Aft Wrap for 14-day Panama Canal Cruise?

[Cruising_Addict]

So I’m looking to book a Panama Canal cruise for 2022. Specifically, a 14-day Journeys cruise that’s pretty darn expensive to begin with. A balcony would be $4.8K with the potential for price drops later on down the line. Personally, I think that this cruise I’m looking at is priced really high, and with the future of our economy looking grim, I predict it won’t sell well and there will be price drops.
 

Anyway, an aft wrap is currently $5.8K and I can’t help but think, if I’m going to pay that much for a cruise, why not splurge for the aft wrap? It’s only $1K more. So my question is, has anyone had a really fabulous experience in an aft wrap for a Panama Canal Cruise? I know people love them, and for Alaska it would be a no-brainer. But would it make our experience that much more enjoyable when going through the locks? The thought of being able to avoid crowds on the open decks is appealing. 

[Jasalth]

Commenting because I would love to know for plan #6 also! I have a 14 day Panama Journey booked for 2021. Already have an aft-extended, rebooked from a 12 day canceled Med. If(when) our December cruise is canceled, I was thinking of rolling it into a Vista Suite, but even with a canceled 12 AND 8 day cruise rolled into it, I would be looking at about $1300 more! The Vistas for that cruise are almost $7300! I would have booked one for $5800 w/o a 2nd though. 

 

Actually this week I started wondering if December is canceled, looking for a 2022 Alaska with that $ and I wouldn't "loose" the $600 OBC in that case. 

 

Looking forward to thoughts on this all also! 

[Essiesmom]

Book the cabin you want for the other ports in your itinerary.  Sitting on your balcony while going through the canal will give you a limited view of the action.  In the canal, especially the old locks, you will want to be out and about on the viewing areas of the ship.  Lots of suggestions on the Panama Canal board under Ports of Call:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

I have done the Panama Canal in inside, OV, and balcony.  EM

[jimbo5544]

36 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Book the cabin you want for the other ports in your itinerary.  Sitting on your balcony while going through the canal will give you a limited view of the action.  In the canal, especially the old locks, you will want to be out and about on the viewing areas of the ship.  Lots of suggestions on the Panama Canal board under Ports of Call:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

I have done the Panama Canal in inside, OV, and balcony.  EM

I agree, I would book an aft wrap for a Journey cruise for the rest of the time (and did).  Nothing like sail aways from all those ports sitting out on the balcony.  Well worth it   

[xDisconnections]

46 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I agree, I would book an aft wrap for a Journey cruise for the rest of the time (and did).  Nothing like sail aways from all those ports sitting out on the balcony.  Well worth it   

I agree- go for the aft wrap. It’ll probably be better during a quarantine. Sailaways are nice also as my friend @jimbo5544 suggested.

Edited July 9, 2020 by xDisconnections

[Cruising_Addict]

3 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

I agree- go for the aft wrap. It’ll probably be better during a quarantine. Sailaways are nice also as my friend @jimbo5544 suggested.

To be honest, the current situation is part of the reason why I’m thinking about it. Prior to this I wouldn’t have hesitated booking an interior or an ocean view to save money, but going forward, I’m going to be spending a lot more time in our room, so I’m never booking anything but a balcony room again. Granted, this cruise is in Nov of 2022 so the situation will be very different by then, but still. I’m definitely developing large crowd phobias thanks to this pandemic. 

[linz98144]

We did Panama in an oceanview which was fine. The locks aren't exactly "scenic" and it takes hours to get through them. Save your money.

[Eli_6]

I have twice had aft wrap balcony rooms. We booked a Vista Suite (aft wrap balcony suite) on the Legend but it was cancelled.  The Vista Suite I like in particular because it had two rooms... separate living and bedroom with 2 t.v.'s. 

 

However, on the Aft wrap balcony rooms (not suites) we were in on the Vista and Magic, I thought the lay out was a little weird.  We ended up liking our aft balcony room (separate Vista sailing) just as well because it seemed to have more usable space.  Also, depending on the floor and the boat, it may not have anything overhead and may be in 100 percent sunshine or rain. 

 

Also be aware that with those rooms on many boats, often times have rooms above and below that can see you.  I found this out the hard way.  I went out on my level 7 aft wrap balcony and took off my swimsuit to let it dry in the sun and then went in my room.  My husband texted me from the Havana area (floor 5) below stating that he just saw me strip naked from the hot tub below.  Didn't even occur to me.  

 

Still, over all, I like the room.  

[Cruising_Addict]

Thanks for the input everyone! I thought long and hard about it for a few days (Carnival is now allowing 96 hour holds instead of just 48). With two hours to spare, I paid the half price deposit and officially booked it! The aft wrap I choose is on deck 8, so no cabins directly above us. I didn’t want to have to deal with people right above us looking down into our balcony. The lido deck above us has glass windows; only the deck above the lido (deck 10) is open. And I’m not worried about the sound from the lido. 
 

Anyway, the deciding factor for me was more about the fact that it’s a 14-day cruise than it being a Panama Canal cruise. The last time we spent 14 days on a ship was on the Conquest in a Grand Scenic Ocean View room. We spent most of our time in that room and it was absolutely heavenly. Truthfully, I would have preferred that room again, but looks like I waited too long to book. I didn’t realize they opened up the rest of 2022 until this past week.
 

I think this will be the next best thing, though. We don’t like large crowds, and I suspect that we will feel even more so post-pandemic. Plus, given our cancelled Norway cruise this June, and possibly again this Thanksgiving, we will have a bit more cash to play around with come 2022. So why not splurge a little. If the current state of the world has taught me anything, it’s to enjoy every day as if it’s your last. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Cruising_Addict