Jewel of the Seas 11 night cruise 28 Mar 11

[awboater]

We will be going on the Jewel on Mar 28 to Aruba, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Cayman Islands.

 

This will be our 10th cruise, and we have only been to the Caymans before.

 

Anyone got any tips on what excursions to take in Aruba, Columbia, Panama, and Costa Rica.

 

We are in our late 50s, so we do the more sedentary type of excursions. But if you have been there before, what would be your top excursion?

 

We have been to the Caymans several times before, so we will probably just go to the beach that day.

[Wolfie469]

I'm taking the same cruise Mar 7. you might want to look at our roll call and also do a search for south Carribean cruises reviews where the reviewers discuss the excursions they took, etc. Like you I signed up for more sedentary cruises due to bad legs: trolley tour in Aruba; horse and carriage in Carnega, Colimbia; train ride in Panama and Costa Rica. Can't recall Grand Cayman which you say you don't need info on.

[Gilgo Surfer]

We will be going on the Jewel on Mar 28 to Aruba, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Cayman Islands.

 

This will be our 10th cruise, and we have only been to the Caymans before.

 

Anyone got any tips on what excursions to take in Aruba, Columbia, Panama, and Costa Rica.

 

We are in our late 50s, so we do the more sedentary type of excursions. But if you have been there before, what would be your top excursion?

 

We have been to the Caymans several times before, so we will probably just go to the beach that day.

 

I was just on this cruise. I did the zip line in Costa Rica and though I am 40 years old, I did see many people in your age group participating.

 

Aruba: DW and I rented a Jeep with a couple we met on the ship. We went to the natural bridge, a light house, Baby Beach and did some serious off roading. It could get REALLY bumpy if you go off the beaten path.

 

Panama: Take the ferry tour through the locks!!

 

Colombia: The La Popa monastery has a spectacular view of the city, great photo op. besides that maybe just walk around the old city, it it quite beautiful. The street vendors are aggressive and annoying. You have to be a little careful here but it's not that bad if you use street smarts.

 

What ever you decide, have a great trip!! This was my 5th cruise and by far my favorite(wife too). I met such a great group of people on this cruise many of them through Cruise Critics before we even boarded the ship.

[Tim,n,Sue]

Panama: Take the ferry tour through the locks!!

 

I have to agree with the ferry tour through the lcoks excursion. It is absolutely fantastic.

 

We have done this cruise twice. In Limon we have done the Tortuguero Canal boat excursion and the off road excursion in the converted missle carrier. Both are wondeful.

 

We did a Cartagena city tour. It was very good.

[snoozycruisee]

We are in our mid-50's and just did the same Cruise in January.

 

Aruba: Try the Open Jeep Safari.....Great way to see the Island and enjoy the Sun and Fresh Air. We did a Bus Tour and WISH we had gone the Jeep route, as we heard a lot of very positive comments.

 

Columbia: Right in the port area, catch a cab to the old (Walled) City, then do a walk-about on your own. Inside the Old (Walled) City, you will be fine - There are a LOT of others that are on Vacation, Cruises and Sightseeing. You might want to get together with another couple from the Ship to reduce the PP cab fare cost.

 

Panama: Did the Eco-tour (Gatun Lake, Panama Canal locks, etc) Tour was OK, but felt it was a bit costly for what was provided. We did hear that the Embera Indian Excursion was very good. As a heads up - Do NOT venture (walk) outside the IMMEDIATE port area on your own !

 

Costa Rica: Hacienda Experience Tour. This one takes you up into the Mountains of Costa Rica (Plantation) to learn about and Coffee Growing, Making Brown Sugar, Sugar Cane Demo, Macadamia Nuts, etc etc. and includes a very nice buffet / regional lunch. The ride up into the Mountains takes a bit of time, but the excursion was a great experience.

 

Grand Cayman: Took a City Bus ($2.00 each way, per person) to the Beach Area and enjoyed a Sun/Sand/Surf Day. Brought along our own snorkeling gear - Some fish and coral (nothing spectacular) but it was free : ) You can rent an umbrella / Lounge chair if needed.....we were fine with towels and our own umbrella. Also made our own Snack Basket and brought our own drinks along. Cheap but fun way to spend the day !!

[LBumb]

in aruba have to spend some time on a beach, they are awesome.

[awboater]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Its good to know information, especially venturing away from the dock area in Panama.

 

Not sure what we will do yet. I suppose the locks tour is the most popular in Panama, but we are not sure how much of an experience it would be. We live in Michigan and have gone to the Soo Locks several times - those locks can handle freighters up to 1,000ft. It's fun to see it the first time, but then it's like watching paint dry.

 

Not sure if the Panama locks are similar or would be a unique experience. More ships at least (the Soo Locks get probably 5~10 ships per day).

 

The first time we go to a new venue, we usually like to take a ship-sponsored excursion. While it is certainly more expensive, we always figured it was a safer bet; until we know the area better. Within that framework, the responses have given me a few ideas.

 

Not that I am overly cautious, but I do realize you are not in the US, and you have to have some awareness of your surroundings; especially if you have never been there before.

