Panama Canal Cruise

Norwegian Sun Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Sun

18 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (Seattle To Port Canaveral)

Sail date: April 19, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Sun

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8237

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Great cruise that provide a lifetime of memories. Norwegian decided to use the traveling entertainment on two different nights. The onboard entertainers only performed 3 show for an 18 day cruise. They were great and would loved to see at least one or two more shows from them. The entertainers that came to the ship were good but they repeated their shows on two nights. Once was enough and expected more from Norwegian. Other than that, ship was recently overhauled and they did a good job but it was apparent of cutting corners due to time constraints. Glad I was not on the Panama Canal trip heading to the yards that had a terrible experience. Really have to question why Norwegian made such a mistake with thinking it was okay to start major work with passengers onboard. This ship will now be Norwegians ship for Cuba trips out of Miami and we look forward to sailing on her again for visiting Cuba. The staff was great, the ship navigation handling was superb (not once did a tug have to assist the ship), the food was great and my wife and I had a relaxing time. The majority of the cruise passengers were older and was expected for such a long cruise. Due to that, a lot of the physical and exciting port tours were being canceled due to not meeting minimal participation quotas.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ship tip

Boarding process took a while due to last minute preparations, be patient.

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5
Great port to board from, spent 5 days in Seattle prior to cruise. Weather was accommodating the last two days. Many options to explore while there.

Victoria, British Columbia

4 out of 5
Beautiful city, people are friendly, not a lot of activities for physical enjoyment during late winter/early spring.

San Francisco, California

4 out of 5

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
Some parts of Mexico are turning bad due to the corruption. Cabo San Lucas is still an excellent city to visit. Baja is always fun to do an activity and the off road 4x4 is great.

Acapulco, Mexico

2 out of 5
Could not believe how bad Acapulco has gotten. Used to be a very nice port a couple decades ago and even a decade ago. Dirty, crowded, people are desperate to sell and it is apparent with Vendors setting up tents on the sidewalks of downtown in front of stores. I will never visit again, disappointing.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Costa Rica is a nice port to visit. Zip line course if great. Be prepared for the invasion of mosquitos.

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5
Must transit the Panama Canal at least once in your life. The canal is an amazing engineering marvel that was built many years ago.

Cartagena, Colombia

4 out of 5
Looks of a modern city, only visited the old city. Street vendors will hound you to buy, be careful. Would of liked to explore more but time in port was limited.

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5
Must do a everglade tour on an airboat. Informative and fun.

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Great port to board or depart a cruise. Car rentals are widely available from all of the rental companies and will pick you up at the cruise terminal or drop you off.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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