holdon216

Haven't been to Costa Maya in about 8 years. I cant recall what chain bar/restaurant was right near the pier?? But we had great drinks and nachos. Thanks!

I just did some satellite searching. Is the NCL pier just south of Manga???

I cant seem to pinpoint it. If so i now see much to far to walk from the Artisan Center to the pier.

I am looking at the NCL tour, Chiva Party Bus in Cartagena. The last stop is at the Artisan Center. Is that walking distance from the pier? Wondering if we would be able to shop at our leisure there. Thanks!

Following for info

Maggie thanks i did find the Roatan posts. Still not much on BFK.

Has anyone done the NCL 5 hour excursion to Big french Key that includes lunch and two drinks? How long of a ride is it to the boat that takes you to the Island? How was the food and drinks? Thumbs up or down?? OH it also includes kayaks, and a 40 minute snorkel experience or a 15 minute boat ride.

Following also

I can't seem to find much info on Big French Key. I've looked through the Ports Of Call with no success. I'm looking at the NCL excursion that includes lunch and two drinks. Is it possible to do this on your own? Thanks

What are some "must see" sights in the Walled City?

For all of you that have been on tours, which were the "must see' places? I would also want to shop a little bit.

I guess it's not a good sign that no one has done this excursion. :(

Usually you can allow about 3 hours total for the bus portion of the excursion with the Colon to Gamboa segment around an hour. FYI, although they usually describe the ferry excursion operating from Gamboa to the Pacific entrance, the excursion can also run in reverse. Makes no difference whatsoever, great either way. While I can't speak directly to the excursion you are looking at, in the past the ferry ended or started at Ft. Amador. Not to worry if the excursion ends in Balboa for some reason, you will be in the Pacific in any event. Nice scenery and a great view of Panama City if you wind up in Ft. Amador.

 

 

 

I tried to look at NCL's tour descriptions, but they were not sufficiently detailed for me to tell exactly to expect on the excursion. Don't worry about questions... ask away:D!

Again THANKS Bill!!! Did you live in Panama? You're a wealth of knowledge. And believe me on this cruise i need all the help i can get :) I hate the idea of all that riding. I'm not the best traveler in vans and buses. :(I'm now looking at shorter excursions. My guess is that if the ship is in Gatun Lake till 3pm then they would tender you back to the ship? Its not due in Colon till 5pm.

Bill and Essiesmom, thanks so much. I'm starting to be able to visualize it a bit better. NCL's 7 hour tour starts with a drive to Gamboa. Approx how long of a ride it that? And it ends in Balboa. Looks like a long ride back to Colon from there. Any idea how long of a ride that would be? Seeing it ends in Baloboa and not actually in the Pacific would that make for not quite a complete transit? Sorry for all the questions, but i'm a planner! ;)

Your welcome and hope you enjoy. :D

I am a bit confused about old part, new part, this lock that lock. Might you have a map that you can share that shows whats what?

Has anyone done this NCL tour? Its 3 hours, 59.00 per person. Not so much into the "party" part but it seems to have a lot of the cities highlights. Any info would be great. We will be in port 7am-2pm April 2019.

I take my backpack with phone, sunscreens etc in it. I have a long shoelace knotted to the backpack. When i go into the pool i knot the shoelace to the chair.... hahaha just try and steal it. Busted!!!

Sailing out of Miami next April. Our cruise package includes 100.00 hotel credit and up to 400.00 air credit.

I called NCL and they use The Pullman hotel in Miami. NCL does not have those room rates yet. Has anyone stayed there through NCL and if so what was your cost per night? I also see they have a free airport shuttle to the hotel. Was there a shuttle to the port and if so was there a fee?

With the airline credit i have been discouraged by two different NCL reps NOT to use them to book my air. If i can get 400.00 off our flights. And the flights are close to what we would book on our own then why the discouragement? Has anyone ever had NCL book there flights. Feed back please.

Thanks in advance.

 

I sailed the Jade for two weeks and loved it. The above link is a youtube video of the refurbishment. I am going to book her again. If you have any specific questions about Jade let me know.

