has anyone been on the Western or Eastern 14 day Panama Canal cruise??

[motherchic]

We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Panama canal 14 day cruise on the Summit. i cannot find a review. Has anyone been? Any critques would be appreciated.

Many thanks

[cujosmom]

We did a 14 night Panama Canal on the Infinity two years this December from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale. It was a very relaxing cruise with good ports of call. We were lucky to have an aft balcony.

 

The average age of the passengers were 60-70's range. In fact 4 people DIED during this cruise from heart attacks.

 

On a lighter note: We went with my husband's sister, her husband and their 24 year niece. The niece thought she had made a big mistake coming on this cruise with all these "old" people until she met probably the only other person her age...a cute guy. They hit it off right away and would you believe we just got back from their WEDDING last week!

 

Anyway, back to your question, book it, it's a great cruise.

[canderson]

We did a 14 night Panama Canal on the Infinity two years this December from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale. It was a very relaxing cruise with good ports of call. We were lucky to have an aft balcony.

 

The average age of the passengers were 60-70's range. In fact 4 people DIED during this cruise from heart attacks.

No doubt about it, we were on the same cruise. I'd still like to see Costa Rica from the Pacific side ;)

Did we already establish this once before? I lose track.

 

To the OP:

We enjoyed this cruise more than any we've ever taken. Perhaps it was...

 

...the fact that it was also the longest we'd ever taken at that time. As far as we're concerned, more is better until the boss starts wondering if you're coming back.

 

...with two full weeks, and with everyone in a groove after the 4 days or so, there were 10 days (not just 3) of smooth sailing to look forward to on the service side, and stewards and wait staff could pretty well predict our desires in advance. More time to develop the relationships.

 

...because it was our first aft CC and this was a long itinerary to really enjoy it. All of the stuff we've said in other threads really is true.

 

...the fact that we were getting almost 100% new (to us) ports.

 

...because the whole Canal (and the excellent guest lecturer who packed the main theater for all 3 sessions) thing was just TOO cool.

 

...absolutely assured of rack of lamb for dinner twice (doctored differently, of course) during the cruise.

 

...the chocolate lover's midnight buffet.

 

...we got this neato certificate signed by the Captain for our transit of the Canal (OK, so it wasn't really a factor, but apart from the equator and int'l date line, where else you gonna get paper for the trip?)

 

It's a pretty long list -- want me to keep going? How about someone else take it for a few?

[halos]

On a lighter note: We went with my husband's sister, her husband and their 24 year niece. The niece thought she had made a big mistake coming on this cruise with all these "old" people until she met probably the only other person her age...a cute guy. They hit it off right away and would you believe we just got back from their WEDDING last week!

 

Anyway, back to your question, book it, it's a great cruise.

 

Very cool!!!!

[QQRZZA]

Trivia note: You can also get a certificate for crossing the arctic circle (eg. northern Norway), or crossing the International Dateline, trans-pacific.

 

Thanks for the update on the Panama Canal cruise!

[zalusky]

Yep we did Infinity a year ago and it was dry the whole time. The canal was great especially from a balcony cabin. People got up very early to get seats in the forward lounge.

 

Two week cruises have a much older crowd than 1 week cruises. I remember disco night when the cuise staff had to start dancing themselves to get people on the constellation dance floor.

[Liat]

We did the canal in 14 days on Infinity in November 2002; West to East. I have a quite thorough review on the http://www.cruisereviews website.

Under Cruise Reviews, click on Celebity. Scroll down until you reach the ships names and click on Infinity. Scroll down for the actual reviews. My review is under my name: Philip M. Haggerty. Be sure to read David McCullough's "The Path Between the Seas" before you take this marvelous trip.

[motherchic]

canderson !!!!!

nice to hear from you. !!! Say hello to your wife, from both my husband and i !!! we still talk fondly of our Connie cruise.

My aunt and i have travled together before and have thouroughly enjoyed the experience. Thought about going to the Mediteranean but want a Millenium ship and the dates are not good for us. Several years ago we went on the Summit for the 11 day- and just saw the locks so thought we would try the canals this time.

