I recently sailed on my first HAL cruise in 14 years on the Westerdam. I have sailed primarily on Celebrity but have basically sailed on most of the major lines and have been fortunate enough to have sailed on HAL, Celebrity, RCI, Princess, NCL, Cunard, Star Clippers and Travel Dynamics in the past three years.
I was extremely nervous on returning to HAL as I had read so many mixed reviews. I was also guarded as I had not been impressed by photos of the ship itself but I really wanted to keep trying different products.
Well, I didn't hate, loath or even despise HAL. I loved it!