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

[Eileen G]

Here in the US schools have spring break anywhere from the second week in March until the week after Easter. We live near Disney World and it is high season from March until April. It makes it nice because it spreads out all the tourists. Things are not as crowded as they used to be when everyone had the week before or after Easter off. You can contact HAL and find out exactly how many children are on your cruise. I would rather have a few well behaved children than 300 misbehaved ones.

[ncmomof2]

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.

 

You've already received several answers about the dates of Spring Break, and I can testify to the fact that as a booked passenger you can call Ship Services and they will tell you how many children aged 2 and under, 3-12, and teens are booked on your sailing (those are the only available breakdowns). Since there are no school vacations that coincide with our sailing, there are very few children booked. I was expecting this, but was surprised at just how few it was when I first called HAL (3 in addition to my 2 in the 3-12 group). If you're interested, I started a thread on the Family board asking for advice on keeping the kids happy and got some great suggestions.

 

Have a great trip!

[newmexicoNita]

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!

I agree, I like HALs not announcing everything, but there was a button that you could push (by the bed) if you wanted announcements, we too liked the food, the cabins and the service better. As for the private island, twice on HAL, neither time did we make it to the island...both lines are fine, we would cruise either, but HAL is just a little classier we think.

 

Nita

[ncmomof2]

For all of you who have sailed on this itinerary, is ship time the same as local time in Costa Rica? If so, when do the ship's clocks change?

 

TIA!

[bettyboop16]

We are also thinking about taking this cruise Jan or Feb 2010 mainly because of the itinerary. We have been to Aruba & Curacoa before and enjoyed both ports.

IMO, HAL is a good cruise line for the most part. For us it lacked the entertainment that we have enjoyed on other cruise lines.

 

honey-bunny.. you can go to HAL's website and look at the ships deck plan. Upper Promenade Deck forward has verandahs with solid steel railings instead of plexi glass.

 

Betty

[maxsmamma]

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:)

 

We love eating on our Balcony too! We have been on the 4th floor on the back of the boar for every cruise. Nice sized balconys in VA and VB. The Suites are amazing! What we liked about aft was you got a broader view, often being able to see both sides. And Sailing away from an island was always great, because you could keep watching it sink into the horizon (often at sunset). I had one guide book advise me to get on the back of the boat for the sailaway from Curacao for the best photos, and I thought "great, I will sipping wine from my private balcony!" They are all plexi on the back of the boat (I think). I loved the 4th. Didn't feel much movement, short walk to dinner, farthest away from people hanging over the lido.

[knitlady037]

For all of you who have sailed on this itinerary, is ship time the same as local time in Costa Rica? If so, when do the ship's clocks change?

 

TIA!

The ship time will be the same as port time. I think we had 3 time changes. There will be a little note left on you bed at turndown to remind you when to change the time.

[maxsmamma]

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.

 

Louben, as I've mentioned to you before, I am a teacher on spring break, on your cruise. There will be other kids on our ship. How many?? I don't know if you haven't called because it is international. i will call and get the numbers and post them on our roll call. They will have fun, you will have fun!:) I know what it is like to read these obsessively and worry about every little thing. But you couldn't ask for a better cruise ship, and the kids club is great. Probably better with less kids, same goes for the pool. You will all find fun things to do. If not, wear them out on beach days, and maybe they will only use the ship to sleep!

[honey-bunny]

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.

i was on noordam with 3 kids they had a blast it was 25 kids in age group 8-12 and 16 teens and 20 under the age of 7 club hal always had kids just less of the teens dont worry and go ahead they will have fun

[honey-bunny]

We love eating on our Balcony too! We have been on the 4th floor on the back of the boar for every cruise. Nice sized balconys in VA and VB. The Suites are amazing! What we liked about aft was you got a broader view, often being able to see both sides. And Sailing away from an island was always great, because you could keep watching it sink into the horizon (often at sunset). I had one guide book advise me to get on the back of the boat for the sailaway from Curacao for the best photos, and I thought "great, I will sipping wine from my private balcony!" They are all plexi on the back of the boat (I think). I loved the 4th. Didn't feel much movement, short walk to dinner, farthest away from people hanging over the lido.

thank you so much for your reply i will consider the aft ( i was worried about too much movement before )just like you we love to eat and drink wine and a lot of it on our balcony so that is aht important to us to have a good view of the ocean and island :)

[newmexicoNita]

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.

