BarnCat1

3 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

Gee, that is quite the difference in cruise options.

Obviously, one is longer and hits the the west coast of Mexico & Central America, while the other covers some Caribbean spots.

What are your personal feelings about that?

While the shorter cruise will cost less, I assume that the air to Panama is a lot more than to LA.

I'd rather spend more on cruise days than airfare.

As Turtles06 pointed out, there is a shore excursion from Panama City that takes you through the old locks in a smallish boat - now that is up close and personal! You are below the top of the lock walls and pass through 2 sets of locks. Great way to see the old locks. The new locks operate in a totally different fashion, so they have their interesting points as well.

We sailed on the Bliss last January with the same 15 day itinerary that you posted here.

Bottom line is what appeals the most to you: Mexico/Central Am. vs Carib.? Larger ship or moderate size?

  Yes, it really is quite a difference.  That's why I've been tossing both around.  I like the idea of the smaller ship, but like the Mexico/Central America Itinerary a bit better. I've cruised both sizes of ships.  I am pretty sure I am going with the Joy and doing the excursion through the canal that's been mentioned.  The Caribbean itinerary can be done on many different ships from many other ports.  The canal transit is a once in a lifetime cruise. 

3 minutes ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Well two parts of the cliff walks are damaged, so things have not changed in a good way.

 

If you are talking about the boat tours out of Bannisters Wharf, I find them enjoyable. Just book a schooner so you can enjoy the sailing aspect. 

 

So sorry to hear that, that was a beautiful walk.  I will make sure I check the Wharfs tours. Thank you

Did the Cliffwalk and mansions back in the early 2000's. Can't imagine much has changed since then, but still might want to go again.  Thinking of doing the boat ride on the Harbor out to Rose Island Lighthouse and Fort. This would be late September

Anyone ever do this tour before?  

38 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Amazing photos!

 The photos of the whales and the potential of seeing these amazing animals (even though I have been on a few whale watches before) is making me lean more toward the Joy itinerary, plus the canal transit is later in the cruise rather than the first day like the Jades itinerary, allowing for a full day in Panama before the transit for additional touring of the city and the locks. 

9 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Another consideration, February on Mexico west coast is whale watching time, either in Cabo or PV.  If OP has never done that, it is a cool thing to experience along the way.

  I have done whale watching in Alaska, but you can never see too many whales.  Are they visible from the ship as well?

15 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I looked at the Joy's itinerary, and, if I'm not mistaken, you will have a full day in port in Panama City the day before you transit the Canal. If that's the case, you may well have the opportunity to take a shore excursion on a small, ferry-sized vessel that will take you through the historic locks on the Pacific side.  That excursion really depends on the timing, since the Canal regulates the transits, and the Joy might arrive too late in the morning for this.  Even if you could not do such an excursion, you should be able to visit the Miraflores Visitors Center, and see the operation of those historic locks up close.

 

 

 Yes, the ship will have a full day in Panama City and that tour and another of the locks are offered. 

I am tossing around these 2 itineraries.  Any input would be appreciated.  Never been to any of the ports listed. Would probably get to either embarkation port a day or so early. Water activities (other than being on a boat tour) are not of interest. Mostly sightseeing, nature, etc. No children on the cruise. 

I realize the Joy would go through different locks than the Jade.  Would that be something to take into consideration for the first time going?

15-DAY CRUISE ON NORWEGIAN JOY

Panama Canal: Mexico & Colombia

from Los Angeles, California

Sailing

• February, 2025

9 PORTS OF CALL

• Los Angeles, California
• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• Manzanillo, Mexico
• Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
• Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera), Costa Rica
• Panama City (Pacific Cruise Terminal), Panama
• Cartagena, Colombia
• Miami, Florida

11-DAY CRUISE ON NORWEGIAN JADE

Panama Canal: Aruba & Cartagena

from Panama City (Fuerte Amador), Panama

Sailing

• February,2025

8 PORTS OF CALL

• Panama City (Fuerte Amador),Panama
• Cartagena, Colombia
• Oranjestad, Aruba
• Willemstad, Curaçao
• Basseterre, St. Kitts
• Tortola, British Virgin Islands
• Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• Miami, Florida

