LCfromFL

We just got back on Monday from our 15-day Panama Canal cruise on the Encore. The embarkation process was really straightforward and we didn't wait long in the terminal before boarding (we found seats so it made the waiting a bit easier). Our cabin steward now has 24 rooms to service daily - he used to have 15 when he'd service the rooms twice each day. I don't recall a significant delay in getting access to our cabin on embarkation day...but it was really late when we finally got our 3 suitcases (like after dinner - yikes!). I was really starting to stress out about that! The disembarkation was really easy as well. We had breakfast in Savor and then waited in Sugarcane until our color was called. A bit of shuffling through the line to get off the ship and then chaos! HUGE line to get through Customs/Immigration. That process was the one that took the longest...nearly 5,000 passengers and only 7 Customs/Immigration people to process us all.

That's one of my fav beaches! ❤️ Love your updates during the cruise!

I'll be following along, too. We board her in 1 week - doing the Panama Canal transit. Of the ports on the 15 day Panama Canal cruise, we've only been to Miami and Los Angeles - so really looking forward to 2 weeks of relaxation and fun. We've never sailed on the Encore - so appreciate any ship-board tips you'll share. 🙂

Hi Sarlin, my DH and I cruised Alaska on the Bliss 4/30 - 5/7 with two other couples and knew three other couples that were also on our ship (crazy - 12 ppl from the same small town in FL on the same Alaskan cruise). Anyway - none of us developed COVID (or Norovirus) during or after our cruise or cross-country flights (thank you, Jesus!). We took advantage of the 'washy-washy' stations around the boat and used the hand sanitizer every time we passed one. We made conscious efforts to not use the hand rails on the stairs and used knuckles to press elevator buttons. I brought a little hand sanitizer in my purse for use when we'd be in port. We weren't masked unless required - which was pretty much just on the bus tour of Victoria. The idea of COVID is soooo scary. (At one point, my county had more new COVID cases than anywhere else in the US. We know many people who have lost their battles with COVID. Our eldest daughter had a terrifying battle with it during Delta - her hair is just growing back (yes, weird symptom was loss of hair)). May you have peace with whatever decision you make in terms of cruising. ❤️

We were on the Bliss 4/30 from Seattle. As cruiserbear55 mentioned, the casino wasn't open while in port. It was probably for the best as I lost my gambling money super fast! Like crazy fast! 😲 So I'd go up to the Observation Lounge with a good book and enjoy a cocktail instead. 🙂 DH fared slightly better in the casino - meaning it just took him a bit longer to lose his planned gambling money. Those machines were TIGHT! Good luck to you 🙂