Panama Canal Cruise "Adjusted"

[saltwaterhappy]

2 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I don't have a dog in this fight, and this itinerary change would really suck, but something else that jumped at me...

They will put you in a "like for like" cabin if you stay with the new itinerary.  But the original booking was on Rhapsody and the new itinerary is on Rhapsody.  So why wouldn't they just keep folks in the cabins already assigned?  

I wondered the same thing! We were booked into a JS, why not guarantee we would have the same cabin we picked? It's not like anyone else is going to want it now! 

 

[saltwaterhappy]

25 minutes ago, coaster said:

I wonder if that was one of the problems. I actually loved the option to get in a Panama Canal cruise without flying to the West Coast! And a B2B would have been fantastic. We were just at the Colon port, and it's ALL BRAND NEW and beautiful. 

 

 

25 minutes ago, coaster said:

Bizarre itinerary. Don't see these sailings ever being booked close to capacity. Colon is a pretty dismal port. Looks like the buildings have been bombed when we were there in April on Celebrity. Only reason to stop is to take an excursion to the canal. Heard the government is trying to move people out of Colon to Panama City for some reason. Can't imagine flying there to sail to ports that are so common from FL departure ports. Locals going to fill these ships? 

 

[firefly333]

44 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

We have booked the 3-16-24 Odyssey as a replacement for the Rhapsody cruises.  It’s an 8 night where we had 14 nights booked on RH but we have never sailed on OY so we’re looking forward to a new ship (for us).  We’re going to the same southern Caribbean ports (Aruba and Curaçao) that the “enhanced” Rhapsody replacement cruise is going but I don’t have to fly to get there !

Nicer ship. I'm on the April 2025 ABC islands. I've noticed prices are going up for those too. I'm on Adventure out of PC. I wouldnt fly to colon to do these though, I'd pick another ship. Glad you made lemonade out lemons and found something you will enjoy. 

[Seacruise]

I have run a page on the Panama Canal for 25 years.

 

This is how I understand the problem as of now

 

NCL contributed a large amount of money to help build a dock in Fuerte Amador which would allow them to base a ship year round in Panama. The new cruise terminal was not finished when NCL started the sailings. Passengers used the Convention Centre to check-in and were bused to the dock.
Now this cruise a cruise that would start on the Pacific side and head up the coast then come back down to transit the canal and end in Colon. The next cruise would start in Colon and then finish in Fuerte Amador.
During this time the President of Panama apparently told NCL they had to use a certain company to get fuel services from not the company they had contracted from. The prices were higher and it was said that there was possibly some sort of exchange of money going on. This extra cost and the higher Port fees caused NCL to pull out earlier this year and not return.  I suspect that NCL took a hit on money paid for the new port as a result as well as all the cruises that got cancelled.

I suspect that RCL will be able to get fuel in the ABC's weekly and not have to get fuel in Panama to avoid this.

In some cases the port taxes for a Panama Canal cruise is almost the same cost as the cruise.

[coaster]

For those that want to transit the canal, ships port in Colon. Going back to Colon again on Celebrity in December from Tampa. We took an excursion on a small boat down the canal to Panama City in April. You take a bus to Gamboa and the boat goes through the canal to Panama City where you take the bus back to Colon. Excursion probably cheaper than the port taxes they charge on a cruise ship and you get an up close view of the canal locks as you are not so high up like on a cruise ship. Nice lunch onboard the boat also with cheap Panama beer. Cost of these 12 night sailings on Celebrity from Tampa are lower than Royal when pricing it per night and pp. You also stop in Costa Rica and Columbia.

Edited August 10, 2023 by coaster

[cruisetorelax44]

Just moved this sailing to Wonder in December.  If we can't do the planned itinerary, might as do the fun new ship that costs a fortune and take advantage of the casino prime cruise ti the fullest....

[firefly333]

10 hours ago, coaster said:

For those that want to transit the canal, ships port in Colon. Going back to Colon again on Celebrity in December from Tampa. We took an excursion on a small boat down the canal to Panama City in April. You take a bus to Gamboa and the boat goes through the canal to Panama City where you take the bus back to Colon. Excursion probably cheaper than the port taxes they charge on a cruise ship and you get an up close view of the canal locks as you are not so high up like on a cruise ship. Nice lunch onboard the boat also with cheap Panama beer. 

Is this a private excursion? Where can I purchase it?

[cuterlmt]

10 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

Just moved this sailing to Wonder in December.  If we can't do the planned itinerary, might as do the fun new ship that costs a fortune and take advantage of the casino prime cruise ti the fullest....

I'm hoping to be able to do something similar - ours was a casino offer as well. Which sailing did you choose that they allowed you to switch to? and i assume minimal (or no) extra cost? I still have part of my list from the offer, but only kept January through Apil since we have a cruise in November, and try to cruise every 6 months (versus two in two months). thanks.

 

[orville99]

14 hours ago, coaster said:

Heard the government is trying to move people out of Colon to Panama City for some reason.

When we were there in February we were told by our local guide that the plan is to relocate everyone in Colon, then raze the entire city and rebuild an east coast version of Panama City in its place.

[bigmoose7563]

15 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

this is another reason we're going to cancel... we've all seen it happen before when routes don't sell...

 

I was actually seeing this as a reason to not cancel. Wait, roll the dice and see if they cancel before final payment and actually get something out of this. If not then pay the $200 to change. By then the 2025 season will of been released.

