The HAL itineraries, the excellent food and service are the reasons we sail with them.
We expect the low quality entertainment but appreciate the Educational talks, which allows us to understand better our tour experiences.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food and services were excellent. Anytime dining now reserves the tables so you may not be able to be seated as expected. We had to switch to reserved dining. Be careful with Pinnacle extra charges.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
As usual, HAL is always lacking on these. It did try a couple of new things, which were nice but there’s been cuts on this area.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
This has never been HAL’s allure. During the first leg of the trip they had the dancers, who were very good. They were gone in Rotterdam and were replaced with repetitious performances of mediocre acts and one that was below cruise ship quality.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This has always been Hal’s strong point. Everyone was friendly and gave perfect service with a smile.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
We have been of the Zuiderdam before and it’s an attractive and comfortable ship. For the first time ever, we noticed some very dirty areas in the Lido. Also, some cabin areas were experiencing so water leaks. The forward elevators were broken for several days. Otherwise, all else was good.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Large and comfortable with great stewards. The cabin itself was kept clean and the problems with the phone and the tub were resolve. The balcony was unusually dirty and I never received a notice of a balcony cleaning during the entire cruise.
Ship tip
Have patience with tour booking online. Once on board, the tours excursion staff with work out the kinks with you. If you enjoy eating on time at a table for two, reserve it.
The dancers on the 8/26-9/2 from Boston to Canada were excellent. The English singer/songwriter, Chris Bannister is also excellent. I was not impressed with the comedy of Sid Davis but others were laughing a lot. I’ve avoided the Rolling Stone Lounge because it smells of mold and sewage.
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