Islanderman

Just want to also thank you for your review. On August 31 we're on the Affinity from Amsterdam to Budapest. Read your posts as you traveled and the review is very helpful with our planning.

Rich

We were on the May 22 cruise. We visited HC every morning for breakfast and it was obvious that the staff was stressed by the extra work that was required. We did not feel inconvenienced by the extra steps that were being taken to deal with the outbreak and appreciated the efforts of an overworked staff.

Even before the outbreak, we felt that Princess could have been more proactive with the placement of hand sanitizers, but, after the outbreak, we washed our hands often and avoided using the public rest rooms. At the end of the day, it was a fantastic cruise and we are very grateful that we did not contract the virus and were able to enjoy every one of the ports.

Rich & Robin

Now that we've returned from our cruise, I just want to provide my 2 cents regarding this port.

We took the Princess Leon and Bubbling Mud Pots excursion.

The view of the volcanoes on the drive was impressive.

The mud pots were interesting. Contrary to some reports, we were not bothered by any of the children at the site.

Leon was also interesting. We walked around the Square and climbed to the top of the cathedral for a great view of the surrounding area.

I'm glad that we took this tour. We enjoyed the scenery and the people were friendly. Nicaragua is a poor country and some of what you see can be heart-breaking, but to miss the experience would have been a mistake for us.

Rich

We are going on the Coral March 9. We pulled up a website for VaPues tours, but we could not figure out what trip you took. (ie. the tours were listed from certain cities -they did not mention any from cruise ship pier) Could you give us a little more information on this tour company. Did you pay at the end of the tour or up front?

Looks like we'll be on the same sailing. Really looking forward to it.

Rich

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the bon voyage! Yes, we get to leave the cold here in Chicago in 6 exactly days! We are still booked with the Princess Leon and Leon Viejo tour. After re-reviewing the options many times, that's the one that sounded the most interesting. I'd prefer something a little more active, but with the distance that we'll be away from the ship, we don't feel comfortable venturing out on our own or with an independent company. Anyway, we're looking forward to it! I will report back on this tour when we return. I'll also keep my ears open for any comments on the Bubbling Mud pots tour.

 

Tammy

Look forward to hearing what you think. Still haven't ruled out that tour. Like you, just wondering about that long bus ride.

Have a great cruise.

Rich

Tammy,

I still haven't booked our excursion for Nicaragua on our cruise which sails on March 9. Probably will go with Leon and the Bubbling Mud Pots. Thanks for starting this thread. From the information I've gathered, I do think it will be worthwhile for us to see Leon. Your cruise is quickly approaching. Have a great time and please let us know what you did in Nicaragua and what you thought.

Rich

Tammy,

Found this on a blog:

"Today we booked a tour to Leon, for a Art and History tour. Leon one of the historic cities of Nicaragua, and we boarded our bus for a 1 hour drive there. Our first stop was to Ruben Dario’s house, a famous poet and politician known throughout Central and South America. His home is now a Museum, and he is a very famous Nicaraguan, who died in 1916.

Our next visit was to a Art Gallery that had a large collection dating from around the mid 1600’s, including 2 Picasso’s, but what surprised us was that all the paintings were not protected by glass or anything else. Next stop was the city’s Cathedral, but having seen several by now, they are beginning to look all the same. I am sure my family would be in catholic rapture."

I've read that it's 65 miles. Must be a very good road if you can make it in an hour. Perhaps somebody can confirm this.

Rich

Terrierjohn

You're right about our roll call. Not much discussion going on.

I'll post my thoughts on the excursions there and we'll see if we can get some more discussion going.

Rich

These are the tours that are listed on the Princess website. It's an 8.5 hour tour.

Terrierjohn, I think that we're on the same cruise as you on the Coral, leaving from LA on March 9.

Rich

I was starting to get discouraged when I saw the number of views with no replies. Marilyn, thanks for the tip. It was nice to see the positive comments about Leon.

Tammy, not sure how long the bus trip is, but we always prefer to experience the local scene. Because of the positive comments about Leon, we may do the same excursion that you booked.

Rich

I have the same question. We'll be on the Coral Princess in March. We'd like to get off the ship and see some of the local scenery and culture, but I've been checking the boards for months and haven't seen much about this port that's positive. I don't think that this port receives much cruise business and it's probably not ready for prime time.

This might be the first time that we just stay on the ship while in port. Not really what we'd like to do on a cruise that has more than a few sea days.

Rich