Southern Caribbean/Panama Canal cruise

[georgeschris]

Hi

We’ve been on the southern Caribbean cruise and like the islands, but have never been to the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Costa Rica. My question is, is the Panama Canal worth seeing and how is Cartagena and Costa Rica? We were looking at the Holland America/Eurodam combo. Plus any comments about the Eurodam would be appreciated. Any insight is welcomed.  Thx. George and Christine 

[BklynBoy8]

14 minutes ago, georgeschris said:

Hi

We’ve been on the southern Caribbean cruise and like the islands, but have never been to the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Costa Rica. My question is, is the Panama Canal worth seeing and how is Cartagena and Costa Rica? We were looking at the Holland America/Eurodam combo. Plus any comments about the Eurodam would be appreciated. Any insight is welcomed.  Thx. George and Christine 

 

Though we done it with another line, we have done Panama Canal twice.

 

Once west to east and the second time on the east side. Each time we are amazed at the construction of the PC.

 

So interesting watching the ships operating thru from the observation deck. But especially the thrill of the full day sailing through it from west to east.

 

An amazing creation!

Edited September 4, 2022 by BklynBoy8

[navybankerteacher]

30 minutes ago, georgeschris said:

Hi

We’ve been on the southern Caribbean cruise and like the islands, but have never been to the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Costa Rica. My question is, is the Panama Canal worth seeing and how is Cartagena and Costa Rica? We were looking at the Holland America/Eurodam combo. Plus any comments about the Eurodam would be appreciated. Any insight is welcomed.  Thx. George and Christine 

A few years ago we sailed HAL's Zuiderdam Panama Canal itinerary from Ft. Lauderdale - through the canal to Gatun Lake then back. It wasn't complete transit, but it gave a great sense of the canal, plus stops in Central America and Cartagena.  The fact that it was round trip from FtL made transportation easier/less expensive -- i think it is a great way of seeing the canal, unless you alsowant to hang out on west coast for a bit as well.

[Ashland]

We have the Panama Canal booked for Oct 2nd San Pedro to Tampa RCI on Serenade...Really looking forward to this one...and so glad I booked when the schedule first opened.

[CruiserBruce]

The Canal is a bucket list cruise for most people. It is truly an amazing wonder of the world. Highly recommend doing a full transit, but if only  partial transit is possible, please do it.

 

All the info you will ever need about about the Eurodam, check out the HAL board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/103-holland-america-line/

 

Its a great ship. Other "tell us about" is a very broad and vague question.

[jsn55]

I found our Panama Canal cruise one of the best ever.  We sailed Royal Caribbean out of Galveston.  I had read "The Path Between the Seas" and just loved seeing it all for myself.  And now it's all 'new' again.  I got up at 430 to watch the transit, all those little mules zipping back and forth ... utterly fascinating.  I'd book it again, but we no longer like hot, humid weather.  Read Eurodam's reviews right here on CC.

[donaldsc]

The Panama Canal is definitely worth visiting if only to see how wonderfully the 100 year old technology still works.  If you decide to take a canal cruise make sure to do one that goes through then old canal and do a full canal transit.  This is the best way to get to appreciate the canal.

 

DON

[puppycanducruise]

We did the 11 day cruise on HAL, into the Panama Canal.  You transit the first set of locks then the ship stays in Gatun Lake for the day.  There are several shore excursions you can take, or stay on the ship.  Later, the ship exits the canal.  We also stopped in Costa Rica, Colombia, Aruba, Curacao and Half Moon Key  (maybe more ports but I can't remember).  It's a great way to see the canal and convenient because it's a round trip cruise from Ft Lauderdale.  It's also shorter than a cruise that does the full transit of the canal.  

We did not sail the Eurodam on that cruise, but we have been on the Eurodam in Europe.  It's a great ship, lots of places to sit and enjoy the sea, a full promenade around the ship and the Tamarind restaurant.

 

[ldubs]

13 hours ago, donaldsc said:

The Panama Canal is definitely worth visiting if only to see how wonderfully the 100 year old technology still works.  If you decide to take a canal cruise make sure to do one that goes through then old canal and do a full canal transit.  This is the best way to get to appreciate the canal.

