We have not cruised with HA since 2011. In the interim we have cruised with Oceania, and HA suffers in comparison.

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary - we wanted to visit several ports in Indonesia. Apparently we were not the only ones who felt this way - the cruise was fully booked. When we booked the stateroom level were interested in was booked up. We made our booking for a BB Vista suite in May of 2016 for a February 2017 cruise. We were guaranteed a BB Vista suite, or better. We were not assigned a cabin until early January 2017. In the end we were not happy with the stateroom, number 6105, It was almost at the front of the ship, which meant a lot of motion, but more importantly it was directly over the showroom. This meant that every afternoon we heard the dress rehearsal for the evening performance, as well as the 8:00 and 10:00 show. Being directly above the band meant that it was uncomfortably loud three times a day. The show was usually 45 minutes, rehearsal often an hour or more. I don't expect we will sail on HA again due to the fact that we apparently cannot select a cabin ourselves.

The cruise was well priced, but after sailing on Oceania I felt that we were constantly being upselled on things that really should have been included. Want a soft drink? Pay for it. Want a cappucino or other barista coffee? Pay for it. Want water to take on a shore excursion - pay for it. On the last item - the temperature was between 27 and 30C everyday (high '80s). Making us pay for water seemed ridiculous in that heat. Read more