Anyone done the Panama Itineary on Carnival???

[sunlover5]

We are booked for the Carnival Miracle March 08. Going to Panama, Costa Rica and Belize. We were just curious as to your thoughts of not going through partially on your ship?? We will defiinitely do the ferry excursion, but friends tell us we should consider RC or another line that the ship actually goes through the canal. We priced it and on Carnival we have an aft for 1149.00 pp and the best we can do on RC Brillance is 1983.00 for a balcony. It is a difference of 8 night versuses 11 night on the Brillance so have to consider that. When you break it down doesn't seem like much just a difference of 72.00 a day for the both of us!!

Just curious to any thoughts out there and if you like the itineary and excursions you did.

Have read many positive things about the Miracle so ship is not an issue.

Thank you very much!

[sme]

I am hoping this a great itinerary since we are going in December 07!!! My one comment to you - watch the price of your cabin. We have an aft balcony (extended) and only paid $849. I think is an 8G (room 7300 on the Miracle.)

[runcassrun_07]

We are going in Oct. on the Miracle and would like to know more about the intenerary too. I just asked yesterday and have'nt got any comments yet:o, so hope you will. We were on the Miracle last October and you'll love it. The size was great, not to small or large and was one of my favorite Carnival cruises. I have'nt booked ours yet but will keep the price that was mentioned for their cruise until I book and Thanks:) .

Cassandra

[yst347]

We did this itinerary on Legend two years ago. I was a little dubious myself but the cruise was organized by my in laws so of course we went. It turned out to be one of our favorite cruises so far.

 

Not going through the canal didn't diminish our appreciation and enjoyment. While going through on a boat or ship would be interesting, visiting the locks and watching the Panamax ships going through is not to be missed. We hired a driver for the day and he took us on a very nice tour. First we went to the Gatun locks. We stayed for over an hour. They have a small museum and the reviewing stand. Next we went to Portobelo, then a tour of Colon. There are many different tours available though including the ferry or the train. You should be able to find just the right experience for you.

 

You can view our pictures from this cruise here.

[bkozer1]

We did this itinerary on Legend two years ago. I was a little dubious myself but the cruise was organized by my in laws so of course we went. It turned out to be one of our favorite cruises so far.

 

Not going through the canal didn't diminish our appreciation and enjoyment. While going through on a boat or ship would be interesting, visiting the locks and watching the Panamax ships going through is not to be missed. We hired a driver for the day and he took us on a very nice tour. First we went to the Gatun locks. We stayed for over an hour. They have a small museum and the reviewing stand. Next we went to Portobelo, then a tour of Colon. There are many different tours available though including the ferry or the train. You should be able to find just the right experience for you.

 

You can view our pictures from this cruise here.

 

How much was it to hire the driver for the day and how did you like portobelo??

[yst347]

We paid $150 for five of us. The driver had a recent model van with excellent air conditioning. We inspected the vehicle before we made an agreement. The driver was terrific and really made our day in Panama. A native Panamanian, he lived in Kansas City for several years so he was fluent in English. Our tour lasted about 5 hours so we tipped him $50.

 

Portobelo was a very nice trip. The drive takes about 45 minutes but once you are out of Colon the countryside is beautiful. There are two old Spanish forts in Portobelo that you can tour on your won. They also have a nice museum and an interesting cathedral. It was definitely worth the trip for us but if you are looking to do the canal by boat or the train excursion you will not have time to add Portobelo.

[sunlover5]

sme, that is the exact cabin we have, 7300!! Our price has gone down since we booked, and we got the lower price, but we are going in March and it seems prices are always higher then, so so far happy with the cost!! I will keep watching though for price drops.

Please keep the suggestions coming and thanks for your replies!!!

[Cruiser from MS]

We did this cruise in January on the Liberty. It was wonderful.... Before we left I wished our ship was going through the canal but after we got on the ferry I realized you would not have the advantage of a tour guide telling the history and point out the points of interest. Since this was our first visit to Panama I really enjoyed the tour guide refreshing our memory of the history of the canal. The only problem we had was the guide on our bus did not tell us were to go and did not wait for the people to finish with a bathroom break before going to the ferry. All of us who had to have a bathroom break got on the wrong ferry, but it's so worth it, just be prepared for it to be hot. :)

[Caliber1]

We did this itin. in Jan. this year. We missed Belize because our cruise was cut short a day because of a medical evac on the previous cruise. Loved panama and Costa Rica though. We did the 2 oceans by rail and had a great time. CR we did a pravate tour with okeydokey tours. Both places were very interesting. Got some Costa Rican coffee that was very good. Enjoy your cruise and tell us all about it when you return.

