We have been on other cruises before and enjoyed it, but this trip was a major disappointment for several reasons. We were super excited to try HAL and to be on a new ship, but it was not as we had planned or expected.

Positives: The ship was clean and new. The stateroom was nice and the stateroom attendants were very friendly and hospitable. The Culinary Arts Center dinner was a great experience. For entertainment the BBlues band was above average for a cover band. The female singer was particularly good. The Koningsdam orchestra was also first rate. The movie options in the room were also excellent, thankfully, since there was not much else to do on the ship and we skipped two port and were stuck at sea for the 4.5 out of 7 days of the cruise

Issues: In general I felt like I was treated like a person at the DMV or IRS whenever I went to the main desk, rather than a paying customer. There was no accommodation or hospitality like you would normally expect from a service oriented business. If you have any issues with the bill or a charge (no matter how minor) HAL staff would rather accuse you of lying than possibly lose out on $5. Seriously. Prepare to be up-charged, over-charged, and erroneously charged on this cruise and don't expect any help or corrections at front desk. They will not give you the benefit of the doubt and treat you like a guest, instead they act like your trying to scam them. Despite paying $5,000 for the cruise, I was treated like I was lying after standing 10 minutes in line for a $5 correction. It was very strange to be treated this way as a paying customer. It made me feel like a prisoner on the ship, and I wonder how bad they must treat their own employees. Read more