marial Posted December 2, 2008 #1 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hi, wanted to write a quick summary of our Sea of Cortez cruise 11/21-12/1. First off, first time on HAL(10th cruise, normally sail Princess) , early 40s with 12 yo daughter. Room Steward Service was poor..first 3 nights had to ask for a sheet for our daughters couch and never received any shampoo/cond without having to leave a note...same goes for ice..AYWD - reservations could only be made at 5:15 or 7:45 every time I called so dont expect to make them anytime. Dining room service was average to below average. Our wine steward, Allan was great, and very friendly. Food was average..entertainment the same. Norovirus was in full bloom..received 3 or 4 notices and by last sea day buffet was no longer self service..shop staff - walked into the jewlery store every day, and never once got so much as a hello.. Good things - since it was an older crowd, it was very easy to find prime lounge chairs to sit in..always plenty available. Happy Hour from 4-5 in Ocean Bar - all drinks 2 for 1. Drew the Cruise Director was great..Stateroom was roomy, nice to have daughter on a couch instead of overhead. Edwin at Ocean Bar was great. Ship was nice..I was worried because of size, but movement was minimal and it did not feel overly small to me. Nice dining room and theater.Lots of Christmas decorations already.. Warning on Snorkeling tours in La Paz and Loretto - expect to be stung by jelly fish..it happened to almost 100% of the people in the water..and all over, but water was beautiful.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgoo Posted December 2, 2008 #2 Share Posted December 2, 2008 sound like a good time.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marial Posted December 2, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted December 2, 2008 We did have a good time..I think maybe my expectations were just a bit high on the service level from everything I read, and that was the disappointment to not see the great levels others have experienced..but 10 nights on a cruiseship....hard to go wrong there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marial Posted December 2, 2008 Author #4 Share Posted December 2, 2008 We did have a good time..I think maybe my expectations were just a bit high on the service level from everything I read, and that was the disappointment to not see the great levels others have experienced..but 10 nights on a cruiseship....hard to go wrong there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManOfBethesda Posted December 2, 2008 #5 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Food was average..entertainment the same. Norovirus was in full bloom..received 3 or 4 notices and by last sea day buffet was no longer self service.....shop staff - walked into the jewlery store every day, and never once got so much as a hello.. Reported on the food.....................check Reported on the entertainment........check Reported on the customer service....check Reported on the prevalance of Noro..check Yes - But you left out by far the most important aspect of the cruise, and one in which everyone I'm sure is waiting for an answer with baited breath: WERE THERE STILL TRAYS IN THE LIDO??????!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowPrincess Posted December 2, 2008 #6 Share Posted December 2, 2008 WERE THERE STILL TRAYS IN THE LIDO??????!!!!!!!! Yes :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManOfBethesda Posted December 2, 2008 #7 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Yes :D Oh, thank the Lord!! All is right in the world! Okay, everyone now: Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailaway Posted December 2, 2008 #8 Share Posted December 2, 2008 ;)any one just off the Noordam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody73 Posted December 2, 2008 #9 Share Posted December 2, 2008 How was the entertainment? Any must-see shows? We sail on the Ryndam next week. Woody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marial Posted December 3, 2008 Author #10 Share Posted December 3, 2008 This was the first ship that I have sailed on that did not have some form of on stage entertainment every night..there was either one or two nights where they only showed a movie. The remaining were the typical Broadway musicals/dancing, the 'piano man", a comedy/violinist and an illusionist...I wouldnt say any were fabulous, but we enjoyed the illusionist...none were 'bad'....just nothing great.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVENJAN Posted December 3, 2008 #11 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I have to agree with Marial. The entertainment was lackluster. We enjoyed Dave Lavesque(fiddler) and Chuck Jones(magician). The shows were only standard and nothing exceptional. Movies in the Veerdam Theater? Goofy if you ask me. Mama Mia would look better in H.D. on my plasma TV. That is where I plan to see it. Also, the dining room was walk in only between 6:00 and 7:00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucory Posted December 3, 2008 #12 Share Posted December 3, 2008 We had a reservation for a table for 2 every night at 8pm. The service in our section was very good too. We thought of the musical productions as very "high school musical", but aren't they always. Dave Levesque was a fantastic talent, in our book, particularly as we had seen his history lectures before his performance so were nicely surprised. Full review to come.... Brucory... :D:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted December 3, 2008 #13 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Dave Levesque was a fantastic talent, in our book, particularly as we had seen his history lectures before his performance so were nicely surprised. I first saw him as a performer long before I knew him as a guest lecturer. Talk about surprised! This is a very well-rounded man. I hadn't realized he was doing the commentary on some scenic cruising several days before he started his lecture series. He excels at everything he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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