Though we've never been huge fans of HAL, we generally choose them because of the interesting itineraries. For this cruise, the brand-new ship, itinerary, bonus perks, and decent on-board credit were major factors. But the ship is a complete dud, from design, to implementation, to dining.

Embarkation was horrible. You'd think that after all these years in the business they'd finally get it right. Wrong. It took hours.

The luggage came quickly (because it took so long to board). Our cabin steward introduced himself and informed us that we'd probably have to go to the other side of the ship if we wanted to find him. That's because he had something like 12 cabins on the other side, but only three on ours. He did a decent job, but we never saw him when we needed anything. On day 14 I wouldn't have recognized him if I fell over him. Read more