Enchantment - DEPARTING FROM: COLON, PANAMA in 2008, 2009 (MERGED)

[Schplinky]

Count me in as someone who would love to go to Bonaire and Curacao.

[negc]

We have no interest what so ever in these stops. Did Cartagena on the PC run this year and will do it again next year. Got off the ship this year just to say we did. Next year it will be a "stationary sea day" for us. No interest in doing it again. None of these ports are of interest to us.

 

I definitely vote for a 10/12 night caribbean cruise throughout the year from either south florida or san juan.

 

Guess we won't bump into you on the Enchantment.:D 10-12 night cruises are attractive to me, but most folks have a problem finding time for anything longer than a 7 day cruise. RCI probably concluded that filling a ship for longer cruises on a continuing basis is probably even more difficult than filling one for 6 & 8 night cruises out of Panama.:)

[vacation fool]

I've never been, so can't comment.:) I do understand that it is highly regarded by scuba and snorkeling enthusiasts (neither of which I am either) but it is the only one of the three ABC islands I have yet to visit, and there are fewer and fewer islands in the Caribbean that I can say that about. Guess it may say something about how little of the Caribbean is left that hasn't been covered by frequent cruises in the region. Do you have a suggested itinerary that would be an improvement?:confused:

 

As a matter of fact i am looking right now at this awesome itinerary on the Galaxy-Celebrity. Aruba,Curacao,Grenada,Barbados,St.Lucia,Dominica,St.Kitts,Tortola-all on the same 11 nighter out of San Juan. Now if RCI follow suit-that would be a great itinerary. But til they do, guess i am going to have to book with their "sister":D

[czcruiser13]

Colon doesn't have an airport. You have to fly into Panama City and the ride to Colon would be about 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on traffic. You land on the Pacific side and drive to the Atlantic side. :)

[negc]

As a matter of fact i am looking right now at this awesome itinerary on the Galaxy-Celebrity. Aruba,Curacao,Grenada,Barbados,St.Lucia,Dominica,St.Kitts,Tortola-all on the same 11 nighter out of San Juan. Now if RCI follow suit-that would be a great itinerary. But til they do, guess i am going to have to book with their "sister":D

 

That is indeed an attractive itinerary and very similar to the one we are doing on our 7 night cruise next February out of Santo Domingo on RCI's Legend of the Seas. Actually, though we have already been to 5 of the 8 ports you mention and will visit St. Kitts on the Legend in February, so it wouldn't offer us a lot that is new. Check out the Legend's itineraries and you might find that they are similarly awesome.:)

[maxs mom]

As a matter of fact i am looking right now at this awesome itinerary on the Galaxy-Celebrity. Aruba,Curacao,Grenada,Barbados,St.Lucia,Dominica,St.Kitts,Tortola-all on the same 11 nighter out of San Juan. Now if RCI follow suit-that would be a great itinerary. But til they do, guess i am going to have to book with their "sister":D

 

RCI has a similar itinerary now on the Empress. We did it in March of 05 and it was fabulous. Would love to do it again. Does anyone know if RCI has any plans to use another ship for this route when the Empress leaves? I sure hope so.

[GMoney]

Do you have a suggested itinerary that would be an improvement?:confused:

 

Yup - I mentioned on the other thread where we've been commenting on this subject that I'd really like a more Southern Caribbean itineraries, especially ones that leave from FLA or the Caribbean - like the one vacation fool listed.

 

I'm all for new ports. I guess where I struggle the most with the new itineraries is 1) the departure port and 2) I'd prefer a blend of good, established ports with the new ones. Throw in Barbados on these itineraries and I'd be a lot more likely to consider them.

 

But bottom line, RCI makes the itineraries; it's my decision to sail or not.

[isujim]

Colon doesn't have an airport. You have to fly into Panama City and the ride to Colon would be about 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on traffic. You land on the Pacific side and drive to the Atlantic side. :)

 

Really?? I didn't know that................that certainly puts a twist on this itinerary.:rolleyes:

[cruisin from florida]

But no, I won't be flying to Panama to go to those ports on the Enchantment.