 

DON

 

We did the partial transit then an excursion on a ferry sized boat through the rest of the canal.  Being in a smaller boat sharing the locks was interesting as we could literally reach out and touch the side of the locks.   While we did get to see the rest of the transit, it was from a very different point of view.   When we arrived at the pacific side, they bused us back to the cruise ship.   I don't know if they still offer this type excursion.  

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

We did the partial transit then an excursion on a ferry sized boat through the rest of the canal.  Being in a smaller boat sharing the locks was interesting as we could literally reach out and touch the side of the locks.   While we did get to see the rest of the transit, it was from a very different point of view.   When we arrived at the pacific side, they bused us back to the cruise ship.   I don't know if they still offer this type excursion.  

I believe that excursion is offered on every partial transit cruise.  If the cruise does a full transit and spends a day in either Panama City or Colon, you could probably take that excursion also.  EM

[crystalspin]

17 hours ago, georgeschris said:

We’ve been on the southern Caribbean cruise and like the islands, but have never been to the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Costa Rica. My question is, is the Panama Canal worth seeing and how is Cartagena and Costa Rica? Plus any comments about the Eurodam would be appreciated.

Panama Canal is something you should see in your lifetime. It is hot and humid! Cartagena is hot and humid, and I would skip it (stay on board!) next time, but if you are interested in colonial forts, that might be a tour you'd like. Costa Rica is hot and humid and fascinating! (Take an excursion that gets you away from Puerto Limon, or Puerto Caldera if you do the full transit, and into the countryside.)

 

We did a TransAtlantic on the Eurodam's sister ship Nieuw Amsterdam, and it is probably my husband's favorite ship so far!

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

We did the partial transit then an excursion on a ferry sized boat through the rest of the canal.  Being in a smaller boat sharing the locks was interesting as we could literally reach out and touch the side of the locks.   While we did get to see the rest of the transit, it was from a very different point of view.   When we arrived at the pacific side, they bused us back to the cruise ship.   I don't know if they still offer this type excursion.  

 

I know whereof you speak.  Many years ago we lived in Richland WA which is close to the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers.  Both rivers have locks and this is the size of the locks on the Snake -

 

The standard size lock in the system in 86 feet wide and 675 feet long. The river channel is a minimum of 14 feet deep. 

 

My daughter was a member of a local girl scout troop and one of the fathers was an engineer working for the Columbia River Authority or what ever it was called.  Once he offered to take the troop on a short cruise on the Snake in a boat that was maybe 25 or 30 ft long with outboard engines.  As part of the cruise we got to go through one of the locks.  Imagine a 25 foot boat being the ONLY boat in a 86 x 675 foot lock.  The girls sort of got it but it was amazing to me.  We locked upstream and then downstream as the only boat in the locks.  That sort of thing is not likely to ever happen to me again.

 

DON

[rkacruiser]

I have sailed on a complete transit of the Canal a few times as well as the partial transit which was on the Eurodam.  The complete transit is best, but, the partial transit will satisfy a first time Canal visitor quite well.  Costa Rica (from the Caribbean side) may offer a very good sky tram ride through the rain forest.  I thought it was very enjoyable.  

 

17 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I had read "The Path Between the Seas"

 

I strongly recommend that you read the book before your cruise.  It will help you better appreciate what you are seeing and experiencing during your transit.  

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Panama Canal is something you should see in your lifetime. It is hot and humid! Cartagena is hot and humid, and I would skip it (stay on board!) next time, but if you are interested in colonial forts, that might be a tour you'd like. Costa Rica is hot and humid and fascinating! (Take an excursion that gets you away from Puerto Limon, or Puerto Caldera if you do the full transit, and into the countryside.)

 

We did a TransAtlantic on the Eurodam's sister ship Nieuw Amsterdam, and it is probably my husband's favorite ship so far!

 

Cartagena -- first time I ever had sunscreen melt!  

 

I enjoyed the banana plantation and fresh pineapple in Costa Rica!  

