Review-Paradise 9/06-Panama Canal-Part 1

[carol459]

This is our review (by Rick)of the last non-smoking cruise of the Paradise. She is making 3 and 4 day cruises out of Long Beach, CA.

Below is a link to photos from the trip.

http://community.webshots.com/user/carol459459

Comment-This was a non-smoking cruise out of the ordinary. We began with problems from Hurricane Frances and we ended with problems from Hurricane Javier. In between, we went to three ports we had never been and traveled through typical tropical weather while spending time lounging on a Lido deck that, for the most part, was uncrowded because 500-600 passengers did not cruise with us because of travel difficulties with Hurricane Frances.

Arrival-We lucked out. We had booked our travel from California to Miami with Carnival and I will commend them for their efforts to get us there for the cruise. We flew out of LAX on Sunday night (9/05) at 11:15pm and arrived, via Chicago, at Miami at about 10:15am Monday morning. We found a Carnival rep (there were two) at the Luggage claim area and we were told we would be transported by bus about 12:30pm. We were told to join a group of people in the same situation. I walked upstairs to get bite to eat and, wow, the busses arrived early. At 11:30 am, Carol was coming to look for me and we were able to get on the first group of busses to go to the cruise terminal. We were astounded!! Something Carnival did actually came off early!!

At the cruise port was a magnificent sight. There were 3 RCCL ships and 4 Carnival ships docked in a row. There was a news 'copter flying along the row of ships taking a video. We went right to the luggage dropoff and told the porter how many pieces of luggage we had and went to check-in. That went quickly and we were on board about 12:45pm. Ahhh. Peace at last. Almost.

Our keycards didn't work and it took an hour or so (while we ate lunch) to get that corrected.

On Board- After the lifeboat drill (at 10:00ish) we put rubber bands on our wrists and went to meet the Cruise Critics we had met on the Roll Call. There were about twenty there on Verandah deck and we met more as the cruise went on. Sarah, Derrick, and their 2-year-old Gracie, were our neighbors across the hall and Melody (Sarah's mom) was our next door neighbor. We were able to stay awake until departure at 10:30pm. It was fun watching the RCCL ships sail past us and then taking our turn.

At 11pm, we finally called it a day and hit the sack.

Because we lost a day and a half, we were not able to stop in Aruba, we had to keep our appointment to go through the Panama Canal on 9/10.

The sea days were great. I usually get up early and Carol sleeps in. I saw the sunrise a number of times on this cruise. I would take my book out on Lido deck aft and enjoy the warm temperatures and peace and quiet. Usually I was by myself for a while. Carol would order breakfast in the room and I would take in the buffet or dining room breakfast. I even saw people eating pizza (open 24 hours) at 5:30am.

Carol took in a lot of the activities in the Carnival Capers while I played bridge a couple of times a day. We got together for lunch and then sat and watched the Survivor games on Lido deck every day.

We had the early seating for dinner, starting at 5:45pm. We were very lucky to sit at a round table seating ten, with a fun group of people we would see the whole cruise. There was Ethel and Jim (Florida), Hoberleigh and Roy (California), Carol and Howard (California), and Marcia and Jerry (North Carolina). The whole cruise was a pleasure meeting these people.

Going through the Panama Canal was a new adventure and a real treat for us. We spent the whole day watching the ship traversing the Canal and Gatun Lake. At sunup, there were people on deck everywhere waiting with anticipation. We went through the Gatun locks (Atlantic side) into Gatun Lake. The area is a rain forest environment and, yes, there was light rain, and some lightning, all day. We saw numerous birds and a couple of crocodiles. The ship route winds through the Lake and there are numerous lighthouse beacons for direction. We went through the Gailard Cut, which looks just like a construction project. The ship exited through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks on the Pacific side and then it was time for dinner.

