Ports not to miss, Ports to forego?

[akruz]

In Determining the itinerary for a Panama cruise what port are we not to miss and which ports to forego. Alot of the itineraries have Colombia and Nicaragua which I would surely like some input on as to whether that should be an import port not to miss. Most of the itineraries sound alike but a full passage is a must. Perhaps someone could suggest an itinerary that really appealed to them to determine what cruiseline to choose?

Some ports for embark and disembark are LAx, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale and for us it would be the best airline connection for a reasonable price? Does anyone have a suggestion on that matter,too.

 

Thank you for helping me as it so appreciated and I cannot begin to explain as it is alot and I think in time with more cruises better to determine. However at this point looking for your input. Thanks.

[Laurie S.]

I never skip a port! There's always something interesting or fun to do in every one even if you've been there before.

[LHT28]

I would maybe embark on the west coast less connections

you can check what airlines & schedules at

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ then decide what works best for you

 

Some cruises also leave from Miami, Vancouver, Seattle & San Francisco for Panama cruises

Depends on the budget & size of ship you prefer & time of year you are planning to go, how many days you want to travel

 

Depending on your interests some ports you may want to skip or at least do a guided tour there

 

Look at the Ports Of Call & then decide if it is someplace you want to go

 

Enjoy

[Bookish Angel]

Ft. Lauderdale round trip via Princess' Island Princess, 10 days. Once through the first set of canal locks, we exited the ship and did the excursion to do the full passage and then were taken by bus to meet the ship on the other side. We really liked this option as we saw the entire canal and the whole cruise was just 10 days. Princess was okay, but I prefer Royal Caribbean's ships as they just look newer and more modern.

 

Our ports were : Fort Lauderdale| Aruba | Cartagena, Colombia | Panama Canal, Panama | Colon, Panama | Limon, Costa Rica | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

Aruba and Grand Cayman were typical beach stops, neither of which blew us away. We just walked around in Cartagena and it was fine. We REALLY enjoyed the stops in Costa Rica as we went to the Sloth Sanctuary and a river cruise and nature hike in Limon (all excellent!!) and enjoyed walking around the market area in Colon. That said, I would never miss an opportunity to visit any port on any trip - too much I might miss and enjoy!

 

We spent only an overnight in Ft. Lauderdale as we are both from Florida and had been there many times. Ft. Lauderdale is among the nicest cruise ports I have ever used - very friendly and efficient. I can't suggest an airline as we had booked well ahead of our cruise and were flying just on the East Coast. I was not super cheap but not a deal breaker, either, particularly since it was over New Year's.

 

We really liked the trip and have vowed to return to Panama for a 2 week land based trip to, among other things, visit the Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo which was built but not yet open when we were there.

 

Check some of the large online sites so you can see all of the cruise lines' itineraries and dates for the one that suits you. It is a great trip to try out any Spanish you know. I did and was delighted that folks appreciated my efforts and I was surprised at how quickly it came back to me.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Have fun!

[akruz]

Perhaps someone could tell me did they like Cartagena, Colombia, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Puerto Quetzel. Gauatemala and the ports of Costa Rica. I think your input will help big time in finding an itinerary.

[thinfool]

Many Caribbean ports (like Aruba) are heavily commercialized. Lots of shopping, some nice beaches...lots of 'luxury' in which to bask.

 

Cartagena is full of history...going back 500 years to the days of Sir Francis Drake and various sea faring/Spanish gold adventures.

 

Other ports, like Puntarenas, Costa Rica...and especially San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua are fairly unspoiled (so far) by the cruise trade and offer the opportunity to see places and do things that many casual travelers will never do or see.

 

My wife and I enjoy the latter...we often leave the ship in a place like Aruba to snoop thru shops and kill time, but in a place like Costa Rica or Nicaragua we will spend every minute exploring the local environment.

 

A full transit cruise offers more than enough sea days to enjoy anything the ship has to offer.

 

As for airfare...no rules here, but LAX and FLL will usually have the most competitive fares.

[Keith1010]

First off I would try to find a Panama Canal Cruise that goes East to West.

 

Why?

 

Because that will mean that you will turn the clock back three different time rather than forward three times.

 

This could mean one that starts in say either NYC or Florida ending in Los Angeles.

 

Keith

[Traveling Library]

Don't miss Cartagena. We've been twice and would happily stop there again. Lots of history. Don't miss Ft. San Felipe, La Poppa monastery, the City Museum, the Inquisition Museum and just walking around the old city.

From Puntarenas CR you can visit the volcanos. We took a trip to Vulcan Poas with a stop in Sarchi to see the coffee carts being made.

We've done full transit (San Diego to Miami) and partial transit (to Lake Gatun). Loved both. We plan to do another full transit once the new locks open (2014?).

[LHT28]

Perhaps someone could tell me did they like Cartagena, Colombia, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Puerto Quetzel. Gauatemala and the ports of Costa Rica. I think your input will help big time in finding an itinerary.

Cartagena we did a tour to El Popa, market, Maritime museum & old town it was fine except for the pushy vendors

Puerto Quetzel we took a taxi tour from the port to Antigua an UNESCO site

loved the place

Port Limon we did a tour to Tortugua canal, banana factory, beach for lunch

We ok did not see many animal in the canal

Puntarenas if you stop there ...we walked along the boardwalk stopping at the vendor stalls & into town which is right there

interesting place

We bought coffee beans in all those places ;)

Just depends on your comfort level & interest

[Lionesss]

We do not enjoy Grand Cayman.

We do not like tendering.

We do not like disorganized tour operators.

We do not like tendering.

We do not like inadequate transportation on excursions (too many people, not enough seats on bus).

We do not like waiting for over 20 min. for the inadequate transportation after completing an excursion.

