After looking forward to this Panama Canal cruise for 9 months, the day finally arrived. We flew to San Diego from Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise to avoid any mix-ups along the way. Embarkation went smoothly, and after some delay because of a disembarkation slow-down on the just returned cruise, we were on board ship for a tasty Lido lunch. Our cabin on deck A (lowest passenger deck) far aft of ship. (Better to spend a couple hundred more for midship or higher deck, but entirely my fault for being too economical; won't make that mistake again.) Baggage arrive soon and following unpacking, we went exploring. The Statendam is a small ship (1200+ passengers), which we prefer. No getting lost on her. We signed up for anytime dining, 5:15 for us, and got the same table at every supper. The supper was nicely presented, with excellent service. We chose the cobia as our entree, and, unexpectedly to us, found this cobia to be a very fishy fish, so we were disappointed with out selection. The desserts that first meal were fine.

Statendam has a full walk-around deck, (4 laps 1 mile) which we promised ourselves to do a mile daily, but .... Comfortable deck lounges were placed along the wall, offering many hours of peaceful reading and relaxing. Except for the very loud loudspeaker notices, the deck is very quiet, no jogging and blissfully no music.

The breakfasts were pretty much standard as on other cruises: lots of fresh fruits, eggs any style, smoked salmon, kippered herring, pancakes and waffles, a variety of juices, cereals, hot and cold, pastry, etc. Quick service and the food was usually hot. Lunches were like full suppers, with numerous tasty appetizers and soups and salads, delicious rolls and bread. Plus always a large choice of entrees, and except for hamburgers, seldom any repeat choices. Desserts like at supper. Read more