Panama Canal ?

[TARAMEOW]

Hi there we are going on the dream in September and thinking of booking the Panama Canal cruise for September 2014. I was curious to see from people who have done this cruise, did you enjoy it? Was it too long? And what kind of savings can we get it we book while on the dream this fall?

 

[Robin"D"]

We just got off the WBPC cruise two weeks ago & LOVED IT!
So much so, we book the EBPC Sept 2014. Booked on board and got 20% off this cruise
It was 14 days long, we GREAT days @ sea....Lots to do on the ship during this time. For Adult Entertainment/ to Behind the Scenes

Looking forward to bringing the Wonder home. The Wonder is our favorite out of the four ships.
The ports of call our pretty good as well, Love Cabo & Puerto Vallarta. Great people and beautiful areas...

Hope this helps.....any other questions, please ask

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[OKW Lover]

Like Robin, we were also on the WBPC two weeks ago.

First, there is no such thing as "to long". We enjoyed every day on board. You get into a nice rhythm on the sea days (we had 10 of them) and can really relax and enjoy yourself. No need to rush around and over-plan to be sure you "do everything".

As to what savings you can expect if you book while on board the Dream goes, I'm thinking its just the standard 10% but might be wrong on that. I vaguely recall offers for 20% of on some specific cruises that might have been the longer repositioning ones. Perhaps somebody else can chime in about that.

Oh, and just so you have something to compare price to, we booked this as a VGT (guaranteed veranda) at something like 100 days before the cruise and paid ~$2,800 for the two of us. We wound up in cabin 7570, which was right mid-ship.

 

[Robin"D"]

Hey Jeff!!!

Robin & Angel "D"

Like Robin, we were also on the WBPC two weeks ago.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi there we are going on the dream in September and thinking of booking the Panama Canal cruise for September 2014. I was curious to see from people who have done this cruise, did you enjoy it? Was it too long? And what kind of savings can we get it we book while on the dream this fall?

Our first DCL cruise (well, first ever cruise) was the Panama Canal. Obviously, we loved it. We're hooked on cruising now.

Onboard bookings have a 10% deposit, and $200 OBC.

 

[jjje]

When we were on the Magic a few months ago we booked the Panama Canal cruise in September 2014 at a 20% discount. I have no idea how long that special is/was going on.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Wife and I did the West bound Wonder Panama Canal cruise in 2011.

We loved it. The Panama Canal is definitely worth seeing. Once we were on the Pacific side we saw all kinds of sea life from our verandah and ship decks. Stingrays, dolphins, sea turtles, and whales off in the distance. And we loved the sea days, they are as relaxing or busy as you want them to be. There were plenty of itineraries listed in the Navigators and we both loved the Rain Garden.

 

[tivo4me1]

In a word...YES.

Did the 2012 EBPC on the Wonder. 14 days of bliss. Would be doing the EBPC this year into Galveston if I had enough leave from work (settling for a 7 night Bahamas out of Galveston instead).

Not to sound spoiled, but I've done 3 cruises so far (Holland America, Carnival and DCL)...a 7-day on Carnival and 2 14-days (DCL, HA)...and I can't see how I'd enjoy only being on a ship for 3 or 4 days...that's just about when I start relaxing on a cruise!

Love those sea days!

Rich from California

 

[Steve Dexter]

I also just did the West Bound Panama Canal Cruise. I'm very glad we did it, we had a great time. But, I was ready to get off the ship at the end, normally at the end of a Disney cruise I wish it wasn't over, but not this time. I was ready to go home, to high speed internet, normal tv, and my own bed. I probably wouldn't go on a cruise for that long again, this was our 7th Disney cruise and the longest one before this was 7 nights. The Wonder seemed a little small and old compared to the new ships, just my opinion.

 

[TARAMEOW]

Wow so much great info
We have never done a disney cruise and are really looking forward to our 3 nights this fall. Last year we spent 9 nights on the Allure and had a great time(we were stuck 2 extra days at sea because of the hurricane).

Okw lover you mentioned a VGT for 2800$ that seams like a good price. On the website right now I see 3300$ for a category 11c. Guess maybe its too early to book? what happens if you book on board and them find the rate cheaper after?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Wow so much great info
We have never done a disney cruise and are really looking forward to our 3 nights this fall. Last year we spent 9 nights on the Allure and had a great time(we were stuck 2 extra days at sea because of the hurricane).

Okw lover you mentioned a VGT for 2800$ that seams like a good price. On the website right now I see 3300$ for a category 11c. Guess maybe its too early to book? what happens if you book on board and them find the rate cheaper after?

As long as it's before the PIF date, DCL will adjust the price.

Typically prices will rise the closer you get to the cruise. Except for those cruises that aren't selling well. On those the last minute *GT rates will be offered. They usually come out after the PIF date, for new bookings only, so those prices can't be applied to an already existing reservation. But, sometimes, cancelling (with penalties) and rebooking the *GT can save you some money still.

And *GT rates are not offered on all cruises, so you need to be flexible with your dates, if you are looking for those.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We did the 2005 PC cruise and loved it. We enjoyed the first lock but after that it got boring for us. The scenery was amazing. We both said that we wouldn't do that one again. Hawaii, Alaska and the Southern Caribbean are ones that we would repeat. There is never a cruise that is too long for us.

 

[MelSpees]

We're going on the EBPC this Sept. IGT, OGT and Military came out right before the PIF date. We were able to get OGT for $1400 less than our inside stateroom.

 

[BrettW]

Hi there we are going on the dream in September and thinking of booking the Panama Canal cruise for September 2014. I was curious to see from people who have done this cruise, did you enjoy it? Was it too long? And what kind of savings can we get it we book while on the dream this fall?

Best cruise we've done (and we've done 16). Would do it again in a heartbeat if the dates worked out.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[BethC1952]

We were on the 12/12 EBPC, and had a wonderful cruise. We're an older couple, and were never bored during the entire two weeks. There was a large group of DIS'ers on board, and we had some events planned for ourselves. The ship wasn't full, the weather was beautiful.

For several days before we arrived at the canal, and once or twice after, there was a speaker who explained the history of the canal, its operation, and its future. On the day of the crossing a narrator was onboard, and she described the entire process as we went through the canal, including pointing out items of interest along the banks. We plan on taking another Panama Canal cruise in the future. Many of my pictures are linked below in my signature.

Beth

 

[disneylove69]

I too was westbound on the Wonder's first venture. It was fun but once we hit the Pacific I was ready to bounce. It was rocky and you couldn't really walk. I was sick of the bed and they didnt update the tv shows so I have the tv series "stick it" memorized. Many tv shows would cut of at the end since they were on loops. The cruise director was also stuck on himself and spent most of his time showing himself off. I did meet some great people and the Atlantic and Panama were awesome. If I went again I would do Atlantic bound.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

We've done the Panama Canal twice with DCL (2005 - 14 days & 2008 - 15 days) and would do it again in a heartbeat. There's no such thing as a cruise too long.....

 

[ktjl92]

We have done one in each direction, one on the Magic, and one on the Wonder. We love the longer cruises and the day of going through the canal is great. Beware, there are many more sea days (up to 9 depending on the itinerary if I remember correctly) so if you are prone to cabin fever that may be too much for you. We cruise primarily for ship time - and sea days tend to be our favorites - but you also get to experience a few ports that aren't on the 'regular' Caribbean cruises.