This was a 16-day Panama Canal cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego on Holland America's Statendam. Ports of Call included Aruba, Puerto Caldera Costa Rica, Corinto Nicaragua, Puerto Quetzal Guatemala, Puerto Chiapas Mexico, Huatulco Mexico, and Cabo San Lucas Mexico.

I was a little concerned about travelling on an 'older' ship, not for safety reasons, but for the cleanliness and amenities. However, I had nothing to fear. The ship is in great shape and there are plenty of amenities for everyone. I never ran out of things to do on the ship, and had a great time with all of the staff. Captain Albert Schoonderbeek was very engaging and informative (be sure to check out his blog, even if you're not travelling with him!).

We generally took breakfast and lunch in the Lido Restaurant, and dinner in the Main Dining Room. Food was fantastic wherever we went. We hit the MDR for breakfast and lunch once, and did the Pinnacle Grill for dinner on our last night, and all were fantastic (especially the Pinnacle Grill - well worth the upcharge). The waitstaff is great wherever you go. We did As You Wish dining on the lower level of the MDR and always got a table for two around 7pm. The Maitre'd knew EVERYONE's name and room number by about the third night, and as long as you stuck to a predictable pattern, he made sure you got what you wanted. We stuck with the auto-tipping, but decided to give a little extra to the maitre'd, the waiter and normal waiter we normally sat with at dinner, and the wine steward who we interacted with a lot. The last couple of days it was evident we were getting towards the end of the cruise as some items were no longer available (skim milk in my case). But considering that they don't (generally) take on provisions along the way, it's pretty impressive that more stuff doesn't run out. Read more