I hadn't been on a cruise since April 2017 because of my husband's poor health for several years ending with his death in 2020. Then COVID stopped all cruising for awhile. So I was eager to return. I picked HAL (our "2nd" line after Princess) because their ships are smaller and I thought that would be easier for my first solo cruise plus I had a "Casino Offer". It was an 8-day cruise to "get my feet wet" instead of a longer cruise which I'm more accustomed to. The ports we visited were Half Moon Cay, partial Panama Canal cruise, Colon and Puerto Limon in Costa Rica. I loved the ship and the itinerary. I did a few excursions (my DH and I didn't usually do many, if any). One was a Nature hike on Half Moon Cay, one was a folkloric tour in Costa Rica which combined scenic views and a folkloric dance program. At the Panama Canal I took a nature cruise on Lake Gatun with a wonderful local guide who was very good at spotting birds up in the trees as well as a few monkeys. It was something I had never done before so it was a real treat. Overall the weather was great: only a few sprinkles here and there, wonderful sunsets, etc. I had a balcony cabin in the middle/aft area of Deck 8 which was wonderful as was the steward. The entertainment was scaled back because of COVID (no big production shows), but I enjoyed the piano duo in Lincoln Center every night. I ate most of my meals in the buffet but did have one dinner in the dining room which was great. The only problem I had was a room key which didn't work much of the time, entailing multiple trips down to the "Front Desk" which was all the way forward on the lowest deck (got lots of exercise doing that!). I don't know what kept deactivating the key as the only "metal" thing I ever have on is my small wristwatch.