We just returned from a 20 day cruise through the Panama Canal and had a truly great time.
BACKGROUND: I am in my early 60s, my wife in her 50s. We lived our working lives amidst the madness of metropolitan New York and retired to western Colorado almost seven years ago. This was our third cruise, our second with Holland America.
PRELUDE: My wife is recovering from shoulder surgery that she underwent in December, we both were sick on and off for weeks prior to the cruise and even both of our dogs required admittance to a local animal hospital three days before our flight. We only were able to get them released the day before our flight. In short, it was the worst prelude to a vacation in forty years of traveling, so based on past experience, we expected the cruise to be memorable!