Costa Rica to Panama Canal Quepos & Puerto Jimenez port question

[cruizinfools]

We are embarking on Windstar Star 12/7/2024 Puerto Caldera to Colon. First time on Windstar! All ports of call on our itinerary indicate that we will be anchoring. Thus I am assuming we will be tendered to shore. I am looking at independent shore excursions. Can anybody tell me where we will be deposited for these two ports - Quepos and Puerto Jimenez/Golfo Dulce? Trying to figure out what to tell a guide in order to meet up with them. I reached out to one supplier for Quepos and they responded that they normally pick up cruise passengers at Marina Pez Vela. Sound right?

 

TIA!

Marilyn

[r&rd]

Yes, tenders go to the Marina which is outside of  Quepos. Puerto Jimenez is a bit harder to describe. It is a wet water landing and they will drop you off by a bar. The tour guides should know where to pick you up as there are not many options! Up from the beach there is a small airstrip and a small town.

[salmn]

We were there in March of this year. These are very small villages and the guides will know where the cruise ships tender to!

[salmn]

One more thing, if you are interested in wildlife, the ship’s excursion at Puerto Jimenez/Golfo Dulce to La Perica sloth garden was one of the better tours we took.

lots of sloths, toucans, etc. Very nice family run farm. The meal they served was really nice/authentic. Don’t know if it is available by private guide as we went on the ship’s excursion, but would highly recommend.

[cruizinfools]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:00 PM, r&rd said:

Yes, tenders go to the Marina which is outside of  Quepos. Puerto Jimenez is a bit harder to describe. It is a wet water landing and they will drop you off by a bar. The tour guides should know where to pick you up as there are not many options! Up from the beach there is a small airstrip and a small town.

 

On 8/10/2024 at 7:36 AM, salmn said:

We were there in March of this year. These are very small villages and the guides will know where the cruise ships tender to!

 

Thank you both so much! Interesting, on our itinerary only Isla Parida is listed as a wet landing, which I expected. Windstar has several excursions available but think we will just hang out that day - should be the BBQ day? 

 

What about Fuerte Amador? We are anchored there as well per the itinerary (day before transiting the canal). Know that is the Pacific side of the canal and the port has been under construction. Do you think it could be difficult to meet up with a tour guide there?

[cruizinfools]

On 8/10/2024 at 7:46 AM, salmn said:

One more thing, if you are interested in wildlife, the ship’s excursion at Puerto Jimenez/Golfo Dulce to La Perica sloth garden was one of the better tours we took.

lots of sloths, toucans, etc. Very nice family run farm. The meal they served was really nice/authentic. Don’t know if it is available by private guide as we went on the ship’s excursion, but would highly recommend.

It is still being offered by Windstar and it definitely sounds good (empanadas! Yum!). We have a couple of similar tours in San Jose and Quepos, so pretty sure we are going to book Windstar's Dolphin Watch and Enchanted Beach excursion instead at Puerto Jimenez. Additionally, we are hoping to go to the Gamboa Aerial Tram and Sloth sanctuary from the Fuerte Amador port stop. At any rate, appreciate the info and recommendation!

[r&rd]

Fuerte Amador is a marina. If you are anchored, the tender will take you to a pier that is easily identified by the tour guides. The port itself - it’s been under construction for years - is in a different place. We have only been to it when the ship is embarking/disembarking and then you are bused to the “ shopping mall” next to the tender pier. All busses for tours leave from the shopping mall and many guides if they don’t meet you at the security gate for the tenders will meet you at the entrance to the “mall” (it only has a few shops).

[salmn]

FYI, we weren’t impressed with the beaches on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and Panama. Nothing like the Caribbean and you do get a beach day at the beach bbq, so wouldn’t pay extra for a beach excursion IMHO

[cruizinfools]

3 hours ago, salmn said:

FYI, we weren’t impressed with the beaches on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and Panama. Nothing like the Caribbean and you do get a beach day at the beach bbq, so wouldn’t pay extra for a beach excursion IMHO

Appreciate your point of view. The biggest draw for us on the tour I mentioned is the dolphin watch portion of the tour - aboard a boat cruising around the bay where large groups of dolphins supposedly swim and a trained naturalist is onboard providing commentary. The beach is secondary.

[cruizinfools]

One more question. Sorry, as I delve deeper into my planning, more questions pop up. What has been your experience with tendering? How quickly after port arrival does it start? Do passengers with Windstar excursions or status get priority? If port arrival is scheduled for 7 am, can I make a 7:30 am excursion pickup time? Thank you again for your time in answering my questions. 

[r&rd]

If the ship is scheduled to anchor at 7 it will take a while to get the tenders in the water. First boat is usually crew - set up, security, water, Windstar excursions may have priority but that is not usually a problem. But I do think a 7:30 pickup time may be a bit earlier - 8 am would be safer.

[Misty Morning]

11 hours ago, cruizinfools said:

One more question. Sorry, as I delve deeper into my planning, more questions pop up. What has been your experience with tendering? How quickly after port arrival does it start? Do passengers with Windstar excursions or status get priority? If port arrival is scheduled for 7 am, can I make a 7:30 am excursion pickup time? Thank you again for your time in answering my questions. 

Yes Windstar excursions get priority tendering, and given Costa Rica is more excursions centric than say the Caribbean, coupled with the fact you can fit 40 maybe 50 on each tender (on a 300 pax boat),  we have sometimes seen the first hour (and maybe more) of tendering used up by Windstar excursions guests.  They typically have 2 tenders out and on busy days where the tender ride is long, they may start with 3 and reduce to 2 after rush).There were some frustrated guests (not us as we were aware of this), so beware and plan accordingly.

[texasstar]

I am on the cruise the following week so am interested in any private excursions that you find interesting.  Since the boat only has 148 passengers, it shouldn't take as long to tender.  I don't remember if the tenders are smaller on the sail ships, but they could be.

 

[cruizinfools]

On 8/12/2024 at 5:49 PM, texasstar said:

I am on the cruise the following week so am interested in any private excursions that you find interesting.  Since the boat only has 148 passengers, it shouldn't take as long to tender.  I don't remember if the tenders are smaller on the sail ships, but they could be.

 

Quepos: Booked a private tour of Manuel Antonio Park with Costa Rica Jade Tours $95 pp, pickup at the marina at 8 am. FYI like the Windstar tour, it is non-refundable - the park tickets they purchase in advance are not refundable. 

 

Fuerte Amador, Panama City: Booked Gamboa Aerial Tram & Sloth Sanctuary small group tour (10 or less) with Monkey Adventures Panama $108 pp, pickup at the marina (~8:30 am - they assured me they would wait for us).  There are many companies that have a similar tour. 

 

I found both of the above providers via getyourguide.com, they are also on TripAdvisor. Ended up booking both through their company websites for a slightly better deal.

 

At the end of the cruise, we have booked private transportation from Colon to our airport hotel in Panama City with a tour of Panama City including the old town area and other places we wanted to visit. Victor Scott was recommended on another post in this forum. His company website is https://ptytourguide.rezgo.com. Although his rates are a bit pricey, he is very knowledgeable about the Colon port which I have read can be difficult for outside companies. His tour presentation is very nice and he is correspondence is timely.  One company that was also recommended for this service turned me down and said they don't do this anymore. Actually pretty sure that @r&rd has used them in the past for port transportation - sorry, can't remember the name right now. 

[texasstar]

Thank you very much.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise!