SUMMARY: Great itinerary at a great time of the year. The full transit of the Panama Canal was obviously the highlight but each port had its own charm. The Norwegian Star was a beautiful ship and well laid out. Our cabin was perfectly located near the center of the ship on the 8th deck, right next to the Atrium. It was convenient to everything. The cabin was clean and functional. We went to every show and the entertainment was as good as we have seen on any cruise ship. The food was good. The buffet had variety, there was free popcorn in the Pub, ice cream was readily available, dinners were tasty and in the right portions, we had custom made omelets and waffles every day.

BACKGROUND: My wife and I are in our 60's. I am retired and my wife still works part-time. We are both physically active with no mobility issues. This was our 20th cruise, our 9th with Norwegian. This is our 1st cruise to the Panama Canal. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and the timing. This was the only Panama Canal cruise that provided a full transit and fit our work/holiday plans. We booked our cruise through a travel agent via the reverse auction web site, "cruisecompete.com."

GETTING THERE: As usual, we made our own airline reservations, arriving in Miami the day before the start of the cruise. We stayed at the LaQuinta Miami Airport North hotel. A free shuttle brought us from the airport to the hotel. It was no more than a 15 minute ride. Our room was large with a king size bed. The hotel is located in what appears to be a large industrial park. There was not much to see around the hotel but there were restaurants nearby. A Wendy's was on one side of the hotel and a Macdonald's on the other side with a Denny's next to that. The hotel made arrangements for a shuttle to bring us to the Port of Miami the next day. The shuttle cost $10 per person. After having the included continental breakfast at the hotel, we took the shuttle at 11 AM and arrived at the ship a half hour later. Read more