Panama Canal questions

[blanca2]

Help, we've booked a 15 day Cruise on Celebrity's Mercury for Dec 06

Would love to hear from some of you with suggestions, your experience is helpful in planning our trip.

[CaptData]

I think you should wake up early the morning you are going in the locks. If it is a partial trans then take the train. Do listen to the naritive. Have fun.

[Nanner]

Can you hear the narrative in your own room?

[canderson]

Help, we've booked a 15 day Cruise on Celebrity's Mercury for Dec 06

Would love to hear from some of you with suggestions, your experience is helpful in planning our trip.

We took (more or less) this same cruise on Infinity in December '03. It's nice to see that they've substituted Curacao for Grand Cayman. That also gives you a very late departure from Aruba (same thing happened to us last year) so you can hang out in town in the evening -- a rare thing on any of these cruises. Should be a fantastic cruise.

 

Special notes:

 

If you choose to leave the ship on your own in Acapulco, DO avoid the 'blue shirts' at the pier with their little identity badges. Even so much as a "hello" and you'll have a 'friend' for life who will dog you through your entire visit and expect some sort of a tip as a result. Unless you need specific information, directions or assistance, they're a bloody nuisance!

 

Huatulco is a tiny little blip on the coast, having just been "discovered" by Celebrity a few years back. The two major plus points I could see were a very nice beach for a simple beach day and a very interesting (but playable) golf course that's definitely worth a round if you enjoy that.

 

The forward viewing areas of the Canal do fill up quickly in the morning -- quite some time before you will actually arrive at the locks. If you don't already have a prime space picked out by the time you hit the Bridge of the Americas, good luck. The good news is that the captain will typically open up the lower deck area as well, providing a lot more viewing space. There's always the option of the lounge in 11 Forward if it's hot, but that can fill up pretty quickly as well. If you have any plans to do a serious photo/video, don't be late.

 

In Aruba, we've always done an excursion that landed us at the De Palm private island. Nice facility for a beach break.

 

There's lots of reviews of these trips around (many long ones) on the 'regular' runners of this route -- Infinity and Summit seem to do it annually. Poke around and you'll find them.

[alolewis]

On our cruise the canal guide was heard in the cabins on the TV.

[DeepWaterMariner]

If it's too crowded forward then go to the stern. Chances are you won't have a crowd and will see everything and from closer up. The worst viewing is from balconies unless they overlook the stern.