Hello AF-1, Are there any designated adult only areas on The Jade? Is one of the pools for adults only? Thanks

Was just on the Dec 7th - 18th Panama Canal cruise. I was originally just going to stay on the ship, but glad I didn't and booked a last minute excursion that morning. Going through the locks to get into the Gatun Lake there really isn't much to see. People will cram into all the forward facing viewing spots, so you better be early or have a balcony if you want to actually see closely what's going on below. While it's exciting at first to see, it does get old quickly. After you get into the lake they anchored the ship and started to let the life boats down to setup the tendering to shore for those that have an excursion. My wife stayed on the ship and the last minute excursion I booked was the Shaping of Panama tour. We had an excellent tourguide "Alex" and the highlights were we drove over the new locks, saw wild sloths, drove to the Pacific side, saw old Panama City, stopped for shopping at a Yacht Club area that had several shops and eateries, had 45 min of free time to walk around Panama City and shop/eat etc before driving back to Colon to meet the ship. Folks I talked to that took the train and ferry didn't get to do any shopping, other than the port at Colon. I also heard the Indian Village excursion was a great one too. My wife on the other hand that stayed on the ship said she wished had gotten off the ship too (ha!). By the way our next port in Costa Rica was canceled due to weather and we were on the ship for another 2 days (3 for those stayed on the ship). So keep that in mind too. Enjoy your trip though, we did!

How much driving did your tour involve? Id hate to be on a bus or in a van for hours. Thanks

Staying on ship for the return trip through Gatun Locks is interesting, however you are only seeing about 8 miles of a 50 mile Canal and twice no less! The excursion that takes you through Gaillard Cut and the two Pacific locks has so many more visual treats than just the round trip at Gatun Locks. You will have come a long way, see as much as you can!

Bill, is that the 7 hours excursion on the ferry boat?

hello holdon216,

glad you liked the review! You will enjoy the cruise next year. All the drinks i tried (and i tried a lot of them!) were under $15.00. My two favorites were the frozen mango meltdown and the painkiller. I could go for one of those right now on a cruise ship! In the specialty restaurants we dressed nicely, but i don't think the men wore ties. They both wore pants and nice shirts. The ladies wore casual dresses to cagneys and capris and nice shirts to lacucina. I don't remember the transfer company to the airport. The hotel set us up with whoever they use and we paid for a round-trip transfer at that time. There were two kiosks to check your bill in the area where the customer service desk was. You can print the bill. I used the ncl app on my phone and could review it there. Showtimes were 7:30 and 9:30 each evening. Hope you have a great cruise.

thanks so much!!!!

Projecthandbag, thank You what a wonderful review. We just booked the Panama Canal cruise for next April 1st. I have some questions if you have a minute or two;);). We have free drinks with our package. But only up to 15.00 per drink. What is the average cost of say a rum runner or Pina Colada, etc.?;););)

Is there a dress code in the specialty restaurants?

Who was it you used for the 10.00 transfer to the Miami airport?

Are there kiosks to check your on board bill? I've read that you can't do that on the room tv's.

Do you recall the showtimes? I'm looking to make reservations at the specialty restaurants and the dining rooms before hand. Although that doesn't seem possible online quite yet.

Again Thanks!

Is there "reserved time seating" in the main dining rooms? If not what are the hours they are open? And can you make reservations at them in advance? How about "elegant nights, are there any and if so does anyone have any idea what nights they would be on an 11 day Panama canal trip next April? Sooo many questions so little time ;) Thanks!!!

Thank you for your replies. But i did look up what the gratuities include and it states, "bar and culinary service staff" as included in the gratuities.

If your paying gratuities per person already why then is a 18% gratuity added to the deluxe beverage package?

Am i correct that the deluxe beverage package on The Adventure of the Seas is 55.00 per person per day WITH 18% on top of that?

What is the average price of a drink? Pina Coladas, Daiquiris, Rum runners, Mai Tai?

Thanks all!