Nov 2022: 21day B2b Breakaway for partial Panama Canal or 14day B2b on Celebrity?

[fstuff1]

(male, solo)

Oct Halloween cruise: Celebrity Beyond repositioning from NJ - Ft Lauderdale. (Mom lives in NY so dropping my car there)

 

Then I have 2 options:

1) At Ft Lauderdale, I can do B2b on Celebrity Infinity (6night + 8 night), hopefully free because Celebrity casino. (Beyond cruise free)

- Never been to Bimini, Bahamas or Belize City or Grand Turks or Key West, FL

- Will be staying 1 night at Hard Rock casino (free) because Infinity leaves 1 day after i debark Beyond

- Fly back to NY at end of B2b

 

2) 14day NCL Breakaway repositioning from NY to New Orleans (I expect rates to drop to $50/day) then free 7day cruise at New Orleans (from land casino)

- Fly back to NY at end of Beyond cruise

- Partial Panama Canal: Enter 1st set of locks, then go back and leave through same set of locks. (Done full Panama transit twice but never done partial)

- Partial Panama allows stop at Colon, Panama port which i've never been to

- Been to all the ports on the 7day but it's free...

- Stay at Harrah's New Orleans casino for a few days (free) to miss Thanksgiving travel mess

- Fly back to NY

 

Downside: Flying back to NY twice

 

Which would you pick if you were a solo male?

Thx

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by fstuff1

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Breakaway because of better itineraries.

[2boyzmom]

On 6/6/2022 at 10:35 AM, fstuff1 said:

(male, solo)

Oct Halloween cruise: Celebrity Beyond repositioning from NJ - Ft Lauderdale. (Mom lives in NY so dropping my car there)

 

Then I have 2 options:

1) At Ft Lauderdale, I can do B2b on Celebrity Infinity (6night + 8 night), hopefully free because Celebrity casino. (Beyond cruise free)

- Never been to Bimini, Bahamas or Belize City or Grand Turks or Key West, FL

- Will be staying 1 night at Hard Rock casino (free) because Infinity leaves 1 day after i debark Beyond

- Fly back to NY at end of B2b

 

2) 14day NCL Breakaway repositioning from NY to New Orleans (I expect rates to drop to $50/day) then free 7day cruise at New Orleans (from land casino)

- Fly back to NY at end of Beyond cruise

- Partial Panama Canal: Enter 1st set of locks, then go back and leave through same set of locks. (Done full Panama transit twice but never done partial)

- Partial Panama allows stop at Colon, Panama port which i've never been to

- Been to all the ports on the 7day but it's free...

- Stay at Harrah's New Orleans casino for a few days (free) to miss Thanksgiving travel mess

- Fly back to NY

 

Downside: Flying back to NY twice

 

Which would you pick if you were a solo male?

Thx

Hi I am on the NCL cruise- are you sure it goes through the locks? I did not hear that but hope it's true.

On 6/6/2022 at 10:35 AM, fstuff1 said:

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, 2boyzmom said:

Hi I am on the NCL cruise- are you sure it goes through the locks? I did not hear that but hope it's true.

 

I think you are right. I don't see the ship entering the Panama Canal, just docking at Colon, Panama.

 

Normally on a partial transit, they will drop anchor in Gatun Lake and say so. I think NCL is playing fast and loose with definitions here.

[Turtles06]

18 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

I think NCL is playing fast and loose with definitions here.

 

What definitions?  I don't see anything in NCL's description of this cruise that says it's a partial transit or that it enters any locks.   It says it has a port call in Colón, Panama.  That's not a transit, partial or otherwise.  So far, the only one here who has called it a partial transit is the OP, and we are left wondering where he has gotten that info.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

7 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

What definitions?  I don't see anything in NCL's description of this cruise that says it's a partial transit

 

This link may not work.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/Breakaway?cid=PS_DIG_NA_NA_GOO_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA&gclsrc=ds&gclsrc=ds

 

But when I search NCL Breakaway cruises this cruise is under "Panama Canal Cruises" for Breakaway for "Destinations".

Edited June 29, 2022 by scottca075

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

This link may not work.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/Breakaway?cid=PS_DIG_NA_NA_GOO_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA&gclsrc=ds&gclsrc=ds

 

But when I search NCL Breakaway cruises this cruise is under "Panama Canal Cruises" for Breakaway for "Destinations".

 

Okay, I see that.  But nothing in the actual description of the cruise says it's going through any locks, which is what the OP stated.  In fact, he went so far as to call it a partial transit.  I was merely pointing out that this is not the case and wondering where he got that information.   NCL's web site shows shorex one can do from Colón to see the locks and the Canal. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

17 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Okay, I see that.  But nothing in the actual description of the cruise says it's going through any locks, which is what the OP stated.