And finally did I say we do not like to tender.

Safe travels.

Sue and crew

[akruz]

We do not enjoy Grand Cayman.

We do not like tendering.

We do not like disorganized tour operators.

We do not like tendering.

We do not like inadequate transportation on excursions (too many people, not enough seats on bus).

We do not like waiting for over 20 min. for the inadequate transportation after completing an excursion.

And finally did I say we do not like to tender.

 

Safe travels.

 

Sue and crew

are you advising me that there will be alot of tendering on the panama cruise!

[Laurie S.]

There was no tendering at any port on my Panama cruise, which started in Peru and ended in Fort Lauderdale. Tendering is no problem at all, I don't understand why some people make such a big deal out of it.

[akruz]

I really appreciate the replies and I was hesitant about Colombia but it seems many have enjoyed except for the vendors. I do not like pushy vendors.

Any comments on Nicarauga? What about the mexican ports any favorites.

 

I have Total knee replacements (the last was Jan 2012) and tendering should not be a problem?

 

 

Thanks again

[LHT28]

I really appreciate the replies and I was hesitant about Colombia but it seems many have enjoyed except for the vendors. I do not like pushy vendors.

Any comments on Nicarauga? What about the mexican ports any favorites.

 

I have Total knee replacements (the last was Jan 2012) and tendering should not be a problem?

 

 

Thanks again

Depending on the ports on your itinerary Grand Cayman & Cabo were the only ones I can think of on our 3 Panama trips

 

Had my knee replacement in Jan also ;)

 

lyn

[OneStrangeGuy]

First off I would try to find a Panama Canal Cruise that goes East to West.

 

Why?

 

Because that will mean that you will turn the clock back three different time rather than forward three times.

 

This could mean one that starts in say either NYC or Florida ending in Los Angeles.

 

Keith

The nice thing about this board is you often get a difference of opinion.

 

Definitely get a cruise that goes WEST to EAST! :D

Why?

Because you stop at about 5 (Mostly) Mexican ports and build up to the main part of your trip, The Panama Canal Transit! ;)

This is far better than the slow letdown by going East to West.

 

We took Holland America from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Cartagena may be full of history...going back 500 years to the days of Sir Francis Drake and various sea faring/Spanish gold adventures. But I would gladly have missed it!

 

You will find that the ports stopped at, even with the same cruise line, differ from transit to transit. When you're talking about the west coast ports, unless you're looking for something special it probably doesn't make much difference which ones you stop at. Each one has interesting stuff, and something worth looking at. :)

[Talisker92]

Don't miss Cartagena. We've been twice and would happily stop there again. Lots of history. Don't miss Ft. San Felipe, La Poppa monastery, the City Museum, the Inquisition Museum and just walking around the old city.

From Puntarenas CR you can visit the volcanos. We took a trip to Vulcan Poas with a stop in Sarchi to see the coffee carts being made.

We've done full transit (San Diego to Miami) and partial transit (to Lake Gatun). Loved both. We plan to do another full transit once the new locks open (2014?).

 

The carts made in Sarchi are ox carts of all sizes from miniature to full size and many sizes in between. We bought one and it is gracing our porch. It was shipped knocked down and took 10 minutes to assemble (see picture)

[Laurie S.]

I don't know if they're still offering it, but my Panama Canal cruise was awesome as it went south to north. It was a HAL 15-day cruise that started in in Lima, went to Ecuador, Panama, the canal, Costa Rica, Mexico (Costa Maya and Cozumel), Roatan, and Belize, and ended in Fort Lauderdale. Being an archaeologist and a diver, it was the best of both worlds. They listed the cruise in the South America section.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've done the canal twice now. I like the E-W itinerary for the extra hours when the clock is turned ahead too, but it wouldn't make enough difference to me that I'd only book that.

 

We always get off in ports, sometimes to just walk around, if we've been there multiple times or just want a low-key day. We enjoyed all our ports so far, especially zip-lining in Costa Rica and touring Antigua, Guatemala. The only port (most aren't stopping there anymore) I'd be a little worried about would be Acapulco.

 

We almost always take private tours; you can find lots of recommendations on the port of call boards.

 

There are so many possible ports that it is hard to advise without more specifics.

[preschool teacher]

I never skip a port! There's always something interesting or fun to do in every one even if you've been there before.

 

i agree with you 100%....ditto....

[marco]

I would also have to agree that we never miss a port, at least not the first time we visit it. Also, that is soooo subjective. If two ships had slightly different itineraries, half of those you asked would choose one itinerary over the other because the ports are "better", and vice versa. As far as east to west or west to east. For us, the deciding factor was the flight home after the cruise. As we live in the NE, we MUCH preferred west to east with a nonstop with no time zone changes after getting off the ship and having a 2 and 1/2 hr flight rather than spending all day getting home, changing planes and a 3 hr time zone change. Much easser doing that going with an arrival the day before rather than an overnight on the day of arrival and THEN the trek home. IF you live closer to the west coast, then I'd do east to west, and have the "big trip" departing, rather than returning.

[cruzeluver]

Why travel to a part of the world you have never been to and not experience it? Cartagena is fantastic! Definitely not just another stop in the Caribbean. The old town is fascinating with unbelievable history and architecture. Limon, Costa Rica is also great. Highly recommend getting out to the rainforest there.

[rimau]

If you go to Cartagena and like coffee, there is a good place to buy right at the dock. Juan Valdez is right where you pick up the shuttle bus to take you back to the ship. I got coffee in a couple of different places but think they were the best in price and quality.

 

Do not miss the Emerald Museum that is right there. It was free and very interesting. You start to get a little bored in the "mine" but there is a room after that with incredible specimens. You peek through a hole with a magnifier.