 

Sigh

[Cruising89143]

If you recall during the Liberty of the Seas pre inaugural Adam Goldstein stressed a big part of the future of Royal Caribbean international was overseas. He stated it was now truly an international cruise line. Enchantment moving to Panama is just another example of that fact. With the continued devaluation of the US Dollar I would expect more of the same in the near future. I think the potential future of the cruise industry in Asia is limitless.

 

Tony I do remember Adam stating this at the Common Ground meeting. I have no problem with them moving more ships around but I just don't think that a lot of folks are going to want to fly down to Colon to catch a ship. I may be wrong. Won't be the first time!:)

[PH8]

Some of the ports I would love to go to,but there is no way,I want to leave outta Colon..........went there as a port stop back in 2001......it wasnt a very pretty area at all.................we were told not to leave the gated port area unless we were on an escorted tour.........soldiers with machine guns were patrolling outside the gate..........the town itself was very poor and rundown...homes in the area were barely more than a lean to..........I know thats the way of the world in other countries,but I myself cant see flying in the day before to stay there.......in fact,I bet people will stay in Panama City(they were building that area up then) and get a transfer over to the port.

 

Granted maybe Colon has been revitalized in the past 6 years,but from what I remember,NO THANKS....It was a scary place to me...

[DonnaK]

Yup - I mentioned on the other thread where we've been commenting on this subject that I'd really like a more Southern Caribbean itineraries, especially ones that leave from FLA or the Caribbean - like the one vacation fool listed.

 

I'm all for new ports. I guess where I struggle the most with the new itineraries is 1) the departure port and 2) I'd prefer a blend of good, established ports with the new ones. Throw in Barbados on these itineraries and I'd be a lot more likely to consider them.

 

But bottom line, RCI makes the itineraries; it's my decision to sail or not.

 

 

I agree with you! There are still a lot of Caribbean islands that RCI doesn't go to, or only goes to on a limited basis. I'd like to see these ports on itineraries that leave from Florida or San Juan. And I'd love the larger ships to go there even if it means tendering. We want to book Liberty/Freedom, but they do the same itineraries that we've been on so many times before...boring!

[skiiergirl]

I agree with you! There are still a lot of Caribbean islands that RCI doesn't go to, or only goes to on a limited basis. I'd like to see these ports on itineraries that leave from Florida or San Juan. And I'd love the larger ships to go there even if it means tendering. We want to book Liberty/Freedom, but they do the same itineraries that we've been on so many times before...boring!

 

Well said!!!!!

 

We love the southern route that SR does out of SJU but other than that....can't find an itinerary that we really like (other than Pan Canal repo).

[Host Kewlguy]

Tony I do remember Adam stating this at the Common Ground meeting. I have no problem with them moving more ships around but I just don't think that a lot of folks are going to want to fly down to Colon to catch a ship. I may be wrong. Won't be the first time!:)

 

Gordon, I agree and personally would not fly to Colon Panama either. As Sue stated $600.00 pp airfare is a bit pricey for us. We normally pay $100.00 pp to fly to South Florida. :)

[negc]

Gordon, I agree and personally would not fly to Colon Panama either. As Sue stated $600.00 pp airfare is a bit pricey for us. We normally pay $100.00 pp to fly to South Florida. :)

 

The cost of airfare will certainly be a factor as will the fact that you apparently have to fly into Panama City and bus to Colon.(Has anyone ever traveled between PC and Colon who can say whether it is a scenic or interesting trip?). - I haven't checked their website to see what they offer in the way of pre-cruise stays or transfers from airport to ship. - I certainly would be interested to know RCI's thinking when they arrived at their decision to base a ship in Colon. Given the cost and the accessibility issues, it couldn't have been a no-brainer. Perhaps they are attempting to attract Central and South America passengers rather than US travelers to this ship and itinerary, but some veterans may be willing to pay the higher air costs and the overland trip to Colon. If they have overestimated the appeal of this itinerary and encounter customer resistance to this product, I expect they will make changes pretty quickly.:)

[Host Kewlguy]

