Background: DH and I went to Alaska on the Westerdam on the 8/3 sailing. We are both in our 30s with no kids and this was our second cruise together. Our first was our honeymoon in 2000 when we took the Grand Princess to the Caribbean. Despite having Penthouse suite on the Grand, we were not impressed with the cruise experience and were not planning on cruising again.

That changed this summer when his parents offered to take us on HAL in celebration of their anniversary. I loved everything about HAL that I disliked about Princess. I guess cruising is all about finding the right line.

The inlaws have been on the Westerdam before—they did the Baltics on in 05. HAL is their favorite line over Carnival and Princess, both of which they cruised in the past few years. Read more