My review of the Jewel's 16-night WB Panama Canal cruise, Jan. 20-Feb. 5, 2017

[CA-Cruzers]

New to the forum here as a member, although I've been reading posts here and there for a month or so. I can't think of a much better way to post for the first time than thanking you for your thorough review, great detail and wonderful pictures.

 

We'll be on the Westerdam in November (I haven't explored the HAL area here for Panama Canal trip reports yet) but I certainly appreciated the tips and info from your Jewel cruise.

 

Happy travels!

[BlueJai]

Turtles06 - Judith

 

We were away when you posted your review so we missed it. This cruise is on my wish list and your review has just made me feel like i better start planning. Oh my goodness, you did a wonderful job sharing your experiences and your pictures are absolutely beautiful. That early morning picture (your last port) of the sunrise was stunning.

 

Thank you for taking your time to do this review, I will save it and re-read until I can experience it myself.

 

Jai

[Turtles06]

New to the forum here as a member, although I've been reading posts here and there for a month or so. I can't think of a much better way to post for the first time than thanking you for your thorough review, great detail and wonderful pictures.

 

We'll be on the Westerdam in November (I haven't explored the HAL area here for Panama Canal trip reports yet) but I certainly appreciated the tips and info from your Jewel cruise.

 

Happy travels!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! And I am honored by your first post, thank you.

 

I hope you have a great time on the Westerdam! We are booked on one of her sister ships, the Zuiderdam, in 2018. It will be first HAL cruise, and we are very much looking forward to it.

 

Happy travels to you as well!

[Turtles06]

Turtles06 - Judith

 

We were away when you posted your review so we missed it. This cruise is on my wish list and your review has just made me feel like i better start planning. Oh my goodness, you did a wonderful job sharing your experiences and your pictures are absolutely beautiful. That early morning picture (your last port) of the sunrise was stunning.

 

Thank you for taking your time to do this review, I will save it and re-read until I can experience it myself.

 

Jai

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you get to experience the Canal sometime soon.

 

Safe and happy travels!

[creel5857]

To Turtles or anyone........when you get lounge chairs and umbrella on beach near port Huatulca, do they place a reserve sign in them or does it depend on you leaving items on chairs? and are the prices for all the chairs and tables about the same or do you need to check out multiple vendors........thanks

[lakediver]

To Turtles or anyone........when you get lounge chairs and umbrella on beach near port Huatulca, do they place a reserve sign in them or does it depend on you leaving items on chairs? and are the prices for all the chairs and tables about the same or do you need to check out multiple vendors........thanks

 

We didn't have any signs on the chairs but one of us always was there and the vendor/waiter kept an eye on who was there....

 

We checked with several vendors - we wanted loungers, not chairs and not all had comfortable loungers.The prices were all in the same range. I think we paid appr. 10 or 15 USD each for a lounger including an umbrella and had waiter service at our place.

 

Susanne

[Turtles06]

To Turtles or anyone........when you get lounge chairs and umbrella on beach near port Huatulca, do they place a reserve sign in them or does it depend on you leaving items on chairs? and are the prices for all the chairs and tables about the same or do you need to check out multiple vendors........thanks

 

No reserved sign, but we always had our towels and stuff like flip flops, etc. on the chairs when we were in the water. No problem at all. (And I think the servers also knew who was supposed to be there.)

 

As for comparative prices, when the server came up to us as we walked onto the beach and offered us two lounge chairs and an umbrella for ten bucks, we didn't feel the need to price shop.:D They were very comfy chairs. Of course, you should feel free to check out what you'll be getting before you agree to pay.

[Marion B]

Hi Turtles,

Very happy I found your wonderful review before our November cruise. We've done 2 partials and they whet our appetite for a full transit.

Several of your ports will be on our HAL cruise and I had found only limited info on them before your review.. You have confirmed for me that we will do ship's tours for Leon and Antigua, and we will skip Puerto Chiapas. We will check out Gio Tours.Your photos gave me a real sense of what to expect.

Your photography is stunning. I couldn't take my eyes away from Mazatlán at dawn.

I'm going to post your link on my roll call, because I think it will help my fellow cruisers too.

Thanks so much for sharing with us.

