The most fascinating part was the scenic cruising in Prince Christian Sound. We stayed on the bow virtually all day with an excellent commentary from the bridge in gorgeous weather. We particularly enjoyed the residents of the only village on the sound coming out on motor boats with their standing kids and circling the ship. The ship stopped at all 5 glaciers to allow plenty of time for photos. We've cruise Alaska twice but this experience was better. The 2 Greenland ports were not that great and the major experience were 9 somewhat elderly Inuits singing bible hymns in the culture center for $15. We also enjoyed Saint Johns Newfoundland. We had been to the other one in NB 3 times. HAL mistakenly put that in their brochure and subsequently corrected it. We enjoyed the $5 hop on hop off city bus which took us to the top of Signal Hill for a gorgeous vies.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were on the previous British Isles 12 night cruise so we just embarked as In Transit/
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The main dining room was excellent and we actually had the same waiter that we had on a 48 night cruise to the Mediterranean last spring. The buffet was okay but not as good as the dining room. We did not go to any specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We did very little except ask the captain and ask the entertainers. Some of the lecturers were good, some weren't.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The production cast was excellent but we were on a 37 night southern Caribbean, Panama Canal, Alaska cruise this spring on the Oosterday so we saw each of the absolutely identical show 6 times. We did not particularly like the other entertainers. The band was okay but they mainly played in the Ocean Bar and not too often on stage.
Children's Programs
I was alone with my husband.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We had the weird coincidence of having both the same steward and dining room waiter as last year. Both were excellent. We had no staff complaints.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was fine. We particularly liked the fact that the bow was mostly open as the vistas were superb.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was smaller than what we had on previous HAL cruises. The toilet broke down 5 times but we were adequately compensated.
It was expensive but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely visit the Carlsbad brewery. It's more fascinating than the Guinness brewery in Dublin and they give you more beer. We were there 3 times during our cruise. Buy the day pass on the public bus. It is easily accessible from the port and there is no need to take hop on hop off busses or cabs. There is excellent wi-fi in the terminal.
We took a 2 day excursion with Guide Guru for $280. They did a fine job and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The only problem we were rushed through the Hermitage.
We visited the Vasa Museum and did a tour of the City Hall. The Vasa Museum was superb and we enjoyed the City Hall. We bought a hop on hop off boat pass and were able to get everywhere quite easily. The armory museum at the palace was free and we enjoyed it.
We again paid $105 for an all day tour of Berlin from Guide Guru. We thoroughly enjoyed even though the bus was 3 hours one day. We had a guide from Yorkshire who was extremely competent.
The disembarkation was delayed by about an hour for unknown reasons. We almost missed our Megabus to Philadelphia as we always walk to 34th Street from the Port but HAL is a few blocks further uptown than NCL. However, other than the delay there were no problems.
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