Panama Canal?

[sgmburt]

Anyone have any good advice on Panama Canal cruises? Best ship, best price, etc....

[woodworker&knitter]

We sailed on the Statendam Oct 30 2009. Enjoyed it very much.

[m steve]

Island Princess. P is not our favorite line but the mini suite cabin was perfect and just the last one before observation deck on stern. The food was better than any P ship we have been on and the Chef's Table was outstanding. Did an in and out from FLL.

[shandryl]

Cruised Panama with RCCL (Legend of the Seas) in 2005 and with Celebrity (Summit) in 2007 Both were very good back then. Things/prices may be different now. Go with HAL you won't be disappointed. :D

[sassey]

WE ARE SAILING ON jAN 7TH ON THE STATENDAM FOR 28 DAYS

[TCF]

We did a complete transit....pacific to Caribbean....two years ago on the Veendam and it was great. It was reposition from Vancouver to Tampa, (via the Amazon for five weeks) so the price of that would be irrelevant to you.

 

Four years ago we did the Princess Coral FLL round trip where it goes through the Gaton Locks set then turns around in the lake and comes back out. It was ten days. Coral Princess is one of the nicest "small" cruise ships we have been on and the trip through the locks was exciting. Again the price would be irrelevant because it was four years ago.

 

But, no matter what the price, either Line was good and the trip through the Panama Canal is worth it!

[Druke I]

The Panama Canal is a fascinating cruise experience.

 

We prefer full transit.

 

An excellent read on the Canal is McCullough's Path Between the Seas.

 

I still think Jimmy Carter was wrong to give the Canal back to Panama - after all, we stole it fair and square.

[Davidson Duo]

In March/April 2010 we did a 28 day collector's cruise on the Maasdam. 14 days San Diego to Fort Lauderdale, then 14 days back to San Diego again. It was wonderful, and we only repeated 1 port (Huatulco). We highly recommend the full transit of the Canal. We had unrestricted views from the front bow and were able to hear the crew members talking back and forth both on the ship, and on the locks. The mechanics of the lock were fascinating to watch, and we spent both days traversing the locks on deck mesmerized by the process. The one day we even chuckled to hear the tour guide in the building at the Miraflores lock talking to her group about our ship and giving them interesting details about our cruise. FUN!

 

We booked our cruise in January 6 with an online TA offering a great discount. We paid $2100.00 each on a smoking hot deal for a G category outside. The price for this category was $3351.45 one week before we left, so even if we didn't get an upgrade, we would have saved a good chunk of change by booking earlier. We knew it had the possibility of being partially obstructed, porthole, no bathtub, front of the ship, etc., but were willing to take the chance that we would end up with what we paid for. We don't spend a lot of time in our room, neither of us suffer from motion sickness, and prefer to save what we can on pricing which makes us able to travel more often.

 

We got our cabin assignment 1 week before departure. We were very happy with our upgrade fairy. She put us into a D category mid ship with full, unobstructed window view. The price for this cabin at sailing was $4371.45, so we saved over $2200 per person by taking our chances with the guarantee booking.

 

HAL treats their guests very well in our experience, and we enjoyed all 28 days immensely. There was a nice mix of at sea days as well as a good selection of ports of call. Our favorites were Huatulco Mexico, Puerto Quetzal Guatamala, Puerto Caldera Costa Rica, and Cartagena Columbia. Our weather was excellent - nice and warm but the humidity was not overpowering.

 

We found the full transit Panama Canal cruise with HAL on the Maasdam in March/April to be very enjoyable and would highly recommend it to others.

 

Enjoy! :)

[BillB48]

As far as Canal cruises go, you really have two choices. The first which I am sure most will recommend is a full transit, it makes no difference whether it is from Atlantic to Pacific or vice versa. The other cruise is what is called a partial transit, this is where the ship enters the Atlantic Locks and proceeds to Gatun Lake. At this point passengers may elect to take tours or remain on the ship if they wish for the return lockage through Gatun Locks. The ship will dock in Colon to pick up the touring passengers.

 

Both cruises are excellent and have their pluses.

[SwissMyst]

We chose the Statendam for our Panama Canal trip coming up in November because we love the unobstructed front viewing deck that have only a metal grate railings ,rather than the very awkward too tall glassed-in upper balcony barrier on the next up class of ships.

