Royal Caribbean cruiser moving over to Celebrity

[Mum2Mercury]

12 minutes ago, orville99 said:

The way that works is that your ship will dock in Colon very early in the morning, offload everyone doing a shore excursion, then undock and do the partial transit through the new locks before it returns to Colon to pick up the shore excursion passengers.

So everyone on the cruise won't go through the canal -- well, won't go through on the cruise ship.  I hadn't grasped that.  

 

I'd assume people who choose to disembark would be partaking in a canal-related excursion.  I don't see why people'd choose a canal-centric cruise, then not go through the canal.  

 

Thanks for the clarification.  

 

I also love that the price went down by approximately 1/3.  We will have Thanksgiving /Black Friday sales between now and then -- so hopefully I'll grab a good price.  

 

Speaking of prices, is it possible for one spouse to get the all-inclusive price (when booking) and the other spouse to get the cruse-only price?  I suspect I know the answer, but I'm asking anyway.  

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 02:26 PM by Mum2Mercury

[TeeRick]

20 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

That's exactly the kind of thing we'd love to do -- my husband is an engineer, and he's already "geeking out" over the idea.  It's expensive, but I'd pay it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

 

I don't see how it'd work with our cruise though:  Says we'll go through the canal ... then we'll be in Colon, Panama 5:00 - 9:00 that same evening.  I know I'm right because I have a template that I type up for all our cruises, and I worked on filling in this cruise's information yesterday.  Celebrity presents these two activities (going through the canal + Colon) in two separate boxes, as if they're two separate days -- but they have the same date, and the total number of days "works" only if these two are on the same day.  

 

Does this mean we'd go through the canal on the small boat -- not the cruise ship itself?  Since it starts at 7:30 am, that makes sense -- people on this excursion would disembark before the cruise ship enters the canal.  That might be a better, closer to the water experience.  

 

We did a full transit a couple of years ago on a smaller ship (Infinity) that used the old locks.  It was the true engineering Geek experience!

Edited Thursday at 02:29 PM by TeeRick

[Luvcrusn]

I have a question regarding viewing points while going through the Canal on an Edge class ship. We previously transited the Canal on Infinity and we were able to view our forward progress through the Canal on deck forward and in the sky lounge inside. Are there any forward  outside or inside observation points on the ship that aren't only accessible by suite guests in the retreat?

[orville99]

21 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd assume people who choose to disembark would be partaking in a canal-related excursion.  I don't see why people'd choose a canal-centric cruise, then not go through the canal.  

People who stay on the ship will go through the new Neomax lock on the Atlantic side of the canal, then sail through Gatun lake (probably all the way to Gamboa where passengers who chose the shore excursion would have boarded their packet boat to go through the old locks to the Pacific side of the canal), then turn around and go back through that same Neomax lock to get back to Colon.

 

BTW, if you want to see what the excursion through the old locks looks like, if you do a search on World " shakedown" cruise on the RCL forums, there are a ton of pictures that we took of both canal transits starting on page 8 of the thread.

Edited Thursday at 02:44 PM by orville99

[orville99]

View of the. Locks from the packet boat:

 

[doghog]

2 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

I have a question regarding viewing points while going through the Canal on an Edge class ship. We previously transited the Canal on Infinity and we were able to view our forward progress through the Canal on deck forward and in the sky lounge inside. Are there any forward  outside or inside observation points on the ship that aren't only accessible by suite guests in the retreat?

Unfortunately not on the E class ships. The fitness center is the only public forward facing area. 

[SEC Man]

5 minutes ago, doghog said:

Unfortunately not on the E class ships. The fitness center is the only public forward facing area. 

We saw the locks just fine from our IV cabin window on the Beyond- it was quite enjoyable viewing it from there and then got off the ship and took an excursion.  Would have been bored if we did not get off the ship as it basically took all day for the ship to back through the locks. 

