Amateur Traveler: Theme Cruise to Panama Canal with Shakespeare at Sea & MacMania

Cruise Overview and Theme Selection

• 🚢 The episode details a theme cruise experience to the Panama Canal, focusing on two concurrent themes: Shakespeare at Sea and MacMania.
• 💡 The host and his wife, not typical cruisers, chose this themed cruise for their 25th anniversary, finding it more appealing than a standard cruise.
• 💰 The cruise was a significant investment, with the theme conference fee nearly doubling the base cost of the cabin.

Shakespeare at Sea Program

• 🎭 The Shakespeare at Sea program featured three actors, an education department member, directors, and a drama turg from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
• 🎬 They presented two original comic productions weaving Shakespeare's dialogue around themes like dysfunctional love, and also screened and discussed four Shakespearean films.
• 📚 Lectures covered general Shakespearean topics, language nuances (like 'thee' and 'thou'), stage fighting, and historical context, akin to a college course.

MacMania Cruise Program

• 💻 Simultaneously, the MacMania cruise offered sessions on Mac operating systems and other tech topics.
• 🎤 Notable speakers included actor Richard Dreyfuss discussing civics education and New York Times columnist David Pogue.
• ✈️ The host balanced attending Shakespearean events with MacMania sessions, finding it a rich learning experience.

Cruise Itinerary and Port Experiences

• 🏝️ The cruise visited a private Holland America island in the Bahamas, offering a relaxing beach day.
• 🇦🇼 Aruba was found to be somewhat disappointing, with a shabby port area and a desert-like landscape, though the sea kayaking excursion was enjoyable.
• 🇨🇼 Curaçao was a highlight, with beautiful Dutch-influenced architecture and a memorable snorkeling adventure on a schooner called The Bounty.

Panama Canal Transit

• 🚢 The ship transited the Panama Canal, experiencing the Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores locks.
• 💧 The canal's operation relies on gravity and a tremendous amount of water, with original hardware still in use since 1914.
• 🏗️ Construction of a new, larger canal alongside the original was underway, set to open in 2014 for post-Panamax ships.
• 🇫🇷 The history of the canal's construction, including the French attempt and the American completion, was discussed, highlighting challenges like disease and mudslides.
• 💰 Transit through the canal is expensive, with cruise ships paying around $250,000.

Final Stop and Themed Cruise Advantages

• 🇨🇷 The final stop was in Costa Rica (Caribbean side), featuring an eco-tour of the rainforest and banana plantations, despite heavy rain.
• 🚌 The host noted a preference against large bus tours due to potential complainer dynamics, though the guide was knowledgeable.
• ✨ The episode concludes by recommending theme cruises as a vacation option, citing diverse themes like music, science, history, and computer classes, and suggests smaller, more active trips for future listener meetups.