10 night Panama Canal questions

[dancing]

How many formal nights are there on the 10 night Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise? For those that have done this tour what were your favorite excursions in the various ports? Thanks

[Miramar]

There are 2 formal nights. I especially enjoyed the sloth sanctuary in Limon, Costa Rica. For our time in Panama, I did the dome car train excursion and enjoyed that as well.

Costa Rica was my favorite port though. I wish that I had time for more than one excursion.

[ahracer]

we really liked the jungle eco-river cruise in Costa Rica, Sting Rays in Grand Cayman.

 

We stayed on the ship for the canal and really enjoyed it.

 

Scott

[WeBeGone]

Am leaving for our second canal trip on Feb 6. Last trip to the canal we booked the combination lock tour/Embera Indian Village visit and loved it. This time have booked the dome car. At Grand Caymen loved Sting Ray City and on other visits to GC enjoyed the island tour to turtle farm and Hell. We were rained out of our tram trip across the top of the jungle canopy in Costa Rica last time and ended up on the river trip. OK but not outstanding. We hope for better weather this time. Haven't decided yet what to do. Have been to Cozumel many times and the best thing we've done was the day trip down to Tulum, Mayan ruins. Just amazing. A must do. Am excited to go to a new port, Belize.

[enymarsh]

We were on the Coral's innaugural and our favorite excursion was White Water Rafting in Costa Rica. We're healthy and fit but hadn't ever done anything like that before and it was awesome! We also did the Locks and the Embera Indian Village tour and it was a perfect mix of culture, information, and natural beauty. Be sure to read "The Path Between the Seas" it's an amazing record of the construction of the Panama Canal.

[mii]

We also took the Coral Panama trip last year and like was said there is two formal nites. As for excursions, we took the Tortuguera Canal cruise in Costa Rica( throughly enjoyed that one). The excursion we took for the Panama Canal was the Ocean to Ocean tour and granted it was a long day but worth every single dime. You get to compare from the Coral going through the Gatun Locks to getting on a 200 passenger ship to go through the remaining locks. Absolutely wonderful. I heard later that the people who went on the train ride thought it was great too. We did not do anything in Cozumel or Grand Cayman. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Marilyn

[greatuncle]

We were on the Coral's innaugural and our favorite excursion was White Water Rafting in Costa Rica. We're healthy and fit but hadn't ever done anything like that before and it was awesome! We also did the Locks and the Embera Indian Village tour and it was a perfect mix of culture, information, and natural beauty. Be sure to read "The Path Between the Seas" it's an amazing record of the construction of the Panama Canal.

 

My wife and I tried the whitewater rafting in Costa Rica at Easter 2003 - unfortunately the water level was too low and after a slow start ( and a puncture) the trip was aborted and we all walked over a mile to the meeting point over rocks and pebbles - not very comfortable I can assure you. I would try it again but only if the the water level could be guaranteed! At least Princess gave us a 60% refund and we did get a meal and an interesting tour of the country. The people are so friendly. In Easter 2004 we did the Rainforest Aerial Tram and Nature Walk. Very enjoyable but you have to be very lucky to see many animals. We wished we had combined the tram with a boat trip through the jungle.

 

At the Panama Canal, in 2003 we did the Dome Car trip which I understand has now been downgraded a bit. We did train both ways and had a fabulous visit to Miraflores Locks. Only train one way now and I don't know if the tour visits the locks anymore. In 2004 we did Ocean to Ocean which for us was great but for some it was the "Excursion from Hell". It's a very long day and if you get bored easily or aren't interested in watching the container ships/tankers going through the locks then forget it. Your "slot" in the queue of traffic is determined by the Canal Authority. You might get slotted in behind a very large container ship (as we were) and we had to wait for it to go through the locks first. Also there is no overtaking in the Canal so we couldn't save time there. The coach trip back to ship is also very long. We arrived back over 1 and a half hours after the ship should have sailed. Princess were well prepared for us as they had large numbers of staff at the pier with bottles of cold water and they smoothly rearranged dining options so that we could freshen up then eat.

 

We wouldn't want to put anyone off though as the experience of going Atlantic to Pacific was memorable. Next time though we'll choose a cruise that goes right through the canal so that we can admire the view from our balcony with plenty of champagne to hand.

