This was a trip that I have dreamed about for over 47 years. I did a report on Panama in 5th grade and I have always wanted to visit. Since the prices have dropped considerably, my daughter and I decided this was the time. We arrived the day before in Ft Lauderdale and stayed at the Hampton Inn Airport on 12th Ave. This is an ideal spot since you are only 3 miles from the cruise port for embarkation, but you are right across the street from a shopping center for any last minute item you may have forgotten to pack.
We took the free shuttle from our hotel to the dock at 1PM and there weren't any lines at all. We pretty much walked on the ship. We had decided to bring our luggage with us and skipped the porters so that we could get unpacked and start enjoying our cruise.
Our room was a balcony stateroom and we had lots of room for all of our clothes and shoes. We had the twin bed configuration and we had plenty of room. We really enjoyed our balcony too.
Our room was great for 2 people. The balcony was ample and we were always checking sea conditions every morning. Large closet and more than enough storage for us. Now, the bathroom was clean and compact, but I am a big gal, and I could barely turn around in that shower without bumping into the handicap rail. The room was well located for noise. The only drawback was that being on deck 12 with no other balconies above us, there was never any shade on our balcony unless the sun was on the other side of the ship. I am sure this is fine when cruising Alaska, but during a canal cruise it got awfully hot out there.