Antigua, Guatemala

I told my husband that the Tourist Police lead the tour buses into antigua to be safe and now he doesn't want to go on the excursion. what else can I tell him so that he goes?

Not sure what this has to do with Panama, or Guatemala.

The Antiqua board is here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=122

Just in case, the Guatemala board is here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=460

I was there recently on a Canal cruise and yes what you stated was true. I looked at it as the government being proactive ensuring that something doesn't happen. Everything I have read from the State Department and from the UK don't advise against travel, just take precautions.... which is what is being done.

The spontaneous political demonstrations that may arise are not directed at tourists, you just don't want to be around when they blossom. The police being nearby helps that happen.

Hope you can work it out:).

We did an excursion to Antigua last April, and felt VERY safe. It was a great place to visit. I agree that the government is being proactive.

DH and I did a walking tour of Antigua in 2011 and it was amazing. Always felt safe (even when we were lost in the largest market I have ever seen!). The only thing that bothered me was the women and children trying to sell things. They were extremely persistent and some of them even grabbed me and started crying while attempting to guilt me into buying something from them. They were mainly situated around the store where the tour bus dropped us off so once we were away from there, we were fine but, of course, the same thing happened when we made our way back to the bus. The city is beautiful, even the earthquake damaged buildings have beauty to them. The market I mentioned previously is not to be missed! We loved exploring through it and the sights and smells were unique and unforgettable. I hope you get the chance to enjoy it.

Not sure what this has to do with Panama, or Guatemala.

 

The Antiqua board is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=122

 

Just in case, the Guatemala board is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=460

Antigua is a city in Guatemala.

So true and the perfect board to be posting in

Antiqua GUATEMALA is awesome! It is a protected, Spanish Colonial city with a fantastic view of the volcano and is really, make that REALLY worth the time and effort. Police going with the excursions should make hubby feel secure. It is not unusual for police to go along on excursions in some countries. Tourists mean money so why not take every precaution to keep them safe? Although I did this with some folks from the ship (the banjo player, comedian, and a few other crew) in a minibus, right now I would feel more secure personally booking it through the ship and not independently. But it is a great place to visit!

Regards, Richard

We did the ship's "DIY" tour of Antigua where they provide transportation to/from Antigua and we were pleasantly surprised with Guatemala. We did a walking tour with Elizabeth Bell and then a traditional Guatemalan lunch. The tour was insightful, the town is pretty, and the lunch was delicious. The people were very friendly too. We did not feel unsafe at all. I highly recommend visiting Antigua.

Agree with the others--just got back from a Panama Canal cruise. Did the DIY yourself tour and then hired a guide when we got there. Never felt unsafe in the slightest and the town is rich in history and gorgeous. Yes there are vendors that annoy you, but no worse in my opinion than Mexico and not nearly as bad as Cartegena. Hope you can get him to agree to go--we loved it!

We returned from Vision PC cruise in April and could not believe how incredible Antigua was. We will definitely go back and spend a week in Antigua. There was no police escort with our bus and we never ever felt unsafe or unsure either at the port or in Antigua.

Antigua is one of the most picturesque spectacular places we have ever been. We hired a walking guide for $10 per person with another couple and asked our guide if he would take us to a nice authentic restaurant for lunch and told him we would cover the cost of his lunch. He took us to two churches and we had the awesome experience of being there during Easter Celebrations so the feeling was absolutedly heavenly in the churches. The people were so incredibly warm and friendly. The children were dressed in their Easter finest, this is one of the holiest times for Catholics in the area of course and the carpets in front of all of the altars were a sight to behold, made out of coloured sawdust, fruits, vegetables and flowers. We were 1 day short of seeing the parades when they cover the roads with flower petals. The entire experience was breathtaking!:)

Our guide took us to a chocolate store where they make the chocolate YUM. Everyone starts their tour in the Jade factory with a little talk and then a walk through the store and museum. It was amazing. The jade is not cheap but there are many many beautiful pieces which are exquisitely made. They gave us little worry dolls after the talk, they were so cute.

We had lunch at Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo Antigua. We had the best strawberry margaritas we've had in a long time and the food was to die for. Service was exceptionally quick. We sat at a table on the rooftop patio with a view of the city, the volcanoes and as far as the eye could see. Breathtaking!!!!!

