Please 'sell' us on Panama Canal 10 nt. cruise

[DaisyL]

We are 3 couples (50s to young 60 -not retired) considering the Feb 2010 Panama Canal FL-RT cruise. We usually choose our cruises based on itinerary and have previously been on NCL, CCL and X and have loved them all. We understand this particular cruise will have an older passenger age but two of our cruises had an average age of 65 yo. and we enjoyed them too.

 

I'll be honest and let you know we are also looking at the Princess cruise but are leaning towards HAL. I noticed that this cuise has a longer day in Aruba, Curacao port, and private Island visit and does not include Cartegna, Columbia... which all seem as pluses for us. But the main draw is the Canal.

 

As far a cabin selection we would book a Verandah, towards the lower end. Also, we enjoy attending the shows, don't gamble very much (if at all), take the ship's excursions, listen to some music or bands in the evenings, prefer traditional dinner 2nd seating, buffet or grill lunches, spa or gym services not important, and like to lounge around the upper decks (quiet areas) on sea days.

 

We figure, we want to travel and experience as much as we can while we're still working (of course with limited time) because we will not be able to once we're retired, on a fixed and limited income.

 

Please let us know what to expect from this cruise and whether we can enjoy it. ... Thanks,

[waiting2retire]

GO!!!!!!! You will love it !!!

 

I am in my early 50s and my very first cruise was a 10 day to the Panama canal on the Coral Princess four years ago. It was an amazing experience!

 

Since then, I have cruised several times on HAL, and I would choose HAL over Princess on this itinerary for a number of reasons. First, the HAL cabins are larger than Princess, particularly the bathroom which has a full tub with overhead shower ... much better than the tiny cubicle with the skin-sucking curtain that passes for a shower on Princess :mad:.

 

I think you will really enjoy a HAL cruise based on your comments. I personally like the older demographic because I am a quiet person and really enjoy the understated elegance of the HAL ships. There are tons of quiet spaces to enjoy reading or sipping a martini, and plenty of sun loungers around the pools and in out of the way quiet places as well. The Ocean Bar is popular with the before dinner crowd, with a small band and dance floor, and I love the Explorer's Lounge with string quartet for a nightcap!

 

HAL's private island, Half Moon Cay, is absolutely awesome... I wish it was on every HAL itinerary! And you couldn't pay me enough to get off the ship in Ocho Rios, which is on the Princess itinerary; waste of a port day for me :(.

 

Go with HAL and have a fabulous time!

 

Bonnie

[hammybee]

Not my place to convince you one way or another.

 

I assume you are comparing the Coral and Zuiderdam. Both are similar in age, size and amenities. Princess ships have a self serve laundry, if that sort of thing is important to you.

 

Both HAL and Princess offer open and fixed seating.

 

Age wise, you just never know. It's a function of time of year and I suspect the demographics will be similar on both cruises, in February.

 

It has become necessary for all cruise lines to deep discount cabins on most sailings to fill their ships. Assuming this trend continues, no doubt all the cruise lines will be balancing their operating costs with the deep discounts. I am not going to speculate the impact thirteen months forward.

 

If it were me, I would chose HAL because the intinerary includes a port call at Half Moon Cay, a private island that many, including me, consider a slice of heaven.

[GeezLouise1]

Please let us know what to expect from this cruise and whether we can enjoy it. ... Thanks,

 

We did this cruise last January(08) on the Volendam. I turned 55 enroute and my husband is in his very early 60's. We loved it. Absolutely loved it. HMC is terrific, a wonderful introduction to warm weather after a snoot full of winter in the north. We took a mini bus to a lovely beach in Aruba and took a local bus back. The colourful buildings are cheerful and the day was a blast. Curacao was very interesting, we wandered the town, sipped cold drinks near the canal and visited a fabulous African/Slavery museum. We aren't shoppers, but there were many shops of all descriptions within a short walk from the pier. The canal was amazing. We attended all the lecutures on board pre-canal and were fascinated. We left the ship in Gatun Lake and visited an Embera Indian village. Delightful people and a good chance to see the countryside. We stayed aboard in Costa Rica as we were only interested in one tour and it filled quickly. We met wonderful people ( many engineers!) and spent many an hour in a quiet corner of the ship reading. We were concerned about spending 10 days on a ship . It was so much fun, we've booked an 18 day journey in the spring. We will be travelling with another couple we met on board the Volendam! As I said, it was fabulous. We barely noticed that the ship was sailing under a code red. The crew and officers worked extra hard to ensure an amazing holiday for the passengers. And it was indeed. Go, there is something for everybody! We loved it.

