"Transit Panama Canal"???

[MillbrookMom]

OK...so some cruises leave and arrive from the same port and in their itinerary it says "Transit Panama Canal"....other cruises go from one port on the east or west, to the other side........

 

Can someone explain the "transit" thing? do you actually go through some of the canal? or do you just get close to it? I'm confused. :confused:

[mr green]

The so called 'round trip transit' only takes you part way through the canal, then to return to your home port, going through the same locks a second time.

The full trasit, you go through the entire canal, terminating your cruise on the other side, either going east, or west. Full transits are usually at least 14 days, while a partial is normally about 10 days.

 

john

[katiepe]

Princess has a 10 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Acapulco or reverse that is a Full Transit.

[Lair Bear]

Can someone explain the "transit" thing? do you actually go through some of the canal? or do you just get close to it? I'm confused. :confused:

 

The Panama Canal consists of three 'locks' on the Pacific Ocean side and three more on the Atlantic Ocean side, with a long 'canal' in between. The locks take care of the differences in water level between the inland lakes and the oceans. The ship actually rises as you go either way through these locks.

 

To go from one ocean to the other is a 'full transit' and you experience the whole magnificence of this man-made marvel.

To do a 'partial' means you go into a couple locks along the east side and then turn around back the same way you came. It takes you through the three locks, but what you miss, of course, is the whole enchilata, the excitement of actually going from one ocean to an other and the history of how this all came about. If you do a partial, you have been to the canal but not through it!

 

Take a ferry? Fine. But still, it is not the same thing as being on a cruise ship seeing ships pass the other way and gaping at the narrow sections that cost so many lives as the canal was being dug.

 

For some pictures and details when we did the full transit, go to: http://www.*****.com/panama.htm

[Tamara2cruise]

Lair Bair,

 

I think that qualifies as a rather magnificent reply!

 

So, we are going TO the Panama Canal next January 2011 aboard the Island Princess. :)

 

Tamara

[BillB48]

Lair Bair,

 

I think that qualifies as a rather magnificent reply!

 

So, we are going TO the Panama Canal next January 2011 aboard the Island Princess. :)

 

Tamara

 

You will be going to and through at least a part of the Canal:):). If you combine your partial transit of the Canal with what Princess calls "Panama Canal Experience by Boat" you will have been through about 75% of the Canal. When you tender off the ship after exiting Gatun Locks you will go to the Pacific side and transit the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut. This actually is a great experience seeing the lock operations from both a large ship and a smaller vessel and it gives you a chance to take in the countryside. The only portion of the Canal you won't see is the 20 miles of lake channel from Gamboa to Gatun Locks. Even though you will have been to the Canal, you can still come back for the complete transit later and not really be repeating a cruise! Then after your complete transit you can lay claim to all the bragging rights;).

 

We have done both partial and full transits and they are both great cruises.

[Louise P]

We'll Be on the Island Princess in December. Has anyone taken their Panama Canal Experience By Boat tour? Has anyone done this tour privately?

Louise

[Loonbeam]

There are no private tours on a Princess partial transit, only those with ship booked excursions are permitted to disembark in Gatun lake.

 

We'll Be on the Island Princess in December. Has anyone taken their Panama Canal Experience By Boat tour? Has anyone done this tour privately?

Louise

[Louise P]

Sorry bout that. Thanks.

[Cornishpastyman1]

This shows a full transit http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1192555

 

The combined length of the 2 videos is just under 17 minutes. I didn't intend it to be so long but coudn't bring myself to make it any shorter. Whether you are doing a full or partial transit I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

All the best to all you PC cruisers !

Tony

[GradUT]

Louise, we did the Panama Canal Experience by Boat last April when we did the partial transit cruise on the Island Princess. It was one of the highlights of the cruise for us. Not only did we essentially complete the transit of the canal, we did it in a small boat which gave us a completely different perspective on the canal.

You will be tendered from the boat in Gatun Lake to waiting tour buses on shore. They will drive you (about 30 minutes as I recall) to the marina where the ferries are waiting. The seating on the ferry is all outside, but under cover. It the boat is full, it will be crowded, but we were only about 75% full and it was OK.

You go through the remaining 3 locks and there is a guide giving commentary on the canal, the history, its operation and information about Panama during the entire cruise. The guide will answer any questions you have. I found it very informative and enjoyed what the guide had to say. At lunchtime, a cold buffet lunch of sandwiches, salad, fruit and dessert is served. (Not great food, but OK) The food is on tables in the small, air conditioned cabin but you eat outside in your seats. Water, soda and beer were available all day at no charge.

When you get through the last lock, you dock on the Pacific side of Panama and take your tour bus back to Colon (two hours?) where you re-board your cruise boat. It was nice to relax in the comfy seats of an air-conditioned tour bus!

It's a long day, especially if you have gotten up early to see the cruise ship enter the first lock around 6:30 am! It can also be quite hot being outside all day. But if you don't mind being outdoors all day, then this is a fabulous excursion.

[bunyababy]

Lair Bair,

 

I think that qualifies as a rather magnificent reply!

 

So, we are going TO the Panama Canal next January 2011 aboard the Island Princess. :)

 

Tamara

 

Hey Tamara, we TOO are going on the Island in Jan, 2012! I guess we are taking the small boat excursion that will take us THROUGH all but the last lock. So....us TWO will be happy TO just go TO the Panama Canal but not THROUGH it! LOL ;):D

 

Just a little innocent fun! Thanks BillB48 for all the information. You are truly informed when it comes to cruising the canal. It is nice to see you think that both the full and partial transit are great cruises.

Knowing us, we will fall in love with the cruise and end up doing the full transit another time.

 

Connie

[Louise P]

Thanks GradUT,

This looks like what we will do.

Louise

[UandMe4Ever]

You will be going to and through at least a part of the Canal:):). If you combine your partial transit of the Canal with what Princess calls "Panama Canal Experience by Boat" you will have been through about 75% of the Canal. When you tender off the ship after exiting Gatun Locks you will go to the Pacific side and transit the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut. This actually is a great experience seeing the lock operations from both a large ship and a smaller vessel and it gives you a chance to take in the countryside. The only portion of the Canal you won't see is the 20 miles of lake channel from Gamboa to Gatun Locks. Even though you will have been to the Canal, you can still come back for the complete transit later and not really be repeating a cruise! Then after your complete transit you can lay claim to all the bragging rights;).

 

We have done both partial and full transits and they are both great cruises.

 

 

Hi and what a wonderful explanation! We are hoping to go on the Island Princess 10-10-11 for a Partial Transit from Ft. Lauderdale Fl.

 

The "Panama Canal Experience by Boat" sounds amazing!!:D Would you happen to know the price per person for this??? What time does it leave and return? Any additional Information is very, very much appreciated.

 

Thanks, in advance and safe sails always:)

[BillB48]

The tour price is probably one ofthe more pricey ones you will find. Don't quote me but it is somewhere around $170p/p. Since you are doing a partial transit it is a little hard to nail down an exact time since it depends on when the ship reaches the anchorage in Gatun Lake. If past experience is any guide, it is usually sometime after 9AM. Depending on how everything clicks, the tour can last from 6 to 8 hours with the partial transit on the Pacific side lasting 3 to 4 hours.

 

Hope you enjoy!

[Mercruiser]

This web page shows the actual partial transit route taken by the Island Princess on January 24th. As can be seen, the ship barely gets into Lake Gatun: Partial Panama Canal Transits