Next we went to a market where our guide introduced us to a friend who manufactures and sells jade jewellery. The quality was not quite as good as in the museum, but he had some very unique pieces so I bought a number of items and was very pleased. The market is huge and the people were a little pushy, but not bad at all. In the streets some would keep asking, especially near the drop off/pick up spot but not too bad, we have seen much worse like the vendors in the old city of Cartegena.

We were mesmerized by Antigua and the people. Make sure that your guide understands English and can speak it reasonably well, the guide should also have the guide credentials which they usually wear around their necks or clipped to their jackets.

It is cooler in Antigua than at the port, so keep that in mind. Layers are good. It wasn't cold, but it was very cool with short sleeves.

I will check back to answer any questions anyone has in a day or so.

Dee

Great review , Dee and Dennis! Just a few questions, if you don't mind. I have read that some of the Antigua On Your Own busses (ship arranged) drop off at the Jade Factory. Did yours do this also? Some have mentioned that the drop off was a tourist info center where guides were available for hire. Guess I am confused as to where the guides are in relation to the drop off. Did you arrange for your guide ahead of time or after arriving? Was your per person price based in the size of your group? Trying to figure out if we will have to get a group together if we want to hire a guide.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sharon

Great review , Dee and Dennis! Just a few questions, if you don't mind. I have read that some of the Antigua On Your Own busses (ship arranged) drop off at the Jade Factory. Did yours do this also? Some have mentioned that the drop off was a tourist info center where guides were available for hire. Guess I am confused as to where the guides are in relation to the drop off. Did you arrange for your guide ahead of time or after arriving? Was your per person price based in the size of your group? Trying to figure out if we will have to get a group together if we want to hire a guide.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Sharon

I do not mind at all! All of the buses drop off at a building right by the jade factory. I would imagine that if you do not hire a guide, then you just take off and go wherever you please. We hired a guide and so the jade factory is the first stop with any of the guides. If you were adamantly opposed to visiting the factory, they may avoid it I'm not sure. It was a very good talk at the factory, the museum was pretty interesting and I love jewellery so I looked in the store, but you could just leave if you wanted to.

The guides are inside the building where the buses drop you off. There are some vendors inside and washrooms. It is a long bus ride, so most people on the bus visited the washrooms right away and the guides were there to speak to you. Trust me you won't have to worry about finding a guide:) I was in the washroom when the guide approached Dennis, I came out and the guide (Julio Flores) was telling us that he wanted to find one more couple to go with us. The cost is $10 per person for all of the guides and it was worth every single dime! I do have Julio's cell phone number it is 5960-8860. We recognized a couple from the ship that we had been on another ship excursion with and knew they were very nice, so we asked them if they wanted to join our tour. I looked up the info I put in my phone about what we had for lunch (yup I live for my blackberry:rolleyes:) Dennis had Chile Rillano and I had Plato Chapin, they served us freshly made fajitas. WOW!!!!! Be careful if you are not used to spicy salsa cause it was hot! OMG the food was sooooo good I can almost taste it reminiscing. Jose had a sandwich with fries and would not have any alcohol just lemonade, we each had a strawberry margarita and the other couple had a beer and a margarita and similar food to ours. The bill was just over $100 US for the 5 of us. We had so much food we couldn't finish it. The service and the view were just spectacular. Julio of course knew everyone everwhere we went so he interpreted if we needed help. I cannot say enough good about him, if you ask any of the guides I'm sure that they would direct you to him if he is there that day.

You could save time when you choose a guide if you already have another couple to go with you, and it makes it easier if you are compatible. But you don't need to.

One thing I cannot stress enough. We had been warned and warned about how dangerous all of the ports on our cruise are and nothing could be further from the truth. Be smart, don't flash money or valuables. Keep your belongings safe as you would in any place you are not accustomed to (like most large cities) and enjoy your time in each of the ports. I strongly reccommend hiring a guide in Antigua, the information from them is invaluable, you can ask questions and in our case, he knew exactly where to take us for lunch. We paid for his lunch and gave him $30. Antigua was one of our best experiences on the trip and that is saying a lot because it was an incredible cruise!

