I flew to San Jose, Costa Rica on November 28, 2008 and stayed at the beautiful Marriott in San Jose. After one night there, I left the bulk of my luggage in storage and took a very small plane to Punta Islita, a small, beautiful resort on the coast in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. Here I spent five nights in a deluxe casita, enjoying their awesome views, two gorgeous pools, and a variety of flora and fauna. Taking the tiny plane back to San Jose, I once again checked into the Marriott San Jose and reclaimed my luggage (Nature Air, the planes that fly to the smaller resorts in Costa Rica, only allow 30 lbs of luggage onboard!). Thanks to CruiseCritic.com's message boards, I had "met" two gentlemen who were also on my Seabourn Legend Panama Canal cruise, December 5-19, that were staying at the Marriott San Jose. We shared a ride to the port (Caldera) and ended up seeing each other, and sharing dinner and/or drinks on the ship, several times during the entire sailing. A very wonderful feature of CruiseCritic.com's boards!

Embarkation was very easy on the Legend, as always. We handed over our luggage and went up the walkway into the King Olav lounge, where the usual took place (handing over your passport, getting your security and cabin cards, etc.). Didn't have to hang around too long until they whisked me off to my cabin (131) and my luggage arrived in short order. I had shipped ahead one very large bag via Seabourn's Valet Service, and Seabourn had cleverly put the bag onboard in Fort Lauderdale two weeks' prior, so it sailed to me and met me in Caldera. Smart! I was very happy with my cabin; deck 4 and midship. We did have a couple of rough sailing days, so the location was very excellent.

Cabins: In other reviews of Seabourn ships, I do carry on about the cabins. The reason is that they are beautiful. I love the huge picture windows with the tiny "window seat". On sea days, or in the early morning or late evening, I will perch there and stare dreamily out at the ocean. The bathrooms are functional and roomy, with lots of towels, cleaned twice a day by a hard working stewardess. Moulton Brown lotions, etc., replenished as you need them. Walk in closet. Very fast laundry and pressing services (you do pay a premium for same day). After a particularly adventuresome excursion later in the trip (white water rafting), I even asked them to wash my tennis shoes, they were horribly grungy. Have never seen them cleaner! Read more