"Live" - 29 Nov - 15 Dec 2018 Panama Canal on Vision

[PCWalton1]

Hello and welcome to our cruise. We are Bill and Marie from the Seattle area and tomorrow we fly down to Los Angeles to meet up with Vision of the Seas the following day. We did a similar cruise in 2013 on Legend in the reverse order east to west. I would have preferred the same direction but the logistics didn't work out for us. The nice thing about this cruise is we will see the ship dressed up for Christmas which will be a first for us. 

 

[EeyoreRN]

Following!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do a report!

[PCWalton1]

2 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

Following!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do a report!

 

Thanks for following along. 

 

For cabin we have an inside again. It worked fine for us last time and was in the budget as all the balconies were priced too high for the amount of time we would have spent on it. Last time on canal transit day I was all over the ship anyway. 

 

[PCWalton1]

As I mentioned tomorrow we fly down to LA (Alaska Air) and will be staying at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. Decent enough hotel that is close to the cruise terminal 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

I found a couple of books for the area we are heading. The first is book by a former Panama Canal pilot. 

 

 

The history and operations of the Panama Canal during the 1980s and 1990s come to life in this vibrant personal memoir by retired canal pilot Kenneth P. Puckett. In this book, Captain Puckett shares "sea stories" and other personal memories that have made him a popular teacher and lecturer. For nearly 16 years, until he retired in 1996, he helped to guide ships through the historic Panama Canal on more than 1,400 transits. On these pages he navigates through tales of his rocky childhood in northern Kentucky; his military adventures in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, where he served two tours of Vietnam; and what it was like in Panama in the 1980s as the Central American country fell into chaos under the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega. Enjoy the breezy storytelling of Captain Puckett as he shares what it was like being a maritime pilot on the canal during its turbulent years of transition to ownership by Panama after nearly a century under U.S. control. But don't think Captain Puckett didn't have fun along the way. He blends into this autobiography many of his unforgettable sea stories, such as the time he encountered a "pooping monkey" on a ship's bridge, and the time he once pranked a ship's captain into thinking he had plowed his vessel through a banana farm.

 

The second is about the privateers in Cartagena

 

 

 

No Limits to Their Sway: Cartagena's Privateers and the Masterless Caribbean in the Age of Revolutions

Following the 1808 French invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, an unprecedented political crisis threw the Spanish Monarchy into turmoil. On the Caribbean coast of modern-day Colombia, the important port town of Cartagena rejected Spanish authority, finally declaring independence in 1811. With new leadership that included free people of color, Cartagena welcomed merchants, revolutionaries, and adventurers from Venezuela, the Antilles, the United States, and Europe. Most importantly, independent Cartagena opened its doors to privateers of color from the French Caribbean. Hired mercenaries of the sea, privateers defended Cartagena's claim to sovereignty, attacking Spanish ships and seizing Spanish property, especially near Cuba, and establishing vibrant maritime connections with Haiti.

Most of Cartagena's privateers were people of color and descendants of slaves who benefited from the relative freedom and flexibility of life at sea, but also faced kidnapping, enslavement, and brutality. Many came from Haiti and Guadeloupe; some had been directly involved in the Haitian Revolution. While their manpower proved crucial in the early Anti-Spanish struggles, Afro-Caribbean privateers were also perceived as a threat, suspected of holding questionable loyalties, disorderly tendencies, and too strong a commitment to political and social privileges for people of color. Based on handwritten and printed sources in Spanish, English, and French, this book tells the story of Cartagena's multinational and multicultural seafarers, revealing the Trans-Atlantic and maritime dimensions of South American independence.

Edited November 27, 2018 by PCWalton1

[dani negreanu]

Following, as always😀

Enjoy your cruise, Marie & Bill 🌹

 

[PCWalton1]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

Following, as always😀

Enjoy your cruise, Marie & Bill 🌹

 

Thanks

 

For the ports we have a mix of private tours, ship tours and no tours. 

