Embarkation: This was our first time cruising with HA and thought that the embarkation process would be similar to other cruises we had taken. We arrived at about 10:30 knowing that the port opened at 11. We were in a holding pattern in the port terminal for at least 2 hours, which we had never experienced before on other cruise lines. Once the process got moving it went quickly and smoothly. After arriving on the ship and seeing hand sanitizers everywhere, the smell of bleach and ship personnel serving the food and drink it was obvious that there had been a problem with the Norovirus and that sanitizing the ship could be the delay in boarding.

Fellow Cruisers: After reading on CC that the age of many on this ship would be 50+ we thought it would be an OK cruise for a group of 6 of us ranging in age from 40-65. While I appreciate the older generation you could clearly see that the average, much older than 50, age of the cruisers on HA impacted the entertainment and activities on the ship. There was a lot of sleeping in the lounge chairs on deck 3 and around the pool. This setting became almost depressing at times.

Food: Breakfast is by far the best meal of the day on the ship. For dinner we opted for the dining room traditional seating. Dining food was just OK. Menu was limited and entrees were not always hot. The night of the surf and turf the fillet looked like a flank steak at best. Nothing on the menu was anything to write home about. The late snack/buffet-options were once again limited and didn't really appeal to many in our group. The pizza, available at the back of the ship, was not good at all. Pre made frozen crusts, fake cheese etc. The food was a real disappointment. I would have thought that HA would rival their competition with food done well. Read more