My Cruise Experience

I was very dissatisfied with the embarkation process. The cruise terminal was very hot and with so many bodies in the terminal, it was miserable. There seemed not to be enough staff to get us through the sign in process to embark in a reasonable amount of time. Since there had been an incident of gastrointestinal illnesses on the previous cruse the ship had to be thoroughly cleaned. So we had to sit in the hot cruise terminal for a while until we were directed to a hot tent where we had to sit for approximately five hours. We had been told that we would have to wait to embark, but the facilities were miserable. I was later told by cruisers who were 'diamonds' with this line that they did not have to sit in the hot tent so long and were allowed to embark right away as soon as the ship could be boarded. It made me feel like an outsider. We had been given a pack of crackers, a pack of cookies and a bottle of room temperature water. I asked for two bottles, but when I got to the tent, another traveler was asking if he could go inside to get another bottle of water. He was told that he could not go back for water, so I gave him one of the bottles that I had.

We were given a number and had to sit until our number was called. We sat in the hot tent so long that my traveling companion who is diabetic got sick. I told the person who was coordinating the embarkation process, that we needed food because my companion was sick and was starting to sweat and shake. He called to someone on the ship and told them about the problem and then told me that we had to wait longer. He offered more water and cookies and crackers, but I told him that this was unacceptable; we needed food. He called again and we were finally allowed to embark.

We went to the dining area that was open at the time to only be met with food being put up. I explained to the workers that we need food because my companion was diabetic and needed to eat. They would not give him anything. Only after I asked for a manager and he came were we allowed to get food. We were allowed to embark so late that we were being called to go to the muster stations to go to learn about the life vests and the location of our muster station.

Our stateroom was very nice, but uncomfortably hot. We had the thermostat turned down so that it would get cool, but it did not get very cool. We finally told our stateroom stewardess about the temperature on the fourteenth day of our cruise, She told us that we should have told her sooner. She called maintenance from our stateroom and told us that the person that she talked to told us that they could not do anything because we were at sea. We decided to call maintenance ourselves later that night. Someone came and checked and saw that it was so hot in the room. He in turn sent a maintenance technician who removed the vent covers and had the problem fixed in less than ten minutes.

All of the workers on the ship were very friendly. There was more than enough to keep one entertained. There was a rock climbing wall, mini golf, table tennis, and a track to name a few.

The food was alright, but there were so many starches and meats being offered and not enough vegetables. There was salad that one could chose which helped make up for the lack of many vegetables. I did not go to the dining room to eat because I wanted to relax and not have to dress up to eat dinner. There was an area that offered lighter selections that was open for breakfast and closed at 6 pm. It offered salads and sandwiches and yogurt, cookies, a few pastries.

The ports of call were quite interesting, especially the Panama Canal transport. Going through the Panama Canal was like seeing history jump right off the pages of a history book. Going through the locks and seeing the ship rise to the different levels was so special. That was the best part of the cruise for me.