Panama Canal - April 21st on the Noordam

[kiwichick]

My friend and I have just come back from the Roman Empire Mediterranean cruise on the Noordam and enjoyed it so much we're already planning our next cruise.

We're looking at doing the April Panama Canal cruise from New York to Vancouver or Seattle, again on the Noordam, and would be really grateful for advice on the following topics:

We are both in our early 30s and enjoy good nightlife, which we found on our recent cruise. What is the general age group and nightlife associated with Panama Canal cruises?
Are there likely to be many kids on board in April/May?
What is the weather likely to be like? We were considering going in Sept/Oct but have realised that's the hurricane season so thought April/May would probably be safer.
What activities / excursions at the ports of call would you recommend?
The itinerary includes 9 days at sea - is this likely to be too many and get boring?Thanks very much in advance for your posts :)

[Pudgesmom]

I think that the general rule of thumb is that the longer the cruise, the older the average age of passenger.

You might get a few spring breakers in the April/May time frame. Again, the families tend to go for the shorter cruises, so probably fewer children than in the Caribbean or Alaska

Panama is not in the hurricane zone, but Sept/Oct is in the rainy season. The dry season starts in Jan. and runs through April or May, I think. It is always hot and humid in Panama anyway.

I can't recommend any excursions, as I haven't done this trip with HAL.

As far as sea days go, that's a personal choice. Are they spread out with port stops intermittant among them? That's my favorite. I like a down day at sea to recover from a busy shore excursion.

The canal is very interesting. I recommend a little pre-reading, or watch a documentary before you go. They are currently considering widening the canal to three lanes. It is a controversial issue in Panama.

Beth

[General Max]

Kiwichick, We are also booked on the April cruise. We get on in Ft Lauderdale and will get off in Seattle. If you do book the cruise, please check out the "Roll Call" thread for ccer's who are going on this cruise. You will get lots of tips and info on the shore excursions. Hopefully, we can have a cruisecritic get together like we had on the February 22, 2006 inaugural cruise of the Noordam.

Cheers

General Max

[RuthC]

Are there likely to be many kids on board in April/May?
That's a fairly long cruise, so there will be very few children on board. Rule of thumb is the longer the cruise the fewer the kiddies. :)
The itinerary includes 9 days at sea - is this likely to be too many and get boring?
Not to me, it wouldn't! I find I'm busier on sea days than port days. There's sleeping late, lectures, games, swimming, chatting, eating, resting, .... Good grief, who has time for ports! :D