Help..Planning a Panama Canal Trip (2) 60 yr olds

[Daycare Provider]

:eek: :eek: I am helping two friends in thier active 60's plan a panama canal cruise. They want to see the whole canal. Which cruise line offers the best cruise for this experience? Which ship? They want to travel in May 2007, is this a good time? Any advice would be very helpful. Thank You...:) please email me at angelaandjohn@charter.net ..Once again thank you very much.

[eldercruser]

The great majority of repositioning cruises between Alaska and the Caribbean (which make the full transit of the canal) take place in April and September.

 

We are in our early 60's and prefer Holland America for all round value, quality, size of ships and service. Others may have different opinions.

[greatam]

We, too, are planning a Canal cruise. One of the few cruises we have not done yet, so are excited about the new opportunity.

 

And we want a full transit, as you do. We have narrowed it down to the QE2, HAL and Celebrity. Seaborne has some great rates, but you have to purchase one way air from Costa Rica or some such place.

 

The HAL repo cruise offered late April 2006 had a tremendous price. 21 days, FLL to Seattle, $3000pp for balcony. They probably do the same cruise every year and in the reverse in the fall.

 

Celebrity does full transits that are NOT repo cruises. X does these almost bi-weekly in the spring and fall.

 

Hopefully you will share what you have found and I will continue to share what I find. By the way, we are 55 and 57.

[Travelbug 2]

We are doing the Panama Canal in Sept/Oct this year with HAL. Sailing on the Volendam from Vancouver to Ft Lauderdale. I am at present researching shore ex's and ports of call. My wife and I both turn 70 this year and HAL is our favorite cruise line.

This will be a first for us, I am a little concerned about the heat and humidity but will put up with it to have the experience of a full canal transit. Does anyone know if "shots" are required for this trip?

[WingedWagon]

Travelbug 2

 

We are booked on the Zuiderdam leaving in Sep/Oct Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale. Have you cruised on the Zuiderdam? We are in our mid 50’s and look forward to our first 21 day cruise and our first experience with Hal.

 

The other cc member on my roll call indicated that Hal advised her that we will need a vaccination for yellow fever. Our TA hasn’t advised us of this requirement yet.

[Travelbug 2]

Travelbug 2

 

We are booked on the Zuiderdam leaving in Sep/Oct Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale. Have you cruised on the Zuiderdam? We are in our mid 50’s and look forward to our first 21 day cruise and our first experience with Hal.

 

The other cc member on my roll call indicated that Hal advised her that we will need a vaccination for yellow fever. Our TA hasn’t advised us of this requirement yet.

 

We have not been on the Zuiderdam, it is a Vista class ship, one of the larger ones.

You will really enjoy your HAL experience and will be pampered with great service and lots of little extras.

No one has mentioned the vaccinations to us yet, I will check with my MD next visit.

My roll call is very quiet, maybe we will be alone on board!!!

[Daycare Provider]

:) I would like to thank everyone for thier wonderful advice. It is always hard planning a trip for soem one else. All this great feed back is wonderful.:)

[cruzisme]

we did the full transit Sept/05 aboard the Sun Princess. Had a great time and DH enjoyed seeing the locks open etc. Great photo ops too!

 

regarding shots: we did the Hep A and B twin shots (3 dosages) Started in July 05, another in Aug 05 and now due for the final shot this month.

we were told yellow fever was not necessary, but if you want peace of mind, you might get it. If you are doing the Amazon, I believe it is advised.

we did the Vancouver to FLL trip.

[SailAways]

we did the full transit Sept/05 aboard the Sun Princess. Had a great time and DH enjoyed seeing the locks open etc. Great photo ops too

regarding shots: we did the Hep A and B twin shots (3 dosages) Started in July 05, another in Aug 05 and now due for the final shot this month.

we were told yellow fever was not necessary, but if you want peace of mind, you might get it. If you are doing the Amazon, I believe it is advised.

we did the Vancouver to FLL trip.

 

Cruzime: Could you please tell me a little about the Sun Princess.

Is she beginning to look tattered at all - showing her age?

We are very close to booking the Panama Canal cruise on her for April 2007.

This would be a repositioning cruise - Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle.

Which side of the ship to observe more land. I have been thinking it must be the Starboard side, but please tell me your feelings about this.

We are considering an AC Mini Suite - Any thoughts to share?

Do you have any hints, or suggestions about the cruise, the ship, or just anything at all that might help?

How does the "Princess Choice" dining work out, or did you experience this at all? Does it seem to be like Freestyle on NCL?

Thanks for any help you can give.

[cruzisme]

The Sun Princess was built in 1995. Is it showing its age--well, they do a great job keeping it clean and polished. On our cruise we saw clean carpets etc. Some people on this board have criticized it for spots, rips, etc. If they were there, they were pretty well hidden and I was looking for them!

Hand sanitizers: these were in use during our cruise and my friends just finished the Souther Caribbean 10 dayer and said the sanitizers were strictly enforced, if you wanted to eat.

 

Personal vs traditional: both have their fans. The advantage of PC is that you meet more people while in traditional, you are with the same table each night. More freedom in PC regarding time and place to eat.

I would heartily recommend that you try the pizzas--they are great!

We were on the port side on Caribe--great cabin! It would seem that starboard would be the better side for this trip, but to be honest, we have never worried about which side we were on. We just enjoy cruising!

 

AC mini suite: if you can get one, I would! the size is incredible (I have peeked around on disembarkation day, to get a good sense of which cabins are roomy etc) As you probably already know, the mini suites on the Sun and Dawn are very spacious--more so than on other ships! So go for it if you can!

 

Wheelhouse: loved dancing here! they usually have a good band here.

Laundry: free for the washer and dryer, soap is extra. (free laundry if you are Elite level)

 

Horizon Court: the layout for the lines is a bit chaotic at times; you can leave the line and walk to the salads, etc.

 

Aloha stern: great for the loungers! not everyone knows about this deck.

 

Reading/library room: grab a comfy leather chair here and you can truly relax with a book or stare out the window. A good selection of board games supplied by the ship available.

 

Aruba: a great place for shopping probably the cheapest of all the ports. Walk around and head into the back streets and check out the shoes!

Costa Rica: if you need a name for a guide, let me know. He took us to great places (we did not do the zip line)

 

Christobel, Panama: we only had an hour to shop here; in the large building at the pier, the locals perform in beautiful clothing. Some very nice hand woven baskets etc. made by the local Indians available here.

We loved our cruise aboard the Sun. The itinerary was great, but the Canal was the highlight, of course.

Hope this helps!

:D

[Host Karen]

SailAways, for more information on the Sun Princess, here's a link to the review on her. Member reviews are also available on that page.

 

We have sailed on the former Ocean Princess (now sailing for P&O) and the Dawn Princess, both sister ships to the Sun. We thought they were lovely ships, although the regular balcony cabins were a little small. We always wanted to sail in a mini-suite; love the way the layout looks in the brochure.

 

Good luck luck with your decision!

[SailAways]

Thanks To All Of You:

 

This is the greatest sight, with wonderful CC members to constantly assist.

 

I sincerely appreciate your time and effort in directing me here and there to find exactly what I need to know to make an informed decision.

 

We definitely will be doing the Canal next Spring.

 

Thanks for the info about the cabin selection, etc. Very helpful, indeed.