We have been looking forward to the Inaugural sail with the brand new Marina from Miami to San Francisco, through the Panama Canal. Our trip followed closely a Caribbean trip with Holland America, so it gave us an opportunity to compare the two ships.
Embarkation on the Marina was easy, no crowds, or line-ups. The first thing you notice when you board the ship is the smell of fresh paint and polish. It is a mid-size ship and in spite of the ship being almost full, somehow we never ran into any line-ups or crowds. The decor is very modern, although the ship was built in Italy, apart from the beautiful Murano glassware, the decoration, furnishing and the extensive paintings on the wall showed little of the customary Italian flair. Many of the modern paintings consisting of geometric shapes were unsigned by the artists. It made us wonder whether the artists were reluctant to sign their name however; this must have made it difficult to decide which way to hang the paintings. The rather Spartan looking Atrium, which normally occupies the ship's focal point where everybody poses for photos while descending on beautiful curved staircase, was deserted; during our 18-day trip, we have not seen a single person taking photos. The main dining room is very elegant and can sit approximately half of the passengers at a time. There are numerous tables for two available for those not wanting to share their meal with others. In addition, there are four speciality restaurants, catering stakes, Italian, French and Asian dishes, where advance booking is required, but no additional fees are charged. For those who prefer buffet type meals there is also an additional eating place, although it is self service, once you selected a dish, staff will jump and insist to carry it to your table.
There are number of nice touches on the ship: for example for lovers of good coffee, you can have the best coffee prepared by Italian baristas, all day, for no extra charge, or there is a welcome absence of pushy ship photographers, or lack of aggressive sales pitch by the small but expensive boutiques, or health spa.
Spacious, well equipped, Flat TV had BBC channel, bathroom tight, adequate balcony, good location.