:)

[savannahgirl1]

Hi,

 

I think you and your friends would enjoy this cruise very much. My husband and I took this cruise on the Volendam last March and enjoyed it more than we could believe. We are in our early 30's and we did manage to get 2nd seating with a table for 2. Very nice.

 

On Half Moon Cay we rented a private cabana and that was money well spent. I didn't leave it the entire day. Just relaxing in the lounger with a cool mist blowing on you looking at the sparkling waters of the Carribbean was enough for me. I didn't even go for lunch. The snacks provided with the cabana was fine. My husband did go and bring back some bar-b-que which he said was good. The water was a little to chilly for me but he did swim and use the snorkel equipment that came with the cabana. But as for me, just sitting and relaxing was plenty.

 

We enjoyed our stops in Aruba, Curacao, Panama and Costa Rica. We didn't do excursions in Aruba or Curacao just shopped. Lots of nice shopping to be had in these ports.

 

In Panama once we had passed thru the canal locks and anchored we disembarked and took the Canal transit crossing excursion. On this excursion you board a very nice tour bus and take a hour an half ride to the other set of locks. There you board a ferry which takes you thru the Pacific side locks and lets you off in Panama City. You re-board your bus and it takes you back to the ship. Another hour and half ride. The excursion is around 8 hours total and we wouldn't have missed it for nothing, wonderful experience.

 

In Costa Rica we took the Sarapiqui Jungle river cruise. We boarded a small tour bus and drove to the river, about an hour and half. We then boarded a small boat and rode down the river and saw many wonderful jungle animals. The cruise lasted about an hour. We then got off the boat and had an AMAZING lunch at a hacienda. Wow, the food was wonderful. We then had time to explore the grounds which were beautiful, many different flowers and animals including an exotic snake house and a frog house. We then re-boarded the boat for the cruise back up the river. Again very nice. We got back on the bus and headed back for the ship. Along the way the driver made stops and pointed out other exotic animals like sloths. The ride was very nice and you get to see a lot of lovely Costa Rica beauty. We really enjoyed this excursion. Oh and the tour guide could not have been better. He was really good.

 

The next 2 days were sea days. We spent relaxing, playing bingo, dance lessons, and just sitting on our veranda watching the world go by.

 

All in all in was a wonderful cruise with a couple of tiny hiccups but nothing to complain about. I would do it again in a heart beat. As a matter a fact we are thinking of taking it next April. I think the only thing we would do different is no excursions next time because we took the 2 we were most interested in already, so we would use that time to enjoy the ship more, relax more. Yup, I'm ready to pack up and head off anytime we can.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will try m best to answer it for you. In my opinion I think you and your friends would have a wonderful time.

[knitlady037]

We did this trip in Nov. on Zuiderdam. Trip is fantastic. True, the average age was 65+, but don't let that deter you. The ports are beautiful. Can't comment on HMC, we missed that stop because of late departure and hurricane. Make sure to attend the talks given by fellow CC member Richard about Panama if he is still on board. Late confirmed seating is definately the way to go. Also The Pinnacle was great. If you have more questions just ask, I'll try to help.

