js4rq Posted December 18, 2014 #1 Share Posted December 18, 2014 (edited) Hello, we were originally doing a Panama canal cruise in February but had to put that on hold. Now it looks like we may be able to go in October - I am aware it'll be hot then (30 degrees Celsius), but will it be as humid? Also, we are contemplating whether to do the LA-Miami or Miami-Miami itinerary with Norwegian :confused:: 11-Day Panama Canal from Miami Miami, Florida (EMBARK) At Sea At Sea Cartagena, Colombia Panama Canal/Gatun Lake, Panama Colon, Panama Puerto Limon, Costa Rica At Sea Banana Coast (Trujillo), Honduras Harvest Caye, Belize Costa Maya, Mexico At Sea Miami, Florida (DISEMBARK) OR 15-Day Panama Canal from Los Angeles Los Angeles, California (EMBARK) At Sea Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Puerto Vallarta, Mexico At Sea Huatulco, Mexico Puerto Chiapas, Mexico Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala At Sea Puntarenas, Costa Rica At Sea Daylight Transit Panama Canal Cartagena, Colombia At Sea At Sea Miami, Florida (DISEMBARK) Miami-Miami PROS Goes to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - can go to sloth sanctuary Has Colon port Has Costa Maya port Has Panama Canal/Gatun Lake CONS Expensive (a few hundred dollars more compared to the LA cruise) Shorter cruise Would need to fly LA-Miami Los Angeles-Miami PROS Cheaper Longer cruise Has more Mexico ports (haven't been to Huatulco and Puerto Chiapas) CONS No Colon port No Panama Canal/Gatun Lake port Can't go to sloth sanctuary from Puntarenas, Costa Rica Has anyone been on similar itineraries and can recommend one over the other? :) Norwegian website does not have shore excursions for Banana Coast (Trujillo). Do they usually have tours available closer to date of sailing? Or can you do this port independently? Thank you!! :D Edited December 18, 2014 by js4rq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 18, 2014 #2 Share Posted December 18, 2014 (edited) If you are able to do the full transit (LA-Miami, or vice versa), no real good reason to do the partial (roundtrip out of Miami). Edited December 18, 2014 by CruiserBruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted December 18, 2014 #3 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Has anyone been on similar itineraries and can recommend one over the other? :) Norwegian website does not have shore excursions for Banana Coast (Trujillo). Do they usually have tours available closer to date of sailing? Or can you do this port independently? Thank you!! :D I would do the full transit Miami - LA Banana Coast is a brand new port. There is a thread on it on the destination board. If I remember correctly, you can take a taxi to Truijillo. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1990772 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js4rq Posted December 18, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Thank you for the replies so far. I will have a look at the thread re Banana coast. If we choose the LA-Miami itinerary (full transit), that would mean we can't go to the Sloth sanctuary..or is it still possible? Is there another sanctuary closer to the Puntarenas port? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted December 19, 2014 #5 Share Posted December 19, 2014 While I think the partial transit cruise (Miami-Miami) is a great cruise and I would do it in a heartbeat... any of the pros for the partial transit cruise just don't compare with a full transit. The gold standard of a Canal cruise is the complete transit (LAX-MIA) and I think that would go for someone coming a long distance such as Oz for the cruise, should go for the full transit. I really think you would be more satisfied with the LA-MIA cruise. Let me address your first concern, the humidity... in reality the temps and humidity don't vary a great deal throughout the year. Yes, February would have been a slightly better month in the weather department, but October isn't a horrible month. To be honest, October is still within the Rainy Season, so the higher humidity can come in the form of rain;)! Don't despair, when and if you do encounter rain it usually is only for a short period of time and it is unlikely to be an all day toad choking washout:D! Usually a rain shower has the effect of sending the less hardy in search of something to eat thereby opening up the prime viewing positions. So here is another vote for the full transit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js4rq Posted December 19, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) Good to know, cheers BillB48. :p It would make sense to do the full transit itinerary (LA-Miami). Which means one less flight and hotel = more $$$ for spending money!! And we get to return to Mexico and visit a few Mexican ports, which is a plus ;) As much as we'd like to go to the sloth sanctuary, it isn't an option on the full transit itinerary, as the full transit cruise calls into Puntarenas and it's on the other side of Costa Rica. So we'll have to look into where we'd like to include into our day itinerary to hopefully see sloths - Macaw sanctuary, Manuel Antonio NP or Monteverde Cloud Forest. I will be doing research on all 3, and go from there. And hopefully choose a cabin and book our cruise soon! Thanks again for your help, everyone! :D Edited December 19, 2014 by js4rq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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