Windstar newbie - Panama Canal - Nov 2024

[bayjoens]

Hi all! We are celebrating a big birthday with friends on the Windstar Colon - Puerto Caldera/Panama Canal cruise in November 2024. We've done other big cruises and some smaller ones but have always wanted to try Windstar. Hopefully you can help me with some questions. Any and all tips are welcome about these items or any other things you think we should know.

 

- What is the usual boarding time? I think we will stay in Casco Viejo and use private transportation to get us to the port. Amber Moon seems popular. Any other suggestions? (There will be six of us.)

- On the bigger cruise ships, we usually book our own tours rather than the expensive and often crowded ship's tours. Does this make sense on Windstar or on this particular cruise? The excursions seem to be mostly nature related. Anything we shouldn't miss? People seem to love Monkey Island?

 

The cruisecritic community has helped me so much over the years and it's been awhile since we've cruised and our first time on Windstar, so I hope you can help again.

 

Thanks so much! 

Sandra in SF, CA

[ridethetide]

Boarding time usually starts at 1:00 pm.

[new_cruiser]

And all aboard is usually 5 PM. You should receive an email with a boarding document that has the all aboard time. 

 

When we did it, we used a private transfer from Panama City with a half day of sight seeing along the way. We went to Portobelo to see the Caribbean end of the Spanish Gold Route across Panama. The driver also took us to see the Gatun Dam which was interesting. 

 

Most of the stops are nature related (or Canal history/technology related). There is a lot of bio diversity in Panama and Costa Rica because of climate and because of the isthmus mingling North and South American species.

 

The Windstar tours are usually not crowded and usually have quite good guides, but as a party of 6, you probably can do well booking your own tours. 

[r&rd]

We have done the Canal/Costa Rica cruises in different variations 10 times on Windstar. Definitely stay in Casco Viejo. We love the La Compania hotel -the hotel is a museum in and of itself and a short walk to everything you want to see in the area. We have used Amber moon and also Uber which is quite reliable in Panama City and the surrounding area. Make sure the driver is clear on which port in Colon you are going to. There are two and Windstar usually uses the smaller lesser known port.

 

We have done all of the Windstar tours several times and have loved them all. We like Monkey Island not just for the wildlife but to be in a tiny boat in the middle of the canal. Some people have taken private tours of the Panama City area from Puerto Jimenez  and have thought they were worth it. But if you arrive in Panama a day or two early you can see those things prior to boarding. If you are interested in Manual Antonio park that is one place you might want a private guide. Because the tours are mostly nature related you are somewhat dependent on the wildlife. One week a whale watching tour might see tons of wildlife the next week it is more like whale hunting. 
 

we love the fact this cruise does not go to big cities or have lots of shopping connected to tours. It is relaxing and always has interesting things to see. We have two more cruises to this area booked. You’ll love it. 
 

Happy to answer any questions you have.

[bayjoens]

Thanks for all the answers! This helps a lot.

 

r&d, what time do you usually get to the ship?

 

Have you done any private tours and if so, any companies you would highly recommend? I went through the Panama Canal years ago on a Celebrity big ship and we used a great tour guide in Panama but I think they are gone. 

 

How many people are on the Windstar tours? Do they all go together or are they broken up into smaller groups? We usually save a lot of money on the private tours, but the private tours in this area seem to cost about the same as the Windstar tours.

 

We would love any other tips you have. I am a great believer in having as much info as possible before we go, so we don't miss anything. 

 

Thanks again.

[bayjoens]

Any other question: Do you bring any local currency or do US dollars work fine? 

[bayjoens]

And another specific to r&d:

 

We are in the Bay Area as well. Any tips or favorites as to airlines or flights? I am just starting to look and deciding whether to save a bit of money and have a layover or to go direct. Have you tried Copa Airlines or do you stick to the big ones?

[r&rd]

We aim to get to the ship a little before 1. Traffic can be bad so we give a little wiggle room - Colon is an hour from Casco Viejo but can take up to 2 hours in traffic. They have local entertainment at the pier with water and cookies so getting there a little early is not a problem. We like to get on at 1 - have lunch in the Veranda and then settle in to our cabin once the luggage arrives.
We always use Tours by Locals when booking private tours but the Windstar tours are small (book early since many sell out because they are small) or they break you into smaller groups for the activities. You might have larger groups for boat tours but they are well organized and I never get the “large group tour” feel. This is especially true if you are on the sailing ships. I often like to get another couple to go on private tours to share costs but hard to find Windstar people to do that.
Panama uses US currency. Costa Rica will mostly take US but give change in Costa Rican currency so bring small bills.
The best airline is COPA - direct US to Panama City. There is  midnight flight that lands about 10 am. The earlier flight - 7:30 pm or so lands too early in the morning and usually can’t check in to any hotel at that time.  Just bought round trip business in lie flat seats SFO to PTY for $1800 pp. Coming home from Costa Rica you can either fly back to Panama on COPA and then direct home or Delta Costa Rica to LA and LA to SFO. In winter we don’t like flights that go through Atlanta (Delta) or Houston (United) with a chance of weather cancellations. COPA is code share with United but will often cost twice as much booking through United. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

edited to clarify:  I will have $200 Windstar OBC plus $200 Windstar SBC plus $300 Amex SBC when I board Star Pride.  Can I use any of this to book shore excursions now?  Or can I purchase shore excursions with credit card now and when onboard have the charge reversed and use OBC/SBC?  Also, can I use OBC/SBC to pay the gratuities?

[r&rd]

You can book excursions before and usually have the charges reversed and use your ship board credit once you board. Would be great if you could book them before with OBC. Some people wait till they get onboard and find that the excursions they wanted were sold out.
The Windstar OBC can not be used for gratuities (although last cruise we were on we noticed that they did apply the OBC to the gratuities.) sometimes inconsistency is the name of the game with Windstar. I don’t know for sure but I would assume the Amex OBC would be treated like travel agent OBC and can be used for gratuities. OBC gets categorized as refundable (travel agent) and non-refundable(Windstar promo) - refundable can be used for gratuities.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks.  I think the Amex program has cruise line participation, so it is non-refundable.  I will book shore excursions now and hope that the 'inconsistent' policy on my cruise allows the rebooking!

[bayjoens]

r&d, what time is the earliest I could book a flight home from San Jose? Do you think we could catch an 11:30am flight back? Thank you!