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IMG_4920.HEICIMG_4920.HEICIMG_4920.HEICDeparted the Star yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale and am still wondering where my room service breakfast is!!! 🙂 Trip began with ominous weather 10 day weather reports of rain... lots of rain. Hurricane Lisa had blown through a couple days prior. Good but completely FULL flights from ATL to PTY. Lots of red viking bag tags, and I would guess that more than half the flight was bound for the Viking Star. PTY airport is fairly compact, with good signage in both Spanish and English. Immigration and customs were a breeze! No need to worry about currency because the official currency is Panama is the good ole American dollar. Likewise, every single county freely and encouraged payment on US$. It was and had been raining steadily throughout the flight and upon arrival. Viking met us directly and herded trailers into groups, passed out bottled water and we loaded the buses. There was a local guide on board who did a nice running commentary on Panama City, the canal zone ect. He worked for many years for the US Air Force in the canal zone, and he had no accent at all. A pax asked him where he learned English and he said he had actually gone to 4 years of high school in Kansas. He said the trip normally took around an hour - but both due to the weather and the rush hour traffic might be longer. As we neared the port area, we could see the Star in the distance, and continued to drive along a peninsula with beautiful flowers walking paths etc, and then we made a left turn.... into a muddy sandy track. Slogging past rusted heavy duty equipment, old shipping containers and tin metal shacks... we continued for approx 5 minutes and nervously started making jokes about being lost. The guide was on the phone... and after a few more minutes, of traveling in the mud, suddenly a concrete pier and the Star popped into view! Turns out they are fixing the main entrance, and needed the buses to reroute for a couple days! We were reunited with our luggage and we went through Panamanian security at the ship, and then handed luggage back off to Viking crew. Greeted on board w champagne. total time from when we left the airport was probably closer to 90 minutes. We went to stateroom, met our steward, changed and went to the Restaurant for dinner. When we returned, our luggage had been delivered. We were in Stateroom 3061, so the lowest category. After dinner, we went to guest services, were we were able to secure reservations for both Manfredis and the Chefs table, as well as sign up for the on board cooking class offered ( thank you to all those who passed on that secret!!) We were also able to add the Horseback excursion in Roatan, which we were unable to book online. Then off to sleep to be rested for the Canal transit which started bright and early the next morning!

Departed the Star yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale and am still wondering where my room service breakfast is!!! 🙂 Trip began with ominous weather 10 day weather reports of rain... lots of rain. Hurricane Lisa had blown through a couple days prior. Good but completely FULL flights from ATL to PTY. Lots of red viking bag tags, and I would guess that more than half the flight was bound for the Viking Star. PTY airport is fairly compact, with good signage in both Spanish and English. Immigration and customs were a breeze! No need to worry about currency because the official currency is Panama is the good ole American dollar. Likewise, every single county freely and encouraged payment on US$. It was and had been raining steadily throughout the flight and upon arrival. Viking met us directly and herded trailers into groups, passed out bottled water and we loaded the buses. There was a local guide on board who did a nice running commentary on Panama City, the canal zone ect. He worked for many years for the US Air Force in the canal zone, and he had no accent at all. A pax asked him where he learned English and he said he had actually gone to 4 years of high school in Kansas. He said the trip normally took around an hour - but both due to the weather and the rush hour traffic might be longer. As we neared the port area, we could see the Star in the distance, and continued to drive along a peninsula with beautiful flowers walking paths etc, and then we made a left turn.... into a muddy sandy track. Slogging past rusted heavy duty equipment, old shipping containers and tin metal shacks... we continued for approx 5 minutes and nervously started making jokes about being lost. The guide was on the phone... and after a few more minutes, of traveling in the mud, suddenly a concrete pier and the Star popped into view! Turns out they are fixing the main entrance, and needed the buses to reroute for a couple days! We were reunited with our luggage and we went through Panamanian security at the ship, and then handed luggage back off to Viking crew. Greeted on board w champagne. total time from when we left the airport was probably closer to 90 minutes. We went to stateroom, met our steward, changed and went to the Restaurant for dinner. When we returned, our luggage had been delivered. We were in Stateroom 3061, so the lowest category. After dinner, we went to guest services, were we were able to secure reservations for both Manfredis and the Chefs table, as well as sign up for the on board cooking class offered ( thank you to all those who passed on that secret!!) We were also able to add the Horseback excursion in Roatan, which we were unable to book online. Then off to sleep to be rested for the Canal transit which started bright and early the next morning!

They evicted me from my stateroom yesterday. Sadly and I am now back on dry land... 🙂 putting my notes together from the past ten days and will post separately. any questions - fire away!

And they were dunking all masks/ snorkel fins in a tub if sanitizer!cleaner before and then they went back in after dive

Did the Belize snorkel tour w Viking. Was very pleased. The reef was a bit cloudy but that was due to the hurricane last week. And tons of jellies pretty much all of us got stung. But saw lots of varieties of fish and it was well managed.

