Ejelizajo

Loving your review. We depart on August 28th and have Tamarind and Pinnacle Frill reservations already!

Are you sure that the Atrium sculpture is plexiglass? The other HAL ships have custom Lalique sculptures I think!

Not only does HA charge big bucks (40-60 cents per minute) for their awful internet signal....but unlike most cruise lines they have not even bothered to offer ship-wide WiFi on many of their vessels. When we cruise on ships like the Westerdam it is necessary to go to a public lounge in order to use WiFi. The speed of the connection varies depending on location and the number of others using the internet....but is generally about the speed of an old 2400 baud modem.

 

Hank

Agree that it was slow, and expensive but access in our stateroom was fine, Even several years ago on the Westerdam.

Departing the ship with a suitcase full of clean clothes was a real treat for us, and the unlimited laundry on our 34 day South Pacific cruise made packing much easier also. One word of caution ... All of our white synthetic washables (panties, golf shirts) were a dull grey which never came out so we had to throw those few items out. Live and Learn .... We won't bring any such items on our upcoming cruise.

The stern balconies on decks 4 and 5 of the W'dam are about 12 feet deep, while those on the NA are about half that. The deck 4 W'dam balconies have a lot of exposure, while the deck 5 ones are completely covered:

 

 

The NA balconies are more equally sized:

 

We had a wonderful aft balcony on the Westerdam, fourth floor. Other than a suite, we selected this cabing for the wake view and the size of the balcony. The NA aft balconies are quite a bit smaller.

Thinking that we might be cancelling some of our upcoming reservations in the PG on our upcoming cruise:(

Just thinking of booking several PG dinners for an upcoming Mediterranean cruise ... Not happy with the $29 higher charge but if quality is gone will try Tamarind. Too bad as the PG was a dining highlight on our last HAL cruise.

Beware HAL ... If you lower standards or remove quality and services that cruisers have been willing to pay a bit more for, then your loyal followers will cruise with someone else.

Thanks for the pics, but the balcony size is a disappointment. We recently sailed on the Westerdam and the stern balconies were large enough for 2 loungers and 2 chairs. Any thoughts?