Rochelle and her husband, Ronald Kilmartin, Sr. of Carmel, NY sailed aboard the Radisson Diamond Dec 29, 2002 to January 7, 2003 on a nine day cruise. The ship set sail from Costa Rica and finished the voyage at San Juan, Puerto Rico where they spent 2 extra nights at the Wyndham El San Juan Hotel.

They booked the cruise and the flights through Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and the hotel separately. Since they were flying to San Jose the day the ship departed, it was wisest to take the cruise line's flights so that if they were delayed, the cruise line would be responsible for them. Radisson Seven Seas was able to give them a "deviation" on the return flight so they could stay a couple extra days in San Juan.

Here is Rochelle's review:

I just thought I would give you a short review of our trip on the "Radisson Diamond" through the Panama Canal. We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica after a four hour flight from New York. We then got on an air-conditioned bus and took an hour and a half ride to the port of Caldera. We were allowed on board the ship right away and got settled in our cabin.

Our cabin had not been used in awhile so the air was not working and it was a little musty smelling. We complained and they sent up someone who adjusted the air and "all was right with the world".

The Radisson Diamond is a twin-hulled ship and rides very smoothly and is a very roomy one with many decks and lots of comfortable areas to relax. The food is wonderful and the service is outstanding. You can eat as much or as little as you want as they have spa meals as well as vegetarian meals. Also, they will prepare anything you want if necessary.

The pool is your typical ship pool; just for cooling yourself. The itinerary was familiar to us but we really just needed to relax and be pampered. One of the stops along the way was the San Blas Islands outside of the Panama Canal region. We got off the ship and were brought to a tiny island where we were able to swim in the sea and of course there was food prepared by the ship staff. There was a feeling of a "deserted island" that had just been discovered by us.

All and all we had a very restful trip this time, just reading, relaxing and some shopping. We celebrated New Year's Eve on board ship - a very elegant evening I must say. Thanks for all your help and expertise in planning our trip on short notice.