By the way everyone took US dollars no problem and we heard from some fellow Canadians that some took Canadian dollars as well.

If you are going to Costa Rica, Colon, Cartegena, Puerto Vallarta or Cabo San Lucas and have any questions, post them here and I will answer whatever I can.

Dee

Thanks so very much, Dee. You filled in a lot of the blanks and then some things I hadn't thought of. We will be doing the PC cruise in Nov. Our son has visited Antigua a few times and may try and meet up with us the day we visit (he's an airline pilot so it is easy for him to travel). That is why I wanted to know about the drop off point.

Since you were nice enough to offer, what tour did you choose for Cartagena, Costa Rica and Panama (Colon). We will be on Celebrity so I assume the same ports as RCCL.

I plan to copy and paste your post into the port notes I am putting together for our cruise.

Sharon

Thanks so very much, Dee. You filled in a lot of the blanks and then some things I hadn't thought of. We will be doing the PC cruise in Nov. Our son has visited Antigua a few times and may try and meet up with us the day we visit (he's an airline pilot so it is easy for him to travel). That is why I wanted to know about the drop off point.

 

Since you were nice enough to offer, what tour did you choose for Cartagena, Costa Rica and Panama (Colon). We will be on Celebrity so I assume the same ports as RCCL.

 

I plan to copy and paste your post into the port notes I am putting together for our cruise.

 

Sharon

You are quite welcome Sharon, it is one of our best cruises ever and we are still excited just talking about it.

Cartagena - Deluxe Cartegena and Fortress

Next time I think we would just do a carriage ride through the old walled city so that we could see more.

Our guide was not easy to hear and at first we were near the front of the bus, but when we got back on people had taken our seats:( I absolutely hated inquisition place, history yes, horrifying definitely.

The vendors here follow you if you show any interest at all. Typical of some ports. The shopping area we were taken to had the Lee Miles (emerald guy) store, his prices were quite high, this was definitely a tourist area. We bought a coffee and some coffee beans to take home. I was not impressed with the shopping.

The views from the fort were amazing.

Good tour, but not a great tour, would have preferred more time to wander in the walled city.

Colon Panama - The Shaping of Panama - Free WIFI in Port Building

Enjoyed this tour! Excellent guide who told everyone to stick to their seats. Beautiful scenery on the drive to Panama City with lots of good history and info from the guide. Be prepared to see the shanty towns built around the dump as you drive by, incredible poverty in some areas. We had lunch at a hotel and it was a nice buffet, very relaxing, we enjoyed it.

Panama City is congested and the traffic was like Toronto at rush hour. But a beautiful big city.

Next we went to the Old City and in our minds it is a must see. The bus passengers were split in two, half went with our tour guide and the other half went with another guide who was equally as amazing as our bus guide. It is being renovated everywhere. Simply incredible to be there. There would be part of a building that had been completely renovated with the next door area full of squattors using it as their home with their laundry hanging on the balcony. Really something to see. The views from here were spectacular, simply spectacular!

Next we drove out the man made road (made from the dirt from the canal construction) to the islands and I cannot remember the name. We had an overpriced ice cream here (it was good) and stood outside and looked across at Panama City, it was an amazing view. Bought some coffee at a duty free. No good shopping on this one.....yah I like to shop:D

I believe that this was the tour where our bus tour guide when asked about snakes said that the snakes were a little poisonous...when questioned he said really poisonous is you die right away, a little poisonous means you have some time to get to the hospital.

Costa Rica - Eco Tropical Mangrove Adventure

We took a bus a long way to the Mangrove. Excellent guide and bus driver. We saw some monkeys in a tree along the way. The mangrove was beautiful, lots of birds, very few crocodiles. Very relaxing on the boat going through the mangrove and into the river. It was absolutely beautiful scenery. When we went back to the dock there was a shop to visit and they had fresh fruit and juice and water. Incredible pineapple and watermelon YUM:) I bought a sarong for $15 and realized when we got back to the ship that it had the saying the guide taught us on it. "pura vida" literally translated means pure light, and it is used as a greeting, it is similar to namaste I think. So when asked if you are on a tour, you will already know the greeting:p

Good tour. Friends did a zip line (Dennis doesn't want to do this:rolleyes:) and they had megga pics of crocodiles and loved the scenery.

