I'd like to take my wife on a cruise around Central America. Ideally we would
spend a few days in Panama and then join a cruise that calls at other
Central American ports, rather than Caribbean Islands, and then return from
Miami. Is this possible? - Trevor Dunn, Bristol
Sunday Times travel expert Richard Green writes:
The problem is that it isn't really possible to jump aboard cruises in Panama,
despite the fact that so many of them pass through the canal. So you can
visit Central America by cruise ship, and pass through the canal, and bypass
the Caribbean islands, but I'm afraid it means both starting and ending your
cruise in the US.
Among the cruise lines that will do this are Azamara Cruises (0800 018 2525, www.azamaracruises.com),
which has 16-night cruises in December and January, starting in Los Angeles
and finishing in Miami. The voyage calls at the Mexican ports of Cabo San
Lucas, Acapulco, and Huatulco, and San Juan Del Sut in Nicaragua, and
Puntarenas in Costa Rica, after which you pass through the canal, before a
stop in Aruba, then winding up in Miami. Prices start from £1,447pp,
excluding flights.
Celebrity Cruises (0800 018 2525, www.celebritycruises.com)
also has cruises through the canal from October to April, starting in San
Diego or San Francisco, and finishing in Ft Lauderdale. The route calls at
Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, Mexico, Puntarenas in Costa Rica, then
traversing the canal, before a stop in Cartagena, Colombia. Then it¹s a
straight cruise into Fort Lauderdale. Prices are from £717pp, not including
flights.
Expect to pay about £500 for flights to the US west coast and back from Miami,
through Opodo (www.opodo.co.uk),
Ebookers (www.ebookers.com), or Dial a
Flight (www.dialaflight.com).
For information on who cruises where and when, have a look at the nifty cruise
finding tool at www.discover-cruises.co.uk,
or find a local cruise agent at www.cruiseexperts.org
