I named this cruise, an eventful one because we had to hide out from hurricane Nicole near the coast of Cuba. During that, we picked up 14 migrants on a sinking makeshift craft and had the US Coast Guard retrieve them. After our first stop at Ft. Lauderdale, two critically Ill passengers had to be dropped of at Grand Turk, due to all if this we missed two ports. There was an emergency need for a blood donor on board. However, with all of this, the Captain and the entire crew managed to roll with the punches and created an enjoyable cruise for us. We were very impressed!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Perfect!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
They were very good. I can see the pre-COVID to post COVID differences such as a smaller menu selection, no crème brûlée and other very missed items such as prunes, and artificial sweeteners. However, I did appreciate the effort to please.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Great fitness center! I enjoyed the dance and fitness classes, dance shows and all performers. The very first comedian was the best entertainer of it’s type I had ever seen. The ones that followed fell short of the mark. Movies were good but started later than convenient for me. So we’re some of the games and the Orange party. I have seen better orange parties. HAL did very well in the shows that combined the singers and Dancers.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Great music and great voices. All were an improvement from past cruises.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service continues to be tops at HAL.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The modern design was very pretty. I noticed that the cleanliness fell short from excellent, specially on such a new ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very comfortable. Our cabin attendants were dutiful. We missed Roni but Jono kept up his friendly service.
Ship tip
Bring your own prunes on board and sweeteners, as well as any other non perishable item that you don’t want to go about begging for it.
I would not this again. Mambo Beach was ugly, full of construction and restrictions. Not a natural beach. Full of wall to wall condos and hotels. In the future, give adequate description of this place so that only people who seek this mess can take the tour.
4x4 sand dune buggy Adventure. This is the best 4x4 trajectory I have done ever. They have outdone themselves on this and the safety service provided along with the good equipment. Please make sure that you keep this tour available. We will do it every time.
Turtle encounter, snorkel, beach and cruise. The Turtle part was lame and a waste of time but the shipwreck after was excellent, as was the beach with the rum drinks. The crew was excellent.
All the tours we really wanted were sold out, so we took what was left, the Panoramic drive through the North forest. It was beautiful and educational. The girl giving the descriptions was key to making the tour great. If you are prime to dizzying,get some Dramamine before taking this tour due to the winding roads through the mountains.
St. John on your own. It was enjoyable but it provided very little time for the beach, which was beautiful. Recommend sturdy shoes for the hike to the beach. It has become very rocky and the mud is slippery.
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