The market at the port was fun. We bought coffee, the best is supposed to be Cafe Brit, but trust me it is no where near as good as Jamaica Blue Mountain, good but not as good. We also bought a number of little paintings done by local artists.

I will post the rest in a separate post, don't want to time out.

Dee

Hi Again

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Town, Country and Tequila

This tour we had Jose as our guide and the guy was a riot. The funniest was when he told us that he was actually Scottish and working illegally in Mexico:) We walked around the waterfront, then went to a little plaza for shopping. The prices were high and we only had half an hour. There was one washroom for men and one for women in the jewellery store, so if you stood in line, no time to shop. I didn't see anything that excited me, but there were some people who bought jewellery.

On the way to Leyva Tequila factory Jose told us we could get something to eat after the tour and they had drinks to buy for $6 US. He told us that we needed to keep telling them "mas tequila" and they would keep filling up our little crockery glass with more tequila. Wellllllll Jose did not lie. The tequila factory guide came over and gave Jose a cup when we arrived and kept saying mas tequila to Jose as he would keep filling up his cup. It was soooooo funny. Next we do the tour and find out how the tequila is made, very interesting. THEN there is a tasting:D They were definitely not chintzy. Some did not want to enjoy their full sampling, so others (including Dennis and I:rolleyes:) were more than happy to pick up the slack for them. We bought little tequila samplers to take home and a pound of coffee. We did get the cups with the tequila drink and no kidding, I said mas tequila and I swear there was more tequila than whatever else was in that cup.:D We bought freshly made fajitas and something wrapped in a plantain leaf, can't remember what it was but they were amazing and cheap! I think it came to maybe $8 for both meals and I gave the little girl $10, she tried to give me change but no way. The time here was almost too short with the lineup to buy the tequila. We took our drinks back to the bus with us and it was an excellent drive back.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Wandered at the Port

We did not book an excursion here because we didn't really see anything that interested us.

I was sick with a horrible cold this day so we went into town - WIFI in the coffee shop, you need a password to use it so must buy a coffee and the coffee was excellent. Very nice people who own the shop!

NOTE: I always pack supplements to take in the event that either one of us get sick. We are Canadian and use a product called Cold FX (no I do not work for them) it supports the immune system and we never go a winter without it. I double dosed on it this day along with green tea with lemon and honey, some advil, echinacea and a lot of vitamin c and then after being in the port for a few hours went back to the cabin and slept from about 2 until the next morning and I was much better. We repeatedly found people refusing to use the sanitizers on this cruise and I noted soooo many not washing hands in the washroom. I was completely healthy when we boarded! This could have ruined our 4 days in San Diego if I hadb't been prepared.

We shopped in the market but didn't buy anything, went into town, no you don't need to take a cab. Walk along the pathway to the right when you get off the ship and it will lead you to the downtown. I find the jewellery in Mexico is typically way overpriced (I know my jewellery) so I rarely buy anything in Mexico. We had strawberry margaritas and Dennis had some nachos at a restaurant on the way back to the ship, sorry can't remember the name of the restaurant. It was good not great. I went back to a little store with silver on the way back, just across from the entrance to get to the ship and found a lapis lazuli bracelet I loved. Very nice man who owned the store, it was a couple of doors over from the coffee shop. I tried to negotiate with him after a very obnoxious couple was beating the poor man up trying to get something for nothing. I left for a bit, shopped at DI and then went back and said if he could come down a bit in price I would go up a bit and we could maybe come up with something we were both happy with. I left with my bracelet and I am simply in love with the design. He had some of the most unique items, just amazing silver.

We spent 4 days in San Diego when we docked. Let me know if you need any info on San Diego and I can tell you what we did. We will definitely go back to SD, we loved it!!!!

Hope this info helps!

