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Panama Canal Excursions


gpatters71
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:) We are most interested in the WHEELCHAIR excursion possibilities in:

 

Puerto Vallarta

Huatulco, MX

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

**We are unsure about using a taxi in these ports.**. Any advice is welcome.

 

I suspect we will stay onboard during the Panama Canal Crossing to see it.

 

Thanks so much.

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:) We are most interested in the WHEELCHAIR excursion possibilities in:

 

Puerto Vallarta

Huatulco, MX

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

**We are unsure about using a taxi in these ports.**. Any advice is welcome.

 

I suspect we will stay onboard during the Panama Canal Crossing to see it.

 

Thanks so much.

 

I'm not seeing a port call in Panama City/Fuerte Amador or Colon, so there will not be a choice of leaving the ship during the transit.

EM

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Hi, I did not mention the Panama Canal part because I don’t think we’ll actually get off the ship. This is what I left out:

 

P.C. Balboa

Cruise Panama Canal

P.C. Cristobal

Cartagena, Columbia next

Half Moon Cay

Fort Lauderdale

 

(We’ll see about getting off in Balboa and Cristobal - not sure. Information welcome!).

 

I just realized I left out Cartagena in my previous post, sorry.

Edited by gpatters71
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:) We are most interested in the WHEELCHAIR excursion possibilities in:

 

Puerto Vallarta

Huatulco, MX

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

**We are unsure about using a taxi in these ports.**. Any advice is welcome.

 

I suspect we will stay onboard during the Panama Canal Crossing to see it.

 

Thanks so much.

 

We did a San Diego to Miami on HAL's Westerndam in March of 2017. You will need a taxi or bus to get into town in Puerto Vallarta. We tried to walk it and sidewalks disappear, become too narrow or are steep enough that even with my well bicepted husband helping they get very dangerous. I did not see any accessible taxis. Oh, I only travel with a standard size Quickie manual chair with filled inset tires. If your cruise offers a drop you off then pick you back up excursion I would go with that.

 

The little town you dock at for Huatulco is actually an outlying suburb on the water. We actually loved the markets for real souvenirs on our first time through in 2007. Last year the price of the fantasy figures that are hand carved went up astronomically. Most are now sold in the jewelry stores. Unless you really enjoy folk art then this is a place to do a look around, get some sun and have some true local Oxaco regional food. Much of the food is spicy but many of the dishes like deviled shrimp comes with rice to cool you down. Be careful of Sangria or frozen margaritas in the sun. The area outside the port is being artificially produced to tie together 5 bays into a more upscale but natural tourist area. On our last visit I looked but did not ask if they had beach wheelchairs. We did not see any. I did not see any accessible excursions with HAL.

 

Corinto, I hate to be a bummer but.... The first thing we saw while going down the gangway was a security guard with a well maintained but old carbine rifle. The Port is well guarded with real police at the pedestrian gate including a Federale. I do not know why but the police had strung up crime barrier tape on all roads heading out from the central Plaza. Tour buses were allowed through and all were heading for Leon about 80 miles away. We tend to be adventuresome to include trying new food. We only saw a few crew members go into the same bar that had wifi for a price and they stuck to bottled beer. They had open sewers and well, we finished walking the square and tried to figure out a souvenir if only a small item for our Christmas tree. Things like that at the market were all made in China and looked it. This year there was more civil unrest due to political problems. And yet I just saw some pictures a friend took in the past week of the little Plaza area and it looked much better. A layer of paint and scrub brushes do wonders. They do have people who take you around by rickshaws but you would need to get out of your chair. Again, get very picky with your cruise line about excursions both here and in,..

 

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. We did have a great seafood lunch here within the port village. They clean everything with bleach. Purell is on every table and they wrap silverware so it never touches the tables. Nice port village for Nick knacks, embroidered blouses and hand loomed items. No accessible buses or vans so not much to do if you cannot do the big tour to Antigua. But I just checked and there are some independent tours. Definitely check all reviews, ask about insurance and if the driver speaks English. They had many deaths from a volcano blowing up last year so maybe keep any volcano viewing a good ways back. I thought the people there were much friendlier than those in Nicaragua.

 

Puerto Caldera!Arrange tours of the crocodile river. Very accessible ramp and flat bottom boats. Wear a hat and use sunscreen. We had a guide who has moved on but he also got my fulltime wheelchair butt in a rainforest tram! We had a blast. Between driving around it was a long day but really fun. Besides seeing the most mammoth size crocs ever, and the underpaid guys who play while feeding them, we were given a bird list with photos for IDing some strange birds and a few lizards. Yes, some really do run on water. Bring bug spray, sunscreen and a Hat! Afterwards we got back on the boat and as much as I planned a shower than just get a bite from the grill, well, a cheeseburger, fries and do 1 Corona put me to bed.

 

Never been to Half Moon.

 

Cartagena you will need to transfer into a taxi unless the ships have helped a few guides buy a bus. The Port area is clean but my friend said the gift shop is now closed. There is a small cafe with flamingos. And once you clear customs is the scarey wall of taxi drivers. Just keep going forward and smile. You need to find a driver standing next to a decent size SUV or sedan. I remember we liked the old dungeons that are now shops. Most have ramping. And I believe we managed an old fortress and church. It was one of those 9 to 4 days so no time for a late Latin style lunch. That was back in 2006 I think and the country has been doing much better so I am sure you will fine either ship or private tour excursions.

 

I wish I had better news but the Panama Canal just by itself is awesome. Normally they will add Colon or Cristobal if just for 3 hours. Get off and look around. Both are being built looking at tourists and North Americans and Europeans who want to move to a warmer climate with lower taxes.

 

Practice car transfers because very few areas in Central America have accessible buses or ramped taxis. Do not bring more off the ship in a backpack then you need. I use a cheapo backpack on most cruises. Bring your passport if necessary, a bottle of water, hat, sunscreen, bug spray, any map or printed off info for that day and a well charged phone and know the emergency number for each country. Do not take pictures of jails, prisons and military bases without permission. Just be careful but have fun!

Edited by NorthernLite
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Hi Sue, thank you so much for all the information. It is extremely helpful! I can think of a few questions right now.

Since my friend can transfer to a regular type sedan, we could easily get into a taxi putting her wheelchair in the trunk.

**Would you feel safe doing this in most any of the stops that you made? We are two women traveling together, and my friend is a small person.

It would be great if we could do something like a glass bottom boat or whale watching in some of the ports. Did you do anything like this? I know she would love just strolling around and shops and wheelchair browsing. PV Sounds iffy from what I’ve been reading (cobblestones etc). Private tours might be best at times. More research is going to be required by me I can see.

Any advice is so very welcome. Thank you. Glo

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