Has anyone done any excursions Panama canal with Celebrity

Hi I am looking at booking a cruise on Celebrity's Infinity from Fort lauderdale to Seattle. Has anyone done any excurisons in Cartagena,columbia, Puntarenas Costa rica, Acapulco? I am a manual wheelchair user and cant stand. How are Celebrity's HC staterooms.

The accessible cabins on X are really nice and roomy. I've been in about 3 of them on Infinity and they were all great.

As for tours, all I can say is good luck. You're basically visiting third world countries and their notion of accessibility is pretty bad. Not many cut outs in curbs, very rough and tattered pavement and their buses are not accessible. If you want to take tours, I highly recommend finding a private van and driver to take you where you want to go. Be very careful in Acapulco. The drug wars have gotten really bad there (many cruise lines have stopped going there because of the violence), and I'm surprised Celebrity still does. There is a shopping "mall" right off the ship in Acapulco, and that's basically where we go, and then return to the ship. A lot of Cartagena is not accessible as it's a very old city and like other areas, they've not come into the 21st century with regards to the disabled. Again, book a private, accessible van to take you where you want to go.

Costa Rica is really a place for physical tours. They have lots of things like zip lining, tree top tours, horseback riding, and things like that. You're pretty far from San Juan, Costa Rica, the capital, so tours there probably won't be offered. I just got off the ship and scootered to the little shopping area nearby.

This problem with not offering tours and accessibility is not limited to Celebrity. You would find these problems if you cruise a line like Crystal. It all has to do with the area of the world you're in and their infrastructure.

Thanks for the info

Have you stayed in the larger oceanview cat 5 h/c rooms? If so what is the room like. Also how did you fine getting off the ship at the ports?

I've been to Panama and Costa Rica three times each. My preferred locomotion is scooter, although I also have a walker. I have taken Celebrity on all three trips.

There are good and bad things about Celebrity in these areas. Depends on the shore excursion. Last time I took an eco-boat trip on the Gatun Lake. DO NOT TAKE THIS SHORE EXCURSION. The buses were so small they were painful to ride. Then they dropped us off at the Gatun Locks. Nobody had said you have to take about sixty stairs to see anything at the Gatun Locks. Surprise! Then they took us to a hotel and had us walk probably a half mile over uneven and sloping terrain to get to the boats. I finally gave up and just sat there in the rain waiting for people to get back from the boat ride. This was such a vile shore excursion that I asked for and received my money back. This shore excursion had been recommended by the shore excursion desk as being for handicapped people, which tells you how competent they are in advising disabled passengers.

The first time we went to Panama we took the trans-Panama train. Oh, was that fun! I used the walker instead of the scooter, and it was a delightful experience. The second time we went through the first set of locks on the cruise ship and then took a little boat through the other two sets of locks. I used my walker that time, and it, too, was lots of fun.

As for Costa Rica, it is amazing. The first time we went, we took a river cruise. Saw lots of animals. It was delightful. (I used my walker every time we went to Costa Rica.) The second time we took a train, and that was also a good experience. The third time we went from the Pacific side (Puntarenas?). There was a great pier with shopping at the end, and that was perfect for my scooter. Then we took a bus tour up to Sarchi, which is the furniture capital of Costa Rica. That was terrific.

Don't let people scare you out of going to Costa Rica and Panama if you're disabled. There are lots of things to do!