We chose this cruise because we obviously wanted to cruise the Panama Canal. We do not cruise every year, nor have we had particular loyalty to any one cruise line. We have, however, been on around 10 cruises over the years.

We had cruised with Princess many years ago on a cruise to the southern Caribbean. One of the things we remembered best was the superb food quality. In the dining room, that quality continued. There were many things that were excellent about the buffet as well--soups, salads, freshly carved meat. There were also several "misses" at the buffet. There was an omelet station, but passengers were not allowed to order eggs cooked to order. There were fried eggs on the buffet, but they were invariably cold by the time you could find a seat. The pastries offered in the morning were much fresher in the dining room than on the buffet, even though they came from the same kitchen.

Burgers and pizza were available on the open decks, but their quality was far inferior to that offered inside. Sabatini's, the Italian specialty restaurant, offered pizza to order for lunch every day at no additional charge. That pizza was uniformly praised. Burgers were always available in the dining room, and were thick and juicy. Read more