If you like smaller older ships with a full promenade deck, service with a smile, and a full transit of the Panama Canal this is the cruise for you. We chose this itinerary as it left from Los Angeles, a direct 2 hour flight on Southwest Airlines from El Paso for us. I cannot compare to the itinerary that begins in Fort Lauderdale but we loved this one that visited Fuerte Amador at the Pacific end of the canal, a full day transit through the old locks, and Cartagena after the transit; for us the other ports were "icing on the cake".

On arrival in LA we had a smooth journey, using Execucar, to San Pedro where we stayed overnight at the Doubletree Hotel. The hotel food is enjoyable and they provide a shuttle to the port. Our shuttle was at 10:30 am and we quickly gave luggage to the porters, checked in at the cruise terminal and were through security and onboard before noon. On boarding we were given a list of places open for embarkation dining with their times -- it included one of the main dining rooms! We chose the International Cafe then headed for our mini-suite cabin D711. Robert, our cabin steward, arrived with the sparkling wine, and the cruise began! I located the Maitre D' and ensured that we had a table for two.

We use early traditional dining, on this ship it was at 5:15 pm in the Provence dining room. After our first dinner we met with the head waiter to request low sodium meals. He provided us with the menus for the next day, we made our selections for the starter and main course, and he delivered them to the galley where the chef's worked their magic. All our dinners were delicious. Read more