Saying that I don't like the kraken is an understatement... But that's hardly feedback, so here's why:
It stops gameplay
If you look at the page that explains what SoT is, most of that is about meeting with and fighting against other crews. Player interaction seems to be the most important. Being attacked by the kraken pretty much stops interaction with other crews. Yes, maybe you can communicate with others, but you cannot chase them in your ship and if they were chasing you, you are now a sitting duck, abrubtly ending the chase. There is also no real hand-to-hand combat unless the other crew decides to take you on below-deck...
There is also nothing tactical you can do with a kraken, since it just shows up. With megs and skelly ships, you can try to maneouvre your ship in such a way that they might attack your opponent. Please tell me if I'm wrong and these tactics are available with the kraken.
Another great thing about SoT is sailing. They have done a great job at making sailing in and of itself extremely enjoyable and satisfying. When the kraken shows up, all that sailing is gone. The ink almost stops your movement and with the kraken turning you around, it's really hard to escape the ink.
You do get a bit of cannon fighting, but the kraken makes more holes than one pirate can fix and bail (at least that is my experience on a galleon).
It's unavoidable
The sea turns black and you're done for. No way to avoid it. It also doesn't stick to certain areas, like open oceans. It might attack you right as you sail away after joining a game. Perhaps it won't spawn in the most shallow parts of the seas, but they are not very plentiful.
With skelly ships, you could try to outmanouvre or sail away. They're not even always aggressive. With megs you can head for an island. But the most important thing is that you feel like you can get away from megs and ships. by sailing.
Suggestions
I know that complaining is easy, so here are also some suggestions.
Make encounters less frequent.
Yes, this has been said a lot, but I think it still stands. You should not encounter a kraken right after you join the game. That is not a good start and gives little hope for the rest of the play session. An average chance of maybe once every four hours or so would feel better to me.
Make encounters restricted to certain areas
Krakens are big. Real giant squid live in the deep sea. It would make sense for krakens to only live and spawn in the deepest parts of the seas. You could (and probably should) have an encounter rate higher than my suggested once-per-four-hours though.
deep seas?
A little added suggestion to this is that it would be nice to have depth lines on the map. You see it on pretty much every real water navigation chart, as it is quite essential. It would make the map feel more like a map rather than a projected birds-eye view of the sea, and it would give an opportunity to show players where the deepest parts of the sea are, and where you may thus find the kraken.
I'm not against the kraken per se. I can see that enough people like to fight it. And I can absolutely imagine that if you have a decent crew, are well stocked up and ready, that it can be a rewarding fight. I just personally absolutely hate the encounter. When I'm in a good mood and have had a good time sailing already, I can die, shrug it off, respawn somewhere else and continue playing. When I've just started the game, I'm in Sea of Thieves to relax after a day's work and one spawns right after I sail away from the outpost, I quit the game.
So in conclusion I don't want the kraken to leave the game for good, I just want to be able to avoid it, even if that means sailing thrice the distance.