DCL Panama canal questions

[norhel]

Howdy all.

We are 3 adults considering to go on the Panama Canal cruise with DCL at the end of August 2016 from San Diego to Port Canaveral. Just a few questions I hope someone can answer.

Has anyone been on a similar cruise with DCL and if so how was it?
Since we are only adults in our travel party, how is it with adults only area on board?
When the cruise ends in Port Canaveral, is there a immigration check again when we leave the ship?
We have been on cruise with NCL and RCCL. We know of course that one of the difference between NCL, RCCL and DCL is that DCL has the Disney character, teaming and show, but other than that is there any difference?
Any other tip or info is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mom4fun]

We went. We had a very great time. There was lots of adult activities, more so than other dcl cruises. There was only 300 children onboard. That being said, the cruise August 2016 will probably be different than any other panama canal cruise they have ever done because most kids will be out of school. I would think this one may be a little more kid centered but all dcl cruises cater to both adults and children.

 

[over50visits]

Agreed. We had a LOT of adult activities available, especially the unique lectures available on the canal itself, and a great presentation by Ducky. The theater had a different program every night, with a lot of guest performers. Even though it was a 14 (13?) day cruise, it seemed over so quickly! 6 ports of call, many movies and lectures, demonstrations throughout the day, what a cruise of a lifetime.

It was interesting going through the canal and visiting some of the ports. Disney goes through so rarely it was quite an event. For example, the observation towers at the locks were filled with people who wanted to see a Disney ship pass through, and we had pretty cool school groups at one port who came out to greet us en masse. We felt like celebrities!

Canal passage day was beautiful and relaxing, with music and hot food buffets on deck a lot of the day. We were blessed with fantastic table mates who are still email friends.

Since you are departing the country and coming back in, yes there is customs & immigration on debarkation. For us it was just like any other cruise we've been on.

 

[cwdefouw]

We did the Westbound Panama Canal in 2013. On the longer cruises like this, you will find much fewer children than on a typical Disney Cruise, on our cruise, I believe there were less than 200 kids. In fact there were so few kids that they opened up some of the Kids Clubs for adult activities on some evenings. Also, there are many "at sea" days. On our cruise we had 6 days in a row where we did not get off the ship. There many activities planned onboard, however, be prepared for that extended time on the ship. Other than that we really enjoyed the cruise, it was our first cruise longer than 7 days and found it really nice to be able to have more evenings to get to know our table mates better and also try out some of the other dining options that are available. We found it very relaxing, but at the end of the cruise we were ready for it to be over.

 

[norhel]

Thanx for the replies everyone. It's appreciated. We're most probably gonna do the cruise.

Also, there are many "at sea" days. On our cruise we had 6 days in a row where we did not get off the ship. There many activities planned onboard, however, be prepared for that extended time on the ship.

In April this year, we did a transatlantic cruise with the Norwegian Star, where we had 6 sea days in a row, when we passed trough the Atlantic Ocean.
To be honest, those days went really fast. It was very relaxing.

 

[turtle27]

We are doing the San Diego to Galveston cruise this October. There are quite a few adult only groups going, so many so, we have an adult only Fish Extender group (2 now, I believe). Will post more in about 90 days!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Done PC three times ( two DCL) lots of activities lots of great shows fabulous cruise. Immigration on both was bad, all my other Port Canaveral cruises we were off at 7.30 on the two PCs doors opened at 8.20 with long long queues and long border control as not a closed loop cruise. On one there was reports of a stowaway onboard.

 

[thumpie's mom]

We took the EBPC last Sept and are doing it again this October. We loved doing the PC cruise. There were very few kids on board and as previously noted, they open up some of the kids clubs to adults in the evenings which was a lot of fun! One night we did animation cells which is typically not available to adults. My daughter loved it, because we started doing DCL cruises when she was 11 and enjoyed the kids club. It was fun for her to go back as a adult! There are plenty of activities to keep you busy. We love sea days, so the extended days at sea are perfect for us. The time flew and we could easily have stayed on another week! Can hardly wait for our next cruise to PC!

 

[MunFam]

We were on the 2015 WBPC and to give you some perspective...if I wanted "peace and quiet" as an adult, I didnt go to the adult pool I went to the kid's pools because there were so few kids/people there that it was quieter there than the Quiet Cove. LOL It was an amazing cruise with so few kids and I am convinced that we will never be able to do less than a 7 day DCL cruise again. We had some struggles that were directly associated with staff assigned to us, so I would speak up next time and request staff changes instead of simply stating our disappointment to guest services and hoping for a change. Other than that, it was a great cruise. We even missed a port and although I feel they could have added in a few more activities to make up for it...the "Panama Canal Cruise" is a great choice on DCL.

Now...from another view point. I have to say that as 3 adults, I am not sure I, personally, would want to go on DCL unless you are a huge Disney fan seeking a lot of sea days. There are other cruise lines that in roughly the same amount of time pick up about 5-6 more ports of call. We do enjoy seeing new lands, so that will be what we choose if we do a Panama Canal Cruise again...but we had a 4 year old with us this time...so it was perfect for us.

