Sea Days; Panama Canal cruise

[CoSec]

Hi. We are contemplating the Odyssey sailing on 6 January from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, transiting the Panama Canal This has a lot of sea days ( a goodly number being consecutive and of course the Canal crossing is a sea day as well) compared to what we are used to (hitherto we have been many times with Seabourn in the Med when sea days are rare). Would be interested to know what to expect (if anything) on a Seabourn cruise with so many sea day on those days. Second question: what are the views of those who have done this voyage before as to ports of call

[Shellback2014]

We took the same cruise this Spring. On sea days you can attend lectures, bridge lessons, duplicate bridge, watercolor classes, sit on the veranda reading or watching the ocean sail by, lounge by or in the pool or whirlpools, play trivia, sit in the Square or meet with others at one of the outside areas. The Patio Bar and the Observation Lounge were favorite haunts too. Those days were some of our favorites.

[DC Traveler244]

We did the reverse cruise over the holidays last year (12/15-1/16). As the previous poster noted, there's a lot to do on those sea days. Also, many trivia fans look forward to sea days. But it really depends on what you're looking for.

 

One suggestion: if an excursion to Antigua de Guatemala is offered on your cruise, give it serious consideration. We found our visit there so interesting and beautiful that it was completely worth the 3-hour round trip by bus.

[LittleRedJohn]

We're on this Panama Canal cruise in January 2017. Any suggestions for shore excursionsin Puerto Chaipas, Puerto Quetzal and Puntarenas would be appreciated.

[CoSec]

Many thanks for the helpful feedback, Shellback2014 and DCTraveller244. Would also be interested to hear the views on the excursions requested by LittleRedJohn.

[Shellback2014]

We're on this Panama Canal cruise in January 2017. Any suggestions for shore excursionsin Puerto Chaipas, Puerto Quetzal and Puntarenas would be appreciated.

 

We took the ship's excursion at Puerto Chiapas. A nice drive thru the countryside, then to a school where we were "entertained" by young children dancing "traditional native dances", etc., then to a banana cooperative. We had attended lectures about bananas on the ship, so seeing the coop was quite interesting, informative and educational. When we got back to the Quest, the crew was lined up to welcome us home. Quite impressive and fun. We were glad we took that excursion.

 

As to the others, we either didn't take them or have since forgotten.

 

I hesitate to say it, but that whole part of the world is so impoverished that it's depressing for us fat cats to see. Better to stay onboard and ignore the situation.

[BBWC]

In Puerto Chiapas, we did the Mayan ruins (Mayan tree of life). From Puerto Quetzal, definitely go to Antigua as suggested above, it was well worth the long drive. In Puntarenas, we used a private tour - Thumbs Up - very good. There were only four of us on the tour.

 

 

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[DC Traveler244]

Puerto Chiapas -- this was the most boring port on the cruise. None of the shore excursions appealed to us. We got off the ship and, after exploring for less than 10 minutes, returned to the ship.

 

Puerto Quetzal -- from this port, we took an excursion to Antigua de Guatemala, a one-time Spanish colonial capital high in the mountains. It's beautifully restored, and the surrounding mountains (some of which are active volcanos) are stunning. Antigua was so special that three-hour roundtrip bus ride was well worth it. Note: some tour participants had difficulty walking on the cobblestone streets.

 

Puntarenas -- we took a jungle boat ride, which was moderately interesting (among other wildlife, we spotted a pair of rare scarlet macaws in the dense foliage). We felt that the tour guide was very good at spotting wildlife, but much too talkative on the bus to/from the ship.

 

Overall, my favorite stops on the cruise were Cartagena (we hired a private guide for a walking tour of the city's old town), Puerto Quetzal (see above), and Fuerte Amador (we enjoyed walking around Panama City's old town, though we thought the guide on the ship's tour was unprofessional; in 20/20 hindsight, we should have lined up a private guide).

 

Hope this helps!