Marion

[travelin.sisters]

My first CC board post. I want to first of all say thank you for the informative review & gorgeous photos. I feel much more prepared & excited for our upcoming cruise. We are doing a Princess round trip Panama Canal from Los Angeles in Sept & I am starting to plan.

 

I am wondering if you can tell me which section you visited at the Izapa Ruins? Our cruise has tours that either go to section A or section F & I am having trouble figuring out which is the better choice.

 

Again thank you so much for sharing your experiences & photos. Kathy

 

The fourth port in our five ports in a row marathon was Puerto Chiapas, Mexico. During our pre-cruise research, we could not find much to do here, and, having now visited this port, we would both say that a sea day would have been far preferable, especially given how many ports we had on this cruise. (Plus we love sea days.)

 

I'm not a big fan of staying on board a ship in a port I've never been to, so before the cruise we kept reading the descriptions of the various NCL shore excursions, and finally booked "Chiapas Through the Ages," primarily because it would take us to the Mayan ruins at Izapa, about a half hour or so drive from the ship. At least we'd see Mayan ruins.

 

We sailed into Puerto Chiapas at dawn.

 

 

The dock area has a couple of pavilions with vendors, etc. (And containers of Chiquita bananas!)

 

 

The ruins at Izapa include plazas, temples, ballcourts, and stelae. We spent perhaps an hour there, the highpoint of our day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Turtles06]

Hi Turtles,

Very happy I found your wonderful review before our November cruise. We've done 2 partials and they whet our appetite for a full transit.

Several of your ports will be on our HAL cruise and I had found only limited info on them before your review.. You have confirmed for me that we will do ship's tours for Leon and Antigua, and we will skip Puerto Chiapas. We will check out Gio Tours.Your photos gave me a real sense of what to expect.

Your photography is stunning. I couldn't take my eyes away from Mazatlán at dawn.

I'm going to post your link on my roll call, because I think it will help my fellow cruisers too.

Thanks so much for sharing with us.

Marion

 

Thank you for all the kind words! I hope you and the others on your cruise have a great trip, and if you have any more questions re the overlapping ports, just ask!

[Turtles06]

My first CC board post. I want to first of all say thank you for the informative review & gorgeous photos. I feel much more prepared & excited for our upcoming cruise. We are doing a Princess round trip Panama Canal from Los Angeles in Sept & I am starting to plan.

 

I am wondering if you can tell me which section you visited at the Izapa Ruins? Our cruise has tours that either go to section A or section F & I am having trouble figuring out which is the better choice.

 

Again thank you so much for sharing your experiences & photos. Kathy

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Thanks so much for all your kind words; I am honored by your very first post.

 

You asked a great question about Izapa. We had no choice about the sections, and they did not tell us which section it was, but I've just done a bit of Googling around the internet, and my very best guess is that it was Section F. I have no idea which would be the better choice, but I have a very vague recollection of our guide mentioning sections A and B, and that they sounded interesting.

 

I hope you have a very wonderful trip!

[travelin.sisters]

thank you

[zazou]

Thank you so much for this review! we will go on our first HAL and first Panama canal in October. We will visit a lot of these ports. In your signature, I saw that you seem to have cruise on HAL lately. Did you enjoyed it? It will be our first time outside NCL.

 

You really convince me to bring my A6300 instead of my full gear :). You do beautiful pictures.

 

At Huatulco beach, do you know if we can do interesting snorkeling? I'm trying to figuring out at which port we will snorkel.

Thanks again!

Isabelle

[Turtles06]

Thank you so much for this review! we will go on our first HAL and first Panama canal in October. We will visit a lot of these ports. In your signature, I saw that you seem to have cruise on HAL lately. Did you enjoyed it? It will be our first time outside NCL.

 

You really convince me to bring my A6300 instead of my full gear :). You do beautiful pictures.

 

At Huatulco beach, do you know if we can do interesting snorkeling? I'm trying to figuring out at which port we will snorkel.

Thanks again!

Isabelle

 

Hi Isabelle,

 

Thanks for reading my trip report and for your kind words re my photos.

 

If you have an A6300, you should be fine. (Unless you really enjoy hauling the heavier stuff! :) Or you want to have a really long lens with you. The longest I had with my on my a6000 was 200mm.)

