Terrible Central America Cruise

[summertime112233]

Hi everyone,

 

we have just returned from a two week cruise onboard Thomson Dream taking the Pride of Panama and Cuban Fusion cruise. We mainly chose the cruise for the local flights and itinerary.

 

There were three major bad points of this holiday

 

1 - Bad weather

2 - Queuing everywhere

3 - missing ports of call

 

Ok, so the bad weather, speaks for itself. Out of the 14 days, I would say only half were good pleasant days, the others we had rain and cloud. One day in the second week on the day at sea was like a cross channel ferry in February - cold, dreary, damp, foggy. Everybody was cpmplaining over the weather but obviously this is out of Thomsons hands.

 

The second major problem was the Orion restaurant and Lido. Queuing outside the Orion for over an hour (willing to share), we had glasses of sparkling wine brought out to us to sweeten us up but it was just not on. At one point, we counted twenty tables waiting to be laid and when we asked what was happening, they said there weren't enough waiters to serve the tables and we had to wait. Really appalling. A lot of people gave up on the Orion altogether and chose the buffets instead.

 

We had two missed ports of call. One at San blas due to bad weather, which I believe is not the first time this port has been missed (will it ever be able to dock?). We also missed Playa del carmen, which has also previously had tendering problems before.

 

Another point to make is, the panama canal tour gets booked very early, if you do not pre book, you will likely not get on the trip. Again many people complained and moaned. While the cruise was not bad, it was ruined by continuous moaning and complaining from everyone.

 

I am not sure if the weather was unusual but if this is normality, I suggest people think about if the weather is a factor in choosing their perfect cruise. Also, the ports are obviously an issue, Costa Rica has also been missed already this season. It is pointless including a set of ports where you have major issues docking regularly. It led to so many passengers being disappointed, especially at Playa del Carmen. We were also refunded for two of our excursions because they were a complete and utter mess (we didn't complain but everyone got a refund). The central American itineraries certainly need lots of tweaks in my opinion.

 

As people have previously said of the Dream also, there was a strong smell of sewage in the corridors in some areas. We had water coming up from our bathroom floor and the entertainment has gone down hill.

 

Yikes, thank god for the wonderful port of Havana for saving the day.

Edited February 11, 2015 by summertime112233

[Iain1873]

We were on the Pride of Panama Cruise in January and it was a huge disappointment also , from weather to the ship , to entertainment and to the poor service in some areas and for it to be descirbed as Platinum is beyond laughable - we booked a weeks cruise and stay and it's sad that after paying all that money the only part of that holiday we talk about is the stay in Jamaica , it was as if the cruise never happened - if only !!

[geomagot]

such a shame to hear this iain

 

i would agree that something? cant put my finger on what? has gone wrong with the service on dream this winter

 

poor weather and missed ports just makes for more dissappointment even tho thet cant be helped its still little comfort

 

the trouble with panama, imo, is many people seem to have booked this with great expectations for panama, but arrived there to find its a run down commercial port in a poor part of the country with not a lot going for it

 

justthe the panama canal ... well its just an industrial canal that you can visit if you like that sort of thing (the ship wasnt going to transit it to the pacifc or anything interesting like that) ok, they do run trips and the scenery/lakes are quite nice, but there are better scenic islands to explore/enjoy than along the banks of the panama canal imo(jamaica/roatan/dominca/antigua/barbados west coast, grenadines etc)

 

i have no interest in canals, famous ones or otherwise, if i was looking for tropical scenery and freindly locals i wouldnt book panama i would book for barbados/st lucia

 

pleased you enjoyed your stay on jamaica...thats encouraging:cool:

Edited February 12, 2015 by geomagot

[Iain1873]

Yes Jamaica surpassed our expectations and we're planning a two week break there in the future.

 

Panama Canal i enjoyed but that is probably the inner geek in me bursting to get out ..... :D

[geomagot]

we passed some of the resorts on our way from falmouth to mobay (sandals/rose hall etc) it did look fabulous, v scenic through the trelawny area too ... our thoughts keep turning to going back there too :cool::)

[Pee0305]

Panama was one of the highlights for us. Horses for courses I guess. We found the train ride on an old (reburbed) colonial train a great experience and the locks so interesting. We would have loved to do the boat trip through the locks to the Pacific but places were already sold out before the Showcase.

 

We have been to Jamaica 3 times and would recommend the Negril side of the island over Montego Bay/Falmouth. Once you've done Dunns River Falls, Martha Brae and Rose Hall there's not a great deal more to see. For a lay in the sun beach holiday it's fab.

[Iain1873]

It was Negril we were in - lovely

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Bringing this old thread up as I have a question on the train ride excursion at Panama. We're going on Thomson Dream Pride of Panama 2 months from today!

 

Do you see anything of Panama City on the way to the Pacific & does the train go beside the canal all the way across? The answer will help me decide whether to take the train or boat excursion.

TIA for any help.

 

~ Jo ~ :)