We have always found HAL cruises to be top notch in our price range. Our "go to" liner of choice. The destinations on this cruise were great however the cutbacks were so apparent that it negatively impacted our total experience. The grab for the almight buck became offensive to us as well as to most of our fellow passengers who had travelled with HAL previosly. To be fair the front line staff were excellent. And we tipped them well. The issues seeme to flow from above. Gone is the chocolate extravaganza event. Gone is the 1 glass of free champagne whe the cruise embarks. Gone are the wine and liquor tastings. On the downward slope are the entertainment, activities and quality of the meals as compared to our previous cruises. When several of us commented on the lack of enrichment activities we were told by several crew that this was to meet the needs of the older demographic LOL! The American customs experience was fraught with misinformation with incorrect forms and wrong directions for Canadian and other non-American travellers. What should have been a simple orderly process became unnecessarily stressful. On one tender all the passengers who had booked private excursions or simply wanted to walk the port were kept waiting approx 2 hours, while the passengers with HAL excursions were allowed off first. Blatantly preferential treatment. The excursions booked through HAL were far too rushed as compared to those taken through private tour companies. The chair in our stateroom had a burn hole in the fabric. We are choosing to vote with our feet (and our dollars) to a viable and more respectful competitor.