Odds and Ends from the Panama Canal Cruise

Well, here we are. We’ve been home for not quite a week. The laundry is done, the important mail has been dealt with, and the 862 awaiting photos are very daunting. And by the way, the underwater ones in Cabo San Lucas didn’t turn out. Glad the camera was disposable.

As with previous trips, there were some observations and comments that didn’t make it into the other more port-specific blogs. So, in no particular order, here are some final ramblings:


I was pretty dedicated to walking on this cruise. Since we didn’t have a lot of ports to explore, the majority of my walking took place on the Promenade Deck each day. Six laps equaling 2.14 miles. My walking times varied, depending on the weather, when I woke up, our activities for the day. Regardless, though, I discovered there is a definite Walker Culture on a cruise ship. There are some VERY serious cruising walkers who are determined to make it a race. Interestingly, though, morning walkers are faster than night walkers. The few times I actually passed another walker, it was in the afternoon or evening. Those morning walkers are intense!

As with prior cruises, I instituted a “No Elevators” rule. It helps with the back-happy exercise and the 24 hours buffet. Despite 15 days of acclimation, I always lost steam on the 12th floor (food was on the 14th). Nevertheless, I held to my rule, even during a layover in LAX on the way home. Rob promises he didn’t break the rule either. Carolyn is still miffed that the two times she broke the rule, I happened to be passing by. “Out of all the people on this ship, YOU see me!” Of course, as I kept trying to point out, it was MY rule, not THEIR rule. They didn’t have to abide by it. Apparently, nobody believed me.

To amuse myself on a couple of At Sea Days, I attended two health and fitness seminars in the Aerobics Studio in the Lotus Spa. The first was about increasing your metabolism. The other was about reducing back pain. Hoping to learn something, I actually brought paper and a pen to take notes. Instead, both seminars ended up being sales pitches for products or services. In the first, I learned that I need to detoxify my system (specifically my liver) to boost my metabolism. To learn how toxic I am, I needed to spend $35 for a test there on the ship, followed by anywhere from $100 to $300 for some sort of algae pills. No mention about eating smaller portions more often, like I thought I might hear. In the second seminar, I learned that the answer for back pain is Good Feet shoe inserts that on land cost $275 but at sea, with no shipping or taxes, I could be walking on plastic for just $189. Subsequent web research made me relieved I scoffed at spending that much money on something without a guarantee or refund policy. I also now know not to waste any cruising time in the aerobics studio.

Although we enjoyed it at first, we all got a bit weary of the food. Rob and I realized on our flight home that during the entire 15 day cruise, we only ate in port twice and one of those was in Acapulco. I am still trying not to think about that “meal.”

We got to watch the Superbowl on the ship. Cool! They had a satellite feed, so it was available in all the staterooms as well as two public venues. I watched in a lounge until just before half time (my post-snorkel back was bugging me). It was great fun watching with a crowd of people and having little hamburgers, chicken wings, and hot dogs brought around as free hors d’oeuvres. However, I really missed seeing the ads. Since it was a satellite feed, we got lots more commentary and the occasional rotation of four ESPN ads. We didn’t see the Chrysler one or the Darth Vader one or the Pepsi one. Thankfully, we have YouTube and Hulu for that.

I miss seeing dolphins playing in the wake of the ship.

Despite my dedication to SPF 30 slathering (my brand new 8oz tube is spurting what little is left), I still somehow managed to end up with some areas of sunburn. How I missed the top of my right thigh that day between Panama and Costa Rica, I don't know. And my “Very Water Resistant” sunscreen wasn't. I did two layers of sunscreen before my snorkel trip in Cabo San Lucas and my neck and sections of the left side of my body are still a little warm and red. Rob took one look at me a few nights ago and called me his “little patchwork quilt of a wife.” The good news is, by the time it is warm enough here at Woodhaven to expose this skin to the public once again, the lines and splotches will have long faded.

Cabo was a really nice port. If we had to go back to Mexico, this is where we would go. The marina was clean and modern and pleasant. The people were respectful and not anywhere nearly as aggressive as those in Acapulco. Since Rob and I had different activities our day in Cabo, I wandered around by myself. Even though I screamed “TOURIST” in my freshly purchased Cabo San Lucas t-shirt (a wonderfully dry replacement for my snorkel shirt), not a single local offered me a water taxi or fishing or other water sport excursion. The tour operators definitely targeted couples, but they were still respectful. I was surprised how liberating and peaceful it was to walk around the marina by myself.

Stalker Guy. On a ship of 1,970 passengers, this tall guy with lots of salt-n-pepper facial hair and thick glasses kept popping up everywhere. He was a walker and a smoker (interesting combination), so I first encountered him on one of my first promenades. We chatted a tiny bit as we passed each other several times. We then exchanged a few pleasantries the next day, realizing we were developing similar routines. And then, the rest of the cruise, everywhere I went, there was Stalker Guy. I grabbed a hot dog up on the Sun Deck...there he was. I settled in early for a Movie Under the Stars...there he was. I switched up my walking routine and promenaded at 7:30am instead of 10ish...there he was. And on our last night in the dining room, we got seated in a corner table and I had a direct view of just one person at another table. Guess who was seated there just as we were toasting our final toast? Crazy stuff. And no, it isn't entirely clear who was stalking whom. But I do know that he and I had a silent agreement after about the fourth chance meeting to no longer acknowledge each other because it was just getting too creepy.

If you are in your 40s and want to feel young, a cruise in January is your answer. Aside from one honeymoon couple, an employee’s visiting wife and toddler, and a guy we thought for sure was traveling with his mother but then got ooked out when David reported seeing them canoodling, I don't think there were any passengers younger than us. Of course, a good portion of the crew was younger. Cruise ship work looks hard; I bet lots burn out before their 35th birthday.

I really shouldn't have spent all that time agonizing over which swimsuit to take and how I might look in it. See comment above.

We wouldn't turn down future trips to Costa Rica or Cabo San Lucas, and I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of Cartagena. You couldn't pay us to return to Acapulco. And no, I do not need to go see the cliff divers, gracias.

Prior to the trip, both Carolyn and I had independently heard from a number of people that the Panama Canal cruise is one that you want to do multiple times. And on board, we met people who were on their fifth canal cruise, and others who were staying on the ship to enjoy the 15 day return trip to Ft. Lauderdale. As much as we all enjoyed it, the four of us agreed that once was sufficient. It seemed like much longer than just 15 days since we had slept in our own beds. I'm attributing this to lots of days at sea, only a handful of ports, and pretty short days in the ports we did hit. And while I did enjoy the forced relaxation of the seven At Sea Days, I did start to get a bit restless on about the fifth or sixth one. So some good learning for me and Rob: we like a slightly busier itinerary. And more time in ports. But the canal crossing was still incredibly cool.

God bless whoever invented Dramamine.