PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT - AWESOME!!!

Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Pearl

14 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (Los Angeles To New Orleans)

Sail date: October 07, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Pearl

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 4574

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This cruise was a birthday celebration for 3 of our 4-person party and we each had a rock roaring time! We were each able to pursue our individual interests yet come back together to enjoy each other's company as a group. We LOVED IT and each expressed the desire to sail again. ALASKA here we come!!!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Efficiently handled, considering the number of passengers.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
EXCELLENT!! All of them offered enough variety to satisfy all tastes. The Caribbean night in the Cafe, with rice&peas, peas soup and dumplings, fried plantains, etc. was a culinary coup as far as this Jamaican is concerned. Also the cornmeal porridge - yeah man!!! Did not find the "all you can eat ribs" that was advertised for O'Sheehan though! Enjoyed all the Indian dishes and the suckling pig.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Walking on both the promenade and 13th decks. 2 spa treatments with Rose Ann were simply divine! Board games including Chinese Checkers which I hadn't played in 50 years!!! Learned to dance the Meringue with 2 lessons.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Excellent and top notch all around

Children's Programs

No children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Gede our steward was EXCELLENT and super-attentive.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Very good

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Compact but very satisfactory. Enjoyed a better view of the Transit from my porthole than from when I was up on the 13th deck!!!

Ship tip

Be prepared to be wowed!!

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5
Just embarked there.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
Yes! Went to the Beach Resort! Great lunch.

Acapulco, Mexico

5 out of 5
Yes! Enjoyed a brief sight seeing tour, viewed the divers then lunch, which was very good.

Huatulco, Mexico

5 out of 5
Yes! This was a very pleasant bus tour where we stopped at an herbal garden and samples native tamales and drink. Bought some of the drink powder to make at home.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

2 out of 5
Yes! Encountered some traffic issues that were clearly outside of their control, but which marred the experience for us nevertheless. The National Museum was lovely and informative and the lunch was excellent. The 4-hour drive back on a back road traveling at a crawl due to bumper to bumper traffic, along a precipitous mountain road in a bus with a non-functioning bathroom was less than ideal!

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5
ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!!

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Yes! Closer to the equator therefore MUY CALIENTE!!! It was hot!! But the tour was very informative and the museum and performing dance troupe were a nice addition.

New Orleans, Louisiana

5 out of 5
Spent 2 nights in New Orleans and had a blast!

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Not as efficient as embarkation. Very long waits in far too many lines. Seems like it could have been handled batter.
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5 Comments

charleswilliams895    7 years ago

I would like thank Edder Gongalize for the great tour to Mayan ruins out of Costa Maya and Native Choice. He and the driver give us a first rate tour and was very informative other ruins and the way of life at a local Mayan family.We ate a meal at Mayan home and the tour was great. Would recomend this tour to anyone interested.

luckylori    7 years ago

The band was Energy Plus.

h2omellon15    7 years ago

"Something Express"? Does that ring a bell? Avalon played the Atrium.

cotton1965    7 years ago

Who was the band that played by the pool? Was it Flavors?

GIL155    7 years ago

Alaska may have to be early birthday presents next year.

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