 

In Cabo San Lucas we plan to do what we have done on previous port visits. Walk around on our own enjoying food, drinks, and shopping 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

In Puerto Vallarta we were also going to walk about but a member of our roll call found a food tour which sounded terrific

 

One-of-a-kind Food Tastings.  A guided 3 to 3½ hour food and city walking tour featuring ten food tasting locations carefully chosen to highlight the best regional flavors Puerto Vallarta has to offer. Enough for a satisfying lunch, you will enjoy a sampling of mouth-watering foods at family-owned restaurants and stands, sip on refreshing local drinks and even enjoy a fresh tortilla straight from the conveyor belt. Learn about food from the colorful local folks whose pride in their craft is only matched by the effusiveness of their spirit. Stops include Vallarta’s best mole enchiladas, traditional ceviche tostadas, a tortilla factory, fresh coconut, tacos from an authentic taco stand, traditional drinks, savory soups, regional candies and more. 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

In Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala we are taking our lone ship's tour

 

Guatemala Highland, Panajachel and Lake Atitlan

 

Ride through the fascinating lowlands of Guatemala, to the highland village of Panajachel, passing scenic farmland and volcanic mountains. Stopping in the coffee plantation village of San Lucas, you'll board a launch and take an unforgettable cruise across Lake Atitlan to Panajachel. This isolated village with breathtaking views of volcanoes around Lake Atitlan is the gateway to indigenous villages famous for weaving. Browse and shop for beautiful handicrafts, and enjoy lunch in a local hotel.

 

[PCWalton1]

For Puntarenas, Costa Rica we will be using Your Luck Tours. 

1) Rainforest Skywalk and Tarcoles River Eco Cruise Tour.

    Combo 6 in 1

    Travel through the Costa Rican countryside past traditional farming villages and mango and citrus plantations for about 1 hour to reach Villa Lapas. Straddling the country’s unique tropical and dry forest ecosystems, this nature reserve is home to hundreds of bird species plus an array of other wildlife like raccoons, monkeys, anteaters, and poison dart frogs. Explore this incredible biodiversity on a SkyWay tour along suspended bridges and walkways. 
Head next to Santa Lucia, a replica of a Spanish colonial settlement nestled against a river and the rainforest. Enjoy free time here to shop for local goods like gourmet coffee and small painted oxcarts. Refresh with a snack of fresh fruit and iced tea here before continuing on to the Tarcoles River. 

Hop aboard a riverboat for a 1-hour cruise down the waterway famous for its population of large American crocodiles. Keep an eye out for the jaw-snapping crocs and soak up scenic views along the northern border of the Carara Biological Reserve.
After the boat tour, you’ll have a chance to pick up more souvenirs at the El Jardin store and restaurant and get a glimpse into coastal culture with a short sightseeing tour of Puntarenas city. The 6-hour tour concludes with drop-off back at the cruise pier.

 

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

Bill,

 

Very much looking forward to your live review, as always.  This is a bucket list cruise for me.  I was in Panama City on business a couple of months ago and we tried to eat at the restaurant that overlooks the Miraflores locks.  We got stuck in traffic (bad accident) about 2 miles from the locks.  We didn't move for an hour and then gave up and went back to our hotel.  Never got to see the locks.  Guess I'll need to live vicariously through your pictures for now.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by bobmacliberty

[PCWalton1]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

Bill,

 

Very much looking forward to your live review, as always.  This is a bucket list cruise for me.  I was in Panama City on business a couple of months ago and we tried to eat at the restaurant that overlooks the Miraflores locks.  We got stuck in traffic (bad accident) about 2 miles from the locks.  We didn't move for an hour and then gave up and went back to our hotel.  Never got to see the locks.  Guess I'll need to live vicariously through your pictures for now.

 

Well hopefully we won't have traffic delays at the locks 😁

[PCWalton1]

The day after our transit of the canal we will be in Colon, Panama. We have set up a tour with Roberto at Robtad's tours.

 

Colon, Panama

The tour that you selected is my tour Option #2:  Grand Tour (Two Oceans and Three Locks) and I have set up the following itinerary for this tour:

 0715 hrs: Pick up at Colon 2000 Shopping Mall. Upon disembarking at the Colon 2000 pier you and your party should proceed up the escalator, walk across the bridge and as you come down the escalator, I will meet you at the “Souvenir Store” located on your right hand below the banner of Theodore Roosevelt. I will be holding a sign with your name and the name of the tour company “Robtad´s” for you to identify me.

