I've already reported the negatives of the vibrating stern suites on "Cruise Talk", and am happy to say that is just about the only negative there was on the VTC, to our experience. By topic, here are some other items that may be of interest.
THE SHIP:
We arrived at LAX between noon and 1:00 PM on sailing day. From fellow guests, we heard there had been some delays in Radisson's transfers to the ship but we had no problem as the bus was ready when we were. Once onboard, it was the customary VERY short line, champagne in hand, to check in. We were invited to wait on the pool deck and enjoy lunch and meet fellow guests until our suites were ready, estimated at 3:00 PM. They were ready at 2:30, and all our luggage was already there.
We had some concerns, as the ship was totally full. The concerns proved to be groundless, as the service and food was fully up to Radisson's high standards, and perhaps a bit above. We generally dined in the Compass Rose, had lunch at La Veranda, and had room service breakfast. Room service was especially fast and efficient, considering the ship was full. We also dined in Signatures and La Veranda. We skipped Latitudes, as the menues there are not exactly our personal favorite foods. Food everywhere we experienced was excellent, plus. We must confess to not having seen much of the evening entertainment, as we arrived at most of the ports early, and we are old! What we saw was top notch. There were several top notch lecturers onboard. The ones we were able to hear were Dick Holt and his lectures on the building of the Voyager and the Panama Canal, and Robert McFarlane (former member of President Reagan's administration) and his lectures on world afairs, then and now. One of the most interesting features of the latter was his not-too-complementary comments concerning the present administration and the present war. I shall go no further on this subject, as it is beyond the scope of this board. Suffice it to say that I was most surprised at the even handed treatment of this most controversial matter. Since we have been sailing Radisson the past two+ years, we have seen much greater emphasis placed on the lecture program, and that's a good thing!
THE ITINERARY:
From LA, we had two sea days to Puerto Vallarta, then Manzanillo, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puerto Quetzal Guatemala, San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua. This was followed by a day at sea, the Panama Canal transit, a "technical stop" (more about this later) at San Andres Island, Grand Cayman, Day at sea, then cruise end in Ft. Lauderdale. I'll omit mention of Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and Grand Cayman as these are frequently visited, and there is so much information out there about them. The others are more unusual, so here is a brief account of our visit there.
Manzanillo:
This is an industrial port, and without taking a very long tour to another area, it really is of little tourist interest in itself.
Huatulco:
Remember this place. If your Spanish is as bad as mine, pronounce it "Wah-tool-co" and you'll be understood. It's in the middle of a national park, with nine scenic bays, and is just now developing up in selected and approved areas, with strict architectural restrictions, with the intent of it becomming the "Jewel of Pacific Mexico". Property prices there are still low, and legal schemes have been put in place to allow US citizens to buy property there within 32 kilometers of the beach, which Mexico generally prohibits.Heck, we may move there! We took the Five Bays Cateraman excursion to see unspoiled coastline and natural beaches. The only negative is that the snorkeling isn't great there, as is true of all of Pacific Mexico.
Guatemala:
Lynn87 and her husband Richard set up a private tour for us with them. We went to Antigua to see the Spanish Colonial Architecture and visit the Jade jewelery factory and shop there. Guatemallan Jade is a lighter green than Chineese Jade, and also comes in blue, pearl, and the levender that was discovered after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Prices weren't bad, especially if one opted for silver mountings rather than gold. Then we went into the countryside to a small hotel that used to be a coffee plantation and met with some of the indiginous people and viewed their handicrafts. One 11 year old boy was most taken with my wife's nail polish and wanted some for himself! In the best Spanish I could muster, I told him "Senioritas si, Hombres no.
Nicaragua:
It's a long way from the port to anything. We chose to go to the City of Granada, which is about a two hour drive each way. So ones spends more time on the road than in town. And of all the third world countries I've seen, Nicaragua is either the most "third world" or close to it. Yet, it was an interesting cultural experience. And a BIG bottle of beer is only $1 US, so you know I'd be happy! Notwithstanding this, as a cruise ship stop this was far from the best, due to the distance from the port to get anywhere remotely of interest.
Panama Canal Crossing:
Frankly, this is the main reason most guests booked this cruise. Definitely the high point. As I am old and have forgotten most of my high school and undergraduate history and geography, I had actually expected to traverse a long canal. Wrong. From the Pacific side, the ship goes through two channels with locks. The channels are a little over 1000' long and 110'wide. The ship is pulled through by diesel electric locomotives called "mules", two at the bow and two at the stern on each side attached to the ship by cables as the water rises. Then the ship enters the man-made Gatun lake for most of its journey through Panama. We stopped at what is called the Gatun Yacht club (where there are no yachts, by the way) for an included party, local entertainment, and the opportunity to buy hand crafted items from the local indiginous people. To enter the Atlantic or Caribbean, the ship went through one lock in the same manner where the water level fell to sea level. Everybody's got to do this at least once.
San Andres Island:
This was a "technical stop" only, and only a few tenders ran and few got off the ship. We didn't, but should have done so.This island is part of the South American country of Colombia, though it is just off the east coast of Nicaragua. Because our cruise departed from a US city different than its destination in the US, the infamous Jones Act required it to make a stop at a foriegn country OTHER than Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean to be in compliance. Thus, this two hour stop at an island that is technically part of South America. But those that did visit the island reported that it was beautiful and unspoiled, with nice beaches. It's too bad that a REAL stop at San Andres couldn't have been subsituted for Manzanillo.
In conclusion, the fact that all these othere elements of the cruise were so great made our vibrating and shaking cabin (and my wife's resulting illness) easier to bear, in one sense. In another sense, these facts made the cabin problems harder to bear, as they diminished what otherwise would have been a near perfect cruise.
Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)
