Did you read Infinite's post earlier (I think it was Infinite, anyway). Basically, my problem with One Piece is that the show has this giant nebulous goal that they're supposedly going after but they're basically just going about with crazy hijinx/shit instead of stuff happening towards that objective specifically. Oda doesn't really ever paint what the big picture looks like despite having a start and end point. It's pretty frustrating as someone who started reading OP when it first was serialized in Japan. I've been with the series a long time and it still feels like it never really goes anywhere in regards to the premise it setup originally.
I don't really have a problem with all that gallivanting around but it's frustrating when you set goals and kind of mill about it. HxH does the same thing as OP does in fact, set the hero a goal and he then goes on adventures as a result. However, Togashi actually finished that and then is further expanding the story from there. =P Makes me wish Oda would fucking just let them get there and then springboard into bigger things >=|