Dee

Once again thanks , Dee, for all the great info! So glad to read the review of The Shaping of Panama as we are considering this tour. Still not sure about Cartagena and your review will help us there also. Hadn't considered the tour you chose in Costa Rica but plan to check it out. I wish that Celebrity/RCCL would give more details about the tours. I think that Princess does a much better job with this. We still haven't decided if we want to take any tours in Mexico but your Tequila tour sounds like lots of fun.

Like you, I love to shop and always look for opportunities when we cruise. Since we are going in Nov., I am hoping to find unique things for Christmas gifts. Did you find that all the ports had some shopping and was it worth your time? I wonder about money. Normally we use the local currency when we travel but with so many different countries on this cruise, that could become a bit difficult. I know many have posted that they do not exchange money but that can present problems too when you try and figure out just what an item will actually cost. Did you purchase anything from the street vendors?

Thanks also for the WiFi info. I always look for that in ports. We did the Canada New England (mostly Canada) RCCL cruise last fall and found WiFi in all the ports which was really nice. We loved all,the ports own that cruise especially Quebec City where we spent time before we boarded.

I grew up in Southern California and we have been to San Diego many times so won't be spending time there this trip. I hope you enjoyed your visit, it is certainly a wonderful city to visit.

I'm sure all your info will help others planning this cruise...I know it has certainly helped me!

Sharon

Once again thanks , Dee, for all the great info! So glad to read the review of The Shaping of Panama as we are considering this tour. Still not sure about Cartagena and your review will help us there also. Hadn't considered the tour you chose in Costa Rica but plan to check it out. I wish that Celebrity/RCCL would give more details about the tours. I think that Princess does a much better job with this. We still haven't decided if we want to take any tours in Mexico but your Tequila tour sounds like lots of fun.

 

Like you, I love to shop and always look for opportunities when we cruise. Since we are going in Nov., I am hoping to find unique things for Christmas gifts. Did you find that all the ports had some shopping and was it worth your time? I wonder about money. Normally we use the local currency when we travel but with so many different countries on this cruise, that could become a bit difficult. I know many have posted that they do not exchange money but that can present problems too when you try and figure out just what an item will actually cost. Did you purchase anything from the street vendors?

 

Thanks also for the WiFi info. I always look for that in ports. We did the Canada New England (mostly Canada) RCCL cruise last fall and found WiFi in all the ports which was really nice. We loved all,the ports own that cruise especially Quebec City where we spent time before we boarded.

 

I grew up in Southern California and we have been to San Diego many times so won't be spending time there this trip. I hope you enjoyed your visit, it is certainly a wonderful city to visit.

 

I'm sure all your info will help others planning this cruise...I know it has certainly helped me!

 

Sharon

Hi Sharon

We have toured much of California, but had missed SD, so this was our perfect opportunity and we are definitely doing another PC cruise in the future and will stay again in SD.

We took US travellers cheques and cashed them on the ship as required. The only thing I would strongly recommend is to have between $50 and $100 one dollar bills for the ports. $5, $10 and $20 bills are a good idea. They ran out of small bills at guest services, so next time we will go with more singles. These countries are sooooo poor. There were little children trying to sell things when we came out of the church in Puerto Vallarta and everywhere in Antigua. I tried to give $1.00 here and there to children and we always buy local paintings, prints and Christmas ornaments wherever we travel. Our daughter has a degree in International Development so fortunately or unfortunately we know a great deal about how things truly are in some of the countries the cruise ships visit. I bought some of the prettiest beaded Christmas ornaments and little clay ornaments with native costumes at the port in Guatemala. I bought purple and green jade studs and a shawl as well. It was such a large beautiful market, we loved it. The port at Colon was not a real thrill, we really didn't buy much there. But there was WIFI. The port in Costa Rica had a nice little market and I had WIFI now that I think of it just outside the door of a cafe by the market and I didn't buy a coffee. We bought bean coffee at the market and some paintings - originals for our kids and a couple for us. The people in the market were very nice here and most of them were very nice in the Guatemala port market. There are a lot of little beaded necklaces with hand painted cute little girls or birds on them that are sold in the streets of Panama and Guatemala and at the markets. You can usually find matching earrings. Very colourful. We bought 3 necklaces on the street in Old Panama City for $6 US. Guatemala has lots and lots of woven fabric as well. All of the jewellery is put into a little woven bag when you buy it.

