After cruising with HAL in September to Canada, my husband and I were so impressed with the entire HAL cruising experience that we decided to book an Eastern Caribbean Cruise to celebrate 25 years of marriage. First, let me say, that as always, the stewards, waiters, wine experts, and other support staff were incredible. Our stateroom was gorgeous and perfectly cleaned everyday. The food on the ship was impeccable and overall the ship was very clean and all of the staff extremely friendly.

Despite all of those very excellent qualities, I doubt we will set sail with HAL in the future. The condition of the Nieuw Amsterdam was not disclosed to us at all until we had been on the ship for 24 hours. We were completely unaware that we were sailing on only had one propeller. There were no communications leading up to the cruise by mail, email or phone to tell us that the ship was disabled. The company did not disclose this information and therefore you took away our opportunity to make an informed decision. The ship was sent into known rough seas where we corkscrewed through the Atlantic for three days until we limped into port at San Juan. We had to skip our first port because of the slow progress of the ship and most other ports were significantly shortened.

Had HAL informed us of the ship's problems, we would have rebooked with HAL for another cruise. However, because they knowingly deceived us about the condition of the ship, they have lost future revenue from us as well as anyone who asks about our HAL experience. I am truly shocked that a company with a long tradition of excellence and ethical policies has stooped so low for the bottom line.