My Mom really wanted to do a Panama Canal cruise as her last big holiday. She turned 80 this past year, so I thought we should do this before her health takes a turn for the worse. She enjoyed this so much, I think she's ready to go on another.

This was our first time sailing out of Port Everglades and we found embarkation was efficient with almost no standing in line. We arrived at the port about 11:20 and were on the ship shortly after 12 and cleared to go to our room. The weather wasn't great in Fort Lauderdale, but managed to mostly stay dry before boarding.

After our drill and preparation for sailing, we were told that weather at Princess Cays was unsafe for tendering, so they changed the itinerary to Ocho Rios on Day 3 instead. My wife was pleased, as she was disappointed when Ocho Rios was removed from the itinerary a few months prior. However, the weather in Ocho Rios was very rainy and we got soaked. Only went to the little shop area for about 20 minutes and returned to the ship. Fortunately the weather was much better the rest of the way. Read more