We booked this cruise because we have had good experiences cruising with HAL before, we liked the itinerary (Eastern Mediterranean, then Western Mediterranean), and the fact that it was a new ship. The ship had many issues, which I mention below. It is also in many ways different from other HAL ships we've been on, so I'm posting this mainly for other HAL cruisers, who may want to know what has/hasn't changed.

Internet: HAL's onboard internet access is still expensive and dreadful. Simply trying to connect and retrieve email can take 10 minutes or more of your paid minutes, even at odd hours like very early in the morning. Access this terrible should at least be free. This will probably be a deal breaker for me when considering other lengthy cruises.

Staterooms: We had a vista suite, comprised of a sleeping area, a sitting area (with a small couch, a desk and a chair), the bathroom, and a verandah. There was ample closet and cupboard space. Some of the stateroom floor plans (interiors and ocean views) have no sitting area. Those rooms are basically a bed in a box. Our bathroom had a very nice glassed-in shower--certainly the best we've ever had in a stateroom. However, to make room to be able to stand at the sink, the toilet is installed at an angle, so the front of the toilet bowl is angled toward the glass shower wall. A small person can fit, but a large person has to sit diagonally across the toilet seat. The ship was plagued with plumbing problems during our cruise: stateroom toilets that randomly overfilled and overflowed, no hot water (or, occasionally, no water at all) in the showers in the spa changing area, out of order toilets in public areas. Read more