(12/20 – 12/31/2009)
After the 2008 financial crisis, people either did not have extra money or were not in the mood for vacations. The travel industry put out a lot of promotion sales to attract potential customers. We were able to grab a very good deal on a Panama Canal cruise for late 2009, during the school winter break. This was also a large family vacation with in-laws and friends.
Mega cruises wouldn’t be able to sail through the original Panama Canal. We were on the Island Princess, a smaller ship of Princess Cruise, that could sail through the canal. The trip started from Acapulco, Mexico to Florida. For those of you who are interested in the Panama Canal, I highly recommend reading David McCullough’s book, “The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914.” This book detailed the nature and the history of the Panama Canal and contained a lot of interesting information.
Day 1: Acapulco, Mexico
We arrived in Acapulco to embark on the Island Princess today. We weren’t interested in additional sightseeing in Acapulco. However, Acapulco Historical Museum of Fort San Diego was right by the cruise port, so Rei and I decided to explore. No one else wanted to join us.
The fort was an important landmark of Acapulco. It was protected by a very impressive moat (now dry), and the fort was equipped with cannons. The museum offered a lot of information, but it’s in Spanish. We didn’t spend too much time there, because we needed to return to the ship for security briefing and drills before the cruise sailed out.
Day 2: Huatulco, Mexico
We had a port call in Huatulco today. Huatulco was a small fish town, famous for its pristine bays and beaches. We found a local tour to take us on a small boat for some sailing and snorkeling.
The place wasn’t crowded, and the sapphire-colored ocean was beautiful. It’s a relaxing day on the water.
Day 3: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
We decided to go to the fabulous colonial city Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and explore on our own. However, we did need transportation between the port and Antigua, so we booked a small bus for $300+ to take all of us to Antigua and back.
We arrived in Antigua after about two hours of bus ride. The yellow-colored Arco de Santa Catalina was a passageway originally built for nuns to walk between the convents and the school they taught. It has become a famous landmark of Antigua. Tourists were all taking pictures in front of the arch.
Iglesia de la Merced (Merced Church) was another famous landmark of Antigua. The church was a yellow building decorated with intricate white plaster filigree. We didn’t enter the church, only took photos from outside.
Then we visited the nearby Convento, which’s in ruined state now. Visitors were able to explore the ground. There was a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. We could also see small spaces that were supposed to be the rooms of the nuns.
Afterwards, we went to restaurant La Fonda de la Calle Real to have a big lunch of grilled meat. Sister (our daughter) was fluent in Spanish and was able to help us ordering food. We ordered many different dishes to share. The lunch was delicious and inexpensive!
After lunch, we walked around Antigua and did some shopping. We bought some Guatemala coffee beans for ourselves and for friends. The famous Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) was clearly visible on the horizon. Afterwards, we visited another convent, Convento de la Concepcion, which was also in ruined state.
Then it’s time for us to return to the port so that we wouldn’t miss the sailing. We really liked Antigua for its beauty and the delicious food.
Day 4: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
Central America is full of volcanoes. Today we joined a shore excursion to Masaya Volcano & Catarina Viewpoint. Because Masaya Volcano is in a remote place, and today’s port time was only from 12 noon to 7pm, and we would also need to be tendered from the ship to land, we decided to join a cruise shore excursion to be on the safe side, which proved to be a very smart decision.
Masaya Volcano National Park is the first and largest national park in Nicaragua. It was a long bus ride from the port to reach the national park. The road conditions were fine though. We saw a bus in front of us with some passengers hanging on the rails at the back. It looked dangerous!
When we arrived, we saw several cars and vans parking in a pretty empty parking lot. On the ground of the parking lot, there were signs informing drivers to park in the direction of exit — for easy escape in case of eruption! We climbed on a narrow and steep trail to reach the viewpoint. The sight was very impressive. There was a lot of smoke coming up from the caldera.
Then we went to the second destination, Catarina Viewpoint, where we could see Laguna de Apoyo and Lake Nicaragua. Though the view was nice, we didn’t feel that it was something special.
After the long bus ride back to the port, we were on the last tender boat to return to the cruise ship! It’s great that we decided to stick with the cruise shore excursion; otherwise, we would have missed the ship.
