My husband and I are infrequent cruisers. The Canal was on his bucket list, and we needed to make our own holiday plans this year. The dates of this cruise really filled the bill, and the price was most attractive.

We own a second home in Los Angeles, so cannot speak to air travel or hotel accommodations getting to the Long Beach Port. The embarkation was the worst in my limited experience. The Amsterdam had been in drydock for a short week in San Francisco. Somehow, it was late in arriving in Long Beach; all the attendant staff trainings, etc. scheduled for the early AM of the departure day were set back, playing havoc with the schedule. Those of us checking in were forced to a LONG wait in a cold room with inadequate seating - port staff finally brought in folding chairs. I am aware that stuff happens; however, no announcement was ever made, either in the port or on the ship, explaining the significant delay. I heard many stories and scuttlebutt, from a small hole (leak) in the ship to awaiting connecting flights to dealing with union loading issues at the port. We were all left in the dark. There was no "sailaway" as scheduled; the emergency drill was held in the port. We finally disembarked without fanfare around 9 or 10 PM. It was announced the next day that the shore excursions for the first port (Cabo San Lucas on day 3) were cancelled. This was to accommodate our late arrival in Cabo (afternoon rather than the scheduled 7 AM) and to allow the ship to make up the lost time and get back on the schedule. It all seemed a little furtive - clear and frequent communication would have been nice.

We actually boarded the ship on a covered catwalk during a blinding sideways rainstorm. The staff member on the port side would not allow us to wait a few minutes until the rain let up. We were SOAKED from the knees down and had to visit the laundry room to use the clothes dryers immediately. Not the most auspicious beginning to our cruise. Read more