[edgee]

We took this cruise over Christmas holiday. I highly recommend it. The HAL Vista Class ships (Zuiderdam is the first) make for a very enjoyable cruise. Itinerary is perfect combination of interesting, fun places to visit, yet nice number of sea days mixed in. Panama canal lecturer Richard Detrich is fantastic.. his series of presentations are among the most interesting I have attended among enrichment lectures at sea...including those I have experienced on Cunard and Crystal ships. We took the Canal tour that goes across the country by bus to locks on Pacific side, then took the railroad back to the ship. Very interesting and well run. In Costa Rica you have the opportunity to do jungle zip lining if that's your thing...we visited the sloth sanctuary and did canoeing in the rainforest...also enjoyable. Only warning I will give about sailing on HAL is that smoking iseems to be more bothersome than ever, perhaps a function of more smokers gravitating to HAL since Celebrity and RCCL have now imposed severe restrictions. Our questionnaire at the end of the cruise had a special supplement asking for our opinion on HAL adding more smoking restrictions...a great idea from our viewpoint.

[49holding]

I am curently on the Z 10 day PC cruise...fantastic!!!! we selected this cruise over RCL's where we could have saved some $$$ but chose HAL due to the itinerary...this is my 2nd HAL cruise and my husbands first HAL cruise..he likes HAL...its a step up . There are port talks art work and fresh flowers. the food and service is outstanding. we have an superior suite ( mini suite) and its a great room I don't think my husb can go back to a reg room....there is plenty of entertainment thus far, THere is not an yyoung crowd like in their 20's( only 13 kids on board) but I would say 50% of the cruisers are in their 40's/50's to early/mid 60's ( we are 53 and 56 y/o) and 40% late 60's and up..all very nice , friendly and interesting people. we have AYW dining and it is working for us...no waiting and meeting new people every nite is a plus. tonite we are dining in the LIDO which is a great option ( half self serve and half served.).I am so pleased with this cruise!!!! That said this is not a cruise for teenagers/kids or young adults..there is not enough of them for them to be happy, interact with....we also were a bit leary booking this cruise but now couldn't imagine ourselves on another ship!!! Hope this helps!!!

[bebob]

We were on the Zuiderdam 10 day Panama Canal cruise this past December also. My husband and I are in our 50's and my daughter is 26. We all thought it was the greatest cruise ever and my daughter wants us to repeat it as soon as possible! We love HAL because the veranda staterooms are bigger and a better set up than Princess, we liked the port stops on this cruise better than Princess and the service is amazing. We did anytime dining and it worked perfectly for the 3 of us. Many nights we actually ate in the Lido buffet which services the same dinner entrees but are cooked to order (burning hot) and side dishes can be customized. You cannot go wrong by choosing this cruise. It was fantastic!

[AAL]

We loved this itinerary too (we were on the Zaandam in early March 2006). As others said, Half Moon Cay is paradise, and we loved the stops in Curacao and Costa Rica. We took the HAL excursion on a ferry through the canal, which was great. It was neat to experience the Gatun locks in the cruise ship and the other locks in a smaller boat.

 

We were in our early 50's and did not feel out of place; there were some younger passengers, but the average passenger age was somewhat older than us. It made no difference to me at all. (Our two daughters were the only teens on the ship, and there were a very few younger children.)

[maxsmamma]

We took this cruise over Christmas holiday. I highly recommend it. T In Costa Rica you have the opportunity to do jungle zip lining if that's your thing...we visited the sloth sanctuary and did canoeing in the rainforest...also enjoyable. Only warning I will give about sailing on HAL is that smoking iseems to be more bothersome than ever, perhaps a function of more smokers gravitating to HAL since Celebrity and RCCL have now imposed severe restrictions. Our questionnaire at the end of the cruise had a special supplement asking for our opinion on HAL adding more smoking restrictions...a great idea from our viewpoint.

 

We have been debating the canoe or the kayak or the zipline. My DH is 6'5 but under 250. He has never zip-lined, and I have done it once at a summer camp, and we are leaning that way. But we thought the canoe thing looked interesting, so I'd love to hear why you loved it. Also, any excursion reviews in Ar or Cur.

