Panama Canal & Central America Expedition Cruises Reviews

We chose this trip from Santiago Chile through the Panama Canal to Ft. Lauderdale because we wanted to try an Expedition ship and I don't like cold weather. Everything is geared towards the Arctic however and there really wasn't much to do on the ship. We had a nature lecturer and a historian but the talks were mostly on the Arctic. The "toys" on board are only licensed to be used in Antarctica ...

This was our 14th cruise, the second on Ponant, and we sought it out because we are tired of the large ship cruises. Ponant offers expeditionary experiences, rather than the traditional "rest, relax and party" cruise, so we approached our time with that expectation. We were incredibly impressed. The ship is graceful, beautiful and very comfortable. Appointments are sophisticated and of the ...

This was our first Lindblad and first cruise of any kind. Ships was a nice size with <100 guests. Easy to get around it. I would put the median age at 70+. The canal was the draw for us and we were not disappointed. It was an amazing process! Bottom Line: we really liked the trip met some nice people and enjoyed the wildlife Pre-Trip - Easy to book, some back and forth on air travel. ...

Have never been to Brazil and was excited about the experience with the new expedition ships the Viking has developed. As expected Viking is a first class way to travel on any of their fleet of ships. Enjoyed meeting the expedition staff and the incredible informative including seeing/learning about microplastics, seeing the Hangar and Science Laboratory and the (BRUVS) Baited Remote Underwater ...

We choose this cruise because we have travelled with Hurtigruten twice before: the Norway coastal ferry route & Greenland Expedition. We loved both previous cruises for different aspects and were curious how they would do a South American coastal cruise. This cruise was modified the last minute because Peru wouldn't allow ships in if that had a single covid case aboard. Hurtigruten offered ...

I chose Hurtigruten because I wanted an educational experience of Antarctica that was as authentic as possible. Hurtigruten features history and science lectures and activities, instead of casinos, crowds, and glitzy shows. Hurtigruten’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility was also an important contributing factor to choosing to travel with them. My cabin, even though among the ...

Antarctica was my last continent and it truly did not disappoint. I never thought I would be able to look at a group of penguins and pick them out or go boating in an ice field. The team really worked to provide the best options given the weather and changing conditions. The restaurants were great especially the Freidhiem which offered a changing menu and offered to customize without question. ...

This was an expedition cruise to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. The trip of a lifetime! The expedition crew and landings were phenomenal, as were the lectures on board the ship. I learned and saw so much. The food was fantastic as well. The ship only has 265 passenger cabins, and we were at less than half capacity due to COVID, so the experience was even better than expected. The pool deck ...

My travel bucket list had long included the Panama Canal, both for its continuing commercial importance but also because of its historic engineering importance. It was the chance to see the canal that directed me to this trip. We traversed the Canal at night, a pattern that I thought might be a disappointment; it was quite the opposite as the canal is well lighted and one can see the operations ...

Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I’m going to summarize what we look for in a cruise vacation which we felt Ponant came closest to an overall exceptional experience and why. My sister n husband ( late 50s very active non drinkers) and my husband (70) and myself(62) - both drinkers and not super active wanted a Xmas holiday experience together. We didn’t want to travel too far from USA ...