Would have rated 3.5 stars, if it had been an option.
Having completed our 1st Cruise with HAL, can place it joint 3rd in our preferred Cruise Lines – Behind Fred Olsen and Cunard, joint 3rd with Princess and ahead of P&O.
14 night Itinerary, to/from Dover (Rotterdam, Alesund, 5 ports in Iceland, Stornaway and Portree), was fabulous.
Picked up a very good cruise price.
Ship well presented.
8th Deck Balcony stateroom well presented, but regular Restaurant trolley noise from the Lido Market Buffet on 9th Deck.
There were a number of children on the Ship, but not in the slightest disruptive.
Embarking and disembarking (including Tenders) at Dover and all Ports was easy and only a few short delays experienced.
Also a Passenger changeover in Rotterdam.
Pricing on the ship was high, to include Port Tours, Bar Prices (mandatory 18% Service Charge), Shop prices.
Currency onboard is USD$.
Crew generally very good, especially Cabin stewards, but there were exceptions.
Main Restaurant ‘Open Dining’ was generally good – only on receiving a Pager on 4 nights, with average 10 mins wait.
Entertainment range from very good to very poor.
All ship announcements in English and Dutch.
Good mix of passenger nationalities, including Dutch, Australian, US and UK (in that order, for numbers) and several others represented too.
Didn’t feel fully engaged with the Ship or HAL and therefore do not feel compelled to return to HAL cruising any time soon.
Next cruise – Fred Olsen.
