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Anyone take Myfriendmario tours?

Magic123

By Magic123,
in Panama Canal

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attycruiser

attycruiser

Posted
Posted

We did this tour on the Miracle 2 weeks ago. We did the Canal, Imberra Village, and Chagres Waterfall.

Important details: in this port there seemed to be confusion among several tour operators about the ship's time - the guide kept saying - you will have 2 hours in the port when we had only one hour left. It would have been helpful to have a clear sense of how long we were spending at each place. The waterfall tour involves some strenuous walking. My seven year old did fine with some help, but you'll be crossing a stream or two, climbing rocks, and getting into some mud. I was wearing my surf shoes which worked fine. My mother-in-law, however, wore sandals which broke early in the walk and she was miserable. The water was cool, but enjoyable. At the village, we were served plantains, fish and pineapple in banana leaf packets. The local crafts were pretty interesting. After doing this tour we were really rushed at the Canal - we only had twenty minutes, but really the Canal wasn't that interesting to me and it takes a long time to see a ship go through all three locks. When all was said and done we were back on time and the tour operator called and found out the ship was going to stay in port later anyway. Tour was fine, but the confusion about the times was a little bit distracting.

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arf2005

arf2005

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On the Freedom two weeks ago, they had us change our clocks/watches before arriving in Costa Rica and then we changed them back after leaving Panama. This meant we were only an hour difference from local time. I would have thought all Carnival ships would be doing the same thing.

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  • 2 weeks later...
AryMay

AryMay

Posted
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On the Freedom two weeks ago, they had us change our clocks/watches before arriving in Costa Rica and then we changed them back after leaving Panama. This meant we were only an hour difference from local time. I would have thought all Carnival ships would be doing the same thing.

 

Can you help me?? I will be on the Freedom for the July 4th eight day western cruise. I am trying to find out how the ship time compares to local time.

 

I assume daylight savings time had started BEFORE your cruise, correct? I need to know that when the itinerary says the ship docks at 7 am, what time is it in Colon, Panama??

 

Can you tell I'm getting stressed about this??:eek:

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arf2005

arf2005

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Can you help me?? I will be on the Freedom for the July 4th eight day western cruise. I am trying to find out how the ship time compares to local time.

 

I assume daylight savings time had started BEFORE your cruise, correct? I need to know that when the itinerary says the ship docks at 7 am, what time is it in Colon, Panama??

 

Can you tell I'm getting stressed about this??:eek:

 

There should only be an hour difference when you go. By now, they've also changed their clocks to daylight savings time (they had not when we went but we had due to the earlier change this year). If you are taking MyFriendMario, they will be there when you exit the ship ready to go, so don't worry about the time.

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AryMay

AryMay

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There should only be an hour difference when you go. By now, they've also changed their clocks to daylight savings time (they had not when we went but we had due to the earlier change this year). If you are taking MyFriendMario, they will be there when you exit the ship ready to go, so don't worry about the time.

 

I don't think Panama observes daylight savings time at all so that is one more reason I am confused. I would like to book a private tour (not MyFriendMario) if possible, but am concerned about the time issue.

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arf2005

arf2005

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I don't think Panama observes daylight savings time at all so that is one more reason I am confused. I would like to book a private tour (not MyFriendMario) if possible, but am concerned about the time issue.

You are correct. I just looked it up and the current time in Panama is the same as Central Time in the United States. I believe the ships sail on Eastern Time for the most part (not completely sure about that) which would put the ship in at 1 hour ahead of the the local time if the ship doesn't adjust their time while you are on board. I would check to see what time the ship keeps first and then go from there. My experience with the private operators has been that those who are well known with cruise critic members know exactly what times the ship is operating on and they adjust accordingly. I understand your concern though because we had the same concerns this past cruise. If you want to check the current time any where in the world, or if an area is on daylight savings time, this website is good:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=192

I wish I could do more to help you.

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travelingran

travelingran

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We took Mario's Gatun Locks and Beach Break tour and had a wonderful time. First we went to Playa Langosta for beach time (soda, beer, water, snacks and homemade margaritas included), then visited the Gatun Locks. We arrived back at port around 2:00 and had time to shop at the port. This is a shorter tour than the Indian Village and waterfall tour; some folks from our Cruise Critic roll call took the Indian Village tour and thought they cut the return too close, and I've read some posts here that Mario will cut the waterfall portion of the tour for those who are worried about time. I thought that Mario's tour was one of the best independent tours we've taken in a port.

