sick because they have been in the room.  The doctor made this decision in the few split seconds he spent with my husband, and again, he NEVER saw any of the other three people.

CDC guidelines recommend the isolation of sick passengers on a cruise ship.  They do NOT say anything about traveling companions.  This is a Regent policy.    While I completely understand the isolation of sick people, especially on a cruise ship full of passengers, in this case, it was overkill, and handled improperly by cruise management.  During this isolation, in our case, the General Manager did not contact us, and other than our regular cabin service, nothing was done to explain the "rules" or help us through that day.  The explanations only came later after I was "allowed" out of my room to speak with the Manager.  The Regent Corporate Office offered a pittance credit on a future cruise, which obviously I declined.

I would suggest, in the case of traveling with Regent, you use EXTREME caution when going to see their onboard doctor.   This is a venus fly trap meant to "catch" anyone who is even slightly sick.  The shop onboard carries no cold/flu medications (as it did in the past) by the way.  All of this is dispensed by the doctor now.

Again, my issue with this line is NOT the isolation of a potentially sick person, it is the isolation of people who show ZERO signs of illness with no attempt to see the perfectly well people to determine their health during the isolation day.  There was no meeting with us to discuss their policies that day, and we were just told by the nurse to stay in the room or run the risk of being taken off the cruise.  And we paid $7,300 per day for this?

By the way, none of the four of us were sick.  We did not get sick and remained completely healthy throughout the cruise.  My husband's diarrhea was presumably caused from the dietary changes on vacation as a result of the bariatric surgery.

The Neoclassica has been renewed, but that doesn't make it a brand new modern ship.

Food was good  but no exceptional carving decorations on the buffet.

The flower arrangements were artificial. No fresh flower arrangement anywhere.

Excursions were expensive.

The Charlie Duo musicians were up to the standard. Very good repertoire. Even ready to play and sing a new request.

Loss Paragueyoss musicians were playing  a kick back vacation music creating  a very nice mood.ready to perform new requests from the guests. 

The best part was the musicians and the latin dance group entertainers

The ship was ok.

First of all,  I love Royal Carribean.  I am a loyal Crown and Anchor member.  I have also written the President of the company so I did inform them before I write this review but they have not responded probably because of numerous complaints on this sailing.  Just wanted to let people know that this was the worst experience I have had with Royal Carribean.   The onboarding is usually smooth for "priority" Crown and Anchor.  However, the priority line turned out to be the longest line instead of the opposite.  The ship maybe due to it's former sailing itinerary was mostly catered to Chinese speaking guest. Most of the signage on the ship was in Chinese.  The service was not the usual exemplary Royal Carribean experience.   I hope their service improves because I would hate to have to start over in another membership loyalty program.

Simple but dated; uneven walking surface that could cause one to trip Adult Pool Only - management made an exception for a very small percentage of the cruising passengers (pool was open for Family from 5PM-7PM)

Before we went we researched the cruise line, we had not sailed with Regent/ Radison for 10 years.  We were disturbed by comments of poor food, poor service, bad value for money, etc.  And yes this cruise ain't cheap, but it was damn good and an outstanding experience.  We chose it for the land excursions, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Pyramids, Luxor, Petra and Dubai which for me were the highlight.  But the food was outstanding in terms of choice, seasoning, taste and variety (my wife is a chef), breakfast choices were huge and dinner menus changed daily.  The galley tour was interesting, the galley was spotless.  The cabins were excellent and the little touches most appreciated.  The service was well up to that of a good 5 star hotel.  Everything was clean, there was always plenty to do.  We had 4 consecutive sea days and we did not get round to doing everything.  We enjoy a drink and the bar staff were just the best.  The entertainment was outstanding, we particularly like the Broadway style shows.  The Captain and officers were frequently seen on deck socialising with the guests which I thought was a good touch.  I could go on.

I do not understand what people have to complain about!

We were booked on a 17 day  grand Asian cruise in the fall of 2015.  January of this year Princess informed us that they had rented out the whole ship and that our booking was cancelled.  It took weeks for them to notify secondary parties (we had booked through a cruise company) of the cancellation so it took 3 weeks to get our deposit refund initialized and now comes the hard part.  I have been trying since January to get Princess to refund me the fee Aeroplan charged me to cancel my flight and reinstate my points.  $90 X2.  It is laid out on their website.  I have supplied copies of the visa charge, our itinerary, provided a link to the website and I am still being told it is not enough.  Very frustrating and enough to make me never book a Princess cruise again.

