19 Days from Seattle to Miami through the Panama Canal

After the Alaska cruise we were hooked, so I decided to surprise Barb with a cruise from Seattle to Miami through the Panama Canal. Since it would be on the Norwegian Pearl I booked us into the same cabin we had earlier going to Alaska. A few weeks before we were to leave I got a call from Norwegian asking if we would be interested in upgrading to the Honeymoon Suite for $500. Let’s see a much larger cabin, larger balcony and a butler and only $500 for 19 days. No brainer. We took Amtrak from Portland to Seattle and overnighted before boarding.

Having been on the Pearl before we had a pretty good idea of how to get around the ship. What didn’t have any idea about was how much nicer an upscale suite would be. Large enough to have two separate air conditioning thermostats. And an espresso machine. And a butler to bring hors d'oeuvre every afternoon. And a private tour of the bridge. And a get together with the captain and officers. And more. Nice.

So after leaving Seattle our first stop was Cabo San Lucas. Popular place for Americans. Lots of Americans. We did the usual walk around that tourists do, looking in shops and avoiding purchases. Neither of us really enjoyed the stop.

Next up was Puerto Vallarta. Once the ship is in dock what’s the first thing we from our balcony? Walmart. So, we went and bought a couple of things that were promptly stolen right there in Walmart at the checkout counter. Hello Mexico. Not to worry though, the store replaced the items and we headed out for a walk. No other purchases and we were back to the ship in time to continue onward.

Our next stop was Acapulco. It was here we took our first chance at hiring a driver and guide. Turned out to be a good experience and a great way to get around to see stuff like the cliff divers. Barb broke down and bought a bracelet while I had a beer or two. Nice day, but we really expected more.

Cliff Divers

Barb and our guide

The last port in Mexico was Huatulco and it was by far the best. Not a regular stop for most cruise ships, we were only there because the ship skipped stopping in San Francisco. A ten-minute cab ride took us into the town and what a difference. Just townspeople going about their regular business. Not at all a tourist trap like everywhere else. With a new pier where ships can dock instead of having to tender in, this will become a regular stop and Huatulco will change. Lunch was on the beach and then it was off to the Panama Canal.

On the beach in Huatulco

Woke up early on morning to see a lot of ships anchored waiting their turn in the canal. Cruise ships book a year in advance. That way the get an early start on what takes the better part of daylight. It was recommended by a friend that I read The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough and I’m glad I did. It should be required reading for anyone going through the canal.

After entering the canal under the Bridge of the Americas the first two locks are the Miraflores Locks, followed shortly by the third lock the Pedro Miguel Lock. Then it’s a long trip down the Gaillard Cut to Gatun Lake. Exiting the canal is through the three Gatun Locks. A good portion of the canal is the lake, which is 85 feet about sea level. The six locks raise ships from sea level and lower ships to sea level at the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This day trip through the canal was well worth the price of admission for the cruise.

Bridge of the Americas

Entering a lock

Once through the canal our next stop was Cartagena, Columbia. This was the first time we had taken a tour with a large group and we were to see the two faces of Cartagena. First up was a drive through the not so tourist part of town heading up to an old Monastery. Our guide was quick to explain the area we were going through was a slum, where the residents had no electricity, water or sewer. Nice. Just the part of town I wanted to see. The Monastery was worth seeing, but the drive back down through the slum was not worth seeing.

The other face of Cartagena was in the Walled City and from what we saw the wall was effective. Very nice town. Lots of old and lots of new. A couple of ladies caught my eye. I really like the one of the on the balcony.

The one with the fruit wanted coin of the realm for a photo, so I waited till she turned around. Bad Bob. Next, we headed to the Netherlands Antilles, with Oranjestad, Aruba the first stop. Nice town, but it rained. And rained hard. Hard enough that we had to hang out drinking the local beer. I did manage to buy a Swiss Army knife in blue, rather than the usual red.

Our last port was Willemstad, Curaçao. This may have been the second-best port After Huatulco. Buildings painted every color of the rainbow and a really great farmers market down by the water. We wandered around a lot.

Everyone takes this photo, so I did too

Sad, but now we have to head back. We will rent a car in Miami and drive to Jacksonville for a few days, then fly back to Portland.

One last afternoon

And this is the only way to travel!

Alaska Cruise 2007

After hearing some of our friends talk about cruises we finally decided to give it a try. With Barb still working our vacation time was limited, so a seven day cruise to Alaska seemed best. After a little research we settled on the Norwegian Pearl, leaving Seattle on Sunday, August 12th.

We headed out to Seattle a day early and spent Saturday wandering around Pike Place Market and some of the downtown area. Seattle is a great place to visit and the Market is a lot of fun. We took the mono rail to the Space Needle, but passed on the Space Needle as we had both been up before. After a good dinner we spent the night at the Warwick hotel. Nice hotel and they let us park are car there for the week for free.

Next morning we had oatmeal and coffee at Starbucks and then took a taxi down to Pier 66 on Alaskan Way. While checking in we were given ID badges and cards that are used to pay for everything on the ship. We found our stateroom, unpacked and then headed out for a little tour of the ship. The stateroom was decent size for seven days, with plenty for storage, nice size flat screen TV and very nice bathroom. Of course the best part was the balcony with chairs and table. Promptly at 4:00 we were off, heading down Elliott Bay for our first cruise.

First day was a sea day, which meant we spent most of the time out on the balcony watching the world go by. Balcony time and wandering around the ship were pretty much our things to do when not in port. As far as eating there were at least a dozen choices. We found the Teppanyaki and Cagney’s Steakhouse to be the best. Every night we slept with the slider to the balcony open so we could hear the waves.

The first port was Juneau, which is the capital and other than the thousands of Alaska t-shirts for sale resembles any other town. We did put in the mandatory appearance at the Red Dog Saloon for an adult beverage and eventually made it back to the ship without a single purchase.

Overnight the ship headed to Skagway, where we spent the day. With not a lot to do, we signed up for a trip on an old narrow gage railroad train to the Canadian border. While very scenic, the old railroad bridges we crossed did not instill a lot of confidence. Once again we escaped without a t-shirt.

The next morning we woke up to Glacier Bay. That was easily the highlight of the trip. The ship would park off a glacier and just to 360’s giving everybody great view. After a while we would move onto another glacier. Only disappointment was not seeing any great chunks of glacier dropping into the sea.

After another overnight move we woke up in Ketchikan, which turned out to be our favorite Alaskan port. Billed as the Salmon capital of the world, it lives up to its name in the number of places to buy smoked salmon. And we did. There is a nice boardwalk up along the Ketchikan River, where there are more t-shirts. There is also Dolly’s, a bordello from another era, but still open for tours.

The next day we got into Victoria, BC late-afternoon. With not much time ashore, we headed straight for the Irish Times Pub on Government Street. For many years this has been our favorite place for fish and chips and it did fail us this time.

The next morning we were back in Seattle of our first cruise was over. Before we were off the ship we knew it would not be out last.