16 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We have the AT&T International Day Pass.  At $10/day it gives you unlimited voice and data in just about any country outside the US.  The nice thing about this is I just leave it activated all the time.  It does not "kick in" unless you are actually outside the US...so I do not have to remember to turn it on/off.  If you choose not to do any phone activity in a given port, just leave your phone in airplane mode and AT&T will be none the wiser...and will not charge that days' $10.  It's the best plan for *us*.  YMMV

Is this per phone or for all phones on the plan? 

10 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

What is your sailing date?  I also will be sailing on the Jade this Autumn, so we may be on the same cruise.

  Sept 12th from Boston. 

21 minutes ago, hallux said:

 

Not knowing anything about what carrier or plan you have I think everyone here would be wise to just suggest you check with your carrier as we simply don't know what your plan allows for this.

Unlimited talk and text but no international plan with AT&T

Will we need any type on International Phone Plan (iPhone) for our upcoming Canadian cruise?  We only need to message and maybe do a quick check of email.  No social media, streaming, very little internet, etc. We know about the Wi-Fi and airplane mode for messaging on the ship.  We have FAS, so we have the free 150 minutes. What will we need once on land?

We have one Specialty dining with our FAS, but right now they are offering 2 more Specialty dining nights for a discount.  This is a 7-night cruise on the Jade.  Is it worth it for another $170.00 when there are so many dining options on the ship that are already included in our cruise fare? 

How is the food on the Jade?  This is a pretty port intensive itinerary as well. 

We are disembarking in Boston.  How long should we expect it to take to clear customs there?  

We always book a redeye coming from West coast to East Coast, just makes more sense to us and is much easier than getting up at 4am for an early flight to get back to the East Coast at a decent time.   

We've had one very good airfare experience and a trying it again.

However, this time I just received an email (over 200 days out) for an Upgrade Airfare Advantage (I am not paid in full).  It is showing me a great direct flight to secure now if I want to or I can wait, and they will assign a flight, as usual, before embarkation. I will have to pay extra (lowest bid $100/pp) if I want this great direct flight now.  This is new to me, and I am hesitant to do this. 

Anyone hear of this new program?  

Looking forward to your thoughts on MSC.  We were going to sail on this ship next September, but they cancelled our sailing.  We opted for NCL out of Boston as a replacement, same itinerary. 

On 10/17/2023 at 9:55 AM, ymncruise said:

Thanks for posting your experience! I will definitely do this on our next visit. Glad you had a nice day! We took a 1 hour cab tour. We visited the reversing falls, the tower, and a fort. The views were very scenic. The cost in US was very reasonable at $44 including a 20% tip. 

Did you book the tour in advance or when you go off the ship?  

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

That is simply not true. I have had my deposit fully refunded without issue as long as I was far enough out from the sail date. If you cancel before the date ranges listed below, the deposit is refundable in the US so long as it is not for a YC cabin:

 

  
I guess it depends on who you get on the phone.  I tried to cancel a cruise well ahead of the sail date and they said I couldn't without losing the deposit.  

Then the cruise was cancelled by them, and I am getting the deposit back, though it's been over 30 days now, so I will be making a phone call soon.   

The deposit of $398.00 is non-refundable.  Only if they cancel the cruise or change the itinerary, not to your liking, will you get it back. 

21 hours ago, Chrissy3427 said:

Usually one "side" of the ship is reserved for smokers. As someone previously posted, there is a cigar bar that you might get some residual smoke when someone enters/leaves; but usually smoking areas are reserved for the outdoor areas on one specific side of the ship by the pool and the Promenade or lifeboat deck. So if smoking is allowed on the port side for example, it will be on the port side by the pool and Promenade deck. Believe me, you'll know it when you walk by and know to avoid it throughout the cruise. 🙂 Hope this helps.

