Great Mediterranean Cruise
Oosterdam Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 7
Helpful Votes: 84
Review summary
We booked this cruise to historic ports. Saw the great sites in Rome and Athens and many in between. We came to Rome early, stayed in Athens after and enjoyed HAL for 7 days. It was a trip of a lifetime and I can highly recommend it and HAL.Embarkation
Quick and painless, no fuss and quick to the fun.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
As always HAL food is high quality, service is impeccable. Only improvement I would make is the volume and quality of the pancake syrup. As a Canadian the offering for syrup was terrible.
Onboard Activities
HAL activities are more sedate than other cruise lines but for the traveller looking for a more relaxing traditional experience it’s just right.
Entertainment
It was top quality. The couple on the duelling pianos were excellent. The band in the Rolling Stone lounge was high quality. The two female singers were phenomenal. They had a male opera tenor that was not only an impressive singer but had a great sense of humour and an impressive performer.
Service and Staff
As always the staff was the friendliest at sea.
Ship Quality
The ship was impeccably cleaned at all times. The cabins need better lighting and more plugs on the next upgrade.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was great except better lighting and more plugs are needed.
Ports of call
We did a full day tour with a private person recommended to us by our friends and fellow cruisers. This was fantastic. Malta should be on your list of must see ports. The entrance to and the port area itself is the #1 port I have ever been to.
Thumbs Up
0
We just walked around and had lunch in the old walled city right at the port. It was very nice.
We were able to do Rome in a day with “The Tour Guy” tour company. 7 hour walking tour in 36 C temperatures was daunting but a great overview of all the great sites. I highly recommend them.
We stayed on for two days to tour the city. We hired our port pick up driver to take us around for 4 hours and give us an overview. The next day we went to the Acropolis site. Quite a walk but well worth it. We stayed in a boutique hotel that overlooked the Acropolis site.
We did a tour with “Get Your Guide” tour company. Well worth the money. Guide was very knowledgeable and the acient ruines were impressive.
We did the Steps of the Godfather movie sites tour with HAL. It was not that great, very few movie sites. It did give us a good tour of small towns in the mountains so I would rate it as ok.
Disembarkation
Quick and smooth. I was impressed that the senior staff including the captain were in a farewell line at the terminal wishing everyone a safe journey home