The ship was very clean and tidy. It was easy to move around and the staff very helpful. However, the evening experiences were not the best. The Workd Theate showed two 45-minute shows nightly, but most every place closed at 10 pm. If you didn't want to be on the dance floor in the Rolling Stone area, there was nowhere else open with inviting ambient music or atmosphere to just hang.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Quick and easy, on board within 30 mins,
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The main dining room mostly served excel4leng food. Two steak meals were overcooked and tough. It was always easy to find a table and eat a decent breakfast at the Lido. The lunchtime buffet was very same same,
Billboard Onboard
3 out of 5
Billboard onboard was less than dwellers. There were usually space sears at this venue.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Not that many interesting activities to do.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The stage show productions were excellent but nort oong enough (45 mins). The Rolling Stone Band was sscelleht. There were often empty seats at the duelling pianists area. Disappointed that the ship seemed to close at 10 pm with te exception of the Rolling Stone area. Some nice welcoming ambient music would have been appreciate.
Crow's Next
3 out of 5
The Crow's Nest was an excellent day/afternoon place to hang out, and the staff always friendly and professional. However, night time found it to be very quiet and to lack any atmosphere. Not many people would be found here at 9 pm. The bar closed at 10 pm with the crew cleaning from 09.30 pm.
Atrium
3 out of 5
The Atrium area tends to be a small wasted walkway on this ship. Not many people spend any time here,
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff wee consistently professional, friendly and quick to serve,
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
A nice, comfortable, clean ship to move around.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
4078 was a very spacious ocean view cabin. Our cabin atendent was excellent at keeping ut clean and tidy.
What an interesting place to visit. I took the Hop On Hop Off bus and had plenty of time to explore both Medina and Valletta. I plan to revisit another time.
A trip to Rome from this port takes a very long time. People who took the train said that they had a 2 hour Hop On Hop Off experience and did not get off the bus before heading back. I tried to spend my day at this port town and found it to be a lacklustre place and returned to the ship.
I enjoyed all three times I visited here and visited all main attractions. However, my favourite time was the 2 days I spent post cruise. What a lovely, easily walk around place this proved to be with lots of nooks and crannies to wander in to when time is on your side.
Note this port is 90 minutes plus from Florence and any tour taken is a rushed introduction around the town centre only. If you do a combined Florence/Pisa tour, you will find that you have very little time at Pisa. It's a little disappointing!
This port was a bit of a waste of time. There is not much here at all, a bit like stepping back into the sixties but not in a good way. Most vendors accept euros, but be aware that you will receive the change I local coinage.
I took a ride on the little visitor train that wandered through the back lanes and up through the countryside before being dropped off at a quiet, pebbly beach. It was fine but... The afternoon was spent happily wandering around the town and marina.
What a lovely place to walk around as there are plenty of things to see. We shared a wonderful traditional fish platter and a glass of wine inside the walled area.
Another lovely, more traditional laid-back island to wander around. I walked along the marina and had some really close-up sitings of the resident turtle that just loved feeding on the fish and displaying herself. Time was spent walking along the very long bridge where more turtle sitings were made before wandering along the port town, popping into little churches etc.
Last trip, we did an excellent excursion to Ephesus. This trip we took a taxi to Sirince, a lovely artist town in the hills. The taxi driver was knowledgeable and gave us plenty of time to walk around the various shops etc. It was a nice breezy place to visit on an extended hot morning. Tge afternoon was spent happily wandering around Kusadasi.
What a wonderful, more traditional island. We took the Hop On Hop Off bus to the lookout and a beautiful light and airy palace where Prince Philip grew up before wandering around the Fort and Old Town. This place, more than any, reminded me of the Greek Islands I visited two decades ago.
A group of 6 of us took a private tour (booked at the port on the day) to the river and up to the lookout. The price was 20 euro per person and lasted more than 90 mins before we were dropped off at the old town for 2 hours free time. The driver was most informative and very quirky. He returned us to the ship in a good time frame. It was an adventure worth taking.
Santorini is pretty, but on both occasions I have visited here, it has been shoulder to shoulder cruisers vying for space. Unfortunately, this distracts from the experience.
Thanks for going into detail so much at each port. Very helpful and interesting too!
Sorry Santorini has become so popular for cruisers that it’s overcrowded now.
It is really a gorgeous place if you could stay overnight. Enjoyed reading your review.
HAL has its casino for after 10pm. That’s about all I know personally from being on a HAL cruise.
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