Need your advice.

[bling19572010]

What cruise line would you recommend taking to the Panama Canal? Also, what is the best time of year to go (weather)? Thank you!

[SoFloGal]

What cruise line would you recommend taking to the Panama Canal? Also, what is the best time of year to go (weather)? Thank you!

 

We just came back from Jewel OTS (RCCL) that went to Haiti, Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman. It went to, but not through, the canal. You had to take a tour in Panama to see the canal or go through it, which was fine with us. We had a great time! Dates were April 26-May 6. It was their last cruise of the season and we chose it on purpose so the weather would be good and it worked. The seas were incredibly smooth and weather wonderful.

[Putterdude]

We did it on the Coral Princess in January. We very much liked the ship and were back on her that May. Our weather was flawless...the rainy season ends in December as I recall.

[tmitchell82]

Rainy season is from May till Nov from what I recall. Not that you would want to be there in the summer. It was still pretty hot when we went in April. We did a partial transit on the Island Princess and loved it. Ship was great. Same class as the Coral that another poster mentioned. These 2 ships were purposely built to do the Panama Canal. Don't have much experience with other lines. I would recommend doing the full transit if you can swing rather than the partial. Partial was great, but I think going through the whole canal and the cruise ship would be better than taking the small ferry through the canal that we did as an excursion. A Panama Canal cruise is definitely a cruise worth doing.

 

Tim

[sptrout]

What cruise line would you recommend taking to the Panama Canal? Also, what is the best time of year to go (weather)? Thank you!

 

The best time to go is in the winter months; that is their "dry" season. It may be their dry season, but do not be surprised if you see some rain. We have been there three times, all in January, and it rained two of the three times.

 

As for recommended cruise lines, that is really a choice that you have to make after looking at all the lines and what they have to offer. Just because I may prefer a specific line does not mean that you, or anyone else, would like it. We all have our likes and dislikes. It is kind of like if I asked you "what kind of car should I buy?".

 

In the Canal specifically, I do not know of any reason why one line would be better than another. They all have to do basically the same thing. What really makes the difference is what goes on inside the ship and where else a cruise stops. I would recommend that if at all possible that you do a full transit. We have done all three versions (full, partial, and just dock at Colon 2000) and the full transit was by far the best.