Hunidity on panama canal cruise

[bigred12]

How is the humidity on a panama canal cruise. My wife has asthma. I was wondering how bad the humidity is. We live in a place that the humidity is about 7%

[maxout]

Panama Climate: By Seasons

 

Days are warm to hot, nights much cooler; temperatures range from 32 °C (90 °F) during the daytime to 21 °C (70 °F) in the evening practically year-round. Humidity is always high at about 80 percent. The rainy season takes place between October and November, and the best months to visit are mid-December and late March.

 

A second opinion: CLIMATE: The country enjoys an agreeable tropical climate and an average daytime temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with cooling in the evenings. The average humidity is 70%. The rainy season goes from May to December.

[sapper1]

How is the humidity on a panama canal cruise. My wife has asthma. I was wondering how bad the humidity is. We live in a place that the humidity is about 7%

At 5:00 AM the air felt thick enough to cut with a knife. It was the most humidity I have ever experienced in my life---along with the heat it was hard to take for too long in a stretch. You have to keep going inside to cool off. In spite of the heat it was a truly amazing experience and since once is not enough we are going back in a year and a half.

[NoWhiners]

At 5:00 AM the air felt thick enough to cut with a knife. It was the most humidity I have ever experienced in my life---along with the heat it was hard to take for too long in a stretch. You have to keep going inside to cool off. In spite of the heat it was a truly amazing experience and since once is not enough we are going back in a year and a half.

 

Hi sapper

 

What month was this? We are going in April and I have been trying to prepare myself for this. We too live in a very dry climate!!

 

Thanks

ML

[maxout]

Hi sapper

 

What month was this? We are going in April and I have been trying to prepare myself for this. We too live in a very dry climate!!

 

Thanks

ML

 

The month is mostly irrelevant, see my post above.

[cruz chic]

Hi sapper

 

What month was this? We are going in April and I have been trying to prepare myself for this. We too live in a very dry climate!!

 

Thanks

ML

I've been to the Panama Canal 4 times, 3 times in Nov and once in April. While it's always humid I think it was less so in April.

[ab0si]

Numbers are clearer than words and data is more meaningful than a single occurrence.

 

One of many sties which gives average monthly temperature and humidity for Panama:

 

http://panama-information.executivehotel-panama.com/in-panama-weather-panama-climate.htm

 

As you can see, April is the least humid, but it still averages a bit over 70%

[NoWhiners]

I've been to the Panama Canal 4 times, 3 times in Nov and once in April. While it's always humid I think it was less so in April.

 

lorekauf

 

That's what i thought, just trying to confirm with someone who had been there.

 

Thanks

ML

[maxout]

redundant

[mudscraper]

In technical terms: Hot and Sticky.

[sapper1]

Hi sapper

 

What month was this? We are going in April and I have been trying to prepare myself for this. We too live in a very dry climate!!

 

Thanks

ML

The cruise was a 10 day one that started on March 23rd.

It's not that we live in a dry climate here, it's just that I am not accustomed to the extreme humidity. I found it very draining.

[Himself]

I was there last October and I did not find it too bad. There have been other times I found it to be opressive.

[Cruising-along]

The one and only time we've been there was in April, 2009. I consider myself very lucky because it wasn't as bad as I expected. Yes it was hot and humid, just not as bad as I feared. I don't do hot and humid very well. :)

 

It sounds like it's the luck of the draw.

[Taxguy77]

I used to live in a low humidity area and moved here (at that time 60 miles inland, different town) in my early 30s. I thought I would never acclimatize!:( After some years, I did, and find the heat in Vegas bad, even though its just a little warmer than here. I was OK with the canal area and ports nearby.:D The only place I thought was super humid was Iguazu Falls.

[cruz chic]

The cruise was a 10 day one that started on March 23rd.

It's not that we live in a dry climate here, it's just that I am not accustomed to the extreme humidity. I found it very draining.

It is VERY draining. I thought it was just me since I come from fairly dry Calgary.

[Jemima]

Do they expect people to get sick from it? Will they think we have noro if we get nauseous and headachy from the hot humidity? We too live in a dry climate and neither of us tolerate humidity well. We are doing a Canal cruise in a few weeks. Is there anything we can take or do?

[maxout]

Do they expect people to get sick from it? Will they think we have noro if we get nauseous and headachy from the hot humidity? We too live in a dry climate and neither of us tolerate humidity well. We are doing a Canal cruise in a few weeks. Is there anything we can take or do?

 

Take frequent breaks from the heat/humidity, stay hydrated, wear a lite hat in the sun and clothing that allows for air movement / evaporation of perspiration.

[JLC@SD]

In technical terms: Hot and Sticky.

