Panama-Zuiderdam-stay on ship or take tour???

Good Morning Jane from sunny and hot Southern California:D

 

 

 

We had a great day in Costa Rica with a private excursion with Syl Travel, Edgard Masco for the City tour, Tortuguero Canals and banana plantation. There were four of us in our own vehicle for only $55 per person for about 4 hours I believe. It was a bargain and great day. JOEL the guide was so great!! Finished with a beer at a beautiful private beach by El Faro Restaurant. Syltravel Day Tours check it out on TripAdvisor

We took the ship's excursion to the banana plantation and Tortuguero Canals. It was a very good tour and we really enjoyed it. ONE TIP: go as early in the day as possible due to the heat. We had a 7 am tour and hated getting up so early for it, but later in the day we met some friends who had a Noon tour and they were VERY hot and wore out.

Actually Deck 6 (6166) our first partial transit but have moved down to the most popular 5190 for even more shade this November.

Hi, we're taking this cruise in April. Why is 5190 most popular?

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences of staying on the ship verses taking an excursion. I think this thread will help me make up my mind on what to do.

Thanks so much VacationingCharlene. I was considering Syl Travel in CR so will go ahead and book that for sure and definitely will do early tour. Appreciate your other suggestions also. Have done clam shell on Half Moon and do love those also.

Jane

Hi, we're taking this cruise in April. Why is 5190 most popular?

It is a corner aft-wrap with a HUGE verandah which is 100% covered. Great views, from 2 directions, plus you could easily host a party for 40-50 people on it.

By the way, 5191 is the same, except on the opposite corner. Both are GREAT.

Thanks DaveOKC. We usually choose a mid-ship cabin because my wife has a tendency to get seasick. How's the movement on the corner aft-wrap staterooms?

Thanks DaveOKC. We usually choose a mid-ship cabin because my wife has a tendency to get seasick. How's the movement on the corner aft-wrap staterooms?

It was not noticeable on our partial Canal cruise, nor on one we took in the Eastern Caribbean, but the seas were not bad either. If you get rough weather, the movement will be noticeable from what I have heard. So, you might consider your cruise route before selection an aft-wrap.

It was not noticeable on our partial Canal cruise, nor on one we took in the Eastern Caribbean, but the seas were not bad either. If you get rough weather, the movement will be noticeable from what I have heard. So, you might consider your cruise route before selection an aft-wrap.

We did the aft wrap last January for the partial canal cruise. Stayed on the ship during the passage both ways and having such a wonderful deck was a huge advantage. We had breakfast and lunch on the deck and could see everything. The wrap around provide the shade we needed in the hot afternoon. My husband suffers from motion sickness and the movement of the ship did not bother him at all. I think he felt it less in the aft than usual. I think we had windy weather one day

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We did the tour to the "authentic" native village.

It was an exhausting day, and we are in our early-40's. A long bus ride, followed by an even longer (and sometimes sketchy) longboat ride through some remote areas. The village was nice enough, though it was clear that it wasn't nearly as remote as the tour made it out to be when a busload of Germans pulled up.

The villagers explained village life, produced and sold crafts and did some singing and dancing. I was uncomfortable for the teenage village girls because all women were topless and you could tell they weren't comfortable.

I am 100% sure that once the tours left, everyone put on their regular clothes and headed back to their homes. The amount of money coming in from these tours clearly went somewhere other than straw huts.

A long time ago I was on a tour in Ecuador that took us to a "remote" village in the Andes mountains. They also danced, etc. My travel companion and I snuck out of the crowd around the backside of the tents. One of the tents had a gap opening through which we could see piles and piles of current electronic equipment! What a scam! We really laughed.