Ship was more than adequate. We don't understand why some people post negative comments about its condition.

Cabin size was good, but crew...

For many years, my husband & I discussed visiting the Far East and South Pacific. With our 50th wedding anniversary soon approaching, we started researching cruises to these destinations.  Since Holland America's 2014 Grand Pacific & Far East Voyage was a perfect match for us, we decided not to wait for our 50th Anniversary.  A major selling point for us was that there were no long flights to and from foreign airports involved.  There would be little jet lag also. 

Two days prior to the cruise, we flew from Orlando, FL to Seattle, Washington for some independent sightseeing.  On September 21, we boarded the ms Amsterdam in Seattle for our incredible 78-day journey.  For us it was the trip of a lifetime.  For many others on the cruise, this was their forth or fifth + Grand Voyage.  Our Ports of Call were Seattle, Washington,  Kodiak, Alaska, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Kushiro, Japan, Tokyo, Japan (2 overnights,) Nagasaki, Japan, Jeju, S. Korea, Incheon (Seoul,) S. Korea (2 overnights,) Xingang, China (2 overnights,) Qingdao, China, Shanghai, China (3 overnights,)  Hong Kong (2 overnights,) Phu My, Vietnam, Singapore (2 overnights,) Tanjung Priok (Jakarta,) Indonesia, Bali, Indonesia, Slawi Bay (Komodo Island), Indonesia, Darwin, Australia, Port Douglas (Cains,) Australia, Sydney, Australia (2 overnights,) Nomea, New Caladonia, Kuto (Ile des Pins,) New Caledonia, Lautoka, Fiji, Suva, Fiji, Apia, Samoa, Hilo, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii (2 overnights,) Lahaina, Hawaii and  San Diego, California.

If you have never taken a Grand Journey or World Cruise, perhaps you think these cruises are just like other cruises only longer. These cruises are so much more than that; they are very extraordinary experiences.  Passengers on our voyage bonded together immediately because we knew that we would  be together for 78 days.  We soon became like a family.  The "precious" (HAL's word)  staff, which for the most part is hand picked by Holland America for these cruises is even more attentive and friendly for the same reason.  Service is far superior, more personal, although always wonderful on all HAL cruises.  The passengers were mainly seniors, American for the most part but with some Australians and Canadian;  there was only one child on board for the complete cruise.  Other children did join the cruise for a segment and more children were on board for our Indonesian stops (crew families.) 

There were so many extras for every passenger.  Among the most notable were, a Travel Journal (I used mine daily,)  a strong zippered lined shoulder bag including a smaller matching toiletries bag with a leather stateroom/ ID holder and lanyard, a HAL-Steiff Teddy Bear Sailor, Grand Voyage Tiffany mug, ceramic Royal Goedewaagen Grand Voyage Plate plus a sturdy roll along piece of luggage to carry all the gifts home.   Everything was of the highest quality.  Passengers also earn unique Grand Dollars throughout the cruise by participating in various activities.  I turned my dollars in for a flash drive, two compact umbrellas, HAL cosmetic case and ear phones.  MP3 Players were a quite popular choice. 

Many evenings there were special Gala Celebrations and formal Theme Nights such as the elaborate Black & Silver and Black & Gold Grand Balls.  Other events were equally unique only more casual such as the Halloween Monster Mash Party, Alaska Salmon Bake, Kimono Night, Tropical Paradise Dinner and Hawaiian Cookout.  Three of my other favorites were the exciting Masked Ball (I loved my gorgeous complimentary hot pink mask,)  Oktoberfest and the Red Lantern Formal Dinner.  HAL went to great expense elaborately decorating the venues for all the planned themed events.  All the servers wore themed costumes.  Of course we had the usual Captain's Welcome Reception and Mariner's Appreciation Night that are always lovely and well-attended.  Two other themed events were the Chef's Farewell Dinner and the Grand Show Buffet. 

Other exciting optional events were extra cost.  Everyone who attend these thought that they were worthwhile. There were a total of nine formal nights on the 78-day cruise. 

As we departed each port there was a Farewell Party with complimentary hors d'oeuvres, sometimes even complimentary cocktails and live band. Although we always regretted that we didn't have longer port stays (are they ever long enough?) we all looked forward to the farewell parties.  The ship had the usual daily Afternoon Tea at 3 PM; I only attended the most elaborate themed ones, Royal Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino and English High Teas.  I photographed each lavish display of pastries. A more unusual high tea was the Cupcake High Tea.

