Favorite Panama Canal excursions through Princess?

*** I am asking this on the Princess board, because you PC

cruisers would have booked through Princess.

I would love to know what you would recommend for San Juan del Sur,

Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco, Cartagena & Aruba.

We love architecture, geography, history and culture.

Thanks!

We just came off the Island Princess that ran that itinerary. It was wonderful. Calle is a superb cruise director and both the food and entertainment was top notch. We took excursions in each port with half through Princess. The only complaint was the short time In the ports.

Aruba - Submarine Princess Tour

Columbia - Dora Tour

Costa Rica - Thumbs Up Tour

San Juan - Iskra Granada Tour

Huatulco- Land & Sea from Princess

PV - Took a $3 cab to the Malacon

Mike

Thanks, Mike.

I am so glad you enjoyed this itinerary. We are very excited.

The longest cruise we have ever done is 7 days. It seems too short.

15 days will be interesting.

This is our second long cruise. In my opinion, it's the only way to go. When day 14 comes around, I'm ready to head home.

Mike

This is our second long cruise. In my opinion, it's the only way to go. When day 14 comes around, I'm ready to head home.

 

Mike

It seemed that when day 14 came around, they were ready to kick us off! However, I still don't know how I'll ever go back to 7 day cruises. 15 days on the Coral Princess was a wonderful time!

HI

I returned from the 10/31 10 day trip on the Caribbean Princess. It was a very interesting cruise. It did not have a full transit. But the excursion I enjoyed for that day was the Princess Ferry trip from Canal -Atlantic to the Pacific coast -Panama City. The tour guides were excellent and very informative.

If you have the chance make sure you attend the lecture series. We were up at 530 am prior to the transit-it was interesting seeing the other ships waiting in the dark after our ship.

It was recommended to read the book-Path between the seas by David Mccoulaugh which discusses the history.

I also took a tour of the Rain Forest in Costa Rica by an arial tram which was wonderful.

We also toured the old town of Cartegenia ,Columbia

You will have a wonderful time!

We did the submarine tour in Aruba but the submarine's windows were really filthy and there were divers on the wreak which made visibility pretty poor. Nice experience though.

Highlights of Cartagenia with the fortress and Las Bevadas was good overall, very thorough, but you could realistically see it all on your own. Very safe, very walkable.

We took a Princess excursion from San Juan del Sur to Granada and the Masaya Volcano. It was one of the best ship's excursions we've ever done and I'd highly recommend it. The volcano is not to be missed and the city of Granada is wonderful.

Never had any luck with ship's excursions in Costa Rica.

At Hautulco we just walked off the ship onto the beach. There are heaps of cafes serving magnificent seafood right on the sand. Grab a table and chairs, eat, swim and relax under the beach umbrellas.

Puerta Vallarta hacienda tours are great - heaps of tequila, plenty of food and an excellent folkloric show.

This is a great itinerary. You'll love the cruise.

Wishfulone-

I see two possible excursions for San Juan del Sur.

One is titled:

"Granada, Masaya Market, and Volcano, Lunch and Shopping"

The other one is titled-

"Nature Expedition: Masaya Volcano, Apoya Lagoon, and Granada"

Do you remember which one you did?

These look like great possibilities!

Wishfulone-

I see two possible excursions for San Juan del Sur.

One is titled:

"Granada, Masaya Market, and Volcano, Lunch and Shopping"

The other one is titled-

"Nature Expedition: Masaya Volcano, Apoya Lagoon, and Granada"

 

Do you remember which one you did?

These look like great possibilities!

We took the one that included the market. It has more time at the volcano which is spectacular - all red bubbling lava and smoke rising. The market visit is short but if you head to the rear there are some authentic handmade products. I don't usually shop but I fell in love with a wonderful pot. Only problem was I needed to buy a new carry on in LA so I could get it home :cool:;)

Granada has cars mixing with horses and carts laden with produce, open drug deals and money changing, a lot of people in variations of traditional dress and the view from the church is fabulous. If you get to see folk dancing in the old plaza - get a beer or a Nicaraguan rum from one of the bars while you watch. The view from the church is fabulous.

If you have any other questions just ask. We were on the Island Princess and transitted through the old locks.

Thank you, Wishfulone. It really helps to get real feedback.

Sometimes the ship's excursions can be a real let down

and expensive.

Your had the lunch too?

We did the Coral from LA to Ft. Lauderdale 9/27/2017-10/12/2017. The Viva Tequila Experience was recommended to us by friends so we booked that excursion for Puerto Vallarta through the ship. You are picked up what I would describe best as a trolley type vehicle. You are driven towards the main part of town and then along old cobblestone streets to the Viva Tequila Museum where the trolley stops and servers bring margaritas to those that want one for the ride through more of the city. Eventually you end up back at the museum where you are taken in small groups through the museum where you are shown via videos the history of tequila and the production process....and then a tequila tasting which is probably about a standard shot glass. As the groups work their way through the museum you are taken to a large auditorium where you are provided a tray containing three different types of tequila in small proportions. A person from the museum provides a narrative about the tequilas as you sample each type. After this there was a very nice Mexican folklore dance and music presentation. The dancers and musicians put their heart and soul into this show and it in itself was worth the price of the excursion. Next was lunch where you are led several blocks from the museum to a beach side restaurant called the Mango. You are served your included in the excursion per-ordered lunch choice that you selected prior to boarding the trolley at the pier. Lunch was excellent and I did not hear anyone complain about their food or the service. After lunch you are given some time to wonder around the local streets until it's time to return to the museum where you once again board the trolley for the ride back to the ship. My wife and I both agreed that for the price of $59 per person it was one of the best excursions we have taken in a very long time and well worth the price.

Terry, may I ask if you had a stop in San Juan del Sur & if so, what excursion (if any) you did there? We don't usually do ship excursions, but are considering one for Nicaragua. Thanks!

San Juan Del Sur is a tender port. The Captain cancelled the stop due to sea conditions worsening that would make tendering extremely dangerous. We did have an excursion booked but to be honest I can't recall what it was and as a side note we were refunded the cost as OBC.

Thank you, Wishfulone. It really helps to get real feedback.

Sometimes the ship's excursions can be a real let down

and expensive.

Your had the lunch too?

Agree, we've had some expensive stinkers but San Juan del Sur definitely wasn't one of them.

I forgot about lunch. From memory there was plenty of food served in a partially open air (undercover) hacienda with a trio of musicians wandering around entertaining. And the bathrooms were really clean ;)

That Nature one wasn't offered when we went - I don't think. They sound reasonably similar though. Hope you enjoy the excursion, whichever you choose, as much as we did.

We did the "Enjoy the Capital City of Managua and Lunch". Good tour, LONG bus ride.

Thanks, everyone, for the San Juan del Sur info!

I just met someone ( a new customer) who just got off of

the Island for a full PC transit. She absolutely LOVED this cruise!

It was so much fun to chat with her. Cartegena was her favorite port

and she loved the lake tour in San Juan del Sur.

This was her very first cruise and she is now hooked.

I just met someone ( a new customer) who just got off of

the Island for a full PC transit. She absolutely LOVED this cruise!

It was so much fun to chat with her. Cartegena was her favorite port

and she loved the lake tour in San Juan del Sur.

This was her very first cruise and she is now hooked.

If you're feeling independent the Hop on Hop off bus in Cartagenia covers the old and new cities extremely well. As I mentioned before it's really safe and the people are very friendly and helpful. The hawkers are hawkers, same as everywhere in the world but happy, not surly. We enjoyed our ship's excursion but were really sorry we took an excursion instead of the HOHO.