Panama Canal nov. 2018

[ne1travel]

Although the dates do not go out to November at this time, we are considering HAL for 11/18 after looking at the 11/17 itinerary.

 

First, we are somewhat new cruisers with three cruises on Princess and another Western Caribbean planned next January with them.

 

Our plan is to retire next June and are planning a full transit Panama Canal cruise as a gift to ourselves.

 

Our daughter lives in San Diego and it just so happens that HAL cruises the Panama from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego where as Princess is to Los Angeles. It would be so much more convenient to have them pick us up in SD.

 

Now, we will be 60 and enjoy quiet. Like to relax and read. Do not need all the louder music or big MUTS TV experience. Simply put, we enjoy the art of doing nothing.

 

So....I need HAL cruisers to help me decide to cruise with them.

*On Princess, we've booked the Sanctuary for the quiet we prefer. What does HAL have that is similar?

*tell me what you can about the promenade deck & loungers.

*from what I've read, HAL balconies are a little larger than what we've had on the Royal & Regal.

*I've read some of the reviews on HAL Panama cruises, any info would be great.

 

The biggest thing HAL would have over Princess of course is disembarking in San Diego.

HAL looks to be a little more of a traditional cruise experience which we may enjoy.

Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Edited March 2, 2017 by ne1travel

[Sopwith]

We did the canal this past October on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale. We have cruised extensively with HAL and a few others, and had avoided HAL for a few years, but decided to try them again because the timing and itinerary worked for us.

 

The itinerary was good, not great. We were disappointed in the NA, mainly because of the overcrowding in the Lido, some of the entertainment venues and the main outside deck areas on the Lido deck. The food and entertainment were mediocre. It was the first cruise we've done where we skipped or walked out of some of the entertainment events. We tried the anytime dining for the first time and found if we showed up before about 7:45 we had to wait, and if we arrived after about 8:00 the place emptied out and the wait staff tried to hurry us along so they could clean up and go home.

 

If you value your quiet time and privacy as we do, you might do well to choose a cabin or a suite with a veranda big enough to hang out on. The one we had, Cabin 5046, only had room for chairs on the veranda, not lounges. You may have to get a suite for those. There were usually space and lounges available on the promenade deck. It will be fairly quiet other than the white noise from the ventilation exhaust, but there will be people constantly walking by. The cabanas just forward of the pool on Deck 11 were fairly private and reasonably quiet because they were rarely used. These are probably your best bet. I would stay away from the cabanas on the Lido deck because of the bustle nearby.

 

If we were to cruise with HAL again (unlikely) we would probably look at one of the smaller ships.

 

Hope that helps.

[ne1travel]

Thanks so much Sopwith. Great honest info.

 

 

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