Looking into prices- thought they were still high. Do you have a good agency you could recommend bye-mail?

What trip do you have planned next ?

Nadine

[canderson]

canderson !!!!!

nice to hear from you. !!! Say hello to your wife, from both my husband and i !!! we still talk fondly of our Connie cruise.

Will do. Good to see you're ready for the next one! Again, the cruise you've picked has been our favorite of all of them thus far. Those of us aft on Deck 8 were tempted to just barricade the two corridors and tell them we weren't coming out when we arrived in Florida;)

 

Looking into prices- thought they were still high. Do you have a good agency you could recommend bye-mail?

What trip do you have planned next ?

Nadine

Yes, I can provide a recommendation -- email below and I'll get right back to you. I've got a picture here somewhere that I need to email to you. Things dried up really quickly on our roll-call board after we returned, and I never did get the picture thing sorted out.

 

As to the next stop, it's a river cruise in Germany. We've visited the river country there many times, and have seen the cruise boats plying the Mosel and Rhein, and wondered what it would be like ot try a water visit instead of a land one. When the cruise is over, we'll spend a few days with friends in Traben-Trarbach and sample all of the prior year's vintage. Maximum capacity is 150 people -- a far cry from an M-Class ship! I'm guessing that they won't be offering major stage productions or a casino!

 

After that, it's the Galaxy in December for another partial transit.

[charlielinda]

I'm taking the Summit through the Canal later this month . . . I didn't know I'd get a certificate -- YIPPEE!

 

MotherChic (Nadine) -- Hi! How are you and Bev. Charlie and I still remember fondly our wonderful trip with you and the rest of the bunch. I don't think I've laughed so much since our cruise as I did the night in the Normandy! I hope you're family is well. Give our love to Bev.

[motherchic]

Chris, my e-mail is: nmesch@fuse.net

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Linda, HELLO !! Of all things, bev is sitting right here. She has been visiting!

And we decided to plan another cruise. Fall would be beautiful but that is my busiest time of year. Please give a big {{hug}} to Charlie. ( from both of us ) All is well here as well as family doing well. My oldest just left for graduate school , Medill( northwesterns journalism program) and we are also planning a wedding. OHHHH !! i am starting to feel old.

best of times on your trip. Would love a review when you return

nadine

[iandjm]

Hi,

 

I was on a 15 night Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco cruise this May on Infinity. It was fantastic! The other passengers were of all ages and great to get on with. You will love it! If you want to have a look at some photos I took on the cruise have a look at imoody.photosite.com

 

 

Happy cruising

 

Ian:D

[C 2 C]

Canal trip is wonderful. We have been through a number of times and loved it so much we're cruising FL to LA and back in November. If you have any questions for research let me know....

 

No matter how long the cruise... they're never long enough...

28 days on the Summit with all those wonderful X people on board to make you wish that you could stay still longer...

[canderson]

Canal trip is wonderful. We have been through a number of times and loved it so much we're cruising FL to LA and back in November. If you have any questions for research let me know....

Just one -- any extra space in your cabin? (sigh)

[Ruthieofthesea]

I am embarking on my second canal cruise on-board the Summit in three weeks. the first passage was in 1998. I can recommend the trip. The first trip was east to west. The upcommong trip is the same. The ports are great,the trip is very relaxing. The age raange is between 55 and up. Have fun, sail on...

[AFT_LOVER]

but not in the Canal......

 

We hate the excursion type with 100 people kicking us in the head. We just want to walk with our gear to a nice beach & dive in. SO where???

Clue us in. Thanksgiving 2005 cruise on Summit.

[charlielinda]

Nadine: I'll give you a port by port review when we return! Give my love to Bev and your young!

[C 2 C]

Nov 6... Summit... Canal

 

It seems some of us are on the same cruise..

 

We look forward to all those excursions... for others... leaving us with our own private yacht... water is for floating on, we're past the beach thing... for us it's the journey, not the destination..

 

That's what makes cruising so wonderful... so many options according to our individual tastes.:D

[cavkc]

We took a 14 night Panama cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Infinity last Christmas. We had with us our two 12 year old boys and my parents, who are both in their 70's.

