Panama Canal Ports Questions

[alwalaska]

Our cruise stops at the following ports:

 

Puerto Vallarta

Huatalco

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Fuerte Amador, Panama

Aruba

 

Does anyone have recommendations on a good location for the following activities.  Even better, do you have a specific tour operator or do it yourself way to accomplish it? 

 

Horseback riding

Snorkeling 

Ziplining with an option for people the other people who don't want to zipline.

UTV type thing, but something with 1 driver and one passenger or everyone as passengers. 

 

In Costa Rica, I'm hoping to see sloths, but the sanctuaries seem pretty far from the port. We do have a 12 hour day there.

 

Thanks!!!

[CruiserBruce]

Each of those ports, except  Nicaragua,  have their own ports boards with tons of info on possible activities. Fuerte Amador is covered on this board.

 

Of those, I would snorkel at Aruba.

[alwalaska]

11 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Each of those ports, except  Nicaragua,  have their own ports boards with tons of info on possible activities. Fuerte Amador is covered on this board.

 

Of those, I would snorkel at Aruba.

Thanks.  I was hoping to get opinions on comparisons here since the port was labeled Panama Canal and not Panama and most of these are common PC cruise stops.  I'll post the same thing in every port thread that is on my cruise.  Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, alwalaska said:

Thanks.  I was hoping to get opinions on comparisons here since the port was labeled Panama Canal and not Panama and most of these are common PC cruise stops.  I'll post the same thing in every port thread that is on my cruise.  Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

But they are also common stops on cruises that do not visit the canal.  And people tend to not visit this board unless they have a question about the canal.

I think the stops in Nicaragua are often cancelled…. EM

[alwalaska]

22 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

But they are also common stops on cruises that do not visit the canal.  And people tend to not visit this board unless they have a question about the canal.

I think the stops in Nicaragua are often cancelled…. EM

Thanks.  Yeah, it looks like a cruise has not made it to Nicaragua since the COVID shutdowns.  My fingers are crossed, but I'm not booking it until at least one ship makes it there.  The Coral Princess (our ship) is supposed to go in July, so here's hoping.  It is the only new port for us and it looks interesting, so I'm hoping we make it.

 

I did post this question in all of the different areas too.  People frequently post in the Mexican Riviera area that Huatulco should be posted here and not there since most Riviera cruises don't stop there.  Hopefully, I get some info somewhere. 🙂  

[CPs4591]

On 5/6/2024 at 9:51 AM, alwalaska said:

Thanks.  Yeah, it looks like a cruise has not made it to Nicaragua since the COVID shutdowns.  My fingers are crossed, but I'm not booking it until at least one ship makes it there.  The Coral Princess (our ship) is supposed to go in July, so here's hoping.  It is the only new port for us and it looks interesting, so I'm hoping we make it.

 

I did post this question in all of the different areas too.  People frequently post in the Mexican Riviera area that Huatulco should be posted here and not there since most Riviera cruises don't stop there.  Hopefully, I get some info somewhere. 🙂  

We’re in the same boat trying to figure out these ports, only we have the added difficulty of Manzanillo instead of PV.

[clarky213]

Trikes Aruba is a great way to see the Island and it's fun too😀.

[alwalaska]

10 hours ago, CPs4591 said:

We’re in the same boat trying to figure out these ports, only we have the added difficulty of Manzanillo instead of PV.

We did an amazing private tour in Manzanillo when we were there in 2018. I can try and dig up the info if you want.  Someone on our roll call put it together and we joined along.  In a way, it was everyone's worst nightmare of possibly missing the ship, but we made it back almost exactly at all aboard time and the Princess Tours didn't make it until almost 2 hours later.  There was a massive accident on the only road that leads from the port to the cities that everyone wants to visit.  Our tour guide explained that he times things so that he knows he is leaving at least 30 minute before the last of the cruise busses.  That way, even if the worst happens, the tour busses are behind us and the ship will likely wait for them, which they did.  While we were sitting in traffic, he was on the phone with the port and with his office, coordinating everything and keeping updates on when the road would reopen, and confirming that the ship was waiting for the Princess busses.  This experience not only had me worried at the time, it also gave me comfort that the private tour guides truly understand how important it is to get people back on time and have plans so that it happens.  I'd gladly go with them again, if I was going to Manzanillo. 

[CPs4591]

3 hours ago, alwalaska said:

We did an amazing private tour in Manzanillo when we were there in 2018. I can try and dig up the info if you want.  Someone on our roll call put it together and we joined along.  In a way, it was everyone's worst nightmare of possibly missing the ship, but we made it back almost exactly at all aboard time and the Princess Tours didn't make it until almost 2 hours later.  There was a massive accident on the only road that leads from the port to the cities that everyone wants to visit.  Our tour guide explained that he times things so that he knows he is leaving at least 30 minute before the last of the cruise busses.  That way, even if the worst happens, the tour busses are behind us and the ship will likely wait for them, which they did.  While we were sitting in traffic, he was on the phone with the port and with his office, coordinating everything and keeping updates on when the road would reopen, and confirming that the ship was waiting for the Princess busses.  This experience not only had me worried at the time, it also gave me comfort that the private tour guides truly understand how important it is to get people back on time and have plans so that it happens.  I'd gladly go with them again, if I was going to Manzanillo. 

Sure!  Would love to know, thanks.

[alwalaska]

38 minutes ago, CPs4591 said:

Sure!  Would love to know, thanks.

I can't figure out which of their current tours best matches what we did, but we went to Coloma and Calima. We visited an archeological site, a small museum with photos and history of the volcano, a marketplace where our guide Jupiter (I would definitely ask for him if he is still doing tours, we went in 2018) explained the cultural significance of the building and some of the items in the market, and so much more. There was a lunch included, but half of the group skipped the lunch and was given a credit back on the price.  I believe we had 8 people from our cruise critic group.  I wasn't the one who organized the tour, so it took a bit of digging to find the info, but the company is Admire Mexico Tours. Admire Mexico Tours