 

As far as Grand Cayman and Cozumel are concerned, in 2003 we went to Stingray City - a must if you haven't done it and did a jeep off-the road tour in Cozumel (great fun). In 2004 we just window-shopped in GC (it was Easter Day and most shops were closed (except the jewellry ones of course) and shopped in Cozumel. But spent lots of time on the ships (Coral and Island) when everyone else was ashore - so peaceful!

 

By the way, we are both about 60 but reasonably fit and enjoy being active. Nothing we tried was beyond our abilities.

 

We hope the above helps. Whatever you do you will enjoy yourselves.

 

Now, who can tell me what Ziplining is - we might want to try that next!!!!

 

Peter in the UK looking forward to Hawaii in April

[AlainBob]

Take a look at my Panama canal cruise review by clicking on the link in my signature. You'll see what excursions we did. My favorite was tha pineapple plantation visit in Costa Rica...

 

Alain R.

[Mike2131]

How many formal nights are there on the 10 night Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise? For those that have done this tour what were your favorite excursions in the various ports? Thanks

 

Hi!

 

We were on the 12/10-12/20 sailing and had a great time. Favorite visit - Costa Rica. Tours are opinions below:

 

1) Cost Rica - Like I said, my favorite. We took the Costa Rica's Favorites and it was outstanding. The guise, Daniel, was terrific! THe tram was soothing but the thrill was the canal cruise. Wildlife spotted? Sloths, howler monkeys (4 separate groups), crocs, caimans, bats, several huge Iguanas, an Eyelash Pit Viper, a Strawberry Poinson Dart Frog, all types of water fowl, etc. Just a great tour.

 

2) Panama - We picked a dud - the Caribbean Rainforest and Nature Hike. Not much was seen and the guide was not the best. We heard good things about the rail tours. The real attraction for us was the Canal itself. Some of the best views are from the stern.

 

3) Cayman Islands - Rough seas caused cancellation of all scuba and snorkel tours (for all 4 ships in port). We took the Island Highlights Tour (not great) as a substitute. Get wet in this port! We really regretted missing the Stingray City snorkel.

 

4) Cozumel - My girlfriend went with the Dolphin Swim and I went to Tulum. Tulum was very interesting, but the Dolphin Swin was the highlight of her cruise.

 

5) Belize - We chose the Lamanai Ruins and New River Safari. This was a great tour and we again saw a lot of wildlife. The ruins were very impressive.

 

Have a great cruise!

[MJEasley]

Only 2 formal night although some dressed every night. Our tours were as follows:

 

Limon - Costa Flores Tropical Gardens - very nice tour excellent tour guide very knowledgable. Everyone was treated to a boquet of local leaves and flowers. When we got back on the ship everyone wanted to know where the wedding was because the boquets were so beautiful. We got a vase from our cabin attendant and they lasted the whole cruise. After we left the gardens the bus pulled into a banana plantation and he purchased baby bananas and treated the whole bus to them. The tour with this guide was an excellant insite into Limon culture and life.

 

Panama Canal - Gatun Locks & Eco Cruise - I would pass it was not worth the time or the price. My son and his wife did the Embera Indian Village and raved about it for two days. They were so impressed with their life styles and the genuine sweetness of these special people.

 

Grand Cayman - the See & Sea was cancelled so we did the nautilus undersea boat that goes over a couple of wrecks and you see some great fish - excellent for children and older adults -

 

Cozumel - Passion Island Beach w/lunch - I would pass on this although the food was excellent - you wind up with only 2 hours on the beach the rest is in a bus.

 

Belize - Xunantunich Ruins & Marimba Lunch - my daughter said it was excellent - you have to be in excellent shape to climb to the top of the pyramid. The steps are very very steep then when you get to the top you have to go up sideways because the steps are very narrow. The hotel where the lunch was served was gorgeous and the food was excellent though spicy.

 

Hope this helps - have a great time Marilyn

[AmyinGA]

Like Miramar, we loved the sloth sanctuary tour. It was a great mix of a local tour, wildlife and a canoe trip. We also enjoyed the Ocean to Ocean tour of the Canal. We knew that we couldn't travel that far without going thru the entire Canal. In Cozumel we took the Dolphin Swim and Snorkel--an enjoyable trip too--but this is availaible in other ports, so if this is your first time in Cozumel you might want to do something else. In Jamaica we took a private tour with Peat Taylor--He was a great tour guide and he took us to the Falls, through Fern Gully and around the island. To see pics of this crusie, go to: http://community.webshots.com/user/amybal