HAL lost the opportunity to give us that "WOW! factor even before we boarded the ship and despite every attempt by the onboard staff to appeze our disappointment the "Bubble had already burst". Being an ex maritime officer with another cruise line for over 5 years and working in a 5 star hotel for over 15 years, I know what guests expect, and whilst your star rating is showing a 3.5 rating, my own personal rating would be in the region of 2.3
Embarkation
2 out of 5
One of our 4 pieces of luggage didn't arrive at cabin for over 4 hours, no one seemed to know where it was (numerous inquiries with guest services). Had been held awaiting a security check, a simple card explaining this would have alleviated our concerns. Then had to wait around till a "Beverage manager" arttended to view our allowed bottle of wine.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had the opportunity to eat at all three venues and were pleasantly surprised with the quality, presentation and quantity of the food. The buffets were extremely good with a good selection of both Asian and western foods. The disappointing aspect was the Pinnicle Grill, (premium eatery) food was presented quickly but gave the impression of being too prepared in advance, we had a four course meal, all over and done with in 30 minutes.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Whilst my wife really enjoyed the cooking demonstrations, I really liked the computer classes which were very informative and well presented by Meagan. Although totally based arround Windows 10 and I being an "Apple" man they were still very informative
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Great performers/entertainers but not enough shows, they should try and have more afternoon shows whilst at sea.
Children's Programs
No children on board for the duration of our repositioning cruise
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Not enough stars to reflect the true service that the Idonesian room stewards and waiters gave if there was an eight star category the both would have achieved this rating easily. Guest Services were very helpful but did tend to get mixed up accasionly by not communicating between themselves, we had one favourite (Kristine) and between her and the GSM (Tena) they manage red to sort out about 95% of our problems - the other 5% having to be taken up with head office
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Common areas were clean and well maintained, although there were five spotlights arround the pool area that were our and not replaced for the duration of the voyage.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
Although we booked a specific cabin type 12 months in advance and by paying a deposit were guaranteed this cabin type (F). We then went on to pay the rate in total to take advantage of an "Early Bird" discount some 6 months prior to departure, our guaranteed booking was a farce!!!! - despite numerous requests to obtain cabin details prior to cruise non were given until embarkation - Low and behold, our guard teed cabin catagory was changed to another group AND were were assigned a "Disabled Persns" cabin, with multiple bookings against it. (Hence my very stern letter to head office)
As an indication the cabin allocated is some 25% less living space with items being reduced and even removed from a standard sized cabin in order to allow wheelchair access. We now know what sardines in a can feel like!!!!!!!
Ship tip
Don't purchase the "Soda Drink" package although there is a 50c discount on soft drinks purchased with this card you only get a glass of warm soft drink in a glass 3/4 filled with ice, the result is you pay for a can of soft during three times over before you get a full glas of beverage - RIP OFF!
Sounds like HAL was not to your liking, although I’m not sure any cruise line would have met your expectations, some of which could have been met with a simple comment from you, specifically the pace of the meal in the Pinnacle Grill. We’ve eaten there on every HAL cruise we’ve taken on multiple ships and have experienced excellent service and food every time. Always an enjoyable evening with a well paced meal so I’m not sure what went wrong with yours to have your meal done in 30 minutes. Perhaps another cruise line will be better for you. 🍸
A little confused on why if you were an ex maritime officer on another cruise line you didn't know more about how cruising works. Guaranteed cabins frequently are not assigned until embarkation. And security hold on luggage for bottle of wine which should have been in carry on.
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