Jewel ~ S. Caribbean and Panama Canal ~ April 25th & May 2nd ~ My Diary

[maxs mom]

We saw some interesting sights I guess. A little bit of nice countryside, but mostly we traveled through people's back yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

 

 

 

 

The train ride finally came to an end. And the bus pulled right up to the train so all we had to do was walk right from the train into the bus! We had about a 30 minute ride back to the port. We were glad to get back to the ship.

 

 

Well we saw some of Costa Rica today. I think there are much more beautiful parts that I would like to come back and try to find. This just didn't do much for me today. We will know better next time.

 

It was almost dark when we got back. We almost had to peel our clothes off when we got back. The air conditioning on the ship sure felt good!

[PCWalton1]

In 2013 we did a ship's tour in this port that headed up in the hills to a coffee co-op. I primarily did this since I work for Starbucks and they sold much of their coffee to us. It was a very scenic ride once we got into the hills and thankfully the air conditioning work. Sorry about yours, that must have been brutal.

[js4rq]

Lovely photos, looking forward to more!

[The Big Booper]

Including our intrepid reporter Jane, several posters have reported missing out on scenic attractions while going thru the Canal because they couldn't be seen from balcony cabins. This is why we always stay on a top deck while going thru the Canal or leaving from a port with stuff-to-see on both sides of the ship. Plus you don't doze off with all of the sprinting from left to right and front to back. Even with drizzly weather we just use the waterproof camera.

[maxs mom]

Including our intrepid reporter Jane, several posters have reported missing out on scenic attractions while going thru the Canal because they couldn't be seen from balcony cabins. This is why we always stay on a top deck while going thru the Canal or leaving from a port with stuff-to-see on both sides of the ship. Plus you don't doze off with all of the sprinting from left to right and front to back. Even with drizzly weather we just use the waterproof camera.

 

Well....we went up and out for a little while but it was too hard to see anything because of all the rail hogs, so we found it far more comfortable in our cabin for most of the day. But we DID get out and about all over and I enjoyed that. We are basically just LAZY!!:D

[The Big Booper]

We went thru the Canal with the Radiance in 2006 with an Oceanview deck 3/4? cabin. When the ship went into a lock and the water was draining out we ran down to our cabin and looked thru the large porthole into passageways cut into the lock side walls. All kinds of stuff and equipment never seen.

 

Then we ran back up to the jogging deck. Huff puff!

Edited June 2, 2015 by The Big Booper

[jzad]

Janine.....humid isn't the word!! We were in Central America after all.....extremely humid.....we were drenched every time we went outside. Camera lenses kept fogging up' date=' etc. Yes.....you must prepare for the humidity.....but we're from the South, so we're used to it![/size']

 

 

Ok thank you! I think my husband would love the cruise but definitely not the humidity :(

[volunteer cruiser]

Jane, I hope you don't mind if I add a link to go pro time lapse video shot by our new German friends of our transit through the canal. It is very interesting. It lasts about 7 minutes. In total 7 hours of video shot with first part from our balcony on starboard side deck 10 on the hump and last part from Stefan's aft balcony.

[PCWalton1]

Jane, I hope you don't mind if I add a link to go pro time lapse video shot by our new German friends of our transit through the canal. It is very interesting. It lasts about 7 minutes. In total 7 hours of video shot with first part from our balcony on starboard side deck 10 on the hump and last part from Stefan's aft balcony.

 

Great video. :)

 

I like at about the 2 minute mark you can see a string of vehicles that were waiting for the doors to close behind you so they could cross over. :p

[Coralc]

That is a very cool video! Thanks for sharing it, Laura. :D I sent it to our new friends in Norway, that we met on the cruise. :)

[bob@karen]

Love it! We were on deck 10 aft balcony (Lou & Don's room) for last 2 locks and that was the view we had. All over the ship for the rest but especially enjoyed being next to a tanker on a few of the locks. One of our favorite cruises ever! Even better than our first PC on Legend (members cruise Nov/Dec 2013).

[maxs mom]

Laura......Wonderful video!! Seems like I remember when y'all were going to set up the aft portion. I've seen one of these before but this one is so special because we were there!! Thanks!!!

[travelgoddess1]

Including our intrepid reporter Jane, several posters have reported missing out on scenic attractions while going thru the Canal because they couldn't be seen from balcony cabins. This is why we always stay on a top deck while going thru the Canal or leaving from a port with stuff-to-see on both sides of the ship. Plus you don't doze off with all of the sprinting from left to right and front to back. Even with drizzly weather we just use the waterproof camera.

 

We had an aft JS, with (almost) 180 degree views the entire transit. With our balcony overhang we stayed dry and relatively cooler than being out in the hot sun, plus we could sit down and not be bothered by rail hogs. :eek: My preferred location for any Panama Canal sailing, and we have been lucky to have an aft JS for our last 3 transits. :)

Edited June 3, 2015 by travelgoddess1

[maxs mom]

Sooooo......not much time for any rest today. We were exhausted from all those Costa Rican massages, but we pushed on to the CL and dinner.

 

 

Diego was glad to see us!!

 

 

We enjoyed visiting with Alice, Jerry, Bernadette, Bernard and Kristine.

 

 

Dinner with Ann! Another new menu. I had a salmon/spinach entrée that had a crust around it and a good cheesecake for dessert.

 

 

 

We couldn't wait to get to bed tonight. Something in the cabin caused me to have a sneezing fit for a while. A lot of people were complaining about the air freshener type stuff that the cabin stewards were using. It must have gotten to me tonight. I finally stopped, though, and got a good night's sleep. Our bed was so comfortable!!

