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Mario's Indian village, canal and waterfall


SeafordCruiser

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  • 2 weeks later...

The tour operators adjust the time at the sites they visit when they have to be back to the ship early. The info on the websites isn't set in stone. They wouldn't offer a tour if there wasn't time to get you back to the ship! Not the reputable ones, anyway, and MyFriendMario appears to be one of the reputable ones. We all hope so, don't we! ;)

 

I'll be doing the CL007 in a couple of weeks (Miracle 12/14 sailing). We'll be in Panama on 12/17, from 7 am until 5 pm. I'm really looking forward to it!

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i will also be on miracle on 12/14. i haven't read any negative reviews about myfriendmario. is it safe to assume this is one of the reputable tour operators? the tours are sometimes less than half the price of carnival's "excursions" with better reviews.

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That's exactly why I book independent excursions. Before I discovered Cruise Critic, I only took ship excursions because I believed, like so many others, that I'd get left behind if I didn't. After I found these boards and read all the threads about all those tour operators who do a great job for so much less (and usually way fewer people), I tried booking my own when I sailed Miracle 2 years ago. Now, the only time I book ship excursions are when they're the only ones that offer what I want.

 

Have you posted on our Roll Call? If not, please come join in!

 

I normally spend a lot of time researching independent excursions. The only way to know what you're getting is to read the threads, and find out as much as you can about other people's experiences.

 

You can also check Trip Advisor to see if anything is posted there, too.

 

I also read reviews of sailings to see if others have gone on the excursions I want and see what they thought about them.

 

One of the folks on our Roll Call (CWCruisers) sails multiple times every year. She has a pretty good idea about which are good operators and which aren't. She recommended MyFriendMario, and after reading the description of the tour, and reading what I could find here, I decided it seemed like a good tour.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just wanted to say that this excursion was one of The Best I've ever had on a cruise. It was fantastic.

 

My only complaint is that I would've liked a little more time at the Gatun Locks.

 

If you're interested in reading about the excursion, I've nearly finished my review, but the day in Panama is detailed in posts 15-18.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1107851

 

I also have several additional photos in my Webshots album.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/576030357EXixYv

 

It truly was a wonderful excursion. As soon as I finish my review, I'll write to Mario and tell him my thoughts and give Laurie, our guide, a big thumbs up as well.

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  • 1 month later...

We just did this tour with my family in Jan. and it was great. The tours make sure they are back in time for the ship-remember they do this everyday. We loved the panama canal part -took great pictures and the Indian village and water fall was very unique-it was very different from any other excursion we have taken-don't miss it.

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