My wife and I took this "Cultural Awareness" cruise last week. Although the majority of the passengers were from Latin America, as English speaking Canadians, we felt no discomfort whatsoever. All of the staff onboard spoke English, and Royal Caribbean delivered their typical excellent service. If you enjoy the evening shows, then you may be dissapointed as the majority where in Spanish, however several were primarily shows with english music, which were excellent, and I felt badly for the Latino guests.

All announcements were made in English, so for us it was much like any other cruise.

We stayed over in Panama City at the Metromall Courtyard Marriot, which was excellent, and booked a transfer online with Panama Travel Unlimited ( air conditioned van, 120.00 US for 2 people) for transfer to the port which is about 1:15 hr away. The driver spoke little english, but we had no difficulty, as the both the hotel staff, and a staff member at the pier were able to translate for us. Our transfer was approx 1/2 hour late arriving at the hotel due to traffic, and the bellboy at the hotel was very helpful, calling PAnama Travel to find out where he was. Read more