FloridaGram
February 25th, 2009, 06:08 PM
We are considering booking a cruise in Oct. to go to the Panama Canal. It just sails around In Gatun Lake and then comes back out the same way you came in. My question is which side of the ship should we book for the best views.
And how is the Zuiderdam holding up? We went on her about 4 years ago and I wonder if she is "worn" and how is the service these days?
Thanks for your assistance.
JessWright
February 25th, 2009, 10:07 PM
I took the cruise on the Zuiderdam which included the Panama Canal in early December. Please do not focus on seeing the passage from a cabin, since the best views are from outside and at the top of the ship. I also watched from one side of the Promenade Deck, which gave me chance to pose a few questions to the Canal crew on board. Some people watched from the front deck of the ship, and others from the popular Crow's Nest Lounge. Watching from your cabin gives you a very restricted view, since you should see the canal from many angles. Plus, the ship serves free refreshments on the upper decks. The weather was very hot and sunny in in the early morning and afternoon hours during our passage in mid-December. My previous cruise on the Zuiderdam was about 5 years ago. It is in excellent shape. It cost about $300,000 for the ship to go through the Canal, which is passed on to the passengers, thus the higher costs. I loved every minute of it, and plan to go back. Do go, and enjoy. Plus, if you like coffee, you have a great selection, at reasonable prices, in Costa Rica. I have enough for the rest of the year.
jtl513
February 25th, 2009, 10:20 PM
My question is which side of the ship should we book for the best views.As the previous poster said, get out of the cabin and get views both forward and astern.
Besides, there's no way to predict which would be the best side if you stayed on your verandah, since there's no way for us to predict whether the ship will be in the port side or starboard side locks.
And how is the Zuiderdam holding up? We went on her about 4 years ago and I wonder if she is "worn" ...She just had a major refurbishment in Apr 2008, and should be in excellent shape.
It cost about $300,000 for the ship to go through the Canal, Not for HAL-sized ships. It's more like $200K.