Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera) to the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise Reviews

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 ...

I chose this cruise because I have traveled with NG/Lindblad before and wanted to see Costa Rica with this group of naturalists etc. The timing was right for my daughter and I to travel together. we were looking forward to seeing the wildlife primarily. Unfortunately, the brochure which specifically promotes seeing sloths in the wild was a total misrepresentation. I was told by the naturalists ...

This is the first trip review that I have ever posted. I felt that it was necessary because of the extremely negative customer experience. First of all, I booked this cruise in February 2019. The cruises line claims that you get the best pricing when you book early. Not true. They discounted this cruise right after the final payment date by USD$1000 per couple. When we asked for a refund ...

The staff were very attentive and accommodating. Most took the time to learn your name. We had a State Room which was spacious and comfortable. A definite plus on a smaller ship which doesn't have a lot of public areas. Ship was very clean and you noticed the effort to keep it that way.The excursions were interesting and efficient. There was a problem with the air conditioning. State ...

Giving a very detailed account of our trip because a similar review VERY MUCH helped me plan a previous trip to Hawaii. Loved having details to help plan days on shore.Bottom line, I can’t recommend this cruise highly enough. Small ship, great staff/passenger ratio. Large rooms and wonderful food, service etc etc. Each night there was a short program in the lounge to debrief for the next day and ...

We typically choose active, land-based travel but decided to do a cruise for a special anniversary. We chose the Star Breeze for its mixture of small luxury ship with casual attitude, small ports of call, and availability of water sports. We wanted to have fun, but we did not want the fussiness of formal dinner nights. We were not disappointed. The ports of call included a good mix of those with ...

We love the Lindblad / National Geographic Expeditions cruises because of their superb naturalists and their insight into wilderness areas of the world. The Quest is a new ship in the fleet and worked well for expedition cruising. Our cabin was small with a balcony; not much open floor space but you don't spend much time in the room. The general outline of the day is: a buffet breakfast, ...

This was our second Windstar cruise, a back-to-back Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, followed by a Southern Caribbean Sweep itinerary from Colon, Panama to Cartegena, Colombia; Aruba, and Bequia in the Grenadines, with disembarkation in Barbados. We enjoyed our first Windstar cruise through the ABC Island and the Grenadines on the Star Pride so much that we wanted to sail through the Canal with ...

We have sailed on many cruises, and Azamara was a new one for us. The Quest looks just like the smaller ships on the Oceana line and except for a few differences they are exactly the same. But only in the ships appearances. We were on the prior segment and wanted to continue to see new ports in this part fo the world. 1 No embarking as we sailed on the prior segment, we stayed onboard ...

This cruise went to places I have been wanting to see for a while, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico. The excursions from the ship were expensive, so on 3 occasions we went with private tour groups, and got better value for money. The staff were always upbeat even during a small outbreak of Norwalk when they were all doing double duty to keep us healthy. The entertainment ...