 

To the OP, we are under 40, and LOVE HAL, I like a less frat party type of cruise. I've never been on Princess, but HAL is great. We are looking forward to the Dutch Antilles, and can't wait to get to Half Moon.:D The only pluse to Ocho Rios is Dunns River Falls. That would be the only reason I'd go back to Jamacia

[Sweet Judy]

My husband and I have been on the Panama cruise with HAL twice and each time we still enjoy the cruise as if it had been our first. As for the age, it truly does not matter,we all make friends on board and enjoy them to the point that we keep in touch. HAL is the 'go to' cruise line for us, we truly enjoy the crew and passangers.

Hope this helps, from your 'Cruise'n Seniors in California

[jhannah]

I will add my "Yes, you'll love it" endorsement. We loved the canal trip. Your desires/preferences are very close to ours, so I think I'm save in encouraging you to go. Many good reasons are listed above, and I concur with them all.

[senatorgirth]

I just did this cruise and will concur with others that it was very good. The itinerary was especially strong -- just perfect for my taste.

 

But I will offer a couple of criticisms. Most notably, the Zuiderdam's dining room disappointed on multiple occasions. Service was very slow and lackluster at times. And the menu selections, though certainly not bad, just did not rise to the level of excellent very often.

 

The crowd on our cruise was OLD. Not middle aged; I'm talking geriatric (some might suggest Jurassic). Most were very nice folks, but this is NOT a cruise of young -- or even young-ish -- people. Walkers and scooters are seen often, and don't exepct to see any young beauties sunning themselves by the pool. If you're looking for let-your-hair-down fun, this isn't it. The atmosphere is sedate and stately. OTOH, if you're looking for quiet and relaxation the Zuiderdam won't disappoint

[Furniturelady]

I took this cruise when I was in my late 50's and loved it. I sailed on the Zaandam and while there were many "senior senior citizens", I met plenty of fun-loving people and had a grand time. I had done the complete Panama Canal cruise twice, once in each direction and thought I might be bored. Au contraire...it was just as fascinating with the added bonus of being able to get off in Panama. I took the railroad tour to the Pacific coast and it was great fun. The other ports of call were great, especially Costa Rica. Do go, you will love it and do go to the lectures, they really add to the experience.

 

michele

[MsBoomerang]

Does anybody know if the canal expansion project will cause any disruption to cruises / views? I am shopping around for a Panama Canal cruise and it just crossed my mind.

[edgee]

We have been debating the canoe or the kayak or the zipline. My DH is 6'5 but under 250. He has never zip-lined, and I have done it once at a summer camp, and we are leaning that way. But we thought the canoe thing looked interesting, so I'd love to hear why you loved it. Also, any excursion reviews in Ar or Cur.

 

We did not do any excursions in Ar or Cur. I would not call it phenomenal, but we did enjoy the sloth sanctuary and rainforest canoe in Costa Rica...found the rescue effort of these unusual animals most interesting. The canoe ride was quiet....just an enjoyable atmosphere more than anything else...it worked for us because we did not want to do the rainforest tram or ziplining and other tours offered required a rather long bus ride as I recall.

[DaisyL]

Thank you all for your quick response! I mentioned to DH this evening about starting this post and he's really excited about doing this cruise... even if it's just the two of us.

 

Thanks for pointing out some of the advantages of this cruise that I wasn't aware of. Can't wait to book!

[newmexicoNita]

We are 3 couples (50s to young 60 -not retired) considering the Feb 2010 Panama Canal FL-RT cruise. We usually choose our cruises based on itinerary and have previously been on NCL, CCL and X and have loved them all. We understand this particular cruise will have an older passenger age but two of our cruises had an average age of 65 yo. and we enjoyed them too.

 

I'll be honest and let you know we are also looking at the Princess cruise but are leaning towards HAL. I noticed that this cuise has a longer day in Aruba, Curacao port, and private Island visit and does not include Cartegna, Columbia... which all seem as pluses for us. But the main draw is the Canal.