 

......and real humid.........like a rain forest.........which is where they built the canal......;)

[JimnKaren]

We went through the canal in April and it turned out to be an overcast day. I was prepared to sweat a lot (women, I hear, perspire), but it was not that bad. It might seem to be oppressive because you are not moving fast and it has a tendency to get to you. Again, our experience was pleasant.

 

Most humid port? By far, Cartegena, Colombia. That was hot! When I saw our tour guide removing a lot of moisture from her brow, I knew that it wasn't just me.

 

When you arrive at the canal in the early morning, it will not seem to be too hot as the sun will not be up in the sky too far. However, almost every passenger without a balcony will be up on deck then and trying to see that first set of locks. See it while it is cool, then get inside, there are many more opportunities to view the passing through the locks later on.

 

Also be sure to check out some of the birds that are everywhere! Beautiful colors.

 

Jim

[Cruizer Bill]

We cruised the Canal this past April. The humidity is extreme and it is hot. Taking your camera out of your air conditioned cabin, it fogs up and is unusuable all day long. It is a wonderful experience travelling the Canal. We were not impressed with the port calls but are glad we saw the Canal.

[TCF]

We have been to the Canal twice....once in April approaching from the Caribbean side, the other in October from the Pacific side. I don't know that the direction makes any difference at all, but the October passage was virtually intolerable. High heat and extreme humidity. April was not as bad!

 

Survival tips include....keeping as hydrated as you possibly can with water...not soft drinks,juice or beer! Wear light loose fitting clothing and a wide brim hat. When you are feeling that it is intolerable...it is...go inside. Take two cameras...leave one inside your cabin and put one on your balcony and leave it there....it is so humid that bringing the camera from the air conditioned cabin/ship will condense the moisture on the inside of the lens and in the body of the camera where the computer stuff is....water and computers don't play well together! You can bring it back in in the evening when things have cooled down.

 

As bad as it sounds....and as uncomfortable as it can be...a trip through the Panama Canal is one travel experience that should not be missed. For us ...it is right up there with our cruise up the Amazon River!

[Randyk47]

Have to say up front that we live in San Antonio, Texas in south central Texas so we're pretty used to high humidity and high heat. We did our cruise in March a few years ago and did not notice the humidity or the heat. We only did a partial transit so we got up very early in the morning, like 4:30 AM, and on the advice of the concierge and several others staked out a table aft on the Lido deck. The ship started through the locks at something like 5:30 AM. Maybe it was because we used to the humidity and heat, maybe it was because we could easily duck inside to cool off but it was a pretty pleasant transit. It was great to be able to take turns getting breakfast, coffee, etc., during the transit. We went back to bed later in the morning and pretty much stayed indoors while the ship was anchored in Gatun Lake. For the reverse transit that afternoon we just camped out in the Crow's Nest, out of the sun and heat. I do understand folks who are not used to the weather having trouble and care certainly is advised. Personally we hate cold to the point where something like a vacation to say a ski resort in the winter would be pure hell for us. :)

[woodworker&knitter]

It is VERY draining. I thought it was just me since I come from fairly dry Calgary.

I live just outside of Toronto, and in the summer we have heat and humidity (humidex) as high as 45C (113F). That is nothing compared to what we experienced in Panama City, beginning of November 2009. We did the evening tour, and seriously it felt like mid afternoon. It was so hot and humid that even my 100% cotton clothes felt like I was wearing woolies, at high noon. I could hardly wait to get back to the ship and have a shower, an enjoy the rest of the evening on the ship.

Did we enjoy the Panama cruise. Absolutely. We are planning to go again when the expansion is completed in 2014.

The only thing worst than the heat and humidity was seeing all the security on every corner totting what looked like machine guns, something we don't see at home.

[Typhoon1]

Yes, it is humid. I found it no worse than Florida. It was overcast when we were there, which helped.

[sapper1]

I live just outside of Toronto, and in the summer we have heat and humidity (humidex) as high as 45C (113F). That is nothing compared to what we experienced in Panama City, beginning of November 2009. We did the evening tour, and seriously it felt like mid afternoon. It was so hot and humid that even my 100% cotton clothes felt like I was wearing woolies, at high noon. I could hardly wait to get back to the ship and have a shower, an enjoy the rest of the evening on the ship.

Did we enjoy the Panama cruise. Absolutely. We are planning to go again when the expansion is completed in 2014.

The only thing worst than the heat and humidity was seeing all the security on every corner totting what looked like machine guns, something we don't see at home.

I know what you mean about the machine gun toters----They were everywhere during our Mexico cruise this spring. I found them most disconcerting and they certainly didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.