The ship was clean and beautiful, everything seemed to be working, and the service was absolutely fabulous. The Eurodam is a little older now, but still very nice. On service, standouts were our cabin steward who helped our disabled mother very much in her suite, the management in the Tamarind, who went above and beyond, and the disembarkation help we received because we were traveling with a disabled passenger. All in all the service was either the best I've ever had on a cruise, or close enough, it doesn't matter. HAL's passengers are older, and that leads them to be a little more patient and easygoing as well, if this is what you are looking for.

So why isn't this a 5-star review? Well, the food in the main dining room just isn't good enough. Again, the service, and ambiance was terrific, but the kitchen just didn't match up to them. Breakfast was not good enough either. Pancakes were poor and scrambled eggs served seemed powdered. They offered premium steak and eggs, and Lobster benedicts in your stateroom, but you had to pay extra, and you could not get a normal omelet or regular eggs benedict. In cruises past, the Pinnacle steakhouse lived up to it's name, but on our cruise, we went there twice, and while the steaks themselves were very good, everything else served was just ok, it just did not seem worth the expense. Best food on the ship, was frankly the lunch in the MDR or the little grill for hamburgers and hot dogs by the pool. Entertainment just didn't seem to be there either, though a performance by a steel drum band was quite good.

All in all, we had a good time, but it just didn't pack the fun factor of earlier HAL trips. We do understand that things in the cruise industry are just getting back to normal after the long COVID nightmare for the industry. HAL has done a great job on the service side, but to regain it's former place, the food needs some improvement.