 

As far a cabin selection we would book a Verandah, towards the lower end. Also, we enjoy attending the shows, don't gamble very much (if at all), take the ship's excursions, listen to some music or bands in the evenings, prefer traditional dinner 2nd seating, buffet or grill lunches, spa or gym services not important, and like to lounge around the upper decks (quiet areas) on sea days.

 

We figure, we want to travel and experience as much as we can while we're still working (of course with limited time) because we will not be able to once we're retired, on a fixed and limited income.

 

Please let us know what to expect from this cruise and whether we can enjoy it. ... Thanks,

Traveling with 2 other couples should make this a perfect cruise for you. We did it about 2 years ago and it was one of our favorite cruises. The food was outstanding, in fact it was our only cruise where I really did order 2 entrees. The thing I liked about that, unlike many other lines, they brought only the entree with the second order and not all the side stuff...

 

The cabins are larger than other lines you have cruised and the crew very friendly.

 

Now the drawbacks, yes, not only are the passengers much older the activities on the ship are almost non existant or very subdued. If you like any night life other than maybe the casino (which won't be that great anyway) you may find the 6 of you entertaining yoursleves and the show room gets very crowded a half hour before the show. So expect to get there early or forget it.

 

Hope this helps, I think the drawbacks are less than the positives just do not expect the same experience you have had on other lines. As the couple we were with on this cruise put it "it lacked the energy of NCL"

 

Nita

[kryos]

First off, I wouldn't want anyone to "sell" me on any cruise. Even your travel agent shouldn't do that. We can all offer our opinions, but only you can decide what ship/itinerary is for you, based on your own personal tastes. If you let someone "sell" you on it, you risk being very, very disappointed.

 

Also, in regard to the times in port, I will offer one observation. Often those times will be adjusted once you are onboard. Maybe the port authority needs the ship out sooner, or maybe the captain may be running behind schedule for one reason or other -- engine problems, etc. -- and need to get going to the next port a bit earlier. So, it is entirely possible that you may not get all the time in one of the ports that you were banking on. This is rare, but I just wanted to let you know that it can happen ... and has happened to me.

 

That said, I will also say that I've done this itinerary twice and loved it. The first time I was under 50, the second just a tick over. Yes, you will get some elderly ... very elderly ... folks on the sailing, but you'll get a mixture of younger ones too. This is only a ten day sailing, so taking the time off work isn't that difficult for most younger people. It's only the really long cruises that you pretty much have the "geriatric" set onboard, though these people can be lots of fun too.

 

I'd choose HAL over Princess just on the basis of Half Moon Cay. I have never been to a more beautiful spot in my life, with the possible exception of Moorea in the South Pacific. I always call Half Moon Cay a little slice of heaven right here on earth ... and many others agree with me.

 

I've been on Princess as well as HAL, and for my money I prefer HAL. There's just a different environment on their ships ... they are more relaxed, more elegant. As for the food, yes ... HAL's food has slipped a bit, but I'd be willing to bet Princess' has too. And, HAL's Lido buffet is miles above Princess' Horizon Court -- at least to my tastes. As for the food in the dining room, I think HAL's is superior. I had several meals on Princess ships that were just not to my liking. But, of course, food is very, very subjective. FWIW, I recently did a short Carnival cruise and actually felt the food in the dining room on Carnival was better than HAL's dining room.

 

While I've never stayed in a balcony stateroom on Princess, I have compared apples to apples with their inside cabins as compared to HAL's and there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever. HAL's are much larger and better appointed. I would assume the same would be true of their balcony cabins as compared to Princess'.

 

The other thing that gives the edge to HAL, in my opinion, is the onboard service. Yes, it is true ... dining service can take quite a while, but then that depends on what you are looking for and how big a table you sit at. Some people actually prefer slower service in the dining room. They want to enjoy each course, and relaxed conversation. Perhaps the waiters are accommodating that? But there are some of us who want to eat and get onto other nighttime activities, and if that describes you then a better option would be either a smaller table in traditional dining, or AYWD. Make sure the size of the table will seat ONLY the members of your party. If you are at a smaller table with just your party, you guys can have some control over the speed of the meal. But if there are others at your table who order from every single course of the menu, and then slowly eat each one, then you are gonna be sitting around twidling your thumbs while they eat. The waiter will not serve the next course until everyone at the table is ready for it. They can't be running back and forth serving different people at different times. They just don't have the manpower for it. So they make one trip to the kitchen for the entire table. Understandable. But I've seen dinners go two hours on the Veendam because of two ladies at our table who were very, very slow eaters. And, that two hours was only because my cabin mate and I bailed after the main course, skipping coffee and dessert.

