Grandeur out of Colon, we speak no Spanish...are we crazy?

[AllegraTiger]

Husband & I are strongly considering the Dec 2 sailing of the Grandeur out of Colon, Panama. After doing some research I see this is going to be more of a Spanish immersion experience. Here's the catch. We don't speak Spanish!

 

We've traveled the world and gotten along just fine in many other countries in which we don't know the language, and usually we travel on our own, not in a group. For some reason though I'm finding the cruise thing more intimidating-- will there be translations in English? Will we miss out on making new friends when I know maybe 10 Spanish words, and husband knows none?

 

What do you all think? We're intrigued by the itinerary-- a really interesting mix of stops-- but want to make sure we're not wandering around bewildered the entire time. :)

[Bobal]

If you type "Grandeur Immersion cruise" into the search facility on this board you'll find some very informative threads.

[TxnAquarian]

My partner and I have booked this itinerary for February 2013. Like you, we were a little hesitant at first to do it. But, considering that the ports are so unique and the ship is fresh from a multi-million dollar renovation, we decided to do it. My partner does speak Spanish - but I do not. So it will be an especially interesting experience for me. We just booked the airfare from LA - Panama City and are looking into hotels now pre-cruise.

 

I think the deciding factor for you will be how badly you want to socialize on the ship. The crew speaks English, so you won't be completely out of your element. But you might not experience the same social environment at the bars, for example, that you would on another cruise. For me and my partner, we tend to do our own thing anyway. And there are ports most days, so I'm just looking at the ship as the hotel to get from Point A to Point B.

 

After initially being iffy about it, I am now really excited!

 

 

 

 

Michael

[seaofwonder]

We did it with no Spanish and were just fine. Book English excursions and the crew speaks English. Do a search for my trip report.

[Sinppu]

I'd hazard a guess that even if the passengers are Spanish-speaking they might also speak English at least to some extent. Some of them. Maybe ;)