Which Panama cruise line is best?

[HDS]

We want to travel through the Panama canal and would like to hear from recent cruisers on ships medium (eg Cruise West, Linblad) and large (eg HAL, Princess, Carnival). Are there any smaller ships? Please share your experiences with us.

 

How long does the crossing take? How does crossing in a ferry differ from crossing in a cruise ship?

 

We are interested in the engineering, the landforms, the people, their history and culture. Souvenir shopping, tourist tat and "international buffets" do not rate.

[BillB48]

Unfortunately it is a lot easier to find the larger, Panamax ships, for Canal transits. That's not to say you can't find a smaller ship, but you have look harder and not have as much flexabilty as to your dates etc. I believe all the lines are good in so far as the Canal cruise goes. If you have a preference in cruise lines just try and find your favorite and see if they have any Canal crossings available. I don't have any recent experiences with smaller ships.

 

The actual crossing will take 8-10 hours, for practical purposes the entire day will be devoted to approaching, transiting and exiting the Canal. The ferry does a partial transit which is about half of the Canal. Here is what I wrote in another thread..... "Sorry, but no one offers partial transits through Gatun Locks, just a visit to the complex to view the operations along with a narrator and some machinery displays. Honestly if you were to pick half of the Canal to see, the Pacific half has more visual candy. There are two sets of locks on the Pacific side, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel. You lock through these two locks which are separated by the smaller of the two artificial lakes on the Canal. The passage through Gaillard Cut has lots to take in, You'll be crossing the Continental Divide where the bulk of the excavation to place during the construction of the Canal under both the French and U.S. On top of that you will sail under two impressive bridges and see some of the major excavation underway for the construction of the new set of locks."

On the ships I have been on they offered several destination lectures prior to arriving at the Canal and a narrator from the Canal was placed aboard during the transit to provide a more detailed commentary and historical background. The Canal narrators in the past have been very informative. Some of the destination lecturers were hit or miss.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

[Mercruiser]

Of the large cruise lines, Princess and Celebrity have itineraries that stay in Panama for two days. One day is spent in port, the other is transiting the canal. Most other cruise lines combine those two into just one day. This is something to consider if your primary interest is in the canal and Panama.

 

Of small ship options, the one that is the most intriguing to me is the Star Clippers. They are running two of their ships through the canal on Costa Rica - Caribbean itineraries. I would really like to sail on one of the Star Clippers some day.

 

Here is a link to their Panama program

http://www.starclippers.com/cgi-bin/itinerary/itin_panama.cgi

If you get on their email list, they regularly have specials for 35-40% of the published fares.

 

[cruisingbarb]

Mercruiser:

 

We are also from Spokane. We sailed on the Star Clipper last year from Athens to Venice. It was wonderful. Small ship, 170 passengers, casual, good food. So unless you want a lot of people, a casino, nightly entertainment, the Star Clipper is something to consider. The only downside is that it's a lot pricier than the bigger cruiselines, even with the discounts. But for us it was worth it. We're considering another SC cruise in 2012. We were actually booked on the SC Panama Canal cruise this October but have decided to do the 10 day Princess Panama Canal cruise in February with some friends. But would still recommend SC if you want the small ship experience.

 

Barbara

____________

2011 Princess Coral (Panama Canal) - upcoming

2010 RCCL Mariner (Mexico)

2009 Star Clipper (Eastern Mediterranean)

2006 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

2003 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

2000 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

1997 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

1995 RCCL Sun Viking (So. Caribbean)

1994 RCCL Song of America (So. Caribbean)

1993 Columbia River Cruise

1993 HAL Westerdam (E. Caribbean)

1991 Crown Monarch (W. Caribbean)

1989 RCCL Song of America (W. Caribbean)

1985 RCCL Nordic Prince (E. Caribbean)

[HDS]

Thank you all for the information and recommendations. As some of you have crossed the Panama divide more than once, it must have a lot to hold one's attention. You have given me a lot to research and think about.

Deb

[Mercruiser]

Mercruiser:

 

We are also from Spokane. . . .

 

Barbara

 

 

Nice to meet you Barb. Another Spokane area CC member is Sally "Sweet" from Cheney. Sweet works at Deaconess and is going on the Royal Princess March 3rd 2011 Tahiti 10 Night Cruise

 

By any chance, did you post a review or pictures from your Star Clipper cruise?

[cruisingbarb]

I did not post a review or pictures but it was wonderful. There were 10 of us from Spokane. The only downside was that the itinerary we wanted was only offered in July and August. We went in July and it was HOT! Other than that, we loved it. Post cruise, we spent an additional week in Venice and Florence. The next one we're looking at (if they still offer it in 2012) is a 14 day cruise from Monaco to Rhodes, Greece (via Italy and Turkey). The thing we like about SC over the big ships is that you don't have to be up at 7:00 to get onshore by 8:00 and back by 5:00. Most of the time you don't arrive in a port until 9:00 or 10:00, and often times you're in port until 10:00 or 11:00 at night which gives you a chance to go onshore for dinner or just to wander about to see the port at night after all the tourists have gone. The trade off is that it's definitely pricier than the big ships. They do offer discounts if the ship isn't filling which is what we're hoping to get.

 

Barbara

___________________

2011 Princess Coral (Panama Canal) - upcoming

2010 RCCL Mariner (Mexico)

2009 Star Clipper (Eastern Mediterranean)

2006 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

2003 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

2000 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

1997 Windjammer Mandalay (Windward Islands)

1995 RCCL Sun Viking (So. Caribbean)

1994 RCCL Song of America (So. Caribbean)

1993 Columbia River Cruise

1993 HAL Westerdam (E. Caribbean)

1991 Crown Monarch (W. Caribbean)

1989 RCCL Song of America (W. Caribbean)

1985 RCCL Nordic Prince (E. Caribbean)