Panama Canal Best Cruise Line.?

[springfire]

Methinks there is nothing special about Island and Coral Princess. They are just like any other pre-expansion cruise liners, built to fit the canal.

 

All that will change after the widening is completed in 2014 or later.

 

I get that you don't think Island or Coral Princess is special, but what ship do you think is better for a full transit cruise?

[MermaidWatcher]

I get that you don't think Island or Coral Princess is special, but what ship do you think is better for a full transit cruise?

 

I believe there are two points trying to be conveyed.

First, that the fact that these two ships were "built" for the canal imparts nothing special to them, except that they were designed with specific size parameters in mind. That stipulation does not mean they are any more special in décor, amenities, food, etc. than is found on any other comparable ship.

Second, I think the message is that there is no answer to the "which is better, best, tastier, more fun, etc" questions.

Ask 15 people, you will get 15 answers, the Princess crowd will cheer for them, the HAL crowd will cheer for HAL, and the RCI crowd will cheer their brand. The ship that is "better" is the one that has an itinerary that you like, dates that work for you, and a price that is acceptable.

That's not to say that everyone's differing opinions are not worthy of taking into consideration, just that they are individual subjective opinions. /

[boogs]

The ship that is "better" is the one that has an itinerary that you like, dates that work for you, and a price that is acceptable.

 

For some of us there is more to this than the itinerary, dates and price. Some of us prefer a certain ambiance, or a certain level of activity, or a certain level of "pampering", or a certain "vibe", or a certain level of relaxation. It is important to read up on the different cruise lines to find the one that fits your style best. Do a Google search on cruise line differences. Find out which ones have a party atmosphere, which ones have rock walls or flow riders, which ones have water parks, which ones have an elegant feel, etc. Not all cruise lines are the same. For instance, a Carnival cruise is much different than a HAL cruise. One is for the party, activity minded, and the other is for the pampering, relaxation minded. If any of these traits are important to you, do your research and choose wisely.

Edited January 4, 2014 by boogs

[8pawz]

I lived in Panama for six years so on selecting a PC cruise with my DH a must was a full transit with a day in Panama City (fuerte Amador) Few cruises stop there. Also wanted to take him to see Antigua Guatemala so needed a stop at puerto Quetzal. Also heard great things about the Princess lecturer who grew up in Panama. Would also recommend going from pacific to Atlantic as the view from ship at night into city is beautiful and taking cruise during dry season between dec and April. We are going on the Island Princess on feb 15 as it fully meets all these must haves. Have fun selecting.

 

Joan

[springfire]

I lived in Panama for six years so on selecting a PC cruise with my DH a must was a full transit with a day in Panama City (fuerte Amador) Few cruises stop there. Also wanted to take him to see Antigua Guatemala so needed a stop at puerto Quetzal. Also heard great things about the Princess lecturer who grew up in Panama. Would also recommend going from pacific to Atlantic as the view from ship at night into city is beautiful and taking cruise during dry season between dec and April. We are going on the Island Princess on feb 15 as it fully meets all these must haves. Have fun selecting.

 

Joan

 

Thanks for sharing!

[paluni]

You mentioned passengers dressed up on formal night. Do you mean tuxes and long gowns?

 

Also, do you know how many formal nights can we expect on our 11 day partial transit?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I don't know about partial transit. We had 3 formal nights for our 16-day full transit. I don't know about an 11-day partial transit. There were quite a few tuxes and long gowns on our cruise, but you don't have to. Some wore suits and ties and dressy wear for the ladies. My husband did wear a tux, I had two short outfits and one long. But you can even just eat in the buffet that night if you don't want to do formal. Probably on an 11-day it would be 2 formal nights? I'm not sure though. Enjoy your cruise.

[JimAOk1945]

I don't know about partial transit. We had 3 formal nights for our 16-day full transit. I don't know about an 11-day partial transit. There were quite a few tuxes and long gowns on our cruise, but you don't have to. Some wore suits and ties and dressy wear for the ladies. My husband did wear a tux, I had two short outfits and one long. But you can even just eat in the buffet that night if you don't want to do formal. Probably on an 11-day it would be 2 formal nights? I'm not sure though. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll continue to do some research.

[barante]

JimAOk1945 -- Good for you that you will make sure you know what you are getting. That's what I do and it has worked well for us.

 

Partial vs. full transit: Up to you. If you really want to see and understand the canal, you will want to do full transit. If that is not important, partial is fine.

 

Ambiance, etc. The more we cruise, the more we have come to understand that most mass-market cruise lines offer a good product, which in most cases is very similar. There are twists and differences. Some have chocolates at bedtime and towel animals, which seem to make or break some people's happiness. All this is up to you.

 

Similarly, some people advise they would never ever get caught on a cruise ship unless they can travel in a balcony cabin. Fine, but that's not my thinking.