[sunlover5]

Just curious did you get to the right ferry after you realized it was the wrong one??? Just a few ? if you don't mind?? You take a bus to the canal, then get on the ferry to go back???

What did you do in Costa Rica??? Thanks cruiser from MS!!!

[dental217]

We did this same itinerary on the Legend last January and did the ferry trip through the canal. We all felt that it gave us a great overview of the canal and it's workings. I don't think we missed much by not going all the way through.

Enjoyed the other ports too but the canal was our primary reason for booking this itinerary.

Enjoy, enjoy!!!

[Cruiser from MS]

Sunlover5, yes we finally did get on the right ferry just in time for it to leave. When we arrived in Panama we got on a bus to Balboa that is where we got on our ferry that took us through the Miraflores Locks. The tour ended in Gamboa where we got back on a bus headed back to the ship. The only down to this is that it does not leave any time for shopping (I love to shop). That being said the ship does however, have a lot of crafts from Panama in the shop to sell when you leave the port. I wish I had known that because we ran through the terminal got a couple of t-shirts and a basket. Panama was the highlight of our cruise.

 

When we were in Costa Rica we did the Caribbean Train, Boat & Bus Experience. It was a big disappointment. I think that is the real reason I did not like Costa Rica. We did not see anything I could not see in Mississippi.... except for the Palm trees. Everyone, on the train seemed to be disappointed also. :)

[burrma]

We did this same itinerary on the Legend last January and did the ferry trip through the canal. We all felt that it gave us a great overview of the canal and it's workings. I don't think we missed much by not going all the way through.

Enjoyed the other ports too but the canal was our primary reason for booking this itinerary.

Enjoy, enjoy!!!

 

Can I ask you a question? if you had it to do over again and wanted to see the Panama canal; would you take Miracle that only goes to Colon and Puerto Limo; 8 days for $659. or Coral Princess which is 10 days for $1399.and does a partial transit of the canal? A heck of a difference in price! Don't want to regret it by just taking the Carnival Miracle

[PINEVIEW01]

I got the best of both. We took the Paradise thru the canal to on a repo. The price was great!!!. It was 15 days for $999 IS for DD and a little more for me in a OV. It was wounderful. I am always keeping an eye out for these deals as this is the way to go.

[PaulMedik]

Can I ask you a question? if you had it to do over again and wanted to see the Panama canal; would you take Miracle that only goes to Colon and Puerto Limo; 8 days for $659. or Coral Princess which is 10 days for $1399.and does a partial transit of the canal? A heck of a difference in price! Don't want to regret it by just taking the Carnival Miracle

 

 

burrma,

 

We cruised to Panama last April on Carnival Liberty and did the Two Oceans by Railroad excursion through Carnival and it was worth every penny. If I had it to do over, I'd still choose based on factors other than actually transiting through the canal, because I feel we saw more on the train tour than we would have sailing through.

 

Normally I'd say take ten days over eight, but you could do back to back eight day cruises on Miracle for a total of 16 days and have enough left to pay for the Two Oceans by Railroad excursion instead of paying a premium for a parital transit. I can't imagine regretting that! :)

[Randy & Kathy]

Last Nov. my DW and I took the 8 day cruise to Central America, it was on the Carnival Legend at that time. We had never booked private tours before but decided to on this cruise. The ones that we chose were myfriendMario in Panama, Okeydokey Tours in Costa Rica and Coral Breeze Shark/Ray Alley in Belize. All of them were just great and we would not have done differently if given the chance to go with someone else.

In Panama we felt that the land based tour was very good as it was narrated by our tour guides but in addition there was a Panama Canal official that provided much information from a loud speaker while we were at the canal. There were about 3 ships that were moving through the canal while we were there so we had many photo ops. from viewing platforms as well.

This has to rank right up there as one of the best cruise vacations that we have ever taken. You can look at a sample of pictures that we took in the smugmug link below our signature. We decided to get a bit adventurous on this cruise (while we still could) and we loved every minute of it. These tour options would not appeal to everyone but all of the folks that went with us stated that they enjoyed the experience as much as we did.

Randy

[stlrboo]

Remember, the Ferry Excursion thru the 'locks' is $175.00 pp, when booking through Carnival! Figure that extra cost when figuring a 'to' Colon sailing, or one 'thru' the Canal!:)

 

We just returned from the Liberty sailing to Costa Maya, Limon and Colon. We did the Ferry Excursion, and altho' it was extremely interesting, the bus ride back and forth and 'condition' of the Ferry should be considered as well! Next time, we will definitely 'do' the Ocean to Ocean Train!:p

 

Limon was a wonderful country! Hope to go back soon! :D Costa Maya remains our favorite!