[maxs mom]

Friday ~ May 8, 2015 ~ At Sea

 

Back at Sea! Another restful day.

 

Big crowd in the CL this morning.

 

Breakfast was, again, a bit crowded. We got thee a little earlier. Food was excellent.

 

 

Back to the CL after breakfast. Had to have some more muselix. That stuff is addicting! Nice conversation with the folks in there.

 

 

Love these sea days!!

 

 

Our roll call group had a slot pull scheduled at 11:00, so I went to that. It was very well organized by Lori (Veep). Thirteen of us participated.

 

 

We chose a Wheel of Fortune machine and everyone got 5 spins at the max bet.

 

[maxs mom]

When it was my turn, I hit absolutely nothing!! Fortunately a few folks hit triple 7's and got a extra $10 for us. We hit the Wheel a couple of times and got $30 and $40.

 

 

Then Bernard, who hardly ever gambles, steps up for his turn.

 

 

He got a spin! And the darn thing actually hit $1000!!!!!! You should have heard the roar!! They heard it all the way out in the Centrum where they were having a cooking demonstration or something!! Believe me.....this NEVER happens!!!

 

 

This was very exciting!! We each got $89 as our winnings! Not bad!

 

 

 

 

Reading in the cabin was next up. We were interrupted in our cabin by an announcement from the Captain. That's usually not good! Anyway....he said that because of the unrest and drug violence in Mexico, that we would not be stopping in Puerta Vallarta. We would have a day at sea instead. Well......that was disappointing but nothing we could do about it. We had heard from friends in Mexico 5 days earlier telling us NOT to get off the ship there. Better to be safe than sorry. Good thing I like sea days!!

[maxs mom]

We hit the Seaview around 1:30 this afternoon. The main crowd was gone by then, but they were still busy. I ordered the Caesar grouper today and it was good.

 

 

After lunch....more down time spent reading. I finished another book!

 

At 3:30 there was more gambling with the roll call group!! This time it was a game of Left, Right, Center. I've never played this before and it was fun! We each started with 3 dollar bills. Someone won the pot of $30. It was NOT me!

 

 

 

 

Started a new book this afternoon!

 

The CL this evening was nice. Took the private elevator there.

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Dinner was nice tonight.

 

Went to the casino.....put a few dollars in to a Wheel of Fortune machine and I hit something that paid out $320......so I cashed out and went to bed!!

 

Edited June 3, 2015 by max'smom

[The Big Booper]

Your daily activity pictures are great, especially the elevator selfies and the home-made etch-a-sketch tablet showing where you are/were. Much more so original then the daily elevator floor pictures that some of us do.:)

[wolfganghowell]

OMG - I'm caught up!!! NOOOOOO -- more more.

 

You know it's a great review when you feel like you are traveling along with a friend. Thanks for another wonderful journey - glad it's not over yet. I've never been on a Radiance class and now I feel I've almost experienced it.

 

ADORE the slot machine pictures - I take photos too when I hit something great. As for the $1000 on the WOF - I must correct you on it "never" happens. Years back, I hit it not once but twice on the Rhapsody. And to make it even better - it was on the last night of the cruise and the 2nd time was about 15 minutes before the casino was closing. Yippee - I had no time to give it back! That cruise paid for itself! Congrats on all your wins on this cruise! :)

 

Now....carry on....

[cruiselife4me]

Jane, Fantastic Review!! I have yet to sail on the Jewel but love all your reviews. You didn't disappoint with this one. Looks like you had a wonderful time. Hoping for a B2B sometime in my future because I love sea days and having time to relax.

Mary

[heatherb1958]

Hi Jane, loving the pictures.

We did a full transit way back in 2002 on Radiance, brings back memories.

 

We met Bernard for the first time on a freebie one night sailing on Brilliance out of Harwich. I sat next to him in Chops at the invitation only meal.

As we know most top cruisers in UK and some in Europe I was surprised we had never met before until he told me he had NEVER sailed out of the UK or Europe ! . All his cruising has been in the Caribbean ! WOW. He did have a good tan at the time:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Jane - WONDERFUL review! Thank you so much for doing this. I know it takes a lot of time.

 

We are looking forward fto our frst PC cruise in October. We were not able to get an aft cabin by the time we booked, so we are on the side. It was good to see that you were still able to see a lot from that vantage point. We do plan to be up around for the crossing, though.

[maxs mom]

OMG - I'm caught up!!! NOOOOOO -- more more.

 

You know it's a great review when you feel like you are traveling along with a friend. Thanks for another wonderful journey - glad it's not over yet. I've never been on a Radiance class and now I feel I've almost experienced it.

 

ADORE the slot machine pictures - I take photos too when I hit something great. As for the $1000 on the WOF - I must correct you on it "never" happens. Years back, I hit it not once but twice on the Rhapsody. And to make it even better - it was on the last night of the cruise and the 2nd time was about 15 minutes before the casino was closing. Yippee - I had no time to give it back! That cruise paid for itself! Congrats on all your wins on this cruise! :)

 

Now....carry on....

 

OK....Ok....I'll try to do some more this afternoon. Life gets in the way sometimes!!

 

Lucky you for hitting the $1000 twice!! That's amazing!

 

Thanks for reading....I will now try to give you something else to read!!

[maxs mom]

Jane, Fantastic Review!! I have yet to sail on the Jewel but love all your reviews. You didn't disappoint with this one. Looks like you had a wonderful time. Hoping for a B2B sometime in my future because I love sea days and having time to relax.

Mary

 

B2B's are the best. That's about all we do now because I really like to relax. We relax all the time at home, too, but there is just something about being on the ocean!!