How boring is the Panama Canal itinerary?

[Florida_cruisers]

I have heard from two people that the Panama Canal cruise can be a bit boring. How true is this?

I cruise for the ports, not necessarily the ships, and we have sailed on the ships that go on this itinerary (Radiance class). DH wants to go on a Freedom class or at least a Voyager class, but I want to see different ports than the usual Caribbean ports you see on the Eastern and Western Caribbean. So this is a good compromise.

Can anyone tell me about what is there to see or do in: Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Aruba, Curacao, and Labadee.

[Sue L]

Wow, I can't believe anyone who has actually gone on a Panama cruise could possibly call it boring. It was a phenomenal cruise.

 

Curacao we went to the underwater snorkel park, Aruba we kayaked,

Costa Rica we went White water rafting and our itinerary didn't go to Columbia. Labadee is a beach day. To me it was the perfect mix of port and sea days and we loved it. If you would like click on the link in my signature for Brilliance to see pictures. We did the 11 day version.

[danp]

We will be doing the full canal in April and I can wait.We did the in and oput about ten years ago on the Primier line in which we went in via the Gaton Locks and dropped anchor in the lake.We took a tour of the locks,I dont know if they still have that tour but it was great.

I cant wait till our trip in April,we leave San Juan and end up in San Fransico.

[Florida_cruisers]

I am a little confused because my doctor said it was boring and a friend told me it was their best cruise in the Caribbean... who to believe?

I think it would be a great cruise, but now I have to convince DH.

[Sue L]

I am a little confused because my doctor said it was boring and a friend told me it was their best cruise in the Caribbean... who to believe?

I think it would be a great cruise, but now I have to convince DH.

 

Just going through the canal is a thrill. I too was originally hesitant and then I started doing research and I couldn't wait. It really was amazing. Plus it was our first Radiance class ship and it is in my opinion the most beautiful class afloat.

[wrp96]

Definitely not boring. It was one of my most fun and exciting cruises. I have a link in my signature to my Live Posts from my Brilliance Panama Canal cruise if you are interested in seeing my thoughts as I went along. My review of the cruise is at the end.

[maxs mom]

Holy Cow!! I agree with Sue. I can't believe someone would say the PC itinerary is boring! We have cruised with RCI for 23 years and the PC cruise ranks right up there with the top three!

 

We are beach people so we find the best beaches in each port and there are some wonderful ones in these ports. I haven't been to Costa Rica, but I understand there is an awesome zip line there. You can't beat the itinerary!

[madforcruising]

I am a little confused because my doctor said it was boring and a friend told me it was their best cruise in the Caribbean... who to believe?

I think it would be a great cruise, but now I have to convince DH.

 

Hmmm maybe time to change the doctor:eek: :D :p Just kidding.;)

 

I agree with what has been said here, the Panama Canal is not boring. It´s great. I would count those into my best cruises. To me it would be definitely more exciting than the caribbean, that´s what is boring to me.

[Son of a Cruiser]

Got worried there for a minute!! Here I've been all excited about doing the Cananl next year on the Jewel and I see a thread about how boring it is:eek: !! Glad to hear no one except Florida_Cruiser's doctor thinks it's boring! Think I'll just keep my reservation;)!!

[mikefast]

I have to agree with the posters here. We took a partial transit, that is through the Gatun locks, then anchor in Gatun lake, and come back. I really can't see how anybody can say it was boring. We just didn't spend enough time in Panama, they had a tour from the ship to an island in Gatun Lake while we were anchored. Then we stopped in Colon, Panama for a couple of hours. Costa Rica is also a very pretty country. You will love it.

[cb at sea]

The Panama Canal is very interesting. However, there are not a ton of ports on this itinerary--perhaps that's what they were referring to. My hubby wanted more ports--we had 4 ports on a 10 day cruise. He wasn't happy with 6 sea days! (And in Costa Rica, everything was closed for Easter!!!)

So, if ports are your thing, make sure you have enough to keep you happy!

Otherwise, this is a lovely cruise!

[leoandhugh]

whomever told you that a Panama Canal transit is boring must have a basic problem somewhere. Your doctor? what does he consider exciting and stimulating. My advice - do your own research, use internet, read books on the Panama Canal and its building, and then make your own judgment. Your posting shows just how diverse opinions can be - and therefore reliable only as an opinion. We have done 6 Panama Canal transits and have just booked a 7th and I still find the whole thing interesting and stimulating - the Path between the Seas

[Jimbo]

Best cruise ever:) :) :) .........We still talk about it.

 

Here is a link to our review, Enjoy!!!

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=7522

 

Jimbo:)

[HorrorFan]

Heh, I'm with Richard (literally and figuratively). We are booked for the same cruise next spring, same time, same channel. Kinda makes your stomach do a flip flop when you see a post title like that, even though I can't imagine it being boring.

I DO have a question though. How much of the canal will we go through on that cruise? Thats the 10 day Panama Canal cruise. It doesn't really say much about it.

[BillOh]

The Panama Canal is very interesting. However, there are not a ton of ports on this itinerary--perhaps that's what they were referring to. My hubby wanted more ports--we had 4 ports on a 10 day cruise. He wasn't happy with 6 sea days! (And in Costa Rica, everything was closed for Easter!!!)

So, if ports are your thing, make sure you have enough to keep you happy!

Otherwise, this is a lovely cruise!