 

Regarding HAL, we haven't cruise on HAL yet...we are booked on the HAL Zuiderdam for an August 2018 TA (the Viking Passage). We are really looking forward to it. HAL has some really interesting itineraries, but until this January, they allowed people to smoke on their balconies, so that was a total deal breaker for us. Now that they have banned smoking on balconies, they are in the mix for us. I have a friend who cruises HAL a lot. She did a Panama Canal cruise with them this year and really enjoyed it, so I think you are going to have a fine time.

 

As best I could tell, the Mexican ports that we visited are not really known for snorkeling in the way the Caribbean is. It's possible there may be some good snorkel spots; I would suggest (if you haven't done so already) you do some research and ask questions over on the Mexican Riviera board. Folks are very helpful.

 

Have a great cruise!

[donnachipper]

I enjoyed your review & pictures of your cruise. My wife & I are cruising the Panama Canal on the Pearl on October 7th on a 14 day cruise from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Our stops Carbo San Lucas, Mexico / Acapulco, Mexico / Huatulco, Mexico / Puntarenas, Costa Rica / Panama Canal Transit / & Cartagena, Columbia / returning to New Orleans. I was wondering if there are any decent excursions worth seeing. I am 62 and plan on retiring at the end of June, after working in the same refinery for 42 years. I am getting ready to have hip replacement next week so I hope everything goes good with that. We are really looking forward to this cruise. I've been 20 cruises so far and they have all been to the Caribbean out of New Orleans. We been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean & Norwegian. We live about 15 minutes from the dock. I would appreciate any info / suggestions you may have --- Thanks & Your review was excellent

Hey KajunCruiser, we are going on Carnival Miracle 1/13/2018,Starting in LA and ending in Tampa. I also love this review, it is so helpful. One of the couples we are going with is having their knee replaced this summer, and I would be interested in some of the excursions and your opinion of the mobility issue, if any, on your trip. So jealous, that you live so close to a cruise port. I would be going all the time.:) Donna

[Turtles06]

Hey KajunCruiser, we are going on Carnival Miracle 1/13/2018,Starting in LA and ending in Tampa. I also love this review, it is so helpful. One of the couples we are going with is having their knee replaced this summer, and I would be interested in some of the excursions and your opinion of the mobility issue, if any, on your trip. So jealous, that you live so close to a cruise port. I would be going all the time.:) Donna

 

Hi Donna, I'm the OP. I'm so glad you found my review helpful.

 

I had a total knee replacement a little over two months ago, and just walked a 5K (3.1 miles) this weekend. Please tell your friend it's really important to do the pre-surgical exercises (especially quad strengthening) and absolutely critical to commit to and do all the post-surgical PT required to get your range of motion, mobility, and strength back. I think if your friend is having a knee replacement this summer and not traveling until January, he/she should have sufficient time to recover and be ready. Good luck to your friend, and remember -- he/she MUST do the PT after surgery!

[donnachipper]

Thank you so much for your awesome review, I have already contacted Dora in Cartagena. We are thinking of doing a 6 person private tour. Without going thru all of your posts, do you recommend that? We like the idea of not being to crowded in the van, and air conditioning is a must. He is already doing the exercises, and his wife and myself are both nurses, and we both are about the PT, but as being a wife and a RN doesn't mean our husbands will do as we say. I am pretty sure he will. He has the time. Do you know anyone who did zipline in Costa Rica? I am thinking I would love to do that. Not everyone in my group will do that. Donna

[Turtles06]

Thank you so much for your awesome review, I have already contacted Dora in Cartagena. We are thinking of doing a 6 person private tour. Without going thru all of your posts, do you recommend that? We like the idea of not being to crowded in the van, and air conditioning is a must. He is already doing the exercises, and his wife and myself are both nurses, and we both are about the PT, but as being a wife and a RN doesn't mean our husbands will do as we say. I am pretty sure he will. He has the time. Do you know anyone who did zipline in Costa Rica? I am thinking I would love to do that. Not everyone in my group will do that. Donna

 

Thanks again for the kind words. I'm a total believer in doing smallish private tours, with 6-8 being optimum imho. So I think your plan for 6 is good. (Dora of course will probably want you to have more, but she was fine with us setting a maximum on our group. We had 8.) The sooner you book, the better. She just has a few guides, and she books up!

