Statendam Review: Christmas and New Years Holiday Sailing San Diego to Ft Lauderdale via Panama 14 days

Embarkation went exceptionally well - we stayed the night before at the Holdiay Inn By the Bay which is directly across the street from the cruise ship terminal. Walked over to the terminal at around 10:45 had bags checked, through security and checked in by 11:15 - Boarding commenced at 11:30.

Once onboard we found our cabin then began the first day exploration of the ship, public areas, spa, lido deck etc. We knew the Statemdam was an older ship but to us you couldnt tell - The public areas are so nicely (and uniquely) decorated with great color schemes - the furniture looks great with very little wear and tear noticed anywhere on board. What impressed me throughout the cruise was how each section of the ship had its own "flaire," unique to itself somewhat like moving from one room in a home to another with different style, decoration and color scheme. There was always a crew member cleaning railings, windows, carpets somewhere on the ship as we walked around on board. Read more