 

Again, I haven't been on Princess since 2005, so possibly dinners in their dining room are now taking just as long. All cruise lines have reduced staff, or rather spread them out between more venues on today's ships, so it's very possible Princess can be facing these same challenges in the dining room.

 

But as for overall service around the ship, and cabin service, hands down HAL wins. While I certainly didn't encounter any major service snafus on Princess, I just found the service far more attentive on HAL than it was on Princess. For example, though I don't require it, I really like how HAL has stewards available in the Lido to carry folks' trays if they need a bit of a hand. They don't wait to be asked. They offer. And that's nice. I didn't see that sort of thing on Princess, though I'm sure you could get help if you asked for it. My point is ... you shouldn't have to ask.

 

As for shore excursions, I really can't advise you as to the ones you are considering because I've never done them. While I am an "extreme" sort of person (skydiving on Oahu, bungee jumping in Costa Rica, etc.) the whole idea of ziplining makes my blood run cold. Don't know why, but it does. One cable, my fat a** ... no, thanks. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Susie51]

I have cruised with HAL and Princess. The Lido buffet is arranged better on HAL and IMO the food is better. DH and I enjoy the lack of PA announcements on HAL. There are very few which we both appreciate.

 

I think the pools are better on Princess. There are more of them, therefore the pools are not as crowded.

 

I have been to private islands with four different cruise lines and HMC with HAL is the very best. The sand on the beach is wonderfully soft and there is a gentle slope.

 

Have a great cruise!

[honey-bunny]

I am looking to book a Dec 13 2009 cruise on zuiderdam to Panama canal itinerary can anyone please tell me what cabins( verandah cabins) are the best on zuiderdam I take a lot of meals on the balcony so it is important to me to have plexi glass verandah :Dalso any suggestions are welcome

thank you very much :D

hoping for some reply:)

[DaisyL]

Thanks Nita for your suggestions and comparison's to NCL. I am always on the NCL boards (most of our cruises are NCL) and often read your comments. I almost always agree with you so I trust your judgement.

 

When we cruised with the same 2 couples on the Feb 2005 10 nt. S. Car (not vacation week) on the Dawn, we often had to entertain ourselves... the clubs were empty. :rolleyes: We had a great time!

 

Rita (kryos), I understand what you're saying about the 'sell' and really agree. I pretty much added the 'sell' to attract attention and get some feedback. We are very laid back vacationers and tend to read the reviews with a grain of salt, because we have loved every cruise we have been on, even the instances where others found fault. Thanks for your extensive review.

 

honey-bunny and I would be interested on comments about the different category of Verandah cabins.

 

Most everything sounds wonderful and we can certainly live with some of the downsides. I think we'll be booking this cruise and have a wonderful time.

[louben]

HELP!! Panic is now setting in after reading reviews! I have booked this cruise for 29/3 and I am really concerned that my kids will end up getting bored! We chose this cruise as I really wanted to visited PC and the Bahamas which I am really looking forward to. My travel agent convinced me that HAL are really trying to attract younger customers and consequently was told that there is a great kids club on Zuiderdam. They assured me that there would be mixture of ages and we would be very impressed with all the facilities.

 

Could anyone advise me when is Spring break in the US? I am hoping it is during the time that we take our cruise which hopefully should attract some younger people.

[knitlady037]

Most schools in the U.S. schedule their time off to coinside with Easter and Passover. Passover is April 7 and Easter is April 12, so if your children are young they might not have much company.