Speaking of food, on our Grand Journey there were better choices at all three meals.  For example Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail was always on the MDR dinner menu.  For breakfast  crepes were an unusual offering.   At lunchtime we could always choose from a whole section of sushi, sashimi, mussels and clams in addition to other selections.  Even the room service menu had more choices.  Since the food is always good on HAL, I never was tempted to try the specialty restaurants or extra cost dinners although I had plenty of onboard credits to spend.  I was told that HAL allots more dollars per passenger for food costs on Grand or World cruises which would explain the greater variety and quality.

MDR service was uniformly well-paced.  We always finished dinner in about an hour or so (really, I know it's hard to believe.)  We were encouraged to linger and savor our wine.  Our servers, Adi & Fosil, always smiling, did an exemplary job catering to our needs and spoiling us.  Assistant Dining room Manager, Pandi not only kept an eye out making sure everything went well, he also stopped by twice nightly making conversation and helping the servers in various ways.   Noel our wine steward was always punctual, reliable and helpful.  Grand Voyages passengers have a unique package option of a glass of wine each night and it is very reasonably priced; we took advantage of it.  We also received excellent bar service in the lounges and poolside from Enrico, Ann Marie and Mary Jane.  Without asking, they often anticipated our requests for ice water.  

Service in our stateroom was just as attentive.  Our room was often made up sometimes even before we returned from breakfast.  All of our special requests were attended to daily without fail.  Arif (Lukman, earlier in the cruise) & Made always greeted us with smiles and engaged us in short conversations.  They were very professional and efficient.  Our comfortable oceanview stateroom #2695 was cheery and well stocked; it even had two hair dryers.  We requested and promptly received extra wooden hangers.  HAL also provided us with a power strip that we used daily.  A suggestion to HAL is that they install bathroom  nightlights. After being disturbed early in the morning on several occasion from crew working on the deck above,  the noises stopped after passengers mentioned the problem during a Q & A session with the officers.  Other minor problems were also fixed after this session.  HAL did listen. 

The Queen's Lounge (theater) entertainment was diverse and professional although lacking stage sets.  There was always a main nightly show except when there were port night excursions or when a movie on a big screen was shown in the theater.  We usually had matinee shows if there was no evening show scheduled.  Entertainers often appeared twice with a different show each time.  I enjoyed the talented singers and dancers even when they repeated their three shows on another segment.  They were always energetic.  Just about everyone on board attended the fabulous Indonesian & Filipino crew shows.  The theater was packed for both 3 PM shows and the crew was so proud of their performances - so were we. The shows really helped to bond the crew and passengers.  HAL should schedule these shows at 3 PM on their other cruises as well.  I know that my husband, I and others do not want to stay up until 11 PM to attend the late shows.  I also enjoyed the nightly live entertainment in the various lounges.  Adagio in the Navigation Lounge performed beautiful classical music on the piano and violin.  We were regulars at their pre-dinner performances. Debbie Bacon performed in the Piano Bar; we attended her nightly show at 7 PM.  It was always fun & games with her.  One night she invited her husband, Ron to join her on guitar; it was the highlight for all of us. When we were in ports overnight, Debbie performed outdoors on deck under the stars.  How romantic was that!  We enjoyed the Adagio guys and Debbie so much that we purchased several of their CDs, which they autographed.  When these performers were off, we enjoyed the Neptunes in the Ocean Bar and Larry in the Crown's Next.  They were very entertaining as well. 

Although we had a couple of long stretches of sea days, I was never bored.  There were so many daily scheduled activities that I couldn't attend them all.  My favorites were the wonderful Port Talks by Travel Guide Barbara who was so knowledgeable and well travelled and the Kitchen Galley Tour.  I attended most of the quality computer classes by Craig who made learning fun and easy.  There were plenty of history, military history and talks on the culture of the foreign countries that we visited.  I attended all the culinary demonstrations (with printed recipes and samples, of course) and a couple of movies.  A big thanks goes to HAL for providing various religious services throughout the cruise. Few cruise lines do this anymore.   By far one of the most unusual activities on board was the special Neptune Ceremony when we crossed the equator.  What fun the crew, passengers and officers all had poolside.   Complimentary specialty drinks, costumes and decorations added to the festive atmosphere.   

