LaPaloma Posted August 16, 2006 #1 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I am afraid of hurricanes, thus my husbands thread. He also likes the Panama Canal stopping in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Belize. I have heard that is is not a great itinery. I would appreciate the experiences other ccers have had on this agenda..thanks, Lola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bldsld Posted August 16, 2006 #2 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Lola, if you've never done the Panama Canal before, it is definitely worth doing. We did this same cruise last December, and transiting the Canal on the Legend is really wonderful. There are several active shore excursions such as zip lines in Costa Rica, and some tours of the Canal that precede the transiting, which are highly recommended. I could have missed Roatan with ease, however, Belize was interesting as was Panama City. I think there is alot to do, and marina day at Hunting Cay is faboulous! Weather was also perfect in December. Denyse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CASHIPman Posted August 16, 2006 #3 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I am afraid of hurricanes, thus my husbands thread. He also likes the Panama Canal stopping in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Belize. I have heard that is is not a great itinery. I would appreciate the experiences other ccers have had on this agenda..thanks, Lola Well, if you're into ecotourism then this is a great itinerary. If not, then the itinerary gets a bit tiresome. The Panama Canal is great...we chartered a helicopter and flew over the canal and Panama City. That was the highlight of the voyage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beargal Posted August 16, 2006 #4 Share Posted August 16, 2006 We did this cruise last February and really enjoyed it. It was our first Seabourn cruise so I am not sure how that colored the overall experience, however, we enjoyed it so much we are doing it again in Feb 07! My husband has always wanted to go through the Canal so that was the highlight for him and something he will not tire of doing again. We both appreciated the mix of port days with sea days. The cruise prior to the Canal was the Capitals of Europe so was so port intensive we did not get to enjoy the ship (although a HAL ship is a little different :) ) Your decision may also be influeneced by how hectic your life is so that you will really apppreciate the downtime and pampering on the cruise. Next year we probably won't do as much in the ports as we did the first time. HTH, Rebecca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaSea8ch Posted August 16, 2006 #5 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Lola, I am very biased towards Panama Canal (PC) cruises. In Nov. - Dec. 2004, I did the B2B Legend crossing and PC cruises and had a fantastic time! It is a great itinerary! For the PC portion, it was sunny and hot in the mid 80's except for a few periods of "liquid sunshine." I feel everyone should sail through and experience the “Big Ditch” at least once. Being an engineer, I am enamored with the technical details and have sailed through the PC 4 times. The gravity flow hydraulics of raising and lowering the ships through culverts 18 feet in diameter located deep beneath your lock; the lock gates, weighing tons, are so perfectly balanced, that a small electric motor drives the mechanical geared actuator to open both lock gates in about 2 minutes (now the lock gates are opened by hydraulic actuators). There is a lecturer from the PC onboard explaining everything that is going on and providing historical information about the canal as well. The locks are the most interesting, but sailing through the rain forest you will see various forms of wildlife. In fact, durig our transit while sailing in Gatun Lake, Captain G-A took a picture of an alligator swimming near the Legend who, I suspect, was hoping for a Marina Day Lunch Buffet of passengers! :eek: Current PC scheduling requires cruise ships to go through the first set of locks and then to anchor for most of the day in the Gatun Lake while you watch countless huge and not-so-huge cargo ships glide on by. They perfer to have the really big cargo and container ships transit the canal during daylight hours (the PC operates 24/7/365) Then in the late afternoon you head for the final set of locks for a night-time transit. The locks are well lit so photographers can take a few snaps. Going through the locks at night is really cool! :cool: Click the link below for live web cameras showing the operations at the Miraflores Locks, Gatun locks and Centennial Bridge. This is not a streaming video but still images updated every minute or so. This site even has an Email address where you can request camera angle changes and they will accommodate if circumstances at the time allow! :D Click Here For Panama Canal Web Cams Also, if you go arond Christmas time in Dec. at each lock and at every light post is a sign that says either "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Year" in many different languages (I do not know if this practice continues with the canal under Panamanian control)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texican Posted August 16, 2006 #6 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I had the opportunity to go through the Panama Canal on a working oil tanker carrying Alaska North Slope crude oil from Alaska to Louisiana in the mid 1980s ( I was on board from Los Angeles to Louisiana). It is a trip not to be missed! I spent the canal transit on the bow with my husband who was the chief mate. The view of international commerce was unbelievable. The view of the jungle is intriguing. Because it was a tanker transit, I was not able to experience any excursions or trips one expects on a cruise ship. We did a straight transit, but even this was extremely interesting. I would encourage everyone to consider this trip, as it is a true lifetime experience. On my short list of Seabourn cruises, is a canal transit to experience it Seabourn style! Gail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabourn-nail Posted August 16, 2006 #7 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I know it's a bit off topic, but I noticed that you have done the Seabourn Sun 2002 Capetown - Las Palmas cruise! Wasn't that a lovely one, with all the activities? My husband and I and our son and daughter were on it; one of the nicest cruises we did. Celebrating our 30st wedding anniversary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPaloma Posted August 16, 2006 Author #8 Share Posted August 16, 2006 We did the canal years ago on the Sea Goddess and loved it...the itinery was wonderful at that time...the Mexican Riviera, San Blas Islands, Venezuela and Columbia. The stops on this one just didn't seem too interesting to me. Lola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bldsld Posted August 16, 2006 #9 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Since you've already done the Canal on a small ship, it probably would be more interesting for you to do something different. I personally wouldn't want to do it a second time. Denyse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith1010 Posted August 16, 2006 #10 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I agree with Denyse. If you've done the Canal already and also have concerns with Hurricanes, I would look for an itinerary that is different and during the time of the year that is not hurricane season. No sense booking a cruise and then worrying about it. Book something that you know the two of you will both enjoy. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CASHIPman Posted August 16, 2006 #11 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I know it's a bit off topic, but I noticed that you have done the Seabourn Sun 2002 Capetown - Las Palmas cruise! Wasn't that a lovely one, with all the activities? My husband and I and our son and daughter were on it; one of the nicest cruises we did. Celebrating our 30st wedding anniversary. What a wonderful way to spend your weddking anniversary! Yes, it was a great trip. I particularly was taken with St. Helena. With a population of about 7, I thought a full day there would be too long, but I was wrong! It was fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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