Panama Canal - Bucket List Item Checked Off!

Have been on Princess before (same ship actually) and liked them and the itinerary was exactly what we were looking for.

Considering we were traveling out of country, emabarkation and disembarkation was as well organized and efficient as could be expected. We chose anytime dining and food in the dining room was generally good, as was the buffet for other meals. Steward was excellent and all the staff was friendly and efficient.

The on board entertainment, especially Craig Richard, was excellent and the sea days were well filled with activities for all.

Specialty dining was a bit of a disappointment, but certainly not atrocious - probably not really an upgrade from the dining room choices, though.

Given where we were going and total lack of familiarity on our part, we chose to use Princess excursions exclusively. Other than a pathetic experience in Ft. Lauderdale, all were very good and a couple were excellent. In Cartagena, we went on the Horse and Carriage tour of the Old City with Fernando Lopez as our guide - he was great! In Costa Rica we did the long tour to Veragua and Tortugera Canal with Edrei as our guide and he was also excellent. On Grand Cayman we did the Land and Sea excursion. The Semi- Sub boat tour was very good; the rest of tour okay. The Ft. Lauderdale excursion was spoiled by the worst guide possible - there were some foreign visitors on the tour and he was an embarrassment - see Trip Advisor for details.

The primary reason for the trip was to experience the partial transit of the Canal. We stood outside on the observation deck in a downpour and got soaked! And enjoyed every minute of the experience - a great sight to see the mix of the old (the locks) and new technology (mules).

Given the expereince of the Canal, the stops in Colombia and Costa Rica and Princess's overall quality this cruise is highly recommended.

A bit small and furniture could be better arranged, but the location, bed, cleanliness were all very good. Shower was miniscule. Our steward was great.