CarolandNate

We are taking a Panama Canal cruise in December and are doing research on various ports for excursions.  We have made the decision to stay with the Princess excursions.  We want to do some beach and PV seems to be a good place for that.  The ship has a couple of beach excursions and the one that got our attention was the Discovery Family Las Caletas Private Beach Getaway.  ( https://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.page?t=T&exType=S&tourCode=PVR-280)  It is 6.5 hours which is a good chunk of the nine hours in PV.  The part that seems attractive is that its an hour each way and four plus in one place.  Beaches, hiking, kayaking, food, etc  Others seem to bounce around a bit more, meaning more traveling.  We figure we'll have plenty of that in other ports.  There is one to Majahuitas which is categorized as strenuous, more hiking and I saw nothing about kayaking.  Also I saw a kayaking, snorkeling horseback riding to Quimixto.  A bit more expensive than the other two.

 

I am interested in hearing from people who have done any of these excursions and what they thought.  I am especially interested in hearing about the Discovery Family Getaway.  The four hour stay seems self explanatory and I am curious to hear if it is all it's cracked up to be.  My other question is whether there is much to see when one takes the catamaran for that hour each way.

Been hearing that.  I do understand that one can cancel right up to a couple of days before.  At this juncture, I plan to prebook as the must sees as soon as they become available, because they are mus see and I don't want to miss out.  As far as the ones that have more options, I will likely wait.  Unless I get some inkling that they are selling out or that the prices are jumping.  I like to plan ahead, but some times you just want to do something more spur of the moment.  That thinking could change.  In the meantime, I want top do as much research as I can and make good choices when the time comes.

We were a little more adventurous with Alaska.  originally we were going to take a cruise tour through Princess, but I found it a bit inflexible about where we would stay and for how long.  The train did not excite me, not did the Alyeska stay.  Theirs only had two nights near Denali and we saw that as the point of a land tour. 

 

Called a couple of travel agencies up ther and got some prices.  Also ideas.  We realized that we could rent a car in Anchorage and basically build our own land tour.  Found a B&B in Healy, 9 miles north of the national park.  Took three night there.  They were great and even set us up for a plane flight from the park entrance to the end of the park.  We got above the clouds and were less than ten miles from the big guy (as our pilot called it)  Spectacular does not begin to describe that !   They told us how to save money taking the shuttle as opposed to the tours out into the park.  $60 vs $200.  The shuttles narrated as well and we could get off, saty at one stop for a bit and catch another shuttle.  We stopped in Talkeetna for a night on the way up and actually ran into people from the cruise.  They went to Talkeetna, but spent 90 minutes each way on the bus.  On the way back we went to Knik River Glacier by helicopter from a lodge and walked on the glacier for a half hour or so.  Coupon book gave us a twofer on a $350 excursion. 

 

Since we were a captured audience on the ship with the stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, we madse the most of those and found private excursions.  We were careful to do them in the morning, leaving time at the end in case there were problems.  We were close by, near the ship in K and J, so if we got concerned, we could walk there in ten minutes.  In Skagway, we took a 6 1/2 hour trip to Yukon, but early again.  We had to be back on the ship pretty early anyway, because we got picked for the Chefs Table dinner.  Not to mention we were exhausted and needed to take a break.  I felt comfortable with these excursions, because it is Alaska and we did our homework.

 

We decided that the PC stops would be better served through the ship.  They may be more expensive, but I would just feel better. And with OBCs from Princess, it's not my money.  Stuff on board like Internet or coffee packages or wine for dinner, I can deal with at the time.  Perhaps new promos will add on.

 

This platform is great for asking the experienced cruisers questions.  The vast majority want to share of themselves and help relative newbies like me.  The more informed we are, the better.  I have a year to learn new things.

That is good to know.  I am not holding my breath waiting for a better promo to come about.  I'll check every now and then, but unless something comes about that is an add on, like free internet or free coffee package, etc.  I'm probably good.  With the $1500 discount I got from my original price, I think that pays for a lot of things that I had not anticipated.

 

Interesting to note that the added OBCs from my TA can't be used for excursions.  I should use my Princess OBCs as soon as I can.  With them, it's "use it or lose it".  What I have from them will pay for at least two excursions, which is really bonus.