Our tour in Cartegena was very long, so when we got back to the port we barely had time to look around and needed to get back on the ship.

Watch your change when you get it back, try to carry small bills with you if you can to avoid giving a larger bill and getting a lot of change back. Counterfeit US money is supposedly a problem. Watch your coin change you get back. The ice cream girl shorted us on coin, but not a huge deal.

When we got closer to Colombia the temps kept climbing, it was between 95 and 98 most days until we got to Mexico where it was cooler. When we left Cabo, within about 2 hours it was too cold and windy to stay on the balcony. The last sea day between Cabo and SD it was waaaay too cold to sit outside.

Gotta go answer the phone. If you need any more info just ask.

Dee

You have really given me and I'm sure others, a lot of great info, Dee! I take it that you only used UDS in all the ports and that shops as well as street venders accepted it.

You mentioned that you would have enjoyed the carriage tour in Cartagena. I see that Celebrity offers one but the details do not explain if this is a small carriage for 2 or perhaps 4 people or a larger vehicle that will hold many people. I'm wondering if you noticed what these carriages were like. I've seen both types in other ports.

Sharon

You have really given me and I'm sure others, a lot of great info, Dee! I take it that you only used UDS in all the ports and that shops as well as street venders accepted it.

 

You mentioned that you would have enjoyed the carriage tour in Cartagena. I see that Celebrity offers one but the details do not explain if this is a small carriage for 2 or perhaps 4 people or a larger vehicle that will hold many people. I'm wondering if you noticed what these carriages were like. I've seen both types in other ports.

 

Sharon

We did use US dollars only. The vendors, even street and market vendors had no trouble taking them. The only issue is in Mexico at jewellery stores, due to the drug trade the Mexican government is trying to make everyone use their credit card and they offer to refund the tax. We used travellers cheques in Cozumel last year, it was painful, but we did it. This year we didn't buy any jewellery in Mexico, the prices were too high.

The carriages that were everywhere looked like they would hold maybe up to 4 or 6 people. I'm not sure if they would add people to your carriage, so I have emailed a friend who did the tour to ask her. They said they enjoyed it afterward, it was two ladies we know. The carriages we saw were the kind you see in New Orleans but maybe a little bigger. We would do it next time.

I will post a message when I hear back from her about the carriages. Let me know if you have any other questions. Honestly reliving it all is incredible. I framed a little painting I bought at the market in Costa Rica of 2 parrots and it is in my office where I can see it as I type. It is absolute heaven, it won't hang in a museum but it sure makes my day when work is annoying:) I think it was maybe $15. :) We bought 4 paintings from another vendor for $70 and they were already framed, not expensive frames, but framed nonetheless. They are paintings of the beaches in the area.

Dee

You have really given me and I'm sure others, a lot of great info, Dee! I take it that you only used UDS in all the ports and that shops as well as street venders accepted it.

 

You mentioned that you would have enjoyed the carriage tour in Cartagena. I see that Celebrity offers one but the details do not explain if this is a small carriage for 2 or perhaps 4 people or a larger vehicle that will hold many people. I'm wondering if you noticed what these carriages were like. I've seen both types in other ports.

 

Sharon

Hi Sharon

My gf said the following about the carriage tour:

"There were about 20-24 people on the bus with us, and then we split into groups of 4 for the carriage ride itself. We rode around in the old walled section for about 45 minutes, and got to see a lot that we wouldn't have on the bus. There was also about a 25-minute shopping stop at Las Bovedas, which I really enjoyed. My friend suggested that we do this tour, and I went along "for the ride," but I would recommend it.

It was a short tour, only about 2-1/2 hours, but just right for me."

They both seemed to have enjoyed it when they spoke to us afterward.

Hope this helps.

Dee

Dee,

I have been digging around for info on the Panama Canal cruises and found this thread. You are a wealth of information and I learned so much in the last few minutes spent reading your posts! We don't cruise for two years but I love to be prepared....

