My parents chose this itinerary as a Panama Canal cruise was on my father's "bucket list" (he's in his early 70's). As I normally make all my parents' travel arrangements and the cruise fare offered by Princess last October was exceptional for us Canadians, it was agreed that I would join them. This was the 5th cruise for my mom and I (our 2nd on Princess) and my dad's 4th.

We were very lucky that, last December, we were upgraded from a balcony stateroom to a mini suite on the Dolphin deck. The extra space was a big plus with three adults and I'd highly recommend it.

We arrived at the port at approx 12pm. The check in process was smooth but we waited in the seating area until our assigned boarding time at 1pm. Our stateroom was ready when we arrived. Our stateroom attendant, Florentino, was superb: he provided me with a topper for my sofabed on the first day without my asking and was always friendly and accommodating. Read more