[doghog]

9 minutes ago, SEC Man said:

We saw the locks just fine from our IV cabin window on the Beyond- it was quite enjoyable viewing it from there and then got off the ship and took an excursion.  Would have been bored if we did not get off the ship as it basically took all day for the ship to back through the locks. 

That could said for any cabin with a balcony or window. @Luvcrusn was specifically asking "Are there any forward  outside or inside observation points on the ship that aren't only accessible by suite guests in the retreat"?

Edited Thursday at 05:41 PM by doghog

[SEC Man]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

That could said for any cabin with a balcony or window. @Luvcrusn was specifically asking "Are there any forward  outside or inside observation points on the ship that aren't only accessible by suite guests in the retreat"?

We went on the pool deck and I think the deck above but it was crowded and hard to get a good spot to observe from the railing and therefore enjoyed it more from there comfort of the cabin- saw it unobstructed and was able to sit down. 

[phoenix_dream]

I did a full transit so can't comment on which tour might be best for Panama - or none at all.  As to Cartegena - I absolutely love that port!  I have heard Dora tours recommended but never took one.  Our first time we just grabbed a taxi and the tour was nice, but the driver's English was about as bad as my Spanish so I don't recommend that.  Our next two times we did the tour to Gethsemane.  We really, really loved that tour (so much we did it the next time).  Cartegena is beautiful.  As to safety - Columbia in general is definitely not safe, but the walled city of Cartegena is highly protected as they want to keep it good for tourists.  In Panama if you decide to get off the ship I highly recommend a ship's tour.  That area is definitely not safe.  In fact, we were on a ship's tour one sailing and the driver of our bus got into a verbal altercation with another driver.  To say those of us on the bus were uncomfortable and concerned is an understatement.  The canal itself is so interesting!  It was my husbands bucket list cruise and I thought I'd be bored to tears.  It ended up being one of my very favorites.   Another word of warning - it can be very, very hot in that area depending on time of year (we did April).  Be prepared.  

[Luvcrusn]

3 hours ago, doghog said:

Unfortunately not on the E class ships. The fitness center is the only public forward facing area. 

Thanks. Sad to hear though. 

[doghog]

2 hours ago, SEC Man said:

We went on the pool deck and I think the deck above but it was crowded and hard to get a good spot to observe from the railing and therefore enjoyed it more from there comfort of the cabin- saw it unobstructed and was able to sit down. 

Again I was only commenting on forward facing which @Luvcrusn was asking about. The two decks you are referencing are not forward facing.

[SEC Man]

2 minutes ago, doghog said:

Again I was only commenting on forward facing which @Luvcrusn was asking about. The two decks you are referencing are not forward facing.

Just sharing my experience; not quite clear why you need to continue to comment about what I wrote; very strange. 

[doghog]

2 hours ago, SEC Man said:

Just sharing my experience; not quite clear why you need to continue to comment about what I wrote; very strange. 

Exactly what I was thinking about your relentless comments. Goes both ways! 🙃 You have a right to share your experiences. My only very simple to understand point is your experiences have nothing to do with my post to @Luvcrusn. Back to the subject of this thread. 

[SEC Man]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Exactly what I was thinking about your relentless comments. Goes both ways! 🙃 You have a right to share your experiences. My only very simple to understand point is your experiences have nothing to do with my post to @Luvcrusn. Back to the subject of this thread. 

Just responding to the thread I general, not your specific comment.  I’m done corresponding with you about…anything.  Enjoy your life.

 

[tscoffey]

We did essentially the same itinerary (plus Jamaica and Costa Rica) in late March/early April, 2023, on the MSC Divina.

First - While it wasn’t terribly humid, it was still quite hot. 

Cartagena was very safe (unlike Ocho Rios - never again). And the early morning arrival was fantastic. It’s a very nice city. We took a 3 hour walking tour of some very nice, colorful parts of it.