 

 

Maybe we need to widen the canal for Genesis Class ships, that way the Seadays might not be so bad. ;)

[Sue L]

Heh, I'm with Richard (literally and figuratively). We are booked for the same cruise next spring, same time, same channel. Kinda makes your stomach do a flip flop when you see a post title like that, even though I can't imagine it being boring.

I DO have a question though. How much of the canal will we go through on that cruise? Thats the 10 day Panama Canal cruise. It doesn't really say much about it.

 

 

The 10 day partial transit you go through the first SET locks which is 3 sections, you pull into Lake Gatun and and then those who choose to go on tours will be tendered off. Later in the afternoon the ship turns around and goes back through the same set of locks.

[wrp96]

How much of the canal will we go through on that cruise? Thats the 10 day Panama Canal cruise. It doesn't really say much about it.

 

You will go through one set of locks, the Gatun Locks, the ship will sit in Gatun Lake for awhile where passengers will tender off for shore excursions, and then the ship will go back out the Gatun Locks before docking at Cristobal Pier.

 

There is much more to the canal than the Gatun Locks. There are 2 more sets of locks. There is also the Culebra cut, and the navigation systems to see. And various other things.

[RVRCLC]

I thought the partial canal cruise was the pits. We just went into the lake, turned around and went back into the Caribbean. We knew what we were missing...

BECAUSE

We had, previously, done the full transit cruise and loved it. Our best day on a cruise ship outside of Alaska. I think the very best, most interesting, part of the canal is on the "Pacific" side. This is beyond the "turn around." The full transit is much more interesting if you have read the book "The Path Between the Seas; the Building of the Panama Canal" by David McCullough. We are going, again, in April. It is a full transit, from Florida to California, we can hardly wait!! We already know how wonderful this cruise will be....

[cruiseman_tx]

Florida_cruisers...Our Panama Canal cruise on the Brilliance is one of our all time favorites and most memorable. We found it to be a great mix of sea days and ports. Would love to do it again, or even better, a full transit.

You've been on this board a long time so I'm sure you know where to find info about the different ports, but I'll post the link to the 'ports board' anyway.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=5

[truffles2]

We didn't find it at all boring....in fact, we have done the complete transit twice.

[tomko2]

I was a bit nervous my DH might not like 5 sea days (we did the 10 night Panama on the Brilliance) so I kept checking with him right up to final payment. Well, it was a great cruise. We had lots to keep us busy on sea days including attending the guest lecture sessions, exploring the ship (final checked out the helipad), watching movies and enjoying a relaxing holiday. We stayed on the ship for the transit and loved every minute of it.

Generally, my DH prefers a port intensive itinerary but he truly enjoyed the cruise to the Panama (and he had done the full transit years ago).

So you will get different views of the same cruise but it boils down to how you spend your sea days.

Have a great cruise.

kathy:)

[Florida_cruisers]

ah ha, so the trick is to do the full round from the East to the West Coast or vice versa!!

Princess does have a great itinerary out of Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale, it is a 15 day cruise and it looks very appealing: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Aruba, etc...

I have never been on Princess but have only heard great things about it. It is a bit pricey though. Now I just have to come up with the money :eek: and convince DH.....

[FunCruiser56]

Our 11 day Panama Canal cruise was our best cruise ever! Partly because of the relaxing days at sea, but then many of the ports we had never been to before.

Aruba we took a island tour- this is a friendly beautiful island with so many interesting things to see, we would love to return.

 

Curaco we just wandered around on our own, wish we would have taken a tour.

 

Costa Rica- a Beautiful, lush country. Unfortunatly it poured rain the whole day. We had a private tour booked for the whole day and took it anyway. We are so glad we did, saw alot of the area, visited a banana plantation, got some awesome Costa Rican Coffee, did a zip line (many of them). We would love to go back and hope for sunny weather!

 

The canal was so intresting going through the locks, we were up before dawn, it was like being in the jungle with the animals/birds/monkeys making so much racket. There was a ship in the next lock to us so we could watch it going in also. We were a little disapointed that the ship simply sat in the lake after the locks, but we did enjoy watching all the huge container ships going back through. A little shopping at the pier after for some handmade items. We bought a few pieces of hand carved art from the indians that live nearby and are reminded of our trip each time we see them.

 

We would take this same cruise again, but hope to do the whole transit sometime.

 

We were on the Brilliance of the Seas, a beautiful ship, great crew. We had a blast on and off the ship.

 

We were never bored, even for a minute!

 

Bev

[glgolfer]

We've done the full transit 3 times and saw something different every time. We would not hesitate to do it again.

We've played golf on Aruba, been to Curacao 3 times and did something different each time, Costa Rica to San Jose and Sarci for the shopping.

Definitely get a balcony as you can rotate from the deck to your balcony. Get room service breakfast and/or lunch on your balcony so you don't miss anything.

Depanding on the ship and where your balcony is, you could reach out and touch the walls of the locks.

If it's a quiet day, you can hear the birds and monkies in the jungle.

You'll be able to see the new construction.

Watch them throw the ropes from the rowboats.

 

Learn the history of the Canal before you go.

 

Boring it's not.

[mclaire]

our most favorite cruise to date. and we had a corner aft balcony which made it even better! it was all so interesting. they play and re-play the history of the canal while you are cruising. i believe they are going to be building a second set of locks to accommodate larger ships (years away) don't hesitate. we are hoping to go again next year.