Panama Canal

[cruisetarp]

Considering the Panama Canal as our next cruise. Would appreciate any information anyone has. Any idea of the weather in November? What should we not miss along the way. Ports will be Labadee (a stay on the ship day for us - not crazy about the place) Cartagena, Columbia; Cruising the Panama Canal plus 4 hours at Cristobal Pier; Puerto Limon and Georgetown, Grand Cayman. We have only been to Labadee and Grand Cayman before.....all others will be new experiences for us.

[terumim]

Marylou...

i will let ya know when i get back from panama canal cruise in Oct... looking forward to columbia for the emeralds LOL LOL

Tonia

[cruisetarp]

Thanks Tonia - looking forward to hearing all about it. Columbia Emeralds - now that sounds even more interesting than the canal. hehe

[Joanandjoe]

I've just bumped up Sailing Rose's Panama canal thread, since there's no point in giving the same information twice.

[sailingrose]

Marylou I'm going the end of November so I'll be able to give you a better idea then. I'm going with Princess.

[radiofreebcj]

It's usually HOT!!! I've been through the canal a few times, and even when it's raining...it's hot. Drink lots of water...please.

If you want to see a cool video of the Canal, have a look at this link. It's a timelapse through the canal that I took going through it back in 2003.

[zebra]

Mary Lou, we have gone through the canal twice. All I can say is don't expect much from Cristobal. In fact on Princess they advised us just to stay in the market which is a long warehouse building right on the dock - they say that the town isn't safe. Most cruisers spend their time checking out the locally made goods in this market.

Passing through the canal itself is a wonderful experience - always HOT and muggy. We haven't been to Columbia, because they canceled this port of call on our cruise, due to unrest, but it was a 17 day cruise so we have many, many other ports of call. Sorry I haven't been much help.

[cruisetarp]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are really leaning toward this as our next cruise. Just waiting for confirmation from son Dave on when he and his wife will be away for their 10th Anniversary.

[terumim]

i am posting the letter i got from my friends regards to the emerald questions............

Tonia,

You could do some shopping in Cartegena, but you'll most likely be finding jewelry made for the tourist market. And if a cruise ship recommends it, it's almost certain to be selling decent (but not necessarily top quality) products at a fair price. Again, you'd probably find just a good a deal in the States.

Greenfire is a jewelry chain store operation with stores throughout the Caribbean. They are similar (though smaller in size) to Little Switzerland or Colombian Emeralds, two popular jewelry chains in the Caribbean. littleswitzerland.com colombianemeralds.com

From my most current sources, Mr. Miles works for himself as an independent broker of emeralds. But he may in fact be working for Greenfire. I just don't know for sure.

Emeralds are commonly filled with liquid and gas filled inclusions, as well as lots of tiny fissures (cracks). The presence of a lot of these inclusions will result in a cloudy or milky appearing emerald. Virtually all emeralds are subjected to some type of enhancement to help hide the presence of some of these inclusions.

Two books I can recommend:

Gemstone Buying Guide: A Guide to Buying (Gem and Jewelry Buying Guides) (Paperback)

by Renee Newman

Colored Gemstones, 2nd Edition: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies and Other Colored Gemstones (Paperback)

by Antoinette L. Matlins

[zebra]

Mary Lou, what have you decided? I believe that everyone should cruise the Panama Canal at some time, is so different from other cruises and is REALLY WORTH DOING!!! Just think hot..hot...hot though.... you're cruising right through the middle of a tropical forest.