Day 5: Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Rei and I have taken our kids to Costa Rica a few years ago on a summer vacation. However, this was the first visit to Costa Rica for the rest of the group. We booked a private tour for the entire group for a rainforest aerial tram ride and a mangrove river cruise.
We were picked up from the cruise port around 9am to go to the rainforest. There was a short stop to view Capuchin monkeys and Coati. Kids were all very excited.
The mangrove cruise ride was interesting. We saw egrets and herons in the water; we also saw some small crabs. The water was quite muddy. There was a brave soul feeding a crocodile for our entertainment!
Rainforest aerial trams were open trams on a rail to sail through the rainforest for closer viewing. It wasn’t as excited as the zipline trip we did in Costa Rica previously. We saw lots of trees and plants, but we didn’t see any interesting birds or animals.
Day 6: At Sea
Merry Christmas!
Today was sea day. We had a holiday gift exchange in the morning. Other than that, we all simply relaxed and enjoyed the amenities on the cruise. After last few days of exhausting excursions, we were all ready to relax. Moreover, tomorrow’s the Panama Canal crossing day, and we would have a full day.
Day 7: Panama Canal
The ship was scheduled to sail under Bridge of the Americas early in the morning around 5am, so we all woke up very early in expectations. It was still very dark when we sailed through. I was able to take some photos, but they were a little blurred due to the poor lighting.
Then we reached Miraflores Locks. Ships passed through the locks in stages. A ship first entered a chamber, then water was poured into it to raise the ship to the level of the next chamber. After that, the gate between the two chambers was open, and “mules” on both sides pulled the ship ahead to reach the next gate. Miraflores Locks had two chambers, while the next Pedro Miguel Locks only had one chamber.
We sailed under the Centennial Bridge after the two locks. Centennial Bridge was a major crossing of Panama Canal. The bridge was named to honor Panama’s centennial in 2003, though the opening wasn’t until in August 2004; therefore, it’s quite new. After passing the bridge, we reached the infamous Culebra Cut or Gaillard Cut, which was an artificial valley cut through the mountains. Its geological formation and frequent landslides created a lot of challenges during the canal construction.
It was an easy sailing on the large Gatun Lake until we reached Gatun Locks. Gatun Locks situated on the Atlantic Ocean side had three chambers. After similar processes, we finally passed through Gatun Locks. Then we sailed through Atlantic Bridge to reach Colon. Panama Canal was indeed an engineering marvel! It’s an amazing experience to sail through the entire canal.
The cruise ship stopped in Colon for a few hours. We were able to get off the ship to do a little shopping in Colon. There was also a dance show at the cruise stop.
Day 8: At Sea
Today was another sea day. After the excitement of yesterday’s canal crossing, we all slept late. It’s another day to do nothing besides enjoying the amenities the cruise ship provided.
Day 9: Montego Bay, Jamaica
Today we booked another excursion to Montego Bay Marine Park for snorkeling. Most of us (including myself) went into the water. It was a lot of fun, and we did see many colorful fish. The guide also showed us a sea urchin.
Jamaica was famous for its Blue Mountain coffee. Many of our friends enjoyed coffee, so we bought many bags of coffee beans as gifts for friends and for ourselves. In-laws were all on the same cruise, so they could get their own coffee means.
Day 10: At Sea
This was our last sea day, another day of relaxing and enjoying the cruise.
Day 11: Ft. Lauderdale
We were to disembark today in Ft. Lauderdale. Rei and I took the kids to Florida many years ago to visit Disneyworld, Universal Studios, and Everglades National Park, so we didn’t feel the need to spend extra days in Florida. However, we did need to arrange transportation from the cruise port to the airport for our return flight. Therefore, we decided to take the Everglades Airboat Ride and Flamingo Gardens Wildlife Sanctury excursion with an airport drop-off.
We first visited Flamingo Gardens Wildlife Sanctuary. Besides flamingos, there were also other birds like peacocks, swans, cranes and white ibises. Visitors were allowed to feed flamingos, another interesting experience for the kids.
We didn’t take airboat rides on our last Florida trip, so this was our first airboat ride. It was a quite interesting experience to cross water with lily pads and other plants sitting high on an airboat. Overall, this was a very enjoyable excursion for us.
Amy 'n Rei 