Help, Help, Help!!!

[akruz]

I just had knee replacement and want to cruise in April. Hopefully mid April. I have been looking for some good deals, but if any has some please pass along. My questions are:

1. Would you do Panama or southern Exotic Caribbean? I like a few ports and it seemed the 13-15 day had the best itinerary. The Carribean had the most port stops. Remember it has been years since we cruised and it was on the Royal Caribbean. Which would you suggest, but read #2 first.

2. The ships that I found itinerary that I enjoy are (Celebrity Infinity 15 night Panama) and (Holland 14 night "statendam"-Panama) (Celebrity "Constellation" 14 day southern Caribbean) (Coral Princess 14 n Panama)

(Norwegian Pearl 14 night Panama)?????

3. I will need a day before and perhaps after to fly from Saskatoon, Canada to either of these ports Ft. Lauderdale, miami, san diego. So I would have to watch the airline sales for these destinations and get a hotel.

 

Oh please help me make a decision as I want to celebrate our 40th in comfort with close friends, and sister.

Thanks for all the info I can get. Other wise was thinking doing a land pkg to Panama but sounds quite hilly for my knee condition at present.:):confused:

[Starry Eyes]

Oh, those sound like wonderful choices.

 

I really enjoyed both our Panama cruises. Once we got off the ship and took a ferry through a few locks of the canal. In the small ferry we were right by the walls and locks...very impressive...mostly bus and boat rides, not a lot of hill walking. the second time we stayed on the ship while she did a full passage throughout the canal....also a great experience, but different on the ship than on the ferry boat...No extra walking for that experience, though you may want to wander about the ship to view from different heights and angles. Other excursions can be train rides and visits to the canal overlooks. You do not have to hike the hills to enjoy Panama:D though rougher excursions can be had if your knee is up to the challenge.

HAL's Statendam is I believe the smallest of the ships you mention, and you may like that size as your knee recovers. Coral Princess is bigger, I have not sailed her, but I bet she is nice. I love Celebrity's M class, so I might chose Constellation or Infinity...they offer great service but are significantly larger than Statendam (a plus for me, but maybe a negative for you if your knee is less than 100%). NCL has a more casual style with open dining, so you might have to wait in line for a table, probably different for your prior experience and again if your knee is less than 100%, maybe suboptimal- your call. I hope your recovery is so fast and complete that all my mentions of your knee end up meaningless:). even fully recovered everybody has their preferences....do you like bigger ships or smaller ones?

 

personally, I would pick Panama canal over Southern Caribbean. But opinions will vary. what do you want to see?

[paul929207]

All of the choices are great. it really depends on what you and your party prefer. Have you been to any of th eports before? Do you want to go back?

[LHT28]

Any of them sound fine

Will you be up to cruising at that time?

I am just home (Monday ) from Knee replacement & hoping to make my June cruise but ....

I would choose a smaller ship for getting around but that is just me

 

 

Good luck with the recovery

[sail7seas]

Without our researching your possible choices, we don't know where each itinerary takes you. :D

 

I agree with the poster who suggested a smaller ship is a good choice. Your rehab therapist could probably give you advice in that regard. How much do they want you walking at that point in your recovery?

 

We have done the ten and eleven day from FLL round trip FLL to Panama Canal cruise about 6 times and every time we did it , we learned something new and loved it. I don't think there is a bad ten dayer doing the round trip from FLL.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

[akruz]

I think I should be good for mid April. I am working hard at recovery. My fave from the above itinerary is the Celebrity for either Panama or southern Caribbean. ]Do you think 15 days is too much? I have never been to the Panama so I am favoring that but it will all come down to the price with add air on etc. They seem to have good incentives to Feb 5th. thank each of you for taking time for me today.

The celebrity infinity departs San Diego ...Cabo San Lucas....Puerto Vallara...Puerto Questzal....Puntarenas....panama canal transit....colon...Cartagena ...Ft. Lauderdale.

Celebrity Constellation Ft. Lauderdale...aruba...curacao...Grenada...brbados...St. Lucia....St. Johns...St. Maarten...st. Thomas...return.

