Travelling with Qantas from ATL, I flew to LAX then on to SYD for arrival same day as sailing. This was a 29 day collector's voyage travelling to Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, other So Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand. I was a solo cruiser taking my longest voyage to date and the furthest from home. I had booked the transfer to the ship. Upon arrival, I did not find the HAL representative and after travelling for 22 hours, just decided that I wasn't going to sweat it and took a taxi. I had exchanged money prior to leaving and had AUD on hand to pay the $60 taxi ride. Upon arrival at the pier, I was checked in and at my cabin within 15 minutes.

Having sailed with HAL before, I knew there would be a pleasant staff, but this group far exceeded my expectations for helpfulness and willingness to assist a passenger. I was in a Neptune Suite and experienced nothing but pleasure to help from the Concierge JR and Saldi. The room stewards, Made and Yuba were aware of what I needed before I even knew. I've sailed extensively and this has been the best staff to date.

The ship was nice. I chose this sailing for the itinerary and was more interested in where we were going than how I was getting there. My Neptune suite was very roomy, especially for one person with plenty of space for 29 days of "girl stuff", after all there were 6 gala nights. Read more