 

We all had the most amazing time, although saying that our boys couldn't have cared less where they were cruising, they just love the whole experience, the ports of call are amost incidental to them!

 

The weather was perfect and the canal is definitely one of the modern day wonders of the world. If you do go, don't miss the documentary, I think it was screened the day before the crossing. We called at Aruba on the way back to FL. This is one of our favourite Caribbean ports and is absolutely lovely.

 

Very busy cruise, but that's to be expected as it covered Christmas and NY. I actually wish there were more 14 night cruises to choose from, we hate 7 night cruises as no soon have you relaxed then you have to start packing again!

 

Have a wonderful time if you decide to go for it :)

[dewayneg]

Kavkc

 

I have booked the Cristmas/New Years Panama Canal cruise on Mercury. It is a 16 day cruise from FLL to LA. The prices are very reasonable considering the length of the cruise and time of the year.

 

Can you tell me if there were other children onboard for your kids to play with? My sons will be 10 and 12 and I don't want them to be the only kids on the ship. :-)

 

Was there a good mix of ages, or was it mostly retired folk?

 

Thanks!

[C 2 C]

Kavkc

 

I have booked the Cristmas/New Years Panama Canal cruise on Mercury. It is a 16 day cruise from FLL to LA.

 

Can you tell me if there were other children onboard for your kids to play with? My sons will be 10 and 12 and I don't want them to be the only kids on the ship. :-)

 

The demographics of holiday sailings are totally different from other cruises. Some of us don't cruise during holidays because of certain unruly children on board. Some parents think that the staff will take care of children wherever they might be. Celebrity has a wonderful program for children but unfortunately not for their parents. Well behaved children will meet others of their kind. Unfortunately the opposite also holds true.

[dewayneg]

Some parents think that the staff will take care of children wherever they might be. Celebrity has a wonderful program for children but unfortunately not for their parents. Well behaved children will meet others of their kind. Unfortunately the opposite also holds true.

.

 

Ouch, are you always so acerbic to strangers?

[C 2 C]

Sorry about that..

 

What I meant to say is that there are a lot of children aboard holiday sailings and many negative posts about bad behavior afterwards.

 

The program for children is wonderful but many parents with older children let them to run wild...

 

Therefore many experienced cruisers will not cruise in holiday periods...

 

Celebrity should run special seminars for parents of unruly children....

 

All cruiselines seem to have a major problem with this issue.

 

The children have a great time... but like any situation ... 10% of any group can spoil it for others who do not like to be run over by children

 

Check the forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=236751&highlight=unruly+children

[dewayneg]

Sorry about that..

 

.....many experienced cruisers will not cruise in holiday periods...

 

 

Thanks for the clarification. I've been around long enough to realize that some children behave badly on cruises. My question was specifically for the poster who sailed this itinerary last year, specifically how many children were on board and what was the age mix of the rest of the passengers.

 

You can be sure that when I sail with my kids they are well behaved. If they are not, you will never see them because they will be quarantined!

[pooh1bear43113]

We did trans-canals in EARLY Dec. 2002 and 2003 - both on Infinity and both from San Diego to FLL.

 

Wonderful, relaxing cruises - interesting ports for us as we seldom get to cruise into Mexican ports.

 

Only problem as mentioned above, lots of elderly - even more "elderly" then DH and me! On the last TC we "lost" several folks...er...as in seriously ill causing the ship to have to turn around and head back to port thus missing Costa Rica - and there were deaths.

 

Had to laugh as it was almost impossible to navigate the hallways to the cabin due to the wheel chairs and walkers - and I'll never forget the electric carts that were all parked in the area of the outside elevator on Deck 9. Sure made us stop to consider the advantage of purchasing trip insurance....

 

Oh, yes, we got the certificate signed by the Master of the ship in 2003 - but didn't get a certificate for the 2002 TC...bummer.

 

But I'd do it again in a heartbeat - and God bless those folks who were able to do this cruise in their life time. Time has a way of slipping away from us the older we get the faster it slips - enjoy every minute.