We are going the opposite way and starting in San Diego. Which hotel did you use? Thank you so much,

Deb

Hi Dee,

Thanks to you and to your friend for the info. Looks like a good tour choice given the heat and humidity everyone warns about. We also will most likely be dealing with some rain in Nov. I can deal with heat, but the humidity...not so much! Am keeping this in mind when considering all the tour options. I guess Antigua is cooler because of its altitude so we plan a walking tour there possibly with an umbrella!

So now to incorporate all your great info into my port notes. You have provided all the info that I wasn't able to find in the usual information sources...especially about the shopping. I say good shopping is the "icing on the cruise cake"!

I know others appreciate your helpfulness as evidenced by the post above mine. This thread started out to be about Antigua but we seemed to expand it to include other ports and general info for those taking this cruise.

We still have 6 months to go and it will be hard to wait but I keep telling myself the planning and anticipation is all part of the enjoyment!

Thanks again, Dee.

Sharon

Dee,

 

I have been digging around for info on the Panama Canal cruises and found this thread. You are a wealth of information and I learned so much in the last few minutes spent reading your posts! We don't cruise for two years but I love to be prepared....

We are going the opposite way and starting in San Diego. Which hotel did you use? Thank you so much,

 

Deb

Hi Deb

So glad to talk about this cruise, it was incredible. Thanks for reading!

We stayed at the Marriott Gas Lamp which boasts the rooftop bar....Altitudes which is a prime location to go for happy hour at night and have the perfect view of the city, Petco Park and even better we were at this bar when Vision pulled out the night we docked in SD. Dennis noticed the ship going out of the harbour while we were having a drink so I took pics with my zoom lens with some of the city in the foreground. WOW! We did the bar two nights for a before dinner drink and it was amazing. No food in this bar, so we brought some pretzels with us the one night. The only downside is that the convention hall is not far from the hotel, so all of the hotels are full of convention visitors and they take precedence we found:rolleyes: One night Altitudes was closed for most likely one of the convention groups, so we couldn't get in and man was I ticked since we went back to the hotel early to watch the Celebrity ship leave the harbour:mad:

I booked this hotel (we usually stay at Marriotts...sticking with one brand to get points) as soon as it was available and got it on the AAA rate for $148 a night. You get bottled water, robes and the coffee maker with Starbucks coffee your room included. We definitely used the coffee and the water extensively. We found the desk people were less helpful than the bus boys out front. Our room overlooked Petco Park, unfortunately the games started the following Tues. WHAT A VIEW WE HAD!!!!! I would not give the hotel top marks for doing things like giving us the extra towels we requested consistently, but it was a good stay. They had giant bowls of candy on the counter for guests. We checked in at around 10:30 or 11:00 (immigration took a while to get off the ship) and we were given a room right away, whereas, the young couple who has used mommy's points to book a room, had to wait till the afternoon.

Let me know if you have any other questions about SD or the hotel, or anything other port for that matter:)

Dee

Hi Dee,

 

Thanks to you and to your friend for the info. Looks like a good tour choice given the heat and humidity everyone warns about. We also will most likely be dealing with some rain in Nov. I can deal with heat, but the humidity...not so much! Am keeping this in mind when considering all the tour options. I guess Antigua is cooler because of its altitude so we plan a walking tour there possibly with an umbrella!

 

So now to incorporate all your great info into my port notes. You have provided all the info that I wasn't able to find in the usual information sources...especially about the shopping. I say good shopping is the "icing on the cruise cake"!

 

I know others appreciate your helpfulness as evidenced by the post above mine. This thread started out to be about Antigua but we seemed to expand it to include other ports and general info for those taking this cruise.

 

We still have 6 months to go and it will be hard to wait but I keep telling myself the planning and anticipation is all part of the enjoyment!

 

Thanks again, Dee.

 

Sharon

Hi Sharon

You are quite welcome:) We didn't find the humidity was horrible when we were there in Apr, we have horrible humidity in the summer where we live, but it was 97 to 99 degrees so it was wicked hot! Since there was snow at home we were ok with the heat. Going through the canal was perhaps one of the hottest days we experienced. But it was easy to handle since we were soooo excited to be doing it.

I really enjoyed planning this one and tried to find out quite a bit about the canal. We will definitely do it again!

I will check back periodically when I have a chance. So if you have any more questions let me know.

Dee