 

All of this has been very helpful.

So @name is a no-no.   What is the best way to make sure I get a response from someone like I am doing with you.  Is just replying good enough .  What if I want to get your attention on something new down the line, say a month, six months, etc.  I know they don't do private messages, so how does one seek out a specific fellow traveler.  Other than asking for an email address to communicate directly, it seems that one can put something out there and hope for the best. 

 

You have been very helpful with things that I was not aware of and I have had some follow up questions to ask, while they are on my mind.  With a year before the trip, I have time to do research and over these months, I am sure I will have new questions.

 

So on that note  This OBC gifting is not something I was aware of.  it sounds like you are saying that if I call now or in the not too distant future, I can book instead of waiting until the 120 day mark.  Good to know.  Should I consider buying OBC in advance for excursions or does that not really matter.  Like I said, I can't imagine I am going to get a better deal than the three for free that I have.  I have the room I want; I have gratuities now.  I got more OBC from Princess than I had.  Other than add on types of promos with perhaps more OBC or internet or other minor things, I can't see much that would be better.

@skynight  I am familiar with EZ Air.  We used it for flights on our Alaska cruise  a couple of years ago.  Because we have a lot more lead time, I am doing the credit card thing with points/miles.  I picked up a lot of Southwest points opening a card and am going to do the same with American and maybe Delta.  I get the flex fly with EZ Air, but points are better.  When you change a flight booked with points, the points go back to your account, no penalty.  Hotels are the same.  We did a princess authorized hotel in Vancouver for Alaska and it was great.  This time around, we are visiting family in the LA area for four or five days.  The night before we will go to Long Beach or San Pedro and stay in a hotel.  I have Choice points to cover a lot of nights; I have a Marriott free night each year; Hilton has a CC that will give enough points for a night.  I may book through EZ Air for the flight just to be safe. When I see flights get to a price that probably won't get any lower, I'll cancel the EZ Air.  They give you a 60 day window, which is even after final payment on the cruise.  I doubt I'll let it get that far.  The problem with flight booking, direct or EZ Air is they don't book outside of nine months generally. Southwest is like seven.

Yes we know that.  Because we can get more bang for our buck through TG.  Princess only covers that which you book through Princess and would cost $300-$450 before we were done.  TG starts as soon as we walk out the door from our home, meaning any plane fare, car rental etc is covered.  They also say that if you book after the start of the trip, that does not have to be insured or even reported to maintain the pre existing conditions.  We are actually going to be in the LA area six days before the cruise.  Anything we book in that six days is AFTER the start of the trip and not subject to anything having to do with PE conditions.  Also given that it is six days before the cruise, it is also a built in cushion.  When all is said and done, the TG premium might be $400, $500 max.  The 20 day reporting is the only real inconvenience.  It just means keeping track with charts.  I love charts.

@phabric  Yes that is true.  You bring up some great points.  When we went to Alaska, we booked nearly everything ahead of time and paid the premium.  We also did them privately, but that was Alaska and we planned well so that we did excursions early enough so that we were back with plenty of time on the back end.  We also made sure that what we did later and closer to departure time was within walking distance of the ship.  That worked in Ketchikan and Juneau.  Because we had a Chef's Table on the Skagway day, we wanted to get back anyway (not to mention we were pretty exhausted after the sevn hour trip to the Yukon).  Actually another couple came into the Chef's Table late, because their excursion did not get back on time.  I felt bad, but not too bad.

 

I see what you say about prices going up if one waits or there are more limited options.  I am thinking that say for Cartagena there are at least a dozen options for city type tours and a couple more countryside.  I am figuring that while they are all different (sort of), I'm not sure if I missed Excursion A, that I would know the difference if I had to settle for B.  It is the same with Fuerte Amador and Hualtulco.  I'm willing to chance it when there are options.  It's not the same for say Costa Rica, which really seems to be about the rainforests.  There may be a few, but one or two really stand out to me  Were we not to get that one, I'd be really disappointed.  Thus we want to get in as soon as they are available.