 

The closest we have been to those areas is Belize City. Anyone know how Belize compares to Panama, Columbia, or Costa Rica?

[negc]

We were just on the Jewel for a 10 night cruise. In Colombia, we took the Cartagena by Land and Sea excursion and thought it was excellent. We did the land portion first and climbed to the top of the fortress before the heat became almost too much to bear. The boat ride around the harbor and the old town was cooler and also quite fascinating. Our guide was very good. We found Cartagena much more interesting than we had anticipated and would like to return there so that we can spend more time in the old town and checking out other sites of interest. We never felt concerned about our safety and even the street vendors were far less aggressive and much more accommodating than we had expected. We have been to Panama (on a full transit cruise) and Costa Rica previously but heard some good remarks about the tours that RCI offered in both ports. The ship was delayed in sailing from Panama because some of the excursions were late in returning, so it might be advisable, there at least, to stick with a ship sponsored tour.

Jewel is our favorite ship and sailing on her during Super Bowl week was a great experience. She looks as good as ever and has one of the friendliest crews in the fleet. Michael Landry who was Food and Beverage Manager when we sailed, is filling in for Robert Taggart as Hotel Director, while Robert is on vacation, and Keith Williams finished his tour as CD when our cruise ended. Not sure who his replacement is. Perhaps someone who has sailed since February 14th will be able to provide that answer.

[awboater]

We were on the Radiance recently, so I think our experience on the Jewel will be similar. On the Radiance, we booked a balcony on deck 6, which due to the roof of the Promenade deck (deck 5), was a bit disappointing.

 

So on the Jewel, we booked inside. Of our 9 cruises, we have booked both inside and balcony rooms. Still not sure if the extra expense of a balcony is worth it, as we like to never be in our room unless we are sleeping anyway.

[mamacat3]

We are on that same cruise - come to the meet and mingle thread and perhaps you wil want to join some of us on the excursions we are doing!! Look forward to seeing you there!!!!:)

[awboater]

Exactly what is Meet and Mingle. I am pretty sure it is a way to get together during a cruise, but how does it work?

 

Sorry, have not been on this forum very long.

[BillB48]

Under the Roll Call section of this board there is the Meet and Mingle for RCI cruises. You can usually find one started for the cruise and ship you are going on. In order for the M&M to be recognized by RCI, I think it must be longer than 5 days and have at least 25 people signed up. Then an invitation will be placed in your cabin telling you time and date. The whole M&M is just a place for people to get to know each other before the cruise.

 

Here is the page for all the Freedom's M&M, you should be able to find your next cruise there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=261

[island lady]

We were on the 10 night Jewel cruise last month, which goes to Labadee instead of Aruba and has one less day at sea.

 

We loved it! :D

 

Only bad thing was the tour that we paid WAY too much for, which was the Veragua rain forest tour. Two hour (each way) bus ride down really bad roads with a huge bus that should never be on those roads. In fact the one in front of us ended up in the ditch, tilted sideways. Those pax did not look happy standing there in the mud and the heat on the side of the road.

The park is nice, but never really saw any real wildlife except what was in their cages.

 

Best tour was the one we did ourselves on Grand Cayman. Rented a "roller skate" of a cute little car and drove to the Botanic gardens. Took the 11 am tour to see the rare Blue Iguana recovery area with the guide. Also took us through the park and pointed out all the plants and species. Was great! :) Drove on to a fantastic lunch on the water at "Over the Edge" which is a little restaurant the locals love on the other side of the island and was recommended by our guide. Really fresh fish!

 

As others have pointed out...the Ferry boat tour through the Panama canal was great!

We had never been through the canal, and as the ship does not pass through there....this was the 2nd best way to do it!

 

Enjoy your cruise! I wish we were going again...sigh!

[awboater]

Just signed up for Meet and Mingle. Hopefully will meet a few of you folks on board.

[J&Bcruisers]

Just signed up for Meet and Mingle. Hopefully will meet a few of you folks on board.

 

Join us in the Roll call boards Royal Canadian meet and mingle roll call boards. There are quite a few of us from meet and mingle on that thread.

 

Bev

[K1200S]

We will be going on the Jewel on Mar 28 to Aruba, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Cayman Islands.

 

This will be our 10th cruise, and we have only been to the Caymans before.

 

Anyone got any tips on what excursions to take in Aruba, Columbia, Panama, and Costa Rica.

 

We are in our late 50s, so we do the more sedentary type of excursions. But if you have been there before, what would be your top excursion?

 

We have been to the Caymans several times before, so we will probably just go to the beach that day.

We did this cruise in 09 and loved it. In Aruba we did an island tour since like you we had not been there before. In Columbia we did a tour of the city and got lucky with the tour guide we ended up with. Spoke perfect English and really knew her stuff. Found out later she was a former teacher. Costa Rica we did white water rafting. We are in our 60s so don't let your age stop you. In Panama we took an excursion that went all the way through the canal. The whole point of the cruise was to see the canal so we made sure we did. It is a bus ride for about 10 miles then on a small tour boat to the Pacific then a bus ride back. I thought it was well worth it. In Grand Cayman we went to Sting Ray City and loved it.