This was our first 2 week cruise. There were several days at sea but we didn't get bored. The Panama Canal passage was the real reason for the cruise as it was on the hubby's "bucket list". The ports were not great but the excursions we did made them worthwhile. The evening entertainment at the theatre were good, as was the food and great service by our room steward.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was slightly delayed but it all went smoothly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food in the main dining, buffets, and specialty restaurants were all very good. Menus had good variety, food was well prepared and tasty. Sometimes service was a little slow at the main restaurants. Getting there early helps...or possibly late, but not at 6:30.
Cagney's Steakhouse
4 out of 5
The steak was excellent! We weren't exceptionally hungry but it was all good.
One mention is that we did not make reservations early in the trip and were told the earliest we could get in was 7:45. We found that we could arrive early and get seated much earlier. Another couple came in without reservations and got right in. I'm not sure why they didn't tell us reservations weren't necessarily required.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The deck was pretty full and chairs in the shade were in short supply. Not much music being played on sea days at the pool which was disappointing. We got in the pool a couple times. There are slides, but not often used by the age group on this cruise.
One guest complained that there is a charge to use the steam room or shower in the spa after a workout in the gym.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The evening shows were all very good. There were a couple that weren't our "cup of tea" but all were well produced and had talented performers.
Spinnaker Lounge
4 out of 5
Spinnacker had good cruise guest centered "game shows". They are always fun.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room steward was outstanding. We did the laundry bag of clothes as latitudes for free and it was awesome. They had the clothes back the following morning in one case and the same day in the other.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This is not one of the newer or larger ships, but it has a good layout. The common areas were kept clean. The only issue we found were that some of the seating in the Stardust Theatre need replaced as they were slanted.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin was clean and functional. Not overly large but we had enough room for clothes and a king size bed. There were a few cracked tiles in the bathroom.
Ship tip
Take some clips to hold your beach towel on the lounge chairs. Also Deck 7 has a few nice padded lounge chairs in the shade most of the day.
We took the Hop On/Hop Off tour through the Ship. It was very hot that day and the stop was a rather short one. We opted to not take the walking tour as part of the second stop thinking there might be other things we wanted to see. We road the entire loop and didn't see anything we wanted to get off to see more of considering there wasn't much time. I don't think I'd opt to do this excursion again.
This was the reason for the trip! Going through the locks was interesting. We weren't aware a large part of the transit was through a lake that connect the locks. There was a narrator for the crossing and it was very informative.
We took the River Cruise and saw many birds and several alligators. There was a nice shopping area at the river and also shopping at the port. It's a poor area with people begging around the port.
We just had a pedi-bike driver take us on a tour around town. Be sure to ask if the driver speaks your language, as we almost hired one that did not. It's a poor area with people begging in some places.
We didn't do an excursion, but they have a nice shopping area at the dock and many iguana can be seen in the rocks if you follow the walk around to the left.
We did the Sea Turtle excursion through the ship where we helped baby sea turtles make it to the ocean. We were able to see some of Acapulco on the drive out. We stopped to shop on the way back, but I felt is was a waste of time. Acapulco appears to be in a better economic situation than some of the other stops.
We booked a whale watching trip through Cabo Sailing and Adventures (not a ship tour). We had the option to snorkel, but the weather was cold and we opted to not go in. We did see several whales and they provided drinks and food. It was a great trip.
Cabo would be an area I would consider returning to in the future. It appeared to be the best port of the trip.
We did the walk off and it was very quick (except the elevator to get to customs) and went smoothly. We called an Uber and had no problems. LAX was extremely easy to navigate and not busy at all. Although Long Beach is closer it may be better to got LAX and avoid the other 2000 passengers catching a flight??
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