 After this we will take the 25-minute journey to visit the newly inaugurated Agua Clara locks from its Visitor’s Pavilion overlooking the Agua Clara locks - the new set of locks ($15.00 entrance fee).  This Atlantic Locks Observation Center is suspended 60 meters above sea level and 50 meters above the Canal and it has natural trails that visitors can use to wander into the rainforest.  From here the visitors have a splendid view of Gatun Lake, the Canal and the newly inaugurated Agua Clara locks.

 After this you will take the highway and travel 50 minutes to Panama City.  You will then pass through the rainforest and take the Centennial Bridge to cross over the Canal at its highest point at Gaillard or Culebra Cut and travel from South America to North America, B4 passing thru the former Canal Zone area and then you will go to the Amador Causeway; 3 islands (Naos, Perico and Flamenco) that were united with much of the material that was excavated from the Canal at Gaillard Cut to see the skyline of city at its farthest point.

 After this we will go into the Casco Antiguo or Colonial City.  It was founded in 1673 as a replacement for the previous capital in ruins, which was destroyed two years earlier during the English Captain Henry Morgan’s attack. The Casco Antiguo is full of historic monuments such as the Cathedral, the national theater, the historic Golden Altar, the Presidential Palace, and stroll historic Las Bovedas, which is a beautiful walkway where you can find the history of the French Canal engraved in the walls on the lower part of the walkway.

 In this tour you will have the opportunity to also visit Modern Panama City B4 we return to the ship.

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

In Cartagena we are taking a tour with Dora the Explorer..

 

CITY TOUR -

We begin our tour in Manga where we will see great mansions built at the beginning of the XX Century.  
We visit the main monuments of the city.  We start at the hill of La Popa from where, besides visiting the monastery and the chapel, we will be able to admire a fantastic view of the city.  Following we head towards the San Felipe de Barajas Fort, the most important fort built in the whole American continent. Photo Stop. Next we walk and drive around the walled area - old city admiring houses and plazas such as Plaza de Santa Teresa, Plaza de Bolivar, Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza de los Coches, full of history and legends. Photo stop at the Palace of the Inquisition.

 We do a stop at the Dungeons, which today are 23 handcraft shops. (option to walk the walls)

We Visit a Church called San Pedro Claver Church.

 

 

[PCWalton1]

Bags are packed.  Enjoying a quiet night before flying out in the morning. 

 

 

[davekathy]

Thanks for inviting us along on your cruise. 

[Wildcatfish]

Wow!  This looks like quite a tour.

 

Thanks for taking us along!

[Freo]

Bill, 

 

Thanks again for doing another "Live" report.

 

Safe travels.

[PCWalton1]

Thanks to all of you following along. I forgot to list our plans for New Orleans. We have never been there before so we will spend most of Saturday exploring the French Quarter. After dinner we plan on heading to City Park for the Celebration in the Oaks. 

 

The 2018 season is Celebration in the Oaks' 32nd anniversary!

Celebration in the Oaks in City Park is one of the most spectacular holiday lights festivals in the country, with more than 165,000 visitors pouring into the Park to see the magical winter spectacle. City Park’s famous oaks are swathed in hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays are scattered throughout 25 acres of the Park, including the Botanical Garden, Storyland, and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park.

 

 

[geoblond]

Always love to join you and Marie on your cruises.  Looking forward to doing the Canal in the next year or two so this review will be enjoyable.  Thanks!

[JamesEM]

Following along once again, looking forward to your reports and photos. 

[TPCRUISER2]

Looking forward to another great Bill and Marie cruise! Thanks for all the history so far!

[Missusdubbya]

Thanks for taking us with you!

[suesnake2002]

Can't wait to see your pics from panama. I lived at ft. Gulick in the early 80's. We would regularly go to town, colon. When we were not restricted to base. 

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thsnks for bringing us along! Looking forward to your adventures.