The cost of airfare will certainly be a factor as will the fact that you apparently have to fly into Panama City and bus to Colon.(Has anyone ever traveled between PC and Colon who can say whether it is a scenic or interesting trip?). - I haven't checked their website to see what they offer in the way of pre-cruise stays or transfers from airport to ship. - I certainly would be interested to know RCI's thinking when they arrived at their decision to base a ship in Colon. Given the cost and the accessibility issues, it couldn't have been a no-brainer. Perhaps they are attempting to attract Central and South America passengers rather than US travelers to this ship and itinerary, but some veterans may be willing to pay the higher air costs and the overland trip to Colon. If they have overestimated the appeal of this itinerary and encounter customer resistance to this product, I expect they will make changes pretty quickly.:)

 

Hi Bill. Just out of curiosity I just did a quick check for air from Newark to Panama City for this September. I found direct flights on Continental for $527.00 pp round trip. That price includes the tax/fees. For whatever that's worth. :)

[EGG]

I would not consider flying into Colon, Panama.

 

 

To all of you taking this cruise - enjoy!

[mohavemommy]

Hi Bill. Just out of curiosity I just did a quick check for air from Newark to Panama City for this September. I found direct flights on Continental for $527.00 pp round trip. That price includes the tax/fees. For whatever that's worth. :)

 

Price from Las Vegas is $578/pp for this September. :(

[Host Kewlguy]

Price from Las Vegas is $578/pp for this September. :(

 

I'm thinking it's an expensive flight from anywhere in the Continental U.S.

[Mines]

I dn't think there are enough South Amercians to make this departure port worth while. The only sizable countries with richer cruisers are Brazil and Argentina. There are no flights from Brazil to Panama and Argentina is a very long way. This is not an economic or easy departure port for South Americans.

 

Maybe the idea is charter flights from Spain or the UK to give Europeans a winter holiday.

[JaimeJ]

Colon might be a lovely place, but, it just doesn't sound very.. well... attractive. Call me sophomoric, but, the thought of visiting a place called Colon really cracks me up. Hah! Colon.. :rolleyes:

 

Colon!

[ronandannette]

Am I the only one a little underwhelmed by these itineraries?

 

I'm curious about how RCCL chose these destinations. My DH returned from a trip to Peru this spring and it is well known by travellers to that region that between civil unrest and the drug trade, Colombia is very volitile and unsafe. The Canadian government frequently issues travel advisories about it. I understand that frequent cruisers are requesting new and "edgier" destinations, but I for one won't be taking a walking tour of Cartengena anytime soon:rolleyes: ...

[FishOn55]

Hi Skiiergirl! Roger and I sailed with you on Serenade Nov. 2006. It's good to see your name on the boards. I see you're still sailing on Serenade! We're booked on a Panama Canal cruise on Brilliance in January 2008. Can't wait.

 

I have personally made the transfer between Colon and the Panama City airport after finishing a Costa Rica/Panama cruise on small ship CruiseWest last March. There is definitely nothing to see/do in Colon. It simply is the starting/ending point for cruise ship passengers. I don't remember exactly how long the bus ride took to reach the Panama City airport but I don't believe it was as long as 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I defiitely would have remembered that!

 

Kathy

[negc]

Hi Bill. Just out of curiosity I just did a quick check for air from Newark to Panama City for this September. I found direct flights on Continental for $527.00 pp round trip. That price includes the tax/fees. For whatever that's worth. :)

 

Thanks, Tony. We are paying less than $500 pp for American Airlines flights to Santo Domingo from Boston via Miami next February. Certainly more expensive than what we would expect to pay to fly to Florida or San Juan, but in this case the idea of revisiting Santo Domingo after all these years, and the interesting 7 night itinerary made it attractive to us. I wonder what RCI will charge for air to Panama and whether they are counting on increased availability of scheduled air or will be using charter air for their cruise packages. Also wonder what they will offer in the way of pre and post-cruise stays? If anyone has traveled between Panama City and Colon, I wonder if there are scenic views of the canal or the countryside that might make the long ride more appealing?

[PH8]

If anyone has traveled between Panama City and Colon, I wonder if there are scenic views of the canal or the countryside that might make the long ride more appealing?

Lots of old military bases and barracks and countryside..we took a train and bus from Colon to the Canal(via panama City--they wanted to show us how they were fixing up PC).......