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I know whereof you speak.  Many years ago we lived in Richland WA which is close to the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers.  Both rivers have locks and this is the size of the locks on the Snake -

 

The standard size lock in the system in 86 feet wide and 675 feet long. The river channel is a minimum of 14 feet deep. 

 

My daughter was a member of a local girl scout troop and one of the fathers was an engineer working for the Columbia River Authority or what ever it was called.  Once he offered to take the troop on a short cruise on the Snake in a boat that was maybe 25 or 30 ft long with outboard engines.  As part of the cruise we got to go through one of the locks.  Imagine a 25 foot boat being the ONLY boat in a 86 x 675 foot lock.  The girls sort of got it but it was amazing to me.  We locked upstream and then downstream as the only boat in the locks.  That sort of thing is not likely to ever happen to me again.

 

DON

 

That sounds terrific.  As memorable experiences go, that's a keeper!  

 

[bbwex]

We did a canal cruise and really enjoyed it.  As others have said, the canal, its construction and operation are amazing to see.  Most cruises embark people to explain the operation of the canal before you actually go through it, so you will understand how it all works.

 

As for the ports, I had little idea of what we would see in Cartagena and some of the others, but though they are warm, they are really interesting.  All-in-all, it was a great cruise besides the canal, and the canal is truly fascinating.

[lenquixote66]

On 9/3/2022 at 8:42 PM, georgeschris said:

Hi

We’ve been on the southern Caribbean cruise and like the islands, but have never been to the Panama Canal, Cartagena, Costa Rica. My question is, is the Panama Canal worth seeing and how is Cartagena and Costa Rica? We were looking at the Holland America/Eurodam combo. Plus any comments about the Eurodam would be appreciated. Any insight is welcomed.  Thx. George and Christine 

We did a HAL cruise to Panama Canal and Costa Rica.It was the best cruise we were ever on.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, bbwex said:

the canal is truly fascinating.

 

A point that isn't often made about even the partial Canal cruises is that while one's ship will probably use the old locks, the new Canal can be viewed at times.  Particularly if there is a really huge container ship making a transit.  One can see the entrance/exit to the new Canal on the Caribbean side of the Canal as one's ship approaches or exits the old locks.  But, it helps to prepare for that view so that one has some idea of what to look for.  

[Turtles06]

On 9/4/2022 at 2:27 PM, crystalspin said:

Cartagena is hot and humid, and I would skip it (stay on board!) next time, but if you are interested in colonial forts, that might be a tour you'd like.

We’ve been to Cartagena twice and enjoyed both visits. For a first timer, I would strongly recommend doing what we did — taking a private tour (get a small group from your Roll Call) with Dora De Zubiria (aka Dora the Explorer) who is highly regarded here on CC for good reason — she or a colleague will take you on an interesting and picturesque tour of the old city. 
 

http://www.cartagenatour.com

 

On our second visit, we hopped a cab to the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas — the Fortaleza— and spent the morning touring it on our own.

 

No way would I stay on the ship in Cartagena.  😊
 

 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

We’ve been to Cartagena twice and enjoyed both visits. For a first timer, I would strongly recommend doing what we did — taking a private tour (get a small group from your Roll Call) with Dora De Zubiria (aka Dora the Explorer) who is highly regarded here on CC for good reason — she or a colleague will take you on an interesting and picturesque tour of the old city. 
 

http://www.cartagenatour.com

 

On our second visit, we hopped a cab to the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas — the Fortaleza— and spent the morning touring it on our own.

 

No way would I stay on the ship in Cartagena.  😊
 

 

Nice to hear about Dora...We have a tour booked with her for October with some members of our rollcall.

[Turtles06]

58 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Nice to hear about Dora...We have a tour booked with her for October with some members of our rollcall.

I think you’ll enjoy it!

[navybankerteacher]

On 9/7/2022 at 8:02 PM, lenquixote66 said:

We did a HAL cruise to Panama Canal and Costa Rica.It was the best cruise we were ever on.

An i loved those Panama Buns.

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

An i loved those Panama Buns.

Yes,absolutely delicious.Thanks for the memory.