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Hey!

Great pictures of your Panama Trip and I also looked at all the Baltic Cruise pictures!

Nice to finally put a face to the name.

Glad you all had a great time.

Thanks for posting so quickly.

No priblem. As soon as cruisecritic posts my TR I'll C/P it here. They said they are 3 wks. behind!

BTW Percy how about uploading your profile and a pic? It would be nice to see a pic of you.

Your stops were more interesting, and the lights went out! You certainly had more adventures. I am jealous
Faina.

Hi jacketwatch

I do not have any album pictures on Kodak .

I did once but ,it got lost when I bought a new computer and I forgot the password....so somehow after that I never made any albums after a trip!

However, you can e-mail me at percyd@shaw.ca and I will send you a few pictures (if the Fodors screen does not crack

Got them Percy and thank you. Hey you are one good looking dude but your better half is, well your better half. I hope you hand continues to improve.
Faina: It was sheer luck to be next to the window when we entered the canal and "the lights went out" and then you see more just how close you are to the inner part of the wall. Actually parts of it were steel plates with lots of rivets ala the hull of the Titanic but that sort of construction was just how things were done back then. What ports did you go to?

Hi jacketwatch

My wife was not in any of the pictures I sent you. !!

My sister was in the picture of me in Istanbul.

Due to health reasons at the time,she was not able togo to South America or the Baltic Cruise.

Take care (You guys lost a great Radio man ..Paul Harvey )


But we went to Europe twice last year.

Out of LA: Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puntarenas, Canal, Cristobal, Puerto Limon, Montego Bay, Santo Domingo - end.

Dayenu

Sounds like a nice trip with good ports of call

Faina: Thats sounds very nice. We were scheduled for Huatulco but it was scrubbed after booking due to "operational" reasons and that is all I could ever find out. What did you do in Puntarenas? We went to Sarchi.
Percy: I do hope your wife has fully recovered and that you get that hand back in 100% shape asap. Yes, its sad about PH. Take care. Larry. Gotta hit the gym now. Back to the routine.

Too bad you missed Huatulco

So you went to Sarchi.... did you buy one of those little painted ox carts !!

No but I did get some great coffee and a really cool safari type shirt with lots of pockets and openings to let the breeze in. Its a perfect complement to that Tilley hat.

Did you see that nice Orange and Yellow church in Leon.?

Did you eat some of those chocolate covered coffee beans in Costa Rica.?

I gotta get me a Tilley Hat also, can't let you have a Canadian product without me having it also .

We missed that church actually. Too bad. However seeing hill 14 was a nice reward in that we got to see something of historical importance and that its not on the usual guides tours. As for the chocolate beans we were not anywhere they were offered though I did get some coffee, a brand called "tres generatriones" (not to be confused with the tequila of the same name which ain't bad ) and I must say its very good, a Peaberry grade AA roast. The hat is pretty neat. That is despite the heat I kept cool and there were no sweat stains at all. It'll be great this summer on the golf course. I'll try to keep it in the short grass, eh.

What is your average golfing score.

I play about 15 games a year.

Actually I shoot in the low 80's. My index has been around 9 the past couple of yrs.

Hmm ,I do not know what an index is !

We play about the same then, I shoot between 75 to 85

although I had a 74 last year on a par 72.... you have to be lucky to do that..... like chipping in out of the sand trap and holing a few 50 footers.

I used to play a lot of golf , but not anymore.

I just hope I can hold a club in another month, since this hand surgery ,if not then that's okay...

Actually an index is sort of a refined handicap and the numbers are very similar. My best score ever is a 72 on a par 70 and I know I'll never do that again. It was the round of a lifetime. Last yr. I broke 80 once and believe me to keep that index in single digits I really need to practice more this yr. The truth is good putting can erase alot of bad shots. , at least for me. That 72 reflected 31 putts. I know as I just looked at the card. . I keep it on my desk and it will stay here forever. I know the hand problem must be frustrating as you are an excellent golfer and I hope you can recover to be able to play again. There must be some gorgeous courses up in Edmonton too I'll bet.

Yes, we have a lot of very excellent courses.