 

[SillyInventor]

We will be on next year WBPC, Yeah!
Really looking forward to it as we will have many sea-days giving lots of time to enjoy the Ship. This is not a cruise to explore many new countries/cities! This cruise is to enjoy the Disney Wonder from bow to stern. If that is what you like, then this is certainly the cruise for you.

As stated there will be very little children around. Personal Navigators of past PC-cruises can be found here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/ Click on "Disney Wonder" and scroll down to the Panama Canal cruises. You will see a lot of adult exclusive activities in the kids clubs! Only on such a long cruise this is possible. As for a per night price it's a bargain! A 7n Alaska cruise is more expensive than a 14n PC cruise for your perspective.
Yes, you should be really into Disney to enjoy 14n on a Disney Ship, but I assume that is why you visit the DIS....

Immigration will be tough as it's not a closed loop cruise. We are non-US residents, so we will have to report somewhere at 6am on debarkation morning. Nobody can leave the Ship until all non-US residents have been cleared and accounted for. Then everybody will have to go through Border Control. I assume Port Canaveral will be better at this, but San Diego has been reported a mess with these procedures, so I'm preparing for the worst.

 

[mom4fun]

The cruise the op is referring to is in August. I think there will be a lot of kids. The past cruises have been during the school year so that's why there weren't very many kids. I think it will be a very different experience than what us past panama canal cruisers experienced.

 

[shelbell77]

We were on the WBPC this year. We only cruise Disney as adults, this cruise included. Adult activities and child free locations on the ship are never an issue. Typically these cruises have less kids as others have said, but since this one is in August it may have more than typical repo cruises as some kids won't be back in school yet.

As to the person who called Canal day relaxing - not a word I would use - but it is beautiful!!!!

 

[OKW Lover]

The cruise the op is referring to is in August. I think there will be a lot of kids. The past cruises have been during the school year so that's why there weren't very many kids. I think it will be a very different experience than what us past panama canal cruisers experienced.

Hmmm. The cruise sails on August 26th and lasts for 14 days. Surely most grade-school children would be expected to be in class before the cruise finishes even if they haven't started before the cruise departed?

 

[mom4fun]

Hmmm. The cruise sails on August 26th and lasts for 14 days. Surely most grade-school children would be expected to be in class before the cruise finishes even if they haven't started before the cruise departed?

Most of the schools in my state go back on September 8. I know of several families that have booked this cruise for that very reason. It's a cheap cruise when school is still out. I just don't want anyone to be shocked when they find out there is a bunch of kids on the cruise. Probably less than normal because the southern schools will have gone back but probably more like 1000 than 300 kids.

 

[turtle27]

Also, there may be more kids, because in my state (texas) you are not counted absent or attending until you actually show up. My mom let me travel with my grandma when I was a senior to go visit relatives and see the south east US vs going to my first 2 weeks of senior year. I never had to make up the time, just the homework. Still had all available absent days as well. So, that being said, the PC cruise is very informative and what a neat educational experience (I am such a nerd, sorry), so I could see many parents opting for this, as well as the cost.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Kids around here went back to school a week ago, but they get out much earlier than other districts too.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Kids around here went back to school a week ago, but they get out much earlier than other districts too.

Meanwhile, the longer the cruise, the fewer kids because of the price. Yes, it's cheaper per night than other DCL cruises, but the days add up.

 

[mom4fun]

Meanwhile, the longer the cruise, the fewer kids because of the price. Yes, it's cheaper per night than other DCL cruises, but the days add up.

Typically that is true but for some odd reason, the panama canal cruise costs no more than a 7 night cruise. We only paid $3900 for the 3 of us on last May's pc cruise. It went up by $1000 for 2016 but is still a great deal.

 

[norhel]

Once again, thanx for the replies everyone. Much appreciated.

Now...from another view point. I have to say that as 3 adults, I am not sure I, personally, would want to go on DCL unless you are a huge Disney fan seeking a lot of sea days. There are other cruise lines that in roughly the same amount of time pick up about 5-6 more ports of call. We do enjoy seeing new lands, so that will be what we choose if we do a Panama Canal Cruise again...but we had a 4 year old with us this time...so it was perfect for us.

For us, we don't have a problem with sea days. In April this year we did the transatlantic with Norwegian Star from Miami to Copenhagen, and we had 6 sea days in a row. We enjoyed that. And also, my dad is an old sailor, so he wanted to do the Panama Canal, since he sailed there when he was young.

Me and my mom do enjoy Disney a lot, my dad is not the biggest fan, but he has some good times at Disney too.

We will be on next year WBPC, Yeah!
Really looking forward to it as we will have many sea-days giving lots of time to enjoy the Ship. This is not a cruise to explore many new countries/cities! This cruise is to enjoy the Disney Wonder from bow to stern. If that is what you like, then this is certainly the cruise for you.

For us, it's mostly to do the Panama Canal, as my father is an old sailor, as I said above. So we thought it was a good deal to do both DCL and the Panama Canal at the same time.

 

[GooniesAndy]

We did the WBPC in the Spring and it was great. There were no problems with immigration (we didn't even have to show our passports at the end, just hand in the declaration form) and everything went very quickly. I would do it again, with or without kids! We are hoping to have a repeat trip Spring of 2017.