Route: 29 day voyage: San Diego > Hawaii (3 islands) > Kiribati (1 island) > French Polynesia (6 islands) > San Diego

1. General Comments: We are regular cruisers and this was our 7th different HAL ship. This was a fascinating trip. Sights ranged from the modern (Honolulu) to the primitive (Fanning Island in Kiribati: no running water, no electricity). Weather was hot and humid with occasional rain and plenty of rolling seas. We were a full ship with ca 1,200 passengers. The vast majority were retired (who else can take a month off?). Besides US citizens, there were a good number of Canadians, British, and assorted Europeans (including a large contingent of Swiss). I counted only one infant (daughter of the Cruise Director) and one high school student (Dutch son of a ship’s officer; doing schoolwork by e-mail) on board.

We had a Neptune suite (10th deck) that made for a comfortable month’s cruise. Read more