baldilocks

Book the Grand Tour before it is sold out. You can change your mind later and book another tour if you wish. These tours go fast. Waiting to book on board the ship may leave you with nothing to choose from. We took the Grand Tour. It goes to a very nice observation site where you can see locks and ships. Like I stated before, one of the through the locks ferries got stuck behind a freighter that had trouble. Our ship had to wait an extra 2 hours for them. I heard it cost Celebrity $110K for over staying their departure time.

I still think the Grand Tour excursion is your best bet. It has the eco part plus the canal observation deck and the native village. I think it covers everything that you might want.

You can say that again. We just off the Celebrity Constellation. The choice of food seemed to be more limited and not what we expected. We were in Aqua class, so we had the Blu dining room. We ordered a couple of nights off the MDR menu. The buffet had about the same thing as the dining rooms. There seemed to be a lot of lamb and Asian dishes being served. Not out cup of tea. Back to Royal from now on.

No. We watched the ships go through the locks for about an hour before we headed off to the native and lake part of the tour. They had a nice 15 minute video about the canal in the visitor center....yes, my wife bought a T-shirt at the shop. The whole trip was very clean. No trash or smelly restrooms. The folks that booked the ferry excursion through some locks got trapped by a freighter having trouble in the lock. The ship waited an extra two hours for then to get back. They looked like a real bunch of tired, hot and hungry tourists when they finally boarded the ship. I vote for watching the ships from the observation deck.

We just got off the Celebrity Constellation in mid-December. I highly recommend the Grand Tour of Panama. You overlook the locks, have video presentation and watch any ships going through. After that, you will see the Embera people who great hosts. Great views of all the animals and plants along the lake. We enjoyed the excursion. Our ship did not go through the canal. Just an after thought. We had one ship excursion on a ferry get delayed in a lock due to a freighter / lock problem. The Connie waited two extra hours for them to get back. We were in one of the bars when a couple came in and just wanted to have a drink. They looked awful. They said they were stuck on the ferry with little food or drink practically all afternoon. So, I would not recommend that excursion.

If you want to see Vancouver, which is a marvelous city, stay a couple of days pre-cruise. Just be aware of what others have said that boarding the ship will take time...so pack your patience. We have left from both ports. Seattle is preferred for boarding, but we would still op for the pre-cruise in Vancouver.

Question....How far and difficult is it to walk from the CT #5 parking garage or open parking to the actual cruise terminal? I ask since I have some knee issues. Thank you!

We have a Royal on Mariner of the Seas in Oct. 2023 to Bermuda from Port Canaveral. It is an 8 night cruise.

Although we did the gardens back in 2006, it is probably a wonderful place to visit

We booked the Amiga island tour, but it never took place as the sandbar island adult tout took over Amiga. The sandbar was 'too underwater' was the reason given. I just think it was about $$$.

Thank you for the list. But...no Tom Collins??? Odd.

We are D+ from Royal so that makes us Elite on Celebrity. It is our first Celebrity cruise (Constellation Dec. 12th). I know Elite's get free drinks, but I am confused in the way Celebrity handles this.....how many and when? I know it is different from Royal.

Many, many years ago, the Big Blue Bus took you to the glacier for a lot less than a ship excursion. I have no idea if the Big Blue Bus still operates, but you can ask.

We were very fortunate. We booked an easter Caribbean cruise for December 2023 on the Mainer. This cruise now lists for $1500 over what we paid. We made the reservation when it just was posted.

We are sailing on the Constellation out of Tampa in 28 days and no check-in is available. What's the normal days prior to cruise for check-in?

That is what I understand....#6.

On one Royal cruise (can't remember which one) two rather rotund fellows decided to have a lobster eating contest at our large table. They got up to five each and they were still going at it when left the dining room. I think their wives were about ready to brain both of them.

We just paid for self-park. We are just driving over from a few days a St. Pete Beach, so it should not take us log to get there....traffic snarls hope not.

A couple of years back, Royal would not anyone leave the ship as the local protests came by the boat load to Labadee. The completely circumvented the guards.

None. I doubt Celebrity / Royal will update their pre-cruise testing until it sees how it goes with other lines first. They always lag others in the Covid procedures.

Suggestions: - Mel Fisher's Atocha museum...relics recovered from the Spanish galleon Atocha - Sloppy Joe's for lunch - Hemingway House...six toed cats around - Fury Sports for water tours (we liked the parasailing) - Hop on...hop off bus tour is about the best way to travel to see most sights.

The Jones Act requires a visit to a foreign port if sailing starts and ends in USA.

My 'big' win was $6.88 on one penny in Las Vegas waiting for the Terry Fator show.

Any thoughts, comments, rumors, etc. on when the pre-cruise testing for 10 or more nights cruising will end for US departure ports?

Evidently RCG has had some sort of IT collapse. My Celebrity login doesn't work either.