How boring is the Panama Canal itinerary?

[mberli]

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.

 

All of these ports and the ships are as boring as YOU make them. There is always something interesting to do on the ship or in port. Do some more reasearch on the ports of call boards for what you need.

Mel

[threeofus]

We did the 11 day Princess partial transit on the Coral Princess..- One of the most exciting cruises to date - except for Hawaii - that was awesome as well.

 

Going through even one lock is an experience you won't soon forget.

 

We had a great time. I can't imagine why someone would be bored.

[Conanc]

We loved our recent 10 night Panama Canal cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. We thought that both the port days and the sea days were awesome!!!! Just do your research and decide if it is the right cruise for you.

Also....tell your doctor to stick to treating patients. :D :D (just kidding)

I'm curious...what ship/cruiseline was your doctor on?

[petesweet]

General question: I want to book a Panama Canal cruise and have wondered if the itinerary is exciting because you go through the locks? or because of the history? or what? I've been on a cruise through locks a couple of times, and they were a little boring because the ship (of course) just sits much of the time. But these were river cruises--once on the Danube and once on a Russian river cruise. Is the excitement because of things OTHER THAN THE ACTUAL LOCKS themselves? Of course, the history of the Canal is exciting, and I guess that's what is drawing me. (I've wanted to ask this question for a long time.)

[Sue L]

Petesweet, for us it was definitely going through the locks AND the great NEW ports for us like Curacao, Costa Rica, Panama itself.

 

Keep in mind for RCCL there is a 10 and 11 day versions and they go to different ports. We had been to all of the ports on the 10 and only 1 of the ports of the 11 day (Aruba) so the whole thing was new and exciting. My husband was like a little kid on xmas morning in those locks.

[katiel53]

We did the partial canal on Brilliance almost 3 years ago. I loved it, but my husband didn't like all the sea days. He loved Aruba and the Panama Canal. When we got to Costa Rica, we went on a tour and had a good time even though a lot of things were closed for Good Friday.

 

I would go again in a minute, but my husband isn't too excited about going again. That's one of the reasons we are going to Alaska again. He loves that.

[wrp96]

For me it was the combination of new ports (Aruba, Costa Rica) plus seeing the canal PLUS the fabulous ship.

[sea-cruise]

All of these ports and the ships are as boring as YOU make them. There is always something interesting to do on the ship or in port. Do some more reasearch on the ports of call boards for what you need.

Mel

This is so true. We've cruised the canal 5 times on different cruiselines (different ports) and it's what you make of it. It just happened to be on the itineraries so we went through multiple times, but it was pretty good. The first time is very interesting.

We saw many unique islands being we were on small ships that could get into their ports.

Regarding the ports you mentioned...

Columbia...There is a city tour which is really interesting that included visiting a monestary ontop of the mountain. Also, there are shops in the old city walls that use to serve as jail cells (near the ship).

Costa Rica...Rainforest, butterfly farm, zipline.

A, B, & C islands...Great snorkeling (especially Bonaire), great beaches in Aruba, nice little town Oranjeastaad (spelled wrong) near the ship, but pricey.

Labadee....beach day (Hideaway beach to the left has lots of rocks in the water...wear water shoes & bring a foam floaty-noodle if you want to).

[Son of a Cruiser]

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.

 

We are on the partial transit, but I believe there is an excursion that takes you through the rest of the canal and locks to Panama City, then by bus back to Cristobal Pier. Is this recommended? I have been considering this rather than staying on the ship and going back through the Gatun locks. Opinions??

[familycruises]

We went on a Panama Cruise (Brilliance). While we enjoyed the ports, we found ourselves to be a bit bored onboard the ship.

We are in our 30's and traveled with both set of parents and our children. On our Panama cruise, the majority of the people were MUCH older than us (more our parents age and older). Our children felt the same way. The children's activities were almost non-existant because there were so few onboard.

Our biggest issue was the entertainment. The comedian made so many jokes that we did not understand. They were impressions of people we have never heard of. We felt like we were in the Twilight Zone.

I am not saying we did not have a good time. We just were not prepared to be in the minority on the ship. Previous cruises had such a large age range.

I do not regret going on the cruise. We really enjoyed the ports and had fun catching up with our relatives. We do a lot more research now and try to choose cruises with less sea days.

[cyscopup]

We just did the complete transit of the Canal in October of 07, and I would say that it was the very best cruise we have taken. There was never really a dull moment. Now if we had only done a partial transit of the Canal I could see how it might not be as exciting.

[familycruises]

We enjoyed our tours:

In Aruba, we went on the Atlantis sub and we had a private tour that was arranged through Shoretrips.

In Panama, we stayed onboard while we went through the locks. That is a tour in itself. The Captain describes everything on the TV so it is very informative. Everyone was happy that we stayed onboard for it.

In Costa Rica, we took the Oscar Brown tour. It was the highlight of the cruise for my kids. They held Sloths and enjoyed the entire tour.

In Grand Cayman, we split up. The boys went on a private fishing charter with Captain Marvin's. The girls went on a private tour with Captain Marvins. We ALL had a great time and cannot recommend Captain Marvin's enough.

[LAKaye]

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.

