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

[PH8]

cbatsea and Parrothead8 go back and look at post #63. There is a very nice facility far enough from the "hustle and bustle" of Colon. When you click on the link, enter Panama. The area where the hotel is located is nothing like Colon.

Thanks BB..does look nice,but not enough to entice me to leave from Colon........But to each his own.......I am not begrudging anyone that wants to go there...

[pay in your Med i care]

Hi - we went on an RCI Panama Canal Cruise a year ago - after touring the canal we had several hours in Colon. We went out of the "gated" area - hired a cab and had a "tour guide" get in the car with us - James Mason - really his name - and his charge was $10.00 per person. It was totally worthwhile - but not for folks who are not interested in being adventurous. Colon was not your typical port city - which is what we liked - Busy, congested - it wasn't "pretend" for tourists. We went to the local grocery store - clean and modern - to a local department store - he translated - I bought fabulous shoes for $3.50 a pair - yes American money - saw the hustling downtown - we simply had a whirlwind trip. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Right for everyone? No - but it was right for us. Think about it...

[lmmn]

We are booked on this cruise...looking forward to a new itinerary. Any other hotel suggestions?

[hcat]

Friends stay at a time share in panama --melia hotels--paradisus--mentioned above--they pay top dollar to get down there during school vacations--nothing like the amounts quoted above--

 

The photos I have of Colon from our PC cruise show one of the worst slums I have ever been through--good luck & be safe...

 

For us, we are waiting for Enchantment to return to the US! Loved it pre-stretch & had to cancel a JS on the strectched version due to med isue--now we have to wait for its return,,,,,hope it will come back in 2009-2010

[kc320]

We'll be on Enchantment again in Oct. 2009..looking forward to her return to FLL...

[2112]

I think it is funny that everyone is talking about not wanting to stay in Colon. Of coarse no one will stay in Colon. Most of the people who work in Colon live in Panama City and commute every day. It's only an hour or so, and Panama City is much nicer. You can also take the Panama Canal Railroad - you know the one that the cruise lines charge over $100 for and every one raves about - from Panama City to Colon and then take a cab to the ship. The railroad will only charge you a fraction of what the cruise lines charge for an excursion. Sure, this itinerary is not for everyone and some people are just afraid to fly into a foreign country, but I think it's great. And yes, I traveled to Panama for vacation once and loved it more than Costa Rica, Belize and Mexico - and it is much cheaper. You might also notice the prices for those Echantment cruises have been creeping up faster than most of RCCL's cruises, so they must be selling ok.

[runningdeer1]

There is nothing new about this cruise, we have had it booked for 12-07-08 since early spring. The airfare is/was approx $350 RT from Newark NJ, to Panama City, Colon only has a very small airport. The issue of how to get from PC to Colon is not yet worked out. The Train from PC to Colon does not run on weekends. I would guess RC will have some type of shuttle in place soon. Should be interesting

[BillB48]

Also, passenger service on the train also is only 1 roundtrip a day. In the AM, Panama to Colon and in the PM Colon to Panama.

[runningdeer1]

That is correct, it transports the commuters to and from PC. I was looking forward to the train ride from PC Sunday AM, and back to PC the following Sunday. Regardless, it should be an interesting trip.

[valancysnaith]

I liked this trip precisely because it did not include Barbados or any of the other "typical" cruise ports. My friend and I have a monstrously large number of cruises (okay 3) racked up between us and this was one trip where no one had any repetitions of ports.We are booked on this cruise on Feb 1, 2009 and currently investigating the to-ing and fro-ing that will be involved. I have a friend of a friend who is living in Panama who does not recommend overnighting in Colon on either side of the trip. Can BillB or anyone else direct me to the web page for the local train (if it is in english... pero no puedo hablar espanol!)

[Darkwolfe]

Very interesting! The railroad is a partnership with our own Kansas City Southern! That explains the paint jobs on the trains in a hurry.

 

http://www.panarail.com/

 

Cheap tickets indeed! I am going to have to look into this as I really enjoyed sailing on Enchantment last year.

[wsantelope]

I was a little disappointed to read this post I admit. I'm booked on the 4/19/09 Repositioning cruise on Enchantment from Colon to Ft. Lauderdale and honestly I'm SUPER excited about it regardless of 5 pages worth of mostly not so great opinions.

I'm SOOOO excited to see these ports and countries I've never been to (Not Colon per se but we are spending a day and 1/2 in Panama City and seeing the Canal) as well as having 3 sea days too! I can't think of a better cruise.

Maybe the ports aren't perfect but they will be something fresh for us....no offense but I have no desire right now to go to Cozumel for a 4th time .... until I've seen some other sights.

No, It's not cheap but yes, we are flying from Dallas to Panama with an overnight in Mexico City.

My tickets were $458 each total one way and I think that's a pretty good deal all things considered.

I've been lucky to live within driving distance to the port in Galveston and so it's my pleasure to pay a little more for the new experience.

I am nervous though now that I just found and read 5 pages of nay-saying .... that and having no confirmed passengers on our roll call.....that RCCL will cancel this ship and we have non-refundable plane tickets that we purchased so that we weren't paying through the nose for airfare....and without our cruise we have no reason to go that direction...besides that it would ruin our 10 year anniversary.

I hope that some of you who read this post and like this itinerary will book on and join us.....

I think we are going to have a fantastic time...in spite of the scenic port of Colon!