The exotic Ports of Call were the main reason we booked this cruise and each was exciting and memorable. My favorite, and it is difficult to pick just one, was perhaps Shanghai. We docked right in the center of the action facing a beautifully lit skyline  complete with a laser show.  The city has a lot to offer visitors.  My husband's favorite was Ile des Pins with its stunning beaches. We both thought that the most unusual port was Komodo Island to see the Komodo Dragons.  How many other cruises stop here?  We enjoyed all of the HAL Shore Excursion and found them to be very worthwhile.   One disappointment, though, was that the scheduled Tokyo stop was  cancelled due to the eminent arrival of  a typhoon.   The captain anticipated the problem, substituted two other exciting ports, Kanazawa and Fukuoka (Hakata) on the opposite side of Japan.  We did not encounter rough seas or rain perhaps just a bit of wind.  Those who had previously visited Tokyo said that these were even better ports.  Special for the Grand Voyages, HAL arranged complementary shuttles in the ports whenever it was feasible.  This was a huge help especially for those touring independently.  In only one port did I have a problem with the shuttles.  That was in Dutch Harbor where there were only two buses in service and no HAL shore excursion offered.  Many passengers resorted to roaming taxis. There were a few other port challenges mostly out of HAL's hands but with a trip this long no one expected perfection.  HAL did their best to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for us all.    

HAL provided us all with a plethora of pre-cruise documentation and throughout the cruise.  We received plenty of port information sheets, maps,  ship logs and multi-page Explorer Guides to the ports with things to See and Do, shopping info, dining, sightseeing  suggestions etc.  At each foreign port we receive an extremely handy card listing essential foreign words,  phrases, and a currency conversion charts that I used in every port.  It also listed emergency phone numbers of the ship in port.

I made a few minor suggestions to HAL at the end of our cruise.  For the Lido Buffet, I suggested adding lemonade as a beverage.  I enjoyed it in the mornings poolside. Ice tea is provided but the caffeine makes me feel wired.   Tall glasses are needed as it was hard to fill water bottles using juice sized glasses.  I missed having no fat milk available at breakfast.  I suggested more variety of music poolside. Embarkation was very slow (45 minutes,) which surprised me but we were offered cold water or lemonade.  It was just hard to drink the beverage while  moving along the line with jackets and hand luggage while trying to complete the health sheet.   A more serious problem was the fact that the very comfortable couches in the Queen's Theater are lower than the chairs.  If you sit on a couch, it is difficult to see over the heads of people on chairs in front of you.   The main problem for us, though, was the absence of flex time dining.  In ports, it was a rush to make it to the MDR for our 5:30  Early Dining Time.  I have to say that Pondi was always accommodating to our late arrivals.  Only once did we have dinner in the Lido Buffet. Many of the excursion buses in Beijing were delayed two hours  returning to the ship due to evening traffic jams.   We were all treated royally in the Lido restaurant which stayed open late to serve us.  It was nice not to have to change clothes for dinner. 

What I enjoyed most about the ship was the dome over the pool area.  We could sit poolside even in Alaska where the temperature was cool.  Although we experience very few rainy days, whenever it got a bit windy or cool, the dome was closed.  Also HAL adjusted time zone changes eastbound at 2PM instead of the usual 2 AM so we didn't lose any sleep - great idea! The well-maintained ship was comfortable although there were several plumbing problems on the long journey. The ship was just the right size to get into the smaller ports and it was easy to find my way around the ship.   Hopefully another HAL Grand Voyage is in my future - what a spectacular way to cruise and be pampered. One unique and valuable bonus offered by HAL is that for every $300 you spend on board, even pre-booked shore excursions and drink packages, you earn credit for a sailing day.  We reached three star level a week early due to this bonus and are now only 8 days shy of level 4 stars when you receive complementary laundry service. 

We booked the Back to Back HAL cruise to the Panama Canal, keeping our same stateroom.  So, our vacation lasted an additional 14 days.  Due to the high cost of our return flight from San Diego, it was only a little more money to cruise back to FL on the ship and simply drive home.  But, that is another review.  

I have travelled on this ship, Voyager of the Sea, 11 years ago. The facilities on the ship is fine. Embarkment from Hong Kong was horrendous . Took almost 4 hours before boarding the ship. Very disorganized Embarkment. Due to typhoon, we only get to go to only Taiwan and was at sea for 2.5 days.