MV Explorer Review

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Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on MV Explorer
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dwolfe
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2008

I took the enrichment voyage through the Mayalands to the Panama Canal in May. Nassau is a terrible port to get to and leave from: It is disorganized, staff are unhelpful and taxi's are very expensive. Once on board, though, the ship's crew were wonderful. Luggage was in the room almost before I was. The cabin was plenty big enough, with a porthole window on the second deck which was only steps away from from the gangway but the corridor was separated by a door so it was quiet.

The ship is a converted small cruise ship (the casino was removed to put in a computer lab and library--the best on any ship I have been on) which has blazing fast engines that can really motivate between ports. I was somewhat disappointed by the quality of lecturers on board (the Maya expert was ill and unable to make the voyage) the music and literature professors were off topic for the subject matter of the cruise. Both the marine biology and ecology and art professors were outstanding, however, and definitely made the trip worthwhile.

I especially appreciated the computer lab and the free internet access and the library - spent most of my time on board there. Our ports of call were different than the usual, the ship being smaller, was able to go to places that were off the beaten path. I especially enjoyed cave tubing in Belize, Gamboa Nature Preserve in Gatun Lake, Chanaknab park and Queen Elizabeth Botanic Gardens. I also enjoyed being able to just get off the ship in the working ports, as opposed to cruise ship ports, and see what the real country was about.

Cabin Review

Cabin ocv

Cabin 2010 - porthole. Quiet, comfortable, plenty of storage space, desk and table and chairs, twin beds, small TV, fridge. Bathroom is adequate but not luxurious. Very clean and well kept.

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