 

Prices vary with Senior rate and special bonus's etc. I guess I should have asked staterooms from interior to oceanview to balcony. the prices do vary. I guess I will have to search for the best place to be on the ship and I do get motion sickness.

 

Happy recovery to LHT28 it is certainly not a pleasant surgery nor recovery for a total knee replacement.

 

Please help me to make a choice soon as i see the prices change rather quickly.

[Treven]

I think I should be good for mid April. I am working hard at recovery. My fave from the above itinerary is the Celebrity for either Panama or southern Caribbean. ]Do you think 15 days is too much? I have never been to the Panama so I am favoring that but it will all come down to the price with add air on etc. They seem to have good incentives to Feb 5th. thank each of you for taking time for me today.

The celebrity infinity departs San Diego ...Cabo San Lucas....Puerto Vallara...Puerto Questzal....Puntarenas....panama canal transit....colon...Cartagena ...Ft. Lauderdale.

Celebrity Constellation Ft. Lauderdale...aruba...curacao...Grenada...brbados...St. Lucia....St. Johns...St. Maarten...st. Thomas...return.

 

Prices vary with Senior rate and special bonus's etc. I guess I should have asked staterooms from interior to oceanview to balcony. the prices do vary. I guess I will have to search for the best place to be on the ship and I do get motion sickness.

 

Happy recovery to LHT28 it is certainly not a pleasant surgery nor recovery for a total knee replacement.

 

Please help me to make a choice soon as i see the prices change rather quickly.

I did the full transit of the canal, Ft Lauderdale to San Francisco and had a wonderful time. I'll undoubtedly do another canal cruise within the next couple of years

[LHT28]

We have done 3 full transits & would recommend that route it is the best way to see the canal

The last one in March 2011 we had a balcony the other we had an oceanview

The balcony was nice as we started the locks at 6 am so I was able just to go out on the balcony no rushing up top to find a space on the deck

 

Both were fine but go with what your budget will bear

 

Speedy recovery

 

lyn

[akruz]

It seems the favor is the Panama cruise. I have listed itinerary in a reply to my original thread.

Other questions come up like which cruiseline and what type of stateroom would you suggest. I know I am harping the same ole same ole question but feel I need some directive.

I am not used to this site and find it hard to know how to maneuver to get the information I require.

thanks for any assistance.

[gerryl12]

I would take any of the cruises you list. As far as a stateroom goes: get what you can afford, an inside is OK, an ocean view is better and a balcony is always great in warmer climates. We spend most of our time on the decks as it is and that way get a view off both sides.

The Panama cruise is fantastic.

[Starry Eyes]

The canal transit is wonderful. Celebrity Infinity would be a good choice...she has public viewing areas, like the forward observatory lounge, the promenade deck, the aft open deck and windows down on deck three, to allow you to see the canal from many different perspectives. It takes much of the day, so you will have time to position yourself in different areas to enjoy that part of the passage. having your own balcony is nice, of course, but if it is not in the budget, worry not. even those with balconies should get out for a different view.

 

We took a nice ship excursion in Cartagena...I would not go off on my own there.

 

some people are not comfortable in Mexico right now. Personally, I feel OK in the tourist areas if using good judgement, but some people just are not comfortable. If you or somebody in your party is not comfortable with the Mexican ports, that would be a strike against the Panama canal cruise, otherwise go for it...it is a special experience.

 

which cruise line...well they all have much in common, but each has a different style. HAL has smaller, classy ships which tend to draw an older crowd of traditional cruisers.

NCL is the opposite...much more casual in dress and decor...somewhat younger crowd on most NCL cruises (but long cruises like yours all generally draw older folks with the time and means to take such trips).

I have not been on Coral Princess, but I think she would be a nice, fairly large ship. Princess has good food and service.

having sailed Celebrity Mclass through the canal, I am very comfortable saying it is a wonderful ship for that trip, as noted above. I like Celebrity's menus and their service. M Class are a nice size...big, not massive.