 

For the Panama Canal, we booked a full transit on a smaller ship, which ended up in Panama City. I would do that if I were you. (It involved a bus ride, partial transit, then bus back to the ship). There are excursions that offer full transits, but they take much longer (ours was already 6 hours).

 

Edited Friday at 01:54 AM by tscoffey

[villauk]

On 9/26/2024 at 2:18 AM, mac_tlc said:

Here is another vote for Dora Tours in Cartegena. We did it last February and enjoyed it very much. 
 

mac_tlc

 

 

Yes, we toured with Dora too 👍.

[chemmo]

Re Cartagena the venders can be very enthusiastic but having all sorts of tat pushed in your face can be off putting. They weren’t unpleasant just too many of them.
 

We found the perfect solution by booking a horse drawn cart ride around. After researching we chose to book with Celebrity as the company they used were reputable for animal welfare. This trip could also be good for those with limited walking ability as the pavements were quite uneven too.

 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 9/26/2024 at 10:37 AM, orville99 said:

if you do a search on World " shakedown" cruise on the RCL forums, there are a ton of pictures 

Wow, loved the pictures!  Thanks!  

21 hours ago, doghog said:

The fitness center is the only public forward facing area. 

Might keep me on the Eliptical machine longer.  

A Thermal Suite pass would be a fairly inexpensive way to get a very good seat ... if facing forward is your choice.  

19 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I have heard Dora tours recommended but never took one. 

Looked into Dora, but we're not really city tour type people.  We might just do the free zoo next to the port; I'm anticipating we'll spend big on excursions for the canal, so we might scrimp in Cartegena.  If we do anything else, it'll be a walk through the old city.  

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

Re Cartagena the venders can be very enthusiastic but having all sorts of tat pushed in your face can be off putting. They weren’t unpleasant just too many of them.

I have no problem with aggressive vendors.  

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

We found the perfect solution by booking a horse drawn cart ride around.

That could be very pleasant!  

[doghog]

13 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Might keep me on the Eliptical machine longer.  

 

A Thermal Suite pass would be a fairly inexpensive way to get a very good seat ... if facing forward is your choice.  

I was thinking the same thing. 😁

 

Or book an Aqua Class category as it includes access to the SEA Thermal Suite. 

[Luvcrusn]

1 minute ago, doghog said:

I was thinking the same thing. 😁

 

Or book an Aqua Class category as it includes access to the SEA Thermal Suite. 

Yes, but it's sort of sad that after booking a cruise that includes canal transit for multi thousands you have to spend more to get a good front view. 

[Charles4515]

On 9/26/2024 at 8:49 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

I so appreciate info on this (from you and several other posters).  The Canal is our #1 priority for this cruise /why we chose the itinerary.  We want to sign up for any excursions that'll get us close to /teach us about the locks.  

 

We did a partial transit but booked an excursion offered by Celebrity on a smaller boat from Gatun lake that did the rest of the canal to the bridge of the Americas.. Well worth it in my opinion. Don't do the train excursion. That misses a lot of the canal. By the way you can only book the cruise line excursions.

[Charles4515]

On 9/26/2024 at 9:22 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd assume people who choose to disembark would be partaking in a canal-related excursion.  I don't see why people'd choose a canal-centric cruise, then not go through the canal.  

They may have already done the transit. 

[doghog]

6 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Yes, but it's sort of sad that after booking a cruise that includes canal transit for multi thousands you have to spend more to get a good front view. 

I agree. We like the E class ships as well as the M&S class ships but IMO, Eden would have been a perfect location in the front of the ship. But ship designing is way above my paygrade. 😉 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, doghog said:

I agree. We like the E class ships as well as the M&S class ships but IMO, Eden would have been a perfect location in the front of the ship. But ship designing is way above my paygrade. 😉 

When I did my partial transit I researched ships that had a good locations on board to view the canal. The ship I picked was not a Celebrity ship. The best ship doing the canal at the time was Island Princess.