Princess itinerary for 2016 help

[sue2go]

Have been waiting for Princess to come out with their 2016 Panama Canal itineraries, and they are out! Have cruised before - twice with Celebrity and once with RCL, but feel that Princess is the right choice for us for the Canal. Do you experienced cruisers feel that the 2 day itinerary full transit makes it worth trading stops in Cabo San Lucas and and San Juan Del Sur for stops in Fuerte Amador and Puerto Chiapas? Also better to book early or wait a bit? Thanks for your help!

[CruiserBruce]

If you do some reading on this board, you will see several people who favor including stops in Panama. That is fine.

 

Have been to all of the other ports besides the Panama port at least once. None are hugely exciting, but also, after 3 Canal transits, can't say from our experience that stopping in Panama is any more important than the ports you would be giving up. In our opinion, it is a wash.

 

Also, as commonly discussed on Cruise Critic, most cruise lines will give any price drops up to final payment. So book now. At worst case, you can always cancel, get your deposit back, and rebook, again, at the lower price, up to final payment.

[Richard in Panama]

In regard to WHEN to book: Booking early usually gives you a big discount AND you get the cabin/location you want. Sometimes cruise lines lower the price at the last minute. Usually if you ask [not automatic] cruise line will adjust your booking if a lower offer for which you qualify comes along. The lower offer may or may not be better but you have the choice. For example you may have booked early and gotten the stateroom you want, but the "last-minute" offer is for a "guarantee" ... so you give up the stateroom you want, for the stateroom they give you. Oh the games cruise lines play!

 

I LOVE the 2-day itinerary! You're coming all this way to Panama, so why not see some of Panama. To do that you need to be able to get off the ship. Just seeing Panama from the Canal would be like sailing into New York, never getting off the ship and saying that you visited New York because you sailed by! Trading a day in Panama for Cabo San Lucas? Really! Cabo once was a sleepy fishing village. Now Cabo is time share after time share, sprawling resort after sprawling resort.

 

There are great tours available in Panama [in Panama, "Panama" means Panama City. Part of Panama City is the Amador Peninsula which was once a fort, and the tip of the Peninsula where the ship tenders drop you off is called by the cruise lines "Fuerte Amador"]. The ship offers great tours and there are great independent tours. There is even a Hop On Hop Off bus that picks you up at "Fuerte Amador" and takes you all over the city for something like $30.

 

Regards, Richard

[BillB48]

You said you have cruised X and Royal before, I assume they were not Canal cruises... correct? If you have not been to the Canal before the additional full day stop in Panama would be more useful to me instead of Cabo or the other stops you mentioned. Now on the other hand if you have been to the Canal on those other cruises, then perhaps a shake up in your ports of call might be interesting.

 

Whether to book early or late, that can be a roll of the dice. I would say if cabin location, balcony, suite etc. are important to you, then booking early is probably better. Sometimes the better deals come early in the run up to embarkation, then again sometimes you can get a steal if you wait. My last Canal cruise I booked about 7 weeks from sailing, which of course was after final payment was due. Had I waited and booked at 5 weeks from sailing, the cruise would have been about 50% less <sigh>!! If it wasn't for poor planning, I would not have any planning, besides my crystal ball was in the shop that week;)!

[sue2go]

Thanks for the responses and guidance - 2 day stop it will be then. And correct, we have not sailed the Canal - other cruises were Alaska, Baltic, and Western Caribbean. Looking forward to trying out Princess!