We chose this cruise because of the Panama Canal transit and the port stop of Cartagena. Also quite interested in sampling Viking Ocean cruises having been on Holland America a few times and on Celebrity once. The ship is beautiful -- spare and clean Scandavian design. The food was very good. We thought the two meals we had at the Chef's Table were as good as any fine restaurant in a big city. Also enjoyed the chat we had with the chef during our French Bistro experience. Manfredi's was less perfect -- there were some service issues, such as courses arriving at different times for the two of us, then everything all at once. In comparison with the Chef's Table, not nearly as wonderful. Meals in The Restaurant were delicious, esp the seafood and fish. It did seem as if they were understaffed because at some times there was a long wait to order or to be served. Did not find the same experience at breakfast or at lunch there, of course, there are less people dining there then. Service and variety of the food at the Terrace were excellent for both breakfast and lunch. We liked the Trolley tour of Key West but the instructions to get back to the ship were terrible -- we had to ask several times how to find our way. The tour of Panama City was sadly spent with more time at a disappointing shopping center at the Marina and not enough time in Casco Viejo (the old city). Be warned! The Panama Canal transit was marvelous. Great lecturers for the entire transit. We learned so much. One of the highlights for certain! In Cartagena we booked a private guide and had a truly fantastic experience on our own. We had such a good time we were the last people on board, just in time, at 8:30 pm the deadline for passengers! Great service by cabin attendants. And, except for some delays in The Restaurant good service by food servers as well. The entertainment was pretty cheesy. Quite disappointing overall. Excellent staff in the spa, great massage, and in the salon, good manicure. Due to bad weather we were unable to stop in Jamaica or Grand Cayman. The unfortunate thing was that we still had high winds on the extra 'at sea' days, therefore no chairs on deck. It made for slightly unpleasant 'spare time' as one had to find a location to read or play games along with 900 other people! Overall Viking did a good job, maybe need a bit more attention paid to the tours offered and the training of The Restaurant staff. Frankly, avoid the evening entertainment!