I will ask around to see if anyone did this monster tour thus time. I actually have a meeting scheduled with the excursions Director this week to discuss excursions, and provide some feedback. I will let you know what I learned

I should mention this was the included excursion. Because I think there are two versions. We also saw Sloth by the side of the road on the bus. Driver I just pulled over so we could all take pictures. This pix was from inside the bus

The photo above that was posted is the same small boat that we were on. Short bus ride, they provided bottled water and snacks for the ride. Clean restrooms, great guides. We went in the afternoon group. We saw a multitude of birds, six sloths including a mother and baby, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, a variety of iguanas, and a very large caiman., spider monkeys, a variety of iguanas, and a very large caiman.

The cave tubing excursion is more demanding than the discription. At the port talk ,theybmade a point of saying how you had to walk for 30 minutes caring your own inner tube, and then walk through a small creek before you enter the mouth of the cave. They then assured people if they were interested in canceling, They would receive a full refund no questions. . Have some new friends who went on it yesterday, will be interesting to learn their experience and will report back.

Currently on star in lowest level stateroom. We were shut out of most everything ( mainly because I was traveling the day slots opened). Once on board. We were able to book everything we wanted and have eaten at manfredi 2 x and have Rez for chefs table tomorrow. It’s all a juggling act and guest change thier mind. As far as included you are guaranteed so they will asd in more guides if needed. That’s been my experience.

We’ve had some great experiences on excursions and a few misses. I’ll detail more. The best ine was the included canal boat ride in Costa Rica!

Insect repellent is advised for any if jungle tours. I will do a better. Detailed report when I get back to computer. Belize was a bit of a mess due to hurricane Lisa last week. Lots of damage to roofs buildings and debris. Most of the port shops were closed except for the ubiquitous diamond shops !!

And… no pistachio buns on board anywhere!! 😢

Have been in Star since 7 Nov overall a wonderful adventure so far. Some hiccups which were not surprising based in the countries visiting and island time mentality. I will write up more details when I am not working in phone! crew has been working diligently and many are back up to pre Covid standards. But you can tell there a some newly hired folks but they’ve been trying hard! Have not found out pax count yet but seems fairly full. Not pool chair hogs 😀that I have noticed. Canal transit was damp muggy and wet but was still a thrill! I will try to post post pix if anybody is looking for specifics.

Totally agree on Hotel Amigo - bit of a splurge, but have stayed there several times and it was outstanding location amenities and service!

Thanks for the info on the PBS documentary and the IMAX - I will look for both this weekend. Have watched the Modern Marvels episode on the canal that was suggested and just finished reading "Path between the Seas" by David McCullough so I can totally geek out. And.. have downloaded Tailor of Panama by LeCarre for the plane 🙂

Thanks so much for everyone who has chimed in thus far! Still trying to decide on train excursion...but your comments have favorable changed my mind about the embera village excursion! Got my yellow fever vax this week, and ready to go! I will try to post during the week, but cant guarantee a live 🙂

Keep the feedback coming... I was also wondering about the Embera Village visit - previously have been to "local home or indigenous visits and while some have been wonderfully educational and culturally respectful then some which have been... just plain cheesy/embarrassing . Hoping to hear if anyone has done either of the train excursions in Panama! Thanks

Although I have previously asked for suggestions, now that we are less than 3 weeks out from our Panama Canal cruise, I am hoping for some addditional advice regarding excursions - especially from those who have done the itinerary post covid. My bucket list has been always included transiting the canal, and everything after that is gravy... ( I would probably just be happy transiting back and forth - I'm a geek that way!) Has anyone done either of the train excursions? or the boat tour of the canal? Likewise, does anyone have any additional insight/recommendations regarding the excursions, specifically the snorkeling in Belize, the rainforest aerial tram in panama or the horseback in Roatan? Also, there are two separate Tortuguero Canal excursions - One is included, the other optional - any recommendations? We lost Key West, which although disappointing, Viking has provided OBC, so I am ok with that... Thanks much!

Call your local health department - YF vaccination was $205 pp. Much cheaper than our local "Travel Clinic".

We enjoyed this hotel quite a bit - it IS centrally located, between the Oslo main train station, and the opera house. Lots of dining options, a short stroll to johansgate. Both the buses and trams stops were convenient, as was the Hop on Hop off bus. Room was comfortable, quiet and the had an outstanding breakfast buffet.

If you don't want to take to pulpit rock boat trip, jump on the Hop on Hop off bus - great way to see this quaint town. It leaves from the dock where you board the boats!

We have never purchased the SSP on our previous 4 cruises, but it is included on our upcoming Panama Canal cruise. Unfortunately, due to the current meds I am on, I can't mix w alcohol. However, I have been assured that there was a large variety of non alcoholic beverages (mocktails) that I will be able to enjoy as we travel through the Caribbean. I was encouraged to ask the bartenders about their favorites... and I will report back. 🙂

Great....Now I have that song in my head..... Seriously, I join others in thanking for you for such a brilliant job of capturing your travels - the good, the bad and the covid 🙂 I have learned much ( not only from your trivia notes, but also from the great snippets of history, and geography you shared.... Have safe travels home and I look forward to following you on your next adventure!