 

I consult deck plans and go for the biggest cabin at the best price I can get. Insides are fine for me, as long as I have a good location and without predictable noise. I like HAL's inside J, and 4K or 4J on certain Carnival ships. On NCL, we have done both balconies and OVs. We prefer balconies in this case, because cheap NCL insides often are closet-sized. We have had enjoyable insides and balconies on Princess and insides and OVs on Celebrity, insides on RCL. All up to you.

 

My guru on all this hawaiidan, who convinced me that the best choice often is the cheapest cabin. That way you profit, not the cruise line. But that's up to you.

 

On our three most recent cruises, all on Carnival, we had a choice of well-priced obstructed balconies vs. inside 4Ks. We went with insides, even though the price difference was only $400 pp. on two-week cruises. My reasoning was that even that price difference took care of tips and incidentals, which it did, leaving us some spare cash. I never regretted the decision.

 

We take each cruise as it comes. There is no sadder cruiser than one that goes for a certain line or ship expecting to relive a memorable past experience. In many cases, they return disappointed.

 

Cruise lines are in a constant flux. Don't expect that your favorite course is prepared the same way it was on a previous cruise. Or that today's shrimp cocktail is what it used to be.

 

Some of this may not be a cruise line's fault at all. When we spent a month cruising on Costa, some U.S. passengers told us the food was not Italian -- although we thought it was fine. They expected to get what they get at Olive Gardens!

[8pawz]

To the OP... It can be difficult to determine what is really impt on a cruise if you haven't cruised that much but I think it is easier to make a selection on a PC cruise. First you don't have to decide between a really large ship or a smaller one as the lock size dictates how large a ship can be. Then I would determine how long a cruise I wanted and from there which ports. I relayed earlier my criteria and other posters gave great recommendations/considerations. Whatever you chose I would highly recommend not going in the rainy season unless you really like steam rooms! You might want to print out info on a couple of cruises and compare ports, prices etc. Alot of us find the planning process as much fun as the cruising. Enjoy.

 

Joan

[MermaidWatcher]

I don't know about partial transit. We had 3 formal nights for our 16-day full transit. I don't know about an 11-day partial transit. There were quite a few tuxes and long gowns on our cruise, but you don't have to. Some wore suits and ties and dressy wear for the ladies. My husband did wear a tux, I had two short outfits and one long. But you can even just eat in the buffet that night if you don't want to do formal. Probably on an 11-day it would be 2 formal nights? I'm not sure though. Enjoy your cruise.

 

We had two formal nights in Nov. for a Holland partial transit

Edited January 5, 2014 by MermaidWatcher

[Vineyard View]

We are looking at a full Canal Cruise as well, and just want to add to the original question of best cruise line - as we also are struggling with that. I hear a lot of Princess recommendations - which I have only used once and was not at all impressed with their food. I would appreciate further input on the line that will provide something above average food - in not just the specialty restaurants. If it is Princess, great! HAL? NCL? Thank you in advance!

[crystalspin]

I'd have to say that NCL's food is average to bland. Even what was billed as Szechuan at Ginza was savory, not spicy.

 

Fortunately it didn't ruin our PC cruise!

 

I never got a chance to try the Indian food from the buffet as I let my DH choose where to eat and he opted for one of the MDR's.

Edited January 5, 2014 by crystalspin

[boogs]

We are looking at a full Canal Cruise as well, and just want to add to the original question of best cruise line - as we also are struggling with that. I hear a lot of Princess recommendations - which I have only used once and was not at all impressed with their food. I would appreciate further input on the line that will provide something above average food - in not just the specialty restaurants. If it is Princess, great! HAL? NCL? Thank you in advance!

 

I've always thought that the food on my Celebrity cruises has been excellent, even in the MDR. When reading member comments on the Celebrity board, it seems many there would agree. And according to the 2013 Cruise Critic Cruiser's Choice awards in the dining category, of Celebrity's ten ships, six made the top ten in the large ship category, with 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th place, and two more of the their smaller ships also made the top ten in the mid size ship category. That's eight of ten ships! A pretty good record, and all based on fellow member's reviews.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?category=Dining&sort=large

Edited January 5, 2014 by boogs

[misty57]

Many thanks for all of the information! The drawing card for me with HAL was the round trip from Fort Lauderdale and the other ports in the Caribbean. After reading all of these great comments, I think we should bite the bullet and take the 14 night for the full transit. We would be going in February, so we have a few months before deciding. Now have to talk DH into being away for that long :D

[JimAOk1945]

JimAOk1945 -- Good for you that you will make sure you know what you are getting. That's what I do and it has worked well for us.

 

Partial vs. full transit: Up to you. If you really want to see and understand the canal, you will want to do full transit. If that is not important, partial is fine.

 

One of the things I enjoy about CC is the variety of opinions and comments and wealth of information available. We are not really interested in doing a full transit at this time but I appreciate everyone's input.