 

I'm not overly concerned about a difference of $100 or so in premium to make sure I get to the must sees.  In fact some can be booked on the plane or in the five days before the cruise, but after we have left the house.  No need to "report" those once we are on the road.

 

Thanks for the advice.

The Travelguard insurance does require some sort of health issue to cancel and get one's money back.  They have a Cancel for any Reason rider, but that nearly doubles the premium.  (Bad Hair Day, etc).  The kicker is the pre existing conditions part.  If you don't add in a new excursion within 20 days of booking it, they wipe out the PE for everything.  Having had a heart issue some eight years ago, it could crop up and cause me to cancel something.  As long as I have the PE clause, I'm good.  For example, if I had a $300 for two excursion that needed to be insured, it might jump my premium by $50-$75 if I was on the edge of two brackets.  If I was in the beginning or middle, it might not make any difference.  I see that Princess will refund it all if cancelled at a certain point or put it in OBC if within the drop dead date.  Because TG bases this on non-refundable money spent, it is important to know whether one pays in full or whether they just pay a deposit which would be lost money at any point

 

I have been following this thread with interest.  I am taking into account insurance costs.  In a previous cruise, I used Travelguard, through Costco.  They are door to door in their coverage, which in my case, because we piggyback some personal travel is a bteer deal.  I compared that to the Princess insurance and it covered more for less.  The catch is that there is a pre-existing conditions clause that requires revising non refundable charges within 21 days of booking said excursion or additional charge.  If one were to book the excursion after the trip began, they would not have to do this.   When we went to Alaska a couple of years back, we did just that with some excursions.  That which we could potentially lose if we cancelled said activity we covered.

 

I have seen the cancellation policy for Princess and if I am reading it correctly, one can cancel three or five days out and be good, getting all of their money back.   It is vague, but I think I would be okay if I cancelled.  I know it also puts money into OBC if you cancel inside those dates.

 

On the next trip we are taking to the Panama Canal, there are six port days.  We have decdided that we are going to do the Princess Tours.  I know that privates can be cheaper, but I don't want to deal with the possibility of not getting back in time. from a tour.  it has been said that if you are going to stress out over that possibility, then go with the ship's tours.  We WILL stress out, so.....

 

Some of the ports have what I consider must see excursions, with limited options.  If we were to miss out on a particular excursion, we would be really disappointed.  Costa Rica-rainforest; Nicaragua-volcanoes; Puerto Vallarta-beach getaway.  Those I plan to book as soon as they become available.   That would necessitate adding to the insurance within 21 days.  Hualtulco, Cartagena and Fuerte Amador have several options in each the categories of interest.  Our inclination on those, would be to wait until we are on board.  These would not have to insured.

 

The further one gets along in expenditures regarding the insurance, the more it takes to change the premium.  They are bracketed in groups of $500 once you get up over 3000-4000, so it will not change much.   For example, we booked PC a year and half before the cruise.  All we would be out at this point is a $500 or so deposit.  The premium on that is $90.  It will remain that way until 120 days before the trip when we can book excursions through Princess.  Then 30 days later, it is time to make full payment.  Adding $200-$300 might move us into another premium category, but even then it might jump up $100 in premium.  Then again, it might not.

 

Has anyone had experience with the insurance thing that I am describing?  Any thoughts on this?  Am I making more out of this than I should?

Wow.  Thanks for the update.  I have heard that Colon is less than ideal.  I wasn't trying to compare going through a set of locks on a river in Boston to the Panama Canal by any stretch of the imagination.  The whole point of a PC ocean to ocean cruise is to see this wonder.  I see two cruises in North America that would be the gold standards.  We did Alaska and now we're set for the other. 

 

I know that we will get plenty of education on board on the camals and locks, but there is something to be said for a different perspective.  The colonial Panama/Miraflores Locks might just be that ideal combination and Casco Viejo looks very intersting as well.

 

Might be back at you as we get closer to the trip.

 

Thanks again.

Like I said earlier, it appears that Cartegena is about the city.  We have decided that we are going to do ship's tours.  I had been advised that if one is going to stress out over getting back in time, they should stick with the ship's tours.   We WILL stress out, so.....no private for us, no matter how reputable.