After another sea day, we came to Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Another new experience for us was in store. We had just started to look at shore trips for Costa Rica when Hurricane Frances problems brushed all other concerns aside. So we came into port not liking what was offered on the ship and wanting to do some kind of shore trip. Melody, Sarah, Ethel, Jim, Carol and I got off the ship and walked down the pier where we found a driver who was willing to drive Ethel, Jim, Carol and I to a crocodile-infested river excursion and Sarah and Melody to a canopy tour. We drove in a van on paved roads that were the worst paved roads we had ever seen. The potholes were incredible. The Costa Rican accepted procedure for avoiding the potholes was to swerve back and forth across the whole road to avoid them. Needless to say, this trip was a trip. It was a one-hour white-knuckler. We turned off the main road and went through a small village to the Rio Tarcoles and the Jungle Crocodile Safari. We had to wait for 10-15 minutes for the boat to come pick us up and then we set off downriver. The guide spotted numerous crocodiles and a variety of birds for us as we motored down to the mouth of the river. We took time for an adventure with a croc that the guide said weighed 1200 pounds. He did look big. We found him and then he started following the boat. An anchor was thrown into a shallow part of the river and the driver jumped into the water with a chicken (dead) in his hand and started slapping the chicken on the water surface. The croc came for the chicken (we think) and actually came out the water, ala Steve Irwin, for his treat. The driver then headed for the boat as the croc headed for the driver. The driver jumped into the boat in time. This all happened in a matter of seconds about 5 feet away from me and I got no good pictures as I was too busy gaping at this huge reptile right next to the boat. We upped anchor and went upstream for more sightseeing, more crocs and more birds and a mangrove swamp. We saw the ships tours in much bigger boats than ours. We were much more maneuverable and able to get closer to shore. The tour was great and we still had the trip back to the cruiseport to look forward to. The van picked us up and we picked up Sarah and Melody and headed back. We stopped at the crocodile bridge and let those who hadn't seen any see some crocs and take photos. When we first started out on the tour, I was in the back seat and couldn't see much. On the way back, I was in the front seat. What a mistake!! I could see everything the driver was doing to avoid the potholes and there was a lot more traffic on the road. I don't think my eyes were open for more than a third of the trip, but we actually made it in one piece.

We went to a little market to shop for coffee, softdrinks, and salsa, then had the driver let us off at a street fair at the foot of the pier. We then walked back to the ship and called it a day.

Next stop- Acapulco

sea day.

sea day

Acapulco-We came in to port at sunup and the day was typical tropical. Hot and humid. We had no plans for this port and just wanted to walk around. Not an easy proposition in this town. We got off the ship about 8am ( no lines) and walked toward the street. There were dozens of guys standing there, looking at us and licking their chops. We soon found out they were time-share salesmen masquerading as taxi drivers. They all wanted to take us somewhere for free. The somewhere was really not too clear. We said no as rapidly as possible as many times as possible and were able to outlast all but one of them who walked with us for two blocks. It took him that long to get the hint. We found an internet place where we got online for a few minutes to check email for $3/hour American. It cost us a dollar and the owner seemed disappointed we didn't surf longer. We went across the street to the town plaza as the local citizenry was setting up for a Mexican Independence Day celebration. Lots of activity, fun to watch, noisy. We walked down a side street to a jewelry store where we were invited in to shop so we went in to cool off. It turned out there was a group of shoppers from our ship on a tour inside and we were mistakenly included in that group. As a result, we got something cold to drink and were able to use their clean bathrooms. Whooee! We saw a silverware set for 12 that cost $44,800. We didn't buy it. I don't think anyone else did either.

Fully refreshed, we headed back to the street and found a Woolworth's where I bought some fresh popcorn and Carol took some photos. More walking along back streets until we came back to the main drag along the beach. We came to the Fort of San Diego (we are still in Acapulco, remember), which we knew had a museum. I went to the museum while Carol hung around outside. It was a great museum, air-conditioned, with a great displays about the Manila galleons which traveled between Acapulco and the Philippines, and displays about life in a fort. Along the top of the fort, you could see the whole city and the Paradise, which was right across the street.

After that, we went back to the ship to have lunch and take it easy for the rest of the day.

Next stop- Mazatlan

(See part 2)

[kajsb]

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading part one of your review of the cruise through the Panama Canal. I was watching the Paradise on line through the port cams as you were going though the Miraflores locks. How exciting! I captured some pictures as the ship was going through these locks. If you haven't see any pictures of this part of your trip, mine can be viewed here: http://community.webshots.com/album/186119413URZuqQ

[kajsb]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures!

[PINEVIEW01]

Thanks for writing the review Rick:)

[carol459]

Bump