 

don't worry too much, any cruise on any line in March will have plenty of kids. Our spring break can be as early as the first week of March or as late as the week after Easter..

 

As for the kids program, it does get mixed reviews, depending on the cruiser and what they are accustom to and yes, HAL is trying to attract a younger crowd. They do have a long way to go, just as Carnival has a long way to go to lose their reputation as nother but a party ship.

 

Your kids will not be bored and will have a great time.

 

Nita

[louben]

Thanks for that - I'm sure our kids will have a great time. I think I have become obsessed with reading too many reviews!

 

I think the reason for my concern is because last year we took a cruise with Costa from La Romana around St Lucia, Antigua, Tortola and Guadeloupe - again, I booked it because of the fantastic itinerary. However, I wasn't aware when I booked that 99.9% of the cruisers would be French. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that, but we hardly spoke to anyone all week and there were only handful of French kids onboard, so mine wouldn't attend the kids club!

[louben]

thank you!

[maxsmamma]

thank you!

 

I did call HAL, and post the number of "under 21's" on our cruise on the roll call. If anyone has a tip on getting more specific information, the person I talked to said this was all they could give me, but they "expected more"

[carris]

To DaisyL:

Don't know if you're into walking for fitness while on board, but all HAL ships have a promenade deck that completely circles the ship. On the Zuiderdam, 3 laps equal a mile. Also, jogging is allowed on the Zuiderdam's promenade deck because there are no staterooms underneath it, just public areas.

We loved being able to walk off all those wonderful desserts!

[Boatdrill]

Just my 2 cents...

I prefer the cruises that actually transit the entire Panama Canal, rather than go half way in and turn around and come out.

There's a sense of arrival (from the Pacific side) and having to wait for the appointment time for our shp to enter, and going under the Bridge of the Americas, and being in locks and lakes with ships/boats from around the world - freighters, car transports, miltary ships, cruise ships, yachts, sailboats, tankers - and cruising past the tropical/jungle-like shoreline of the canal, and then exiting on the Caribbean side later on. It's a remarkable day and one never forgotten.

If you're going to do the PC, I recommend doing the whole thing if you can...unless it's not possible because of your schedule/sail dates.....

[DaisyL]

[quote name='carris']To DaisyL:
Don't know if you're into walking for fitness while on board, but all HAL ships have a promenade deck that completely circles the ship. On the Zuiderdam, 3 laps equal a mile. Also, jogging is allowed on the Zuiderdam's promenade deck because there are no staterooms underneath it, just public areas.
We loved being able to walk off all those wonderful desserts![/quote]
Thanks for letting us know... our group loves to walk (and a couple who runs)... we'll look forward to this.

Last year on Carnival, they had an organized Walk for the Cure. For a $10 entry fee ( for donation and cost of a t-shirt and wrist band) we participated in an organized walk... Great idea and very enjoyable with a large turnout.

[DaisyL]

[quote name='Boatdrill']Just my 2 cents...

I prefer the cruises that actually transit the entire Panama Canal, rather than go half way in and turn around and come out.

There's a sense of arrival (from the Pacific side) and having to wait for the appointment time for our shp to enter, and going under the Bridge of the Americas, and being in locks and lakes with ships/boats from around the world - freighters, car transports, miltary ships, cruise ships, yachts, sailboats, tankers - and cruising past the tropical/jungle-like shoreline of the canal, and then exiting on the Caribbean side later on. It's a remarkable day and one never forgotten.

If you're going to do the PC, I recommend doing the whole thing if you can...unless it's not possible because of your schedule/sail dates.....[/quote]
Boatdrill, it's funny you recommend the full Panama transit because that is what we really wanted to do.

But because we are all still working (thank goodness) we can only take a maximum of 2 weeks away. With the 10 day, RT Panama Canal, we can arrive a few days early in FLL and visit with relatives for a few days at the end. With the full transit cruise, (14 or 15 days) we would be required to fly on the first and last days and miss extra time in California and FL.

I'm sure we'll love the partial and look forward to some longer trips when we retire. Thanks for the advice, it sounds wonderful.