 

I have a vague recollection of talking with a couple of folks who did ziplining on this cruise, probably in Costa Rica. I can't recall who they did it with though. (You are more game than I if you do it! :) )

 

Best of luck to your friend. If he won't listen to his wife, tell him to listen to his nurse. LOL.

[mljatsea]

Thank you for a great review. We will be doing the canal on the Seabourn Sojourn in November. We did the canal on the Seabourn Legend in 2008 but all the ports are different this time. We will definitely be contacting Dora and Gio Tours. Bad news about Puerto Chiapas. Unfortunately I'm not able to see your photos--something about update for third party hosting. Can you tell me what to do so I can see them.

 

Many thanks.

[zazou]

thank you for your review. I was coming back to it to show my husband your pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot see them anymore. It said: please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting. For more info please go to www dot photobucket dot com /P500.

[Sunseeker1001]

Turtles06. I read your reviews of your ship experiences. We are not on the Jewel but a HAL cruise. Since you have such detailed information, I was wondering how to access your reviews of the different ports, what you did, what you would recommend, not recommend, etc. I am not positive if you saw my first post but we are seeing Puerto Vallerta, Huatulco, Mexico; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Corinto, Nicarugua, Puerto Calders [Puntarenas], Costa Rica; Panama Canal [no excursion offered by HAL]. Don't know what your itinerary was but you may have been to some or all of these. Any help/advice you can give me. We will be on cruise in December. TIA

[Seacreature101]

thank you for your review. I was coming back to it to show my husband your pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot see them anymore. It said: please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting. For more info please go to www dot photobucket dot com /P500.

 

Boo Hoo. Me too!

[scapel]

Thank you for a great review. We will be doing the canal on the Seabourn Sojourn in November. We did the canal on the Seabourn Legend in 2008 but all the ports are different this time. We will definitely be contacting Dora and Gio Tours. Bad news about Puerto Chiapas. Unfortunately I'm not able to see your photos--something about update for third party hosting. Can you tell me what to do so I can see them.

 

Many thanks.

 

Hello,

I always enjoy when people put where they are from since when I remember having a good vacation in their city I tend to want to post back.

I have been looking around at PC post since we plan a 3rd in Jan 2018.

 

 

www.TomsPortGuides.com

 

 

Find the port guide on PC--Great info if you don't have it yet

Read Path Between the Seas and Panama Fever both drudgery books, but maybe you might find my outline I posted somewhere.

We had such fun riding snowmobiles in Winter Park area

 

 

Links you might like are listed FYI

Edited September 2, 2017 by scapel

[Turtles06]

Thank you for a great review. We will be doing the canal on the Seabourn Sojourn in November. We did the canal on the Seabourn Legend in 2008 but all the ports are different this time. We will definitely be contacting Dora and Gio Tours. Bad news about Puerto Chiapas. Unfortunately I'm not able to see your photos--something about update for third party hosting. Can you tell me what to do so I can see them.

 

Many thanks.

 

thank you for your review. I was coming back to it to show my husband your pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot see them anymore. It said: please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting. For more info please go to www dot photobucket dot com /P500.

 

Thank you both so much! Unfortunately, earlier this summer, Photobucket suddenly changed its rules, and unless someone wants to pay them the absurd amount of $400 per year (!!!), photos like mine posted here from my Photobucket account can no longer be seen. Many people like I who spent hours putting photos in trip reports like this one, or in reviews, or in other places here on Cruise Critic or elsewhere on the Internet, have been victimized this way. Obviously, lots of folks were incredibly upset by this, and Photobucket's action has been the subject of great discussion over on the digital photography board and elsewhere on Cruise Critic.

 

It saddens me greatly that no one can see the photos I spent so much time posting in this thread. I am using Shutterfly now to post photos here on Cruise Critic, but CC does not allow someone to go back and edit her post after about 20 minutes, so I can't substitute the photos.

 

Someday if I have enough time and inclination, I suppose I could put another set of photos here at the end, although I'm not sure anyone would notice them.

 

But since I'm on right now, let me just add this one. Here we are on the Jewel in the Gatun Locks, following the Island Princess. What a great cruise this was.

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

Edited September 2, 2017 by Turtles06