We really enjoyed our time on this trip. Got to visit some places we've never been before, met some great people along the way and, once again, got to marvel at the engineering of the Panama Canal. Wonderful trip.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very easy. We arrived a bit early and waited about 30 minutes before they began checking people in. Were able to zip through and board at 11am
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Enjoyed the MDR and Pinnacle. The buffet was hit and miss. Food was luke warm at times there. Menu at Canaletto was changed a few months back and no longer had our favorite dishes. We'll need to discover new favorites 😁
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We enjoyed the cooking demos. Some of the talks were enjoyable and informative. Many of the activities were promotions which we won't do.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Enjoyed the band in the Rolling Stone lounge. Billboard on Board had just one piano player who had a below average voice. Main Stage had some good acts, including Lado a Lado, an incredible guitar duo from Brazil and Un Peru Para Todos who played traditional music supported by traditional dance - they were tremendous. The Step One Dancers were good, but we've seen them so many times it's no longer fresh. Michelle Montuori has a lovely voice, but spent more time doing "comedy" than she did singing and the Alan's (magicians) performed some amazing tricks, but their show bogged down in spots
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We keep going back to HAL because of the staff. Our room stewards did an excellent job in spite of handling 31 rooms. My wife asked the captain for a copy of his presentation for our autistic nephew who's captivated by all machines/engines, and the captain copied it to a thumb drive and personally delivered it to our room. Bartenders and waiters were fabulous. The only place where service fell a bit short was at the buffet, where the staff seemed to be overwhelmed.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a rear facing veranda room and loved it. Nice size, very clean and comfortable. The deck was quite large.
Ship tip
Atmosphere on board is low key. We enjoy this, but others may get bored. If you want many activities, water slides, mini golf, etc. HAL is not the right choice for you.
Nice city. We did a private bird watching tour not affiliated with the cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. Isabel Gomez Cordova of https://alikantochile.cl/en/home/ took great care of us. We saw a number of birds, visited a goat farm owned by locals, and had a wonderful lunch break by the ocean. We got to see many things off the beaten path. Great experience.
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