Panama Canal Cruises Changing?

[Mboothby]

Well said, DisneyDreamer. There is A LONG TIME before we sail and who KNOWS what other changes there may be. I know everyone feels slighted right now and that's understandable...we paid for something and that something changed, but I try to look at it this way. I'd not have considered sailing for 2 weeks if I didn't like being on a ship...the DISNEY SHIP, to be specific and for ME, anyway, ports of call are secondary to my shipboard experiences. Maybe it seems we're being slighted, but in my mind, 5 days at sea only means DC will have to work that much harder to entertain us and we may just end up with a better cruise experience than the May cruisers because of that. More, better, bigger entertainment and shipboard functions. So, it could all iron out in the end. We'll just have to wait and see. As long as they don't start messing with the sailing dates and as long as they don't skip CC, I'm up for anything!

 

[tap & dap]

Sounds Like this may be a long 9 months if Disney is planning additional changes.

Wonder how far out the ports have to be set, or if changes can be made up to the last minute?

 

[jin diesel]

Originally posted by tap & dap
Wonder how far out the ports have to be set, or if changes can be made up to the last minute?

I spoke to a friend regarding this and she said even upon check-in you can find out that a port has changed. (Happened to her.) So I guess if it need be changed at the last minute, it can be.


In regards to the East vs West:

I'm sure there will be plenty of changes up ahead. And I don't think DCL priced this cruise based on the ports of call! To say that would be silly considering the prices of the staterooms went up every hour the day the cruise was made available for purchase!!!

The Eastern bound cruise is well over a year away. (August 2005!!!!!!) DCL may make changes to that itinerary even AFTER us Western bound folks have sailed in May 2005. I highly doubt that the cruise itineraries will be identical. I'm also pretty sure they (East bound) won't have 5 full days at sea with out at least one stop. Maybe they'll alow that ship to stop in Costa Rica at Puerto Limon. Who knows? DCL has PLENTY of time to figure that all out.

Regardless, I know I will not take a "HOW COME THEY GET TO GO THERE AND WE DON'T?" attitude!!!

Whatever the case - there's no need to whine. There are plenty of people who would be happy to just step foot inside the "Magic"; let alone have 5 days at sea.

 

[tap & dap]

The fun part of all of this is the adventure keeps changing, which should make for a great cruise with alot of surprises along the way.

 

[ivanova]

Honestly we're on the cruise specifically for the trip through the canal .. other than Castaway Cay we really didn't care where we stopped, since the Guatemala stop wasn't going to be long enough to do the 10 hour long Mayan ruins excursion we wanted to do .. I would like to think there might be an "adjustment" to the eastbound port charges if we're losing a stop .. the number of days at sea don't bother me much .. and there's nothing saying we won't stop at the beginning or end of the canal transit .. the canal day is scheduled to be a 14 hour day or something like that, and typically it takes 8 hours to transit the canal, so we might be able to disembark in Panama which breaks up our # of days at sea .. and here's another wrench, there's lock construction going on in the canal, and announcements about lock closures will only be about 6 months in advance .. lock closures won't prevent us from going through the canal, but it could take longer than the typical 8 hours.

 

[RickW]

For me, this would be good news no matter which panama canal cruise I was on. As I have been researching the ports, it became clear that Puerto Quetzal didn't have ANYTHING available within less than a 1.5 hour drive from the port. With only 4-5 hours scheduled there, the last thing I wanted to do was take a bus/van for 1.5-2 hours, spend 30-60 minutes shopping, then spend 1.5-2 hours returning to the ship. We were probably just going to stay on the ship for this port anyway.

Removing PQ from the cruise is like removing a mole from your back. Sure, a peice is now missing, but did you really want it in the first place?

 

[mom2grace]

While this is a guess because it happens frequently on other lines, the countries and/or ports may be controlling these changes.

Belize has been "overbooked" from now until the spring of '05, so they pulled their stop from Celebrity cruise line.

When you are dealing with a transcanal cruise, there are many reasons ports could be missed suddenly while you are on the cruise. Poor weather, medical emergencies, politics, etc.

So, roll with the changes. I agree that there will probably be more changes before you sail, DCL is possibly still negotiating port calls.

 

[MM2U2]

I just got back from a trip to Kauai-so I just read the posts regarding this topic. Yes, as you can see previously, I am booked on this east bound Repo cruise and I am upset by the changes. My parents visited the same port in Guatemala several years ago. There is a building where locals sell their products near the port. It was within walking distance. Also, several excursions (quick) were offered to nearby historic sites. Yes, my parents did stay for only 5 hours, but enjoyed the port. I have written a letter to DCL expressing my opinion. My travel agent feels that Disney had problems negotiating with the port officials in Guatemala. If you feel the same way as I do, please write a letter to Disney Cruise Line. My travel agent said that Disney does listen to their guests and does make changes. A stop in Costa Rica would be wonderful. A stop in Matzatlan would add nothing. Don't take a taxi in Matzatlan or you will end up at a time share presentation!