 

I don't know experienced the OP is with cruising, but if I clicked on a Destination that said "Panama Canal Cruises" I too might assume it was a partial transit. Only closer inspection proved it was not.

[Turtles06]

15 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

I don't know experienced the OP is with cruising, but if I clicked on a Destination that said "Panama Canal Cruises" I too might assume it was a partial transit. Only closer inspection proved it was not.

 

The OP specifically said he's done TWO full transits of the Panama Canal (probably two more than many folks have), so I'd say he's pretty experienced in terms of the Canal.  And then he went on to say some very specific things, which are nowhere to be found on NCL's web site: 

 

"Partial Panama Canal: Enter 1st set of locks, then go back and leave through same set of locks. (Done full Panama transit twice but never done partial)

- Partial Panama allows stop at Colon, Panama port which i've never been to"

 

I agree with you that it's not optimum for NCL to list this cruise under "Panama Canal Cruises,"  although I would hope folks take a look at the actual itinerary of a cruise before they book it.  

 

In any event, I think it should be clear to the OP now that this cruise is not a partial transit, in case that was important to his decision. 

[fstuff1]

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Okay, I see that.  But nothing in the actual description of the cruise says it's going through any locks, which is what the OP stated.  In fact, he went so far as to call it a partial transit.  I was merely pointing out that this is not the case and wondering where he got that information.   NCL's web site shows shorex one can do from Colón to see the locks and the Canal. 

interesting.

 

thought whenever a ship docks at colon, panama it's a partial transit.

she goes in and goes back out the same way.

and while in colon, you can see the ship do the transit?

 

also, it's listed under ncl's "Panama Canal Cruises"

Edited June 30, 2022 by fstuff1

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

interesting. thought whenever a ship docks at colon, panama it's a partial transit. she goes in and goes back out the same way. and while in colon, you can see the ship do the transit?

 

I don't know if there is an official definition of "partial transit",  but every time I've done one, we've gone through at least one set of locks.

 

On a Pacific partial transit we passed through the Miraflores Locks and Pedro Miguel Locks then overnighted in Gatun Lake and went back the way we came.

 

On an Atlantic partial we went through the Gatun Locks, turned around in Gatun Lake and went back through the Gatun Locks to Colon for a just a few hours.

[Turtles06]

7 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

thought whenever a ship docks at colon, panama it's a partial transit.

she goes in and goes back out the same way.

and while in colon, you can see the ship do the transit?

 

Unfortunately, that's just not correct. Colón can be, as it is in this case, a full day port call, with no transit by the ship involved.  You may have been thinking of the fact that when a ship actually does a partial transit from the Atlantic side, she will go through the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake, then allow guests who want to  take ship-sponsored shorex to tender ashore in the Lake.  While those tours are going on, the ship will turn around, go through the Gatun Locks again (the guests not ashore remain on board for this), then dock in Colón for a few hours in the afternoon while it waits for the guests who disembarked to return. 

 

7 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

also, it's listed under ncl's "Panama Canal Cruises"

 

Yes, as discussed in the comments above, that's at best confusing by NCL.  But the actual itinerary  makes it clear that there is no transit of the Canal involved.  (Indeed, it specifically shows the ship docked in Colón the entire day, 7am-8pm.)

 

If you look at the Pearl's RT 11-day cruise from Miami starting on Nov. 18 (as well as on Dec. 10), it's a partial transit, and the itinerary shows for Day 6 "Panama Canal/Gatun Lake," 5am-3pm (tender port) and, on the same Day 6, "Colón, 5pm-8pm."  

Edited June 30, 2022 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

5 hours ago, scottca075 said:

I don't know if there is an official definition of "partial transit",  but every time I've done one, we've gone through at least one set of locks.

 

Which is exactly what made them "partial transits;" you have defined them correctly.  🙂   The ship enters the Canal and then goes through at least one set of locks, turns around, and goes back out through the same set of locks.  A full transit of course takes the ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa) through the entire Canal.

[fstuff1]

On 6/30/2022 at 5:48 AM, Turtles06 said:

  You may have been thinking of the fact that when a ship actually does a partial transit from the Atlantic side, she will go through the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake, then allow guests who want to  take ship-sponsored shorex to tender ashore in the Lake. 

While those tours are going on, the ship will turn around, go through the Gatun Locks again (the guests not ashore remain on board for this), then dock in Colón for a few hours in the afternoon while it waits for the guests who disembarked to return. 

 

yes.

thought i could watch the ship go through the locks from shoreside instead of the ship. (already been through 2 full transits).

ie: a different view

 

how safe is colon,panama for 3rd party shore excursions from locals at the pier?

 

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

how safe is colon,panama for 3rd party shore excursions from locals at the pier?

You should ask this in the Panama Canal forum. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

how safe is colon,panama for 3rd party shore excursions from locals at the pier?

 

As safe as any 3rd party shore excursion anyplace else in Central America.