review: Amsterdam Panama Canal Dec 9-19

[xeena]

Review….Amsterdam Dec 9, 2006 Panama Canal partial transit

 

We stayed the night before at Amersuites….we had been there before but it has gotten quite ratty. They did have free parking for the entire cruise and free shuttle service to pier. Only bad thing…we got there around 6pm and the sign-up for the shuttles left us a 1 pm slot ! So we did take a cab to the ship around 11am. Only $10, so that wasn’t bad….no problem returning to the hotel with the shuttle.

 

Embarkation: We got there before the doors were open so we had a little wait outside, line moved quickly after they opened and we were on board in no time.

 

Ship: Beautiful, spotless, great shape. We had an outside cabin on Dolphin deck (sleeping with the fishes !) It was roomy, lots of storage….our steward was good…..bed was wonderful. Plenty of hot water and 2 hairdryers ! good storage in the bathroom. I brought a power strip since there is only one outlet and we had a mini-fridge….allowed me to plug in camera charger without disconnecting the fridge. We brought wine on board and had a glass or two before dinner on the promenade deck. Lovely !!

 

Dining: We had the 8pm seating….table for 4 right on the balcony ….room was pretty, service excellent. The food was good, not gourmet but very good. Some nights had more of what we liked, but hey ! I wasn’t cooking or cleaning up afterwards….so everything was wonderful…. 2 formal nights…..

 

Ports: We stopped at Half Moon Cay despite it being quite breezy….some excursions were cancelled…..and it was a bit on the chilly side. So we didn’t get to snorkel there…..but the beach was very pretty.

 

Sea day and then on to Aruba…..here we used our own equipment and took a cab to Malmok Beach and snorkeled for about 2 hrs….cab came back on time (I was a bit nervous about that) and then we had time to do some exploring. Since we had stayed in Aruba for 2.5 weeks over the years we only found internet access and peeked in a few stores….

 

Then to Curacao…..never had been there….thoroughly enjoyed the island. We took a cab tour on our own and saw some highlights. Again….inexpensive internet access (as you can tell I have an addiction to the net !!). We walked around the city, enjoyed the floating bridge…..left in the dark so the lights of the pretty pastel buildings was neat to see….We wished we had gone on the little tour train (like the conch train in key west) early in the day and then took the taxi tour….the train was done around 3pm !! so we didn’t get to it.

 

Panama Canal: Amazing……thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We did not take any excursions, just went through the Gatun Locks twice. Friends took the boat to the Pacific side and enjoyed that. There was a lecturer on board…Michael Millwood. He gave three talks on the canal and one on Christopher Columbus and his explorations in the Caribbean. All were enlightening. During the canal transit we had a narrator from the canal talk us through. Found internet access in Colon at the pier.

 

Then to our last port....Costa Rica.....We took the ship's boat tour on the Tortugera canals. Saw monkeys, sloth, bats, and a crocodile ! Clean rest rooms where we got on the pontoon boats.....they had music, fruit, beer and juice ! complimentary. Then on the way back to the ship we stopped at a banana plantation and learned a bit about picking, processing and shipping the fruit. The bus ride to and from the shp porvided us with the opportunity to learn a bit about Costa Rica from our guide. Some took tours of the local area, went horseback riding in the rain forrest.....everyone claimed their tour was the best ! Great port ! Got online there too !! right by the pier.....

 

Sea Days: 2 sea days on our way back to Ft L were relaxing……weather was perfect.

 

Met up with several fellow cruise critics during the cruise….had 2 meetings in the Crows Nest lounge…..Never went to the casino, never played bingo. The shows were good. Dancers/singers have so much energy ! Comedians, violinist, magician all were good. I was surprised at the quality of the entertainment….very good ! I went to a cooking demo….chef from the Pinnacle Grill and the head baker did challa bread and potato pancakes. Very enjoyable ! The Pinnacle chef is very witty and could have his own TV show. Friends did a hands-on with the chef….desserts. They thought it was fun….got to sample their efforts and received an apron and a few other trinkets. You have to sign up very early to get in to the “classes”. They did this before dinner on the first night. There were several places to listen to pre/post dinner music. Piano, strings, light rock….all very good. The Mariner cocktail party was also very nice. Champagne and a few tidbits. There was so many repeat cruisers !! Says a lot for the quality of the experience on board. We are avid HAL fans !

 

And “Superman” was the best !! He greeted us every morning in the Lido….remembering our names after the first day. Amazing. Do not miss the Indonesian show….the crew puts on a super show….so much talent. The staff were all very friendly, always offering smiles and greetings. They seemed genuinely interested in your day !

 

Disembarkation: A little longer than we thought, but you could go anywhere on the ship or stay in the cabin while waiting. Getting the luggage was a snap…..and we were in our car by 11am heading to Tampa and home.

 

All in all it was a wonderful 10 days. I made an online album and if anyone wants to see it just post with your email and I will forward it. It is long !! Took about 250 pix !

[newmexicoNita]

It was great reading the review from someone other than myself. We cruised the same itinerary the the 29th of Nov. You, apparently didn't have the bad weather we did. I am glad you enjoyed your cruise, we did as well,especially the lecturer, Michael. NMNita

[sswitenki]

Pam,

What nights were the formal nights? We will be on the same itinerary in Jan.

Thanks,

Sue

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the report.

 

I am surprised that there were only 2 formal nights - we have always had 3 formal nights on all the 10 day cruises that we have done.

[xeena]

i think the first sea day and the next to last sea day were formal nights.

several were "casual" and some "informal"....hubby wore a silky t-shirt and suit for formal nights as he HATES ties ! and that worked out well for us....kind of a different elegant look....

 

i forgot to pack my velveteen slacks for our formal nights!! and had to borrow something from my SIL....of all the things i have ever forgotten, that was the worst ! i had several pretty/glittery tops that didnt get worn ! silly me ....

[newmexicoNita]

2 formal and 1 informal is what we had as well. The others were casual. On formal nights we saw about 25% of the men in tux, about 50% is suits and ties with nice dress shirts, the rest were dressed in all kinds of ways. This held true with the ladies as well. Some wore long gowns, some very nice after 5 outfits and others more like what we would think of as church outfits with some a little casual. The informal night, at our table 2 men wore dress shirts and ties plus jackets (DH and our traveling companions) 1 wore a very nice sport shirt but no jacket and the other just a polo shirt. 3 or the 4 gals were in dresses, the other a nice pant suit, I really expected because of what we had read and the age of the cruisers we would see more formal type of dress. I really wasn't much different that NCL and not as dressy as Celebrity, with many changing clothes after dinner. NMnnita

[CarolineInToronto]

caroline at canadiansink dot ca

 

:)

 

I'm doing a partial transit on the Zuiderdam in April, with HMC, Aruba and Colon as our ports (it's just an 8 day) so I'd just love to see your pics!!

 

TIA,

Caroline

[May4]

It certainly was a wonderful cruise, wasn't it? We enjoyed meeting you and the other CC'ers while on board the elegant Amsterdam.

 

Thanks for your comprehensive and well-written review.

 

Merry Christmas to all,

Debby

[xeena]

may4 !! i can not read your email addy.....i sent pix to mac.com (with other stuff in front of course).....so you may not get them....

[GCS-LifeIsGood]

I will be taking the same cruise itenerary on Volendam in March. I would love to see your pictures. Please send link to gsealey_internet at bellsouth dot net. Thanks.