 

[moocow35]

Originally posted by invaderzim
we paid for a certain number of ports and we should have the same itinerary as the westbound -- we paid the same!!


From the first second that bookings opened up, the Westbound was more expensive than the Eastbound, sorry!

Well said Jindy:

"Regardless, I know I will not take a "HOW COME THEY GET TO GO THERE AND WE DON'T?" attitude!!!"

RickW, I couldn't agree with you more:

"For me, this would be good news no matter which panama canal cruise I was on. As I have been researching the ports, it became clear that Puerto Quetzal didn't have ANYTHING available within less than a 1.5 hour drive from the port. With only 4-5 hours scheduled there, the last thing I wanted to do was take a bus/van for 1.5-2 hours, spend 30-60 minutes shopping, then spend 1.5-2 hours returning to the ship. We were probably just going to stay on the ship for this port anyway."


Myself, I feel very fortunate to be able to be going on this special sold out Panama Canal repositioning cruise. Think of ALL the people who did not hear about this like we did on the DIS, and by the time they did, it was too late. Be happy, and go with the flow!

Robin

 

[webray]

We were looking forward to Puerto Quetzel and the floating draw bridge and some of the other sites.

We too hope they add another..non-mexican port.

 

[dletz]

I thought the floating bridge was Curacao, am I wrong or are there 2.

 

[ivanova]

Originally posted by webray
We were looking forward to Puerto Quetzel and the floating draw bridge and some of the other sites.

We too hope they add another..non-mexican port.

The floating bridge isn't in Puerto Quetzal, it's in Curacao. And from checking out excursions on other cruise lines, most of the other sites aren't close to the port and require a bus ride to get to most of the sites.

 

[invaderzim]

I still think Disney could add another port. I checked several other cruise line websites and there isn't a single one that has you on board for five straight days in the caribbean! I love days at sea and as I said before, 7 days at sea and six ports was a great deal. There are plenty of ports that they could add -- even if we only get 5 or 6 hours there, it would be something different!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have been on holiday for a couple of weeks and came back to read the thread. On the rumours before I had written before, on the 08/20/2005 thread, the most likely place DCL would drop was Puerto Quetzal, as you couldn't consider it a highlight, and if something else was dropped there would be more 'uproar', the visit time was low, and many people commentated that there was little there and any worthwhile trips take longer than the time in port.

So whilst disappointing, that a port of call is dropped, it was the most expendable, and DCL, might have saved themselves and us from a bad experience.

We have to understand the time differences and we loose three hours coming back, that's not DCL's fault, but on the other hand we 'assume' we have paid port charges for an extra stop.

Being on a Panama trip before, I must stay whilst it is technically a day at sea, as you do not get off, it doesn't feel like it, in fact the sightseeing comes to you, rather than booking a coach, and travelling to it. It is a day long experience, we are likely to have a local tour guide come aboard to tell us what we are seeing and, I would empathise it will be a fantastic day, so good I am doing it for a second time.

Acapulco is a lovely stop, staying late in the evening gives extra options, for longer sightseeing and evening trips, or long full day experiences, they are likely to have a deck party in port, When I was there we tendered in and most ships did, so this could be an additional issue. I cannot see the benefit of staying any later than say midnight however.

I have visited Costa Rica on my last trans canal trip, It was lovely but there just might not be time to fit it in.

DCL on its tickets has conditions saying It can vary any and each port of call, ( and cancel) however it must be mindful of changing the itinerary too much. But on a sold out cruise, anyone who cancels will just give them more income as they will resell it at a higher price.

We have to trust them that they cannot add a meaningful stop in Mexico before Acapulco. In theory we could come into Acapulco say 12 noon rather than 6.30am as advertised, that could give five and a half hours somewhere before as a stop , but if that's the middle of the night, it doesn't help. If DCL has to negotiate port charges it could be an additional cost, but any of the two remaining 7 day Mexican ports should be able to add on another one such as on the Eastbound trip.

 

[invaderzim]

Andrew DEREK UK

That's exciting what you said about the Panama Canal experience. I hope they do have a tour guide come on board and describe what we are seeing. I am looking forward to that part.

Thanks for all the info.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

We went the East>West way on a P&O Princess cruise, and when the Panama Canal pilots came aboard ( they come alongside and jump across) He came aboard as well.

As far as I remember the DCL bridge crew have to give control to the PC Pilots, who take you through.

We had a running commenarty on the ships PA system from the guide, from coming up to the first locks, going through them, and then interesting sites and crossing points like, the continential devide, the PC railway, the dams, and rivers that flow into the PC, and how the 'Mules' little train engines, pull the ship through the locks.

Whilst I understand people call this a sea day, as you do not get off in transit, It is very interesting, and the sightseeing comes to you. Plus you can still eat on ship!! or take a dip in the pool.

We followed a number of cruise ships through, and it was nice to get a close up look at some of the other lines.

My ship did have a stop, that wasnt on the plan, at Balboa a port near Panama City, we made the transit in good time.

The ship refueled there, and took on extra supplies, you could get off and there was a local market and taxi's to Panama city.