 

Why do you have to convince DH? What are his apprehensions? Is he somehow very much the same sort of person (likes and dislikes) as your doctor, and he thinks this will be a "bad" choice?

 

Tell us a bit more~~

 

Leslie

[Oville]

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.....

 

We are on the partial transit, but I believe there is an excursion that takes you through the rest of the canal and locks to Panama City, then by bus back to Cristobal Pier. Is this recommended? I have been considering this rather than staying on the ship and going back through the Gatun locks. Opinions??

 

We were on the 11 day cruise in late January and it was our best cruise. Labadee is a beach day, Curacao we rented a car and drove up to the northwest part of the country, Aruba we did the Jolly Pirates snorkel, swim and swing excursion and it was excellent. For the canal we did the ferry which goes all the way to the Pacific and it was fabulous. Finally, we did a private tour at Cartagena and it too was great. The tour guy's name is Lee something and he owns Mr. Emerald, he should be easy to find online. On the 11 night cruise there were 5 sea days and 5 port days. They were well spaced and I had no complaints. (Like your husband, I perfer port days.)

 

I can't say enough about what a wonderful time we had. Hope this helps.

[judyf]

I loved zip-lining in Costa Rica and had a great tour with Mario in Colon.

 

I did post a review of those ports in the port section. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[wrp96]

We are on the partial transit, but I believe there is an excursion that takes you through the rest of the canal and locks to Panama City, then by bus back to Cristobal Pier. Is this recommended? I have been considering this rather than staying on the ship and going back through the Gatun locks. Opinions??

 

I did exactly that excursion. Some people will say it's not necessary because you will see one set of locks on the partial. The canal though is so much more than one set of locks. I thought it was absolutely worth the extra money to see the entire length of the canal.

 

If you look in my signature, I have a link to both my live posts and my photos from my Brilliance cruise. Most of the photos I took while Brilliance was in the Panama Canal and from the Ferry excursion.

 

Oh, and for those of you that are worried about age, yes, I was one of the youngest people onboard (I'm 30 now), but don't let age worry you. Those "older" people were partying and having as much fun as I was.

[J&G]

We would never do the in&back out again -surely the full transit has to be more interesting.

[Katink]

We did this same excursion, on Princess, in November. It's a long bus ride to and from the ship but absolutely worth it to go through the locks on a small ferry-type boat and see the locks close up and hang over the side and touch the canal walls. I don't have a picture but the way ships know which lane to go in is by watching a huge neon arrow that points them to the proper lane. Very low tech but it works. I know I'm not the first to recommend it, but read "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough before your trip. Knowing the history makes it an even more remarkable achievement. I bought the book and donated it to the ship's library.

 

Katink

[cruisenfever]

A Panama Canal Cruise.........boring?? :eek: We've done 5 full transits..........that's how boring we find it. It has got to be one of the most amazing experiences to see how the transition between one ocean to the other was accomplished. And the ports on a full transit offer so much in the way of fun, adventure and the chance to see different cultures.

 

The Panamanians have done a wonderful job in maintaining it since it was turned over to them in 2000.

[Son of a Cruiser]

I did exactly that excursion. Some people will say it's not necessary because you will see one set of locks on the partial. The canal though is so much more than one set of locks. I thought it was absolutely worth the extra money to see the entire length of the canal.

 

If you look in my signature, I have a link to both my live posts and my photos from my Brilliance cruise. Most of the photos I took while Brilliance was in the Panama Canal and from the Ferry excursion.

 

Oh, and for those of you that are worried about age, yes, I was one of the youngest people onboard (I'm 30 now), but don't let age worry you. Those "older" people were partying and having as much fun as I was.

 

Thanks for the info and the pics!!:D :D

[ehfl]

Cruises are not boring. Ports are not boring. Ships are not boring. Only people are boring.

[rubrrick]

I experienced my first partial Panama Canal cruise.....from the east thru the Gatun Locks....with a day in the lake. I had just met a new lady at the time......on the ship.........so the day passed very quickly for me!

That was 1995, on the Pacific Princes, and the locks were very interesting.

 

Our latest Panama Canal visit was in 2006, with a full transit from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale, on the Mercury. It is, out of our 55 cruises, one of the best itineraries that we have experienced.

 

Oh, by the way.........the first time I experienced the locks, was my first cruise!! Did someone get me hooked???:D

 

Rick

[hal1234gh]

I hope it's not boring at all!!! I leave on Friday for a Panama Canal cruise!!!

[wrp96]

I experienced my first partial Panama Canal cruise.....from the east thru the Gatun Locks....with a day in the lake. I had just met a new lady at the time......on the ship.........so the day passed very quickly for me!

That was 1995, on the Pacific Princes, and the locks were very interesting.

 

Our latest Panama Canal visit was in 2006, with a full transit from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale, on the Mercury. It is, out of our 55 cruises, one of the best itineraries that we have experienced.

 

Oh, by the way.........the first time I experienced the locks, was my first cruise!! Did someone get me hooked???:D

 

Rick

 

Rick, I think you got a good deal out of that one!;)

[rubrrick]

Rick, I think you got a good deal out of that one!;)

 

 

:D ;) :D

 

Wrona...........by the way.......that was the old Pacific Princess........ie......the Love Boat!!:D