That said we did private in Alaska, but that was Alaska and we did them early leaving a lot of time on the back end of the day.  We walked around, but were close to the ship.

I have had experience with hop on hop off and I hear what you are saying.  In Vancouver, we did it, but we did not go the length.  We got off at some point and walked back to the hotel.  Did the same thing in San Francisco when we got to Chinatown.

With Cartegena, if we do anything, it will entail the city.  There are a lot of options on the guided tours and we are inclined to wait until we are on the ship to decide.  I am guessing they are similar enough that not getting one will not be the end of the world.  The HOHOs are a little bit cheaper and allow for flexibility. 

Some of the other ports have more must see, where we may really WANT a specific excursion.  Those I will book in advance.

Any thoughts on specific tours having experienced Cartagena

Ok then.  I will start here.  Clearly you, living in Panama, have a strong affinity for the country, so I will try not to let any of my preconceived notions slip in.

The cruise that we are taking next December, has six ports of call, plus the ocean to ocean canal transit.  Looking at the various stops, there things that we want to do in them that are what makes them what they are.  Costa Rica-Rainforest; Nicaragua-Volcanoes; Puerto Vallarta-Beach.  Because there are limited number of options within those groupings, we are inclined to want to book them through Princess, well in advance of the trip.  I consider those must see and if we were to miss them, that would be disapointing.  The other three stops, Cartegena, Huatulco and Fuerte Amador appear to have many options within different categories, so if I missed one excursion, there is always something similar.

We have also decided that we are going to do ship's tours, rather than look for private tour companies, regardless of how well they are thought of.  Getting back to the ship is always a concern and I have been told that if one is inclined to spend their entire excursion stressing out as to whether they get back, they should take the ship's tour.  My wife and I WILL stress out, so......

Looking at time in port and times of various excursions, trying to piggy back could get tricky, not to mention more expensive than I desire.  Our inclination in those situations is to find something with some length in the morning and then tool around relatively close to the ship later in the afternoon.  That worked well in Alaska, our only other cruise.

So about Panama.  We are going West to East, so the FA is before the transit.  I am assuming that the transit will have lots of educational stuff, not to mention the lead up on board.  Again that was our experience in Alaska.  Lots of talks in the days leading up and when we got to the fjords and glaciers, they narrated.  One of the categories that I put together had a lot of excursions about the locks and canal itself.  FWIW, I have gone through locks in a kayak.  I know it's not the same as a ship, but the idea is the same and going through the canal is kind of the point of this trip.  I know that these excursions give a different perspective, but spending four or five hours in a museum, well......  I want to avoid redundancy.  Also, as I mentioned, not keen on spending three hours on a bus.

Beyond the locks and canal tours there are city/countryside and nature as I see it.  There appears to be a four hour walking tour of Old Panama City--Panama Viejo/Casco Viejo.  hour to get there two or so at the site and back to the ship for an hour.  We are there for 11 hours, so that leaves plenty of time to toodle around FA, assuming there is any to toodle around to see.  There is a five hour deal that goes to the Ruins.  Reasonable rides to and from; several stops over that five hours.  There is a Gatun Lake Cruise, which looks to be more locks and quite a ride to get to.  Then there is the EmberaVillage, which I discussed.  I saw some nature stuff as well in the four hour range, but I can do nature in other ports, also the rainforest tram, but we hopefully will have done rainforest in Costa Rica by then

What are your thoughts of these?

Then there a whole slew of canal/locks tours, ranging from four to six hours.  If anything, the one that jumps out more to me is the one with Colonial Panama and MirafloresObservationCenter. A little city, a little canal stuff.  Four and a half hours total.  There is that cruise I mentioned earlier and there is the train ride to Colon, not so sure about that.

So what can you tell me?  Am I being ridiculous?  At this point, I am trying to pare down a lengthy list.  In all likelihood, we wil lwait until we are on the ship to book, as I assume we will have choices.  Any help now is great, though.