 

i am tring to set up a tour with mario. i have emailed him twice - no response. did it take you a while to get your tour set up?

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travelingran

travelingran

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i am tring to set up a tour with mario. i have emailed him twice - no response. did it take you a while to get your tour set up?

 

i am wondering if i have the correct email address. could you please share the email address that you used to contact mario?

 

thanks

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travelingran

travelingran

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If you check his website it tells you that there are certain email sites that he is having trouble with. I wrote him at mario@myfriendmario.com and heard back within a day.

 

 

that is the address i emailed. i guess i am going to go with okeydokey and charlie for panama as well as costa rica.

 

charlie emailed me back today and he will be sending tour options soon.

 

has anyone used okeydokey for both costa rica and panama?

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AryMay

AryMay

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that is the address i emailed. i guess i am going to go with okeydokey and charlie for panama as well as costa rica.

 

charlie emailed me back today and he will be sending tour options soon.

 

has anyone used okeydokey for both costa rica and panama?

 

Does Charlie do tours in Panama??

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travelingran

travelingran

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I don't think that okey dokey operates in panama. the only one I have heard of is mario

 

charlie sent me an email saying he would get back with me with info on tours in panama. it may be that he has friends in panama, who knows.

 

mario will not respond to my emails, so i need help with a tour in panama.

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lrtjs5

lrtjs5

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charlie sent me an email saying he would get back with me with info on tours in panama. it may be that he has friends in panama, who knows.

 

mario will not respond to my emails, so i need help with a tour in panama.

 

 

That is interesting. Let me know...... Do you have one of those emails that Mario is having trouble with? He also sent me his phone number if you don't hear from anyone else for Panama. Many people on my cruise in June have heard from Mario and have booked with him. I think there are about 15 going on the Carnival Freedom.

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4cruizers

4cruizers

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I had no trouble getting in touch with Mario. I would send him an email and by the next morning I would have a response. We are going in July and have had confirmation from him. Also have his phone number.

 

I know on his website he indicated there is sometimes a problem with some emails going through.

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travelingran

travelingran

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I had no trouble getting in touch with Mario. I would send him an email and by the next morning I would have a response. We are going in July and have had confirmation from him. Also have his phone number.

 

I know on his website he indicated there is sometimes a problem with some emails going through.

 

the email i am using is www.mario@myfriendmario.com

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4cruizers

4cruizers

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the email i am using is www.mario@myfriendmario.com
He indicates on his website that some email servers, such as Comcast, are not allowing him to respond, and if you don't get a reply in one day send another email via hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc., or send him your phone number so that he can contact you.

 

Otherwise, I am not sure what is going on.

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travelingran

travelingran

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He indicates on his website that some email servers, such as Comcast, are not allowing him to respond, and if you don't get a reply in one day send another email via hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc., or send him your phone number so that he can contact you.

 

Otherwise, I am not sure what is going on.

 

thank you so much for your assistance. i had my daughter send the email via her hotmail and she had a response already today. i was really disappointed that he would not respond to my emails.

 

i love these boards. i spend a lot of time here. they surely helped with our med cruise too.

 

we now have reservations with mario in panama

 

thanks again

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4cruizers

4cruizers

Posted
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Just got back from a cruise on Carnival Miracle. Booked a tour in Panama with Myfriendmario and LOVED it. Our guide Ellio was wonderful. Very kind, professional and knowledgeable. You can't go wrong with this tour company!
Reassuring. Thanks for the info.
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unklez

unklez

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Has anyone taken myfriendmario tours in Colon Panama?

 

I'm interested in one of the tours but it gets back to the cruise ship at 3:30 pm and the ship is set to depart at 4:00. They say their clients have never missed a ship.

 

Has anyone been on this tour? It goes to the Panama Canal, Indian Village and a waterfall. Were you back in time to spare?

 

I will be on the Carnival Liberty. What is the latest you can get back onto the ship?

 

Don't worry. They are also one of Carnival's tour operators. You might even be in the same bus!!!

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