17 hours ago, CAKEisgood said:

Hello and thank you for this detail. Chrissy is correct. I happened upon the smoking area on deck 13 , midship overlooking the pool area. 

If I can remember correctly, on previous cruises on the Gem (Jewel Class), since smoking areas have been cutback, the smoking was on deck 13, port side, at the Bali Hai bar, which overlooked deck 12 pool area.

This would mean on the Jade it's at The Pit Stop, deck 13 overlooking deck 12 pool area as well. Both are right outside of Spinnakers. Also, in the casino and Cigar Bar.  

I have used NCL air before with no problems coming in the day of our cruise and flying out the day after disembarking with no issues at all. Flight times were great, I had plenty of time to get to the ship and getting back home atter disembarking was just as easy.  The cost savings was great compared to booking air on my own. 

This time, I would like to come in a day early to be able to see the city.  Again, the savings are pretty substantial compared to booking the flight on my own. 

My only concern is that I might not be coming in early enough to see the city (time zone is the same). I might be coming in at 5pm or later at night, which will only allow for a dinner close by the hotel and no touring time at all. Plan B is that I could stay after the cruise, this way i know I'll be in town all day after disembarking. Downfall to staying post cruise would be that flying in the day of the cruise will most likely have me on an early flight and I might need to stay at my local airport hotel, depending on the flight time. I have no way of knowing what the times would be now, but again, the savings are substantial.  

Anyone ever used the one day deviation, precruise, and what times were you given?  Did they have you flying in early or later in the day/evening?  I know this is a general question, since your time might not be my time, but just trying to see if there is a pattern. 

21 minutes ago, jules181 said:

Or you could just go about your life as we did pre-2020.  

 

We didn't seem to care about the spread of respitory illness on the petri dish that is a cruise ship then.  What's changed?  

 

After being robbed of two years. I'd rather live my life and enjoy my vacation without worry or fear. 

 

If I get sick, I get sick. I'll go lay on the deck in the sun and have the wonderful soups served on board until I'm feeling better. 

I agree with this. Go about your business, lay low and stay away from people as best you can.  What changed is the quarantine of people. 

I just don't like that for some reason, they were checking on excursions by name and cabin number and that might draw them to you and then they will test you, and if positive, you're in quarantine.  I can easily stay away from people if I am sick, but not if they find out first. 

I was wondering if they are still doing that on any excursions?  Basically, for contact tracing?  This wasn't even a year ago on our last cruise.  

13 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Anyone who is cruising / traveling would be wise to bring your own test kits and a dose of Paxlovid for each person. My wife and I do just out of caution, we also bring N95 mask, one for each of us for each day of the cruise

We do bring test kits and masks.  So far so good. 

2 minutes ago, jules181 said:

I'm sure they'll lock you in your room if you go waving a positive test around. 

 

But they're doing it to make you feel better about yourself.  

 

Most of us know you can't test positive if you don't test. 

That's what I was thinking too.  Just be cool and do the right thing.  Last year they were taking names and cabin numbers on excursions, are they still doing that? 

Resurrecting this old topic, but curious what the cruise line is now doing about positive Covid cases, if anything. Lots of respiratory things going around now. 

On 3/30/2023 at 10:31 PM, Conbrucious said:

Just been notified that the Seaview will remain in dry dock therefore cancelling the cruise. MSC want to charge me $900 cancellation fee????

  How did this turn out?  Did you get your money back? 

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

Which ship?  
 

When you say you checked the ports, are you talking about the individual port schedules that the ports show?

 Yes, I like to do that to see what ships are scheduled to be in port with our ship and to get an idea of how crowded the ports will be.  About a week ago I made a list. Checked Saturday when I saw the cruise wasn't available for booking anymore and it wasn't listed at any of the ports.  

13 hours ago, davencl said:

Try tomorrow.  Updates on the weekend often disrupt the website.

It's still not listed on the booking page.  What about the cruise being removed from all of the ports, including the port it's departing from?  Red flag alert that we should start looking for another sailing?