We chose Princess and this itinerary because it included a full transit of the Panama Canal and ended up in San Francisco, near home for us. The ship has shows on the stateroom tvs about the Canal as well as a couple of lectures and full-day commentary the day of sailing through--I know that's what you really want to know! We were not disappointed and loved the aspects stated as well as sampling 5 ports along the way (Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama City, Nicaragua, and Cabo San Lucas). It was our first time to all these and we took one of the ship's excursions at each place and were able to see just a little of each country. The ship has the usual fine amenities and wide variety of programs; we particularly enjoyed the entertainment and excellent musicians and fun free fitness class--zumba, line dancing, tai chi, but there are many other choices--trivia was very popular. Not much interest in late night entertainment, the ship snoozed at 9, unlike some of our other cruises. Only 5 children on board, not really a cruise for them, but there was a children's program and probably enough to keep them interested. We were skeptical we would like the days at sea but ended up loving them with both lots and nothing to do!