 

Got 2 weeks to think about it

[orville99]

12 hours ago, coaster said:

For those that want to transit the canal, ships port in Colon. Going back to Colon again on Celebrity in December from Tampa. We took an excursion on a small boat down the canal to Panama City in April. You take a bus to Gamboa and the boat goes through the canal to Panama City where you take the bus back to Colon. Excursion probably cheaper than the port taxes they charge on a cruise ship and you get an up close view of the canal locks as you are not so high up like on a cruise ship. Nice lunch onboard the boat also with cheap Panama beer. Cost of these 12 night sailings on Celebrity from Tampa are lower than Royal when pricing it per night and pp. You also stop in Costa Rica and Columbia.

 

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Is this a private excursion? Where can I purchase it?

We booked it through the cruise line:

 

 

[smokeybandit]

 

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

I got a stop in colon Panama next January. I wonder if things will be  better. The worst ever excursion I've taken with rcl was ro some city and then to welcome center. We supposedly had 1 hour but just to stand in line to peo was 20 minutes. No time really to see much. .. and that's why I had chosen radiance last march .. see the canal. .. one more time booked. 

[FLConnie]

24 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

This is the reason. Doubt anything to do with the cruise lines. We are on Oceania Oct 2023 Miami to LA.   Will be surprised if we get to do that sailing. Cruise ships won’t get priority over cargo ships. 

[orville99]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I got a stop in colon Panama next January. I wonder if things will be  better. The worst ever excursion I've taken with rcl was ro some city and then to welcome center. We supposedly had 1 hour but just to stand in line to peo was 20 minutes. No time really to see much. .. and that's why I had chosen radiance last march .. see the canal. .. one more time booked. 

The excursion that I referenced "piggybacks" on existing freighter traffic going through the canal, so as long as there are ships transiting the canal during the day, the excursion should not experience any problems. When we entered a lock to be lowered down to the next level, we always entered in front of the same freighter and were lowered together. We would then sail to the next lock and wait for him to catch up with us so we could do it all over again.

[pstone1]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

 

We booked it through the cruise line:

 

 

We also took this excursion and really enjoyed it!  We would definitely recommend it!

[moposh]

This is a shame.  I did a Panama Canal cruise several years ago and I would have been upset if they had changed it.  The ABC islands are nice, but not a sub for the Panama Canal. 

 

It would have been nice is RC had stated the reason for the change in itinerary--Canal fees are excessive, we can't get clearance, etc.  

[twoontheisle]

Well. The acceleration of the glacier melt should help the water situation EVENTUALLY! 🤯🤭

This is a horrible situation for many reasons. We have cancelled this as well from our bucket list for now. Here is our NEXT frustration with RCCL. We also booked the following sailing (April 13th) so we can get our butts back to US soil. Although the April 6th sailing is offering a full refund, our B2B portion to get us home from a cruise that isn’t going to happen will CHARGE US A CANCELLATION FEE! This is beyond poor customer service from Royal Caribbean! Seriously? YOU change the itinerary on one leg of a B2B, and WE have to pay a fee to cancel the other one? 
Here is our solution: Keep our monies, OBC’s and charge us whatever you want to cancel. These two D+ guys are fed up with your shenanigans over the years. “Hello Celebrity Edge! We are so glad to jump ship to you, from your step-sister company.  Looking forward to a long sailing history with you.”

[orville99]

32 minutes ago, FLConnie said:

This is the reason. Doubt anything to do with the cruise lines. We are on Oceania Oct 2023 Miami to LA.   Will be surprised if we get to do that sailing. Cruise ships won’t get priority over cargo ships. 

October is typically the rainiest month in Panama, so I wouldn't panic just yet. 

[smokeybandit]

44 minutes ago, FLConnie said:

This is the reason. Doubt anything to do with the cruise lines. We are on Oceania Oct 2023 Miami to LA.   Will be surprised if we get to do that sailing. Cruise ships won’t get priority over cargo ships. 

It is the reason, but I wish RC would have given that as a reason and not some bit about enhancing our experience.

[coaster]

Boat we took in April. Nice closeup views of the canal.

Edited August 10, 2023 by coaster

[coaster]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I got a stop in colon Panama next January. I wonder if things will be  better. The worst ever excursion I've taken with rcl was ro some city and then to welcome center. We supposedly had 1 hour but just to stand in line to peo was 20 minutes. No time really to see much. .. and that's why I had chosen radiance last march .. see the canal. .. one more time booked. 

Saw that tour being offered also at a lower price. I believe it is worth paying extra for the one that actually takes you through the locks. You get to see Panama City via bus also when the boat finishes it's journey to the Pacific.

Edited August 10, 2023 by coaster

[Rob-Bob]

22 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I don't have a dog in this fight, and this itinerary change would really suck, but something else that jumped at me...

They will put you in a "like for like" cabin if you stay with the new itinerary.  But the original booking was on Rhapsody and the new itinerary is on Rhapsody.  So why wouldn't they just keep folks in the cabins already assigned?  

I agree with this.  Same ship, same dates.  Why wouldn't you have the same cabin.  This makes no sense at all.

[smokeybandit]

5 minutes ago, Rob-Bob said:

I agree with this.  Same ship, same dates.  Why wouldn't you have the same cabin.  This makes no sense at all.

I'm guessing that's just boilerplate language for when they cancel a cruise. 

[cruisetorelax44]

copa airlines may screw us... non-refundable flights, on an airline where you have to fly to panama city in order to get anywhere else... sigh... let the fighting begin...