I'm not sure if they are short on crew or they are just inexperienced, but most seemed to be having a hard time, didnt understand and seemed to lack urgency. I do believe that HAL cares and I had complained to management about the lack of beverage service around the pool and the next day and forward I did see an improvement, but for the first couple of days we couldnt get drinks and tried at the pool bar also, but they were so busy and didnt even look up to acknowledge us, but thanks to Reggie things did improve. The buffet was very crowded, so maybe opt for the restaurant when possible. The food was average, but I expected more from HAL.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Excellent
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Under whelming. My first shock was to see prices on some items on the menu that in the past were always included. The menu was boring, and limited, several items repeated nightly, portions were small and vegetables were almost non-existent. Drink service was very slow, I believe that may have been due to having to use your keycard to pay for them, that seemed to be a lenghtly process everywhere on the ship.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We went to the pool in the back of the ship because unless you get up a 6AM to reserve your chair there was no way to get a chair in the main pool area. I played pickleball, went to 2 shows in the theater, and visited some of the bars, but only one music venue could operate at a time because they are right across from each other. The activities were minimal and too sedate for our tastes.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We enjoyed the comedian, and the show on the history of HAL, the others werent interesting to us, mostly dance/ballet shows. My husband did the tour with the captain and did enjoy that.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
I will say our room stewards were excellent along with the outstanding service in Pinnacle, however main stream service was slow and weak.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was clean, however I thought the design and decor was minimalistic (no glitz). I missed the typical grand atrium/foyer where activities would have normally happened.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The room was on the smaller side, but an excellent location, and our room attendants kept it very clean and took care of our needs.
The pool and shopping area were nice enough, but crowded, you could get in and out of the pool and get wet, but too crowded to really move around. Excursions were available, which we probably should have done because after a couple of hours of sitting in the sun we were bored.
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