A lot of Americans come to play at Banff and Jasper and the Kananaska Country just outside of Calgary.

The Skins game were held here more than once.

These course are too tough for me now, Father Times favours no one and I cannot drive the long distances I once used to.

A 460 yard par 4 was once ( in the early 1900's ) a drive and a nine iron....now it is a drive and a 3 wood !!

I used to play 90 games a year ...now I average 14-15 (last year I played 12 games because I went to Europe twice ).

Will be seeing the Plastic Surgeon in about 2 weeks for and evaluation.....boy what a slooooooow process this is.

Good Night
Always enjoy hearing from you and reading your other posts.!

Thanks Percy. Hey, I can't even hit a 3 wood, at least of the fairway. I do recall seeing some really nice courses in Banff. Best of luck with that hand amigo. As for father time thats what I mean about losing that single digit index this yr. . we'll see. Later sir. Larry

We are going on this cruise for our 10th anniversary in September. San Fransico to Fort Laudidale. The only two things that concerns us are the fixed daily tip charge. Reviews on U Tube etc show all people on board near or passed retirement ago. Are there other people on board close to our age group 36 - 43....

The fixed tip comes to $10.00 per person per day. On our ship most folks were retirement age or beyond.

Great Pics Larry, I don't remember seeing it at all. I don't even know how I have missed it. We'll be on the Island Princess in November. We have an upgrade to mini suite and I am thinking of giving it up before final payment this Thursday. The price has dropped so much from when we booked originally that if I pay the new price without the upgarde, I save $675. They won't lower the price for me as the suite price is still way higher than what we had been quoted for originally. In a way, we are still getting a deal but I am not sure how much time we will be spending in the cabin, Besides,if DW get used to all that spce and expectthe same for all future scruises, I'll be in trouble.

Anything you would like to suggest? Places to go and places to avoid? Special port tips? Must see? Don't miss? Best place to view the corssing? Any info is apprecaited!

I agree having a mini-suite is really nice. We had one on the AOS last yr. and were a bit disappointed we could not get one this time. What are you port stops BTW? As for the crossing most say and I agree that its best to view it from different places on the ship. I would suggest being at the bow at least once to see the locks open and close. If you are on the balcony there will be Princess employees on shore at one point, (they will tell you when) talking your pics. Some folks made large posters or signs and were photographed with them. We viewed the canal from the bow, stern and from our balcony. However do get the view from the bow as the locks open or close. Thats pretty neat. You also want to check out the "mules" which are like small locomotives on rails that are used to guide the ship thru the canal. They ensure the ship does not scrape the walls. Let me know the port stops please. we did the west to east transit from ACA to FLL. Larry

I just booked a trip on the Island Princess for Dec and was very glas to see your pics.
Am interested in your "hiring drivers?' Is that your thing or an offered off-shore option through cruise line?
Thanks.

Hiring a driver is my thing. You can't really hire a private driver thru the cruise line except in St. Petes in Russia. I know that thru Princess you can get a private car there but the cost is quite high. "Winging it" isn't for everyone but we are fine with it. I do my research B4 going to check out what is of interest to us so I'm prepared. It depends on what you are comfortable doing I think. In Nicaragua we found a really great private tour guide. However in Antigua we took the ships transport into town as it was about half the cost of a taxi at the dock.

Hello. My name is Amy. New to the site and stopped by to look at your photos. First cruise was in 2010 through Panama Canal and back. We loved it and I agree views from all over the ship are best. I learned so much fascinating information about the canal. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you!

Jacketwatch, if you are still around...we are going on a full transit from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Celebrity in about 3 weeks. We are interested in "what to do" when we arrive at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. Did you go to Antigua,and if so, how safe is it to hire a taxi and what is there to see/do there. I am open to all suggestions.
Thanks,
Jean

Well when we went it was actually cheaper by half to use the Princess shuttle R/T to Antigua. I can't figure that out but that's the way it was. As far as I could tell the taxis were safe. You will be surprised by the nice restaurants there and if you like a local brew try theirs, Gallo.

As I recall there was a center in town run by an American gal displaying locally mined gem stones which was interesting. Beyond that we strolled the town and just relaxed.

Cheer, Larry