 

class of cabin is based on budget and personal preference. I like some natural light, so I tend to avoid inside cabins. Others do not care and can save some money on the inside cabins. balconies are nice, but can be pricey. suites even more so.

[akruz]

Oh thank you so much as that was excellent and gives me some food for thought. I will keep posting if you all dont mind as I make my decision. You guys are so great!

[Vol fan]

If you get motion sickness, the center of the ship and the lowest deck possible seems to be where the least amount of motion is.

 

We did the full transit of the Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles on the Island Princess a couple of years ago and it was wonderful. On the day of the transit of the canal, you want to move around the ship to see both sides of the canal and the areas surrounding it, so it doesn't really matter if you don't have a balcony cabin although it is nice if you can afford one.

 

The ports of call on the canal transit are historical and fun as well. If you can get a good deal on the full transit and like history, I would try to do this cruise. Also, the book The Path Between the Seas, by David McCullough, is a marvelous book about the history of the Panama Canal and would be great reading for you as you recover from your surgery. I checked it out from the library and read most of it before the cruise and took it with me and finished it the night before our transit.

 

Good luck with your surgery.

[cruiseapril]

As was mentioned, there are 10 day cruises to the Panama Canal round trip from Fort Lauderdale. (Those are more relaxing, IMO.)

[kitty9]

As was mentioned, there are 10 day cruises to the Panama Canal round trip from Fort Lauderdale. (Those are more relaxing, IMO.)

 

But those don't do a full transit of the canal and I don't think one is any less relaxing than the other. All cruises in that area are very relaxing.

 

OP, I've done five Canal cruises and they are great. I've done four on Celebrity, and they were my favorite.

[akruz]

Thank you for kind replies with good information to form a good decision.:)

[cinderella 62]

When we were planning our recent cruise we asked our travel agent about RCI and HAL, and the differences. She recommended HAL for us. We had sailed RC several years ago, and she said it has changed...that they are more geared toward families now, and if we expected it to be like it was 15 years ago we would be disappointed. HAL seemed to be what suited us the best. Hope this helps.

[Starry Eyes]

When we were planning our recent cruise we asked our travel agent about RCI and HAL, and the differences. She recommended HAL for us. We had sailed RC several years ago, and she said it has changed...that they are more geared toward families now, and if we expected it to be like it was 15 years ago we would be disappointed. HAL seemed to be what suited us the best. Hope this helps.

 

Cinderella62, RCI's biggest, newest ships have lots of features and activities to attract families and active young people. Still, many older adults also seem to enjoy those newer ships. RCI still has some classic ships in it's fleet, like Radiance class, that many traditional cruisers just love...lots of glass, great public areas, terrific crews. Pick your RCI cruise carefully and you may not see such a dramatic change from 15 years ago. Also, RCI owns Celebrity, which is the more direct competitor to HAL, but Celebrity's ships are generally bigger than HAL's (whether that is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder and both line's recent ships seem bigger than before). your travel agent presumably knows you and the advice she gave may suit you...I see so many happy mature adults on Royal Caribbean that I do not think the advice is universal.

[akruz]

We made a decision due to our budget and as in my orignal post. Celebrity Constellation to exotic southern carribean leaving April 7 and yes we having deck 7 and oceanview. For us that is okay as I will still be able to enjoy what the ship is offering. I am excited that I get to celebrate our 40th Anniversary and with the couple that stood up for us.

 

I was so excited that the price was in range BUT now I am having trouble finding the airfare to FT Lauderdale as the price listed is out of this world! Does anyone have some good search engines so I can check around. Sounds like Delta or WestJet from Stoon.

 

I would like other info for hotel prior and trfr to/from hotel, port. Where should I go to find this info. I guess I really should be on newbie!

 

Even the ship concerning meals, etc.

 

Thank you as this is a great website. Very nice and friendly replies so appreciated.

[Starry Eyes]

It sounds like a delightful choice of cruises.

 

Airfare can be challenging. which is / are your closest airports?

 

I am glad you have found cruise critic helpful and friendly. once in a while, threads get contentious; if ever you happen upon one of those threads, please try to take it in stride.