BTW @travelchris, you had told me about something else a couple of weeks ago, so you may just be someone I want to contact in the future.  Right now, I don't have many specific questions as I am trying to gather up general info.  Since it will be more than a year before we go, I do have time.  We have  list at this point, a large one.  At some point, I want to pare down that list.  But I have time.  Thanks again.

 

Helps a lot.  If I have future questions, which I likely will, what is the best way to ask you directly.  Are you likely to respond to a posting if I put it out there.  Is Emailing you something that is okay.  Please advise.

 

Heard a lot of good things about this and actually saw a 4 minute piece on this on one of the travel channels.  Here is my one issue.  It is the travel to and from.  I see that this is about 6 1/2 hours, so with an 11 hour stay, that is not a problem and it leaves a good deal of time to just hang out or walk around the city, assuming there is anything to see walking around.  On the itinerary, it says 1:30 to and from the canoe landing and then another hour to and from the village.  1:30 actually at the village.  That's five hours of traveling.  I don't have a problem with the hour each way in the motorized canoe.  That seems like it would be fun.  It's the three hours on a bus. 

 

Am I missing something.  Is there more during those three hours or is it just riding a bus to a destination.  I would welcome hearing from people who have done it.  The video, I saw looks interesting.

 

Thanks for any help

@OCruisers

A couple of weeks ago, you said you went on Masaya Volcano & Hacienda Los Altos Cultural Experience 

Nicaragua.  Why did you choose this one.  Please tell the best parts.  We are going in Dec 2019, but I would like to know what I can so I can make an informed decision.  Did you book it in advance or did you wait until you were on the ship.

 

Thanks

Thanks.  I will put some thought into what I need to know.  I don't want to be "one of those people" that is all over the place.  Being specific and following the unwritten rules is important if one wants to be taken seriously.

I understand.  It appears that posting similar questions in different boards of Cruise Critic is okay.

I was directed to post questions on the Mexican Riviera Board about Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta.  I have posted in roll call and in Panama Canal boards and have gotten a lot of help.  At the risk of being redundant, I would like to post here as well.  Is there a such thing as overposting on Cruise Critic.  Being relatively new to Cruise Critic Boards, I am not sure of the proper protocol.  Please advise as to what I should and should not do.  I feel that any information is valuable.

Helped a lot.  Based on what I read in the existing tours and the length of time on shore, this is one of the more likely stops to be able to piggy back a couple of things, woithout breaking the bank.  By the way you described the bay tours, this one Huatulco by Land and Sea, 3 1/2 hour   seems much like what you were talking about.  See  Santa Cruz Bay  La Crucecita  Tangolunda Bay after departing Santa Cruz Marina.  Then to Chahue Bay,  and Organo Bay via Blowhole and Stoneface to Maguey Bay then la Entrega and back to Santa Cruz Bay.  Short stays at each but given that its 3 1/2  hours, that makes sense.  There is also a Two Bay Snorkel by Boat for 3 hours, which would account for longer time to snorkel.  As well as a five bays catamaran and swim, but it is 2 1/2 hours. 

 

That would leave a decent amount of time for some more city/countryside of which there are quite a few from which to choose.  Others have mentioned the ruins.  There is one Princess tour to Copalita.  Looks like there are options and because there are, there is probably no need to plan in advance on one or another. 

 

The thing we need to think about is that if we piggy back each will need to be 3-4 hours apiece and the timing/logistics would need to work.  The other question, especially city/country is wheter we want to bounce around to many places in three or fours are just a couple and actually spend some time at those.

 

All in all, there a lot of great ideas in this post.  Thank you

Thank you

Question for @teamflames.  Saw that you went on land trips to Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.  We are looking at a couple of volcano options there.  Would like to pick your brain on that.   It was suggested that this might be the best way to reach out to you

Good thought.  I'm on it  That's the key, getting them to notice, without drawing the ire of those who might find it irrelevant.

Thanks.  I check from time to time to see if things have changed as well as new reviews from those who have traveled.  If I could I would try to contact some directly, but that does not appear to be a capability of this platform.  I am stilling learning the best way to use Cruise Critic. 

 

Did not take advantage of it so much when we went to Alaska a couple of years ago, but given the foreign nature of the PC and the number of excursions, this has been very useful, thus far.