7 Nights Mexican Riviera Cruise

Exceeded High Expectations - except entertainment

Hey Yall, Just writing a quick review to share our experience on the Feb 9 sailing of the NA. In short, it exceeded our fairly high expectations and we look forward to sailing on her again in June. Embarkation was delayed a bit due to extra cleaning prior to boarding, but by the time we boarded a little before our updated time, there were zero lines anywhere and the entire boarding process took maybe 10 minutes with mostly walking and little waiting. Our only upgrades were the purchase of the thermal spa which we have enjoyed on our last few cruises. It met all expectations throughout and was never crowded in any of the three key areas - heated chairs, thermal tub, and steam room. Food easily exceeded expectations throughout with hot dishes served hot, cold served cold, and all dishes tasty and flavorful. This included the desserts which were noticeably better than past HAL cruises. Our unexpected highlight was Canelletto. It far exceeded expectations and was well worth the surcharge. Our lunch in the Pinnacle Grill was almost as good as we noticed the crabcakes seemed to have more filler and less crab than before. Other dishes were tasty. Service also exceeded expectations across the board. Everyone we interacted with was polite, positive, and helpful. Inside Cabin was fine and a little smaller than I expected. We got a great deal and we had no complaints - except we like it quite cool overnight and couldn't get the room as cool as we preferred. Entertaininment, especially in the main theater was underwhelming. However, we expected this and were able to entertain ourselves most evenings. We didn't hear the main band but that room was always packed. The jazz trio was good most of the time and we appreciated the atmosphere they created in the Ocean Bar. All public areas of the ship were in great shape and showed no signs of wear. It is clear it has been well maintained and looked brand new pretty much everywhere. Disembark was easy and painless following breakfast in the dining room. Other passengers were older as expected, with most between their 50's and 70's. That's fine with us as we're in the lower end of this. People were chill with only one who drank to excess or made a nuisance of themselves. We appreciate this.

Great experience (7 day Western Caribbean)

This was our first HAL cruise and we have no regrets in our choice. The passenger demographic was incredibly varied, much more so than the "floating rest home" vibe so many ascribe to them. Young families and couples, multi-generational families, the retirees, the still-working DINKs like us, LGBTQ folks, different nationalities, etc. It was honestly great and quite the melting pot. We loved it. The ship is older but was constantly being maintained and cared for. The staff were always accessible and friendly. We also felt well-cared for and really enjoyed it. My husband absolutely loved the ship and its more traditional layout and actually felt they had more activities and fun stuff than our last Celebrity cruise. We had a delayed embarkation by two hours due to a 'deep cleaning' before we set sail. The previous cruise had some GI sickness break out, but I never heard of anyone having issues on our sailing. The books in the Library and the games in the Crows Nest weren't available until maybe the third day. Once we got to the port at our assigned time, we were on the ship within 20 minutes - it was so fast and easy. We had taken advantage of the opportunity to drop our luggage off early so I'm sure that helped. Using the app onboard was easy. We did not have the internet package, but the app worked without any issues. We made excursion and dining reservations with it and frequently used it to look up the dining options for the day. Half Moon Cay was delightful and very relaxing. Falmouth was great; incredibly windy at the port, but no problems. Grand Cayman went well; tendering there was like clock-work. Cozumel went off without a hitch. We ate in Canaleto and Tamarind and enjoyed both very much. Tiwi in Canaleto and Aurora in Tamarind provided excellent service. Our room stewards, Ali and Tri, were unobtrusive and professional. We were caught off-guard with the early closing of the Lido Market. 8:00 seems very early to close dining; we missed it one night and ended up choosing Canaleto for that reason. Food throughout the ship was excellent. I do love that they serve in the buffet for most things. Let's be honest, people can be gross and this helps reduce some of that. (haha). I am OBSESSED with their sweet breakfast rolls! As others have mentioned, having the smoking section back by the Sea View bar and pool did reduce my desire to use that space some, but it wasn't horrible. It would be nice to have it somewhere else though. I did miss Celebrity's Solarium pool. The Lido pool was fine but did get a little overwhelmed, especially since the Sea View pool has a dearth of shade options. I did miss the dedicated sommeliers in the MDR that Celebrity has on their ships. When I asked for a recommendation based on the meal I chose, our waiter simply pulled a wine off the menu and didn't really try to pair it with what I ordered. No critique to him intended; just that sommeliers would be nice. We went to a couple of shows. Evolution:Motown was great (quartet of guys singing Motown hits) and the band in the Rolling Stone lounge were excellent. Strong male and female singers; excellent musicians. Our goal for this trip was to not over schedule ourselves since we get enough of that at home, so we missed quite a few of the activities. The Fun Fair they had on the Lido deck with carnival games really was fun and everyone got into the swing of the games and the giveaways. The gym is a little small for my taste; it'd be nice to have some additional open space so people can do yoga or whatever if a class or guided session is going on. The spa is expensive, hands-down. I got their lowest prices massage and it was still $200. It was very nice, but that price is insane. We never once got a push to upsell into a beverage package or the wifi. We already have another HAL cruise scheduled for next February, sailing out of San Diego. Great job, HAL!

Luxury Vacation

From room service all the way to the kitchen staff were phenomenal. Our room was cleaned by Ketut and Ade and they came sometimes more than once a day to make sure everything was to our satisfaction and that we didn't require anything further. We went on this cruise for my wife's birthday and the stateroom staff set up our room and gave us a custom cake all free of charge. They really made this cruise memorable for us. When it comes to the restaurant Mr. Mahmut took great care of us every time we dined with them. The food was always delicious and the service was always top tier. The common areas and the Lido buffet upstairs was always well maintained and clean. The cruise ship itself gave off an aura of luxury. All around we have went on multiple cruises and this has taken our #1 spot. We will be back.