 

We didn't like this on the Rotterdam and loved the more openess on the Maasdam which is one minor but important difference for us when choosing our HAL ships even though for the most part the R and S class ships are fairly similar in size and amenities. Give me the old lower deck floor plan for the Explorations Cafe is one of my primary ship choice considerations, not the ones where it got abandoned to the Crows Nest and the sense of the grand promenade from the dining room to the show lounge is lost.

 

Vista class ships are bit too big for us and we don't like the layout as much as the older, and less tampered with smaller HAL ships. But a Vista on HAL, particularly when they make their superior suites competitively priced is a great deal too.

[Essiesmom]

I did a full transit on Oosterdam in 2009 when she went to Europe for refit. I chose an OV cabin because I was going to be aboard for 32 days. But with beds under the window, you can't really get to it to see out, even with beds separated. If I had it to do over again, I would choose an inside. I spent the transit on deck, anyway. Sailing solo, I can't afford a balcony. EM

[Siglee]

We sailed on the Ziederdamm last year, it was wonderful. We also sailed on Princess about 8 years ago. Hal was much more informative and interesting. Ship was perfect. Food outstanding as was the crew. We just may do it again.

[puli]

Would having a "pop out" cabin (one of those on the Vista class ships that has an L shaped balcony that faces forward and to the side) be of value for the Canal transit? It would seem that you could look forward and watch the ship going through the locks and also see the scenery to the side.

 

I know one should "roam the decks" during a transit to see everything but it will be a long day and being able to enjoy your balcony to the fullest could be a bonus.

[Himself]

The Panama Canal is one of the wonders of the world. I have done one complete transit of the Canal and three partial transits of the Canal. I enjoyed each and would do it agian in a heartbeat.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done a few partial and quite a few full transits of the Canal.

 

Much prefer the full transits.

 

When going from the Caribbean to the Pacific (North to South) as choose the port side -- JMO -- the scenery is better. Going from the Pacific to the Caribbrean (South to North) -- starboard side for the same reason.

[KirkNC]

This cruise is on our short list, in fact we had signed up for one but changed our mind to a TA instead. The comments on full versus partial are interesting to me. We have no desire to go to most of the Mexican ports so were leaning toward the partial cruise. I know we can just stay on the ship for those ports we don't want to visit but I am interested in what you miss on the partial cruise. I guess another factor on the partial is we can drive to Ft Lauderdale but on a full cruise we would have to fly.

 

Kirk

[Daytona_MAc]

We sailed on the Zuiderdam out of Ft Lauderdale in February 2009 and really enjoyed ourselves. It was our first fvisit to the canal, and the partial transit was great. I want to do a full transit sometime in the future. The Zuiderdam was a good ship, and great crew. Our balcony cabin was VH, and we had the first balcony on the starboard side. It actually was a great cabin, and at just under $1000 each it was a great price! While this cabin does not have a tub, the fore side of the balcony was open to the crew area on the front of the ship. We had unobstructed views forward, and while the ship open that area for the canal transit, we had it to ourselves for the rest of the cruise. There is some noise while docking - there is an access door not too far below this cabin. But I got some great photos of the docking process, so I'm pleased.

[OuiOnboard]

We have done full and partial transit of the Canal many times, but now in retirement with time less of an issue, we want our next transit to be a long,leisurely affair in a Suite on one of the smaller Dam ships. WOW!!!

[puli]

We have done a few partial and quite a few full transits of the Canal.

 

Much prefer the full transits.

 

When going from the Caribbean to the Pacific (North to South) as choose the port side -- JMO -- the scenery is better. Going from the Pacific to the Caribbrean (South to North) -- starboard side for the same reason.

 

Thanks for the Port/Starboard information. Since DH and I alwas seem to take a port side cabin (in fact usually the same one) I am trying to decide if the better starboard view for that one day will really make a difference to us. Portside wise I like facing away from the afternoon sun going down the Pacific Coast and also wonder if there is not an advantage in facing the land when approaching all the other Mexican/Central American ports. I do not care for Cartegena so that port will not matter.

 

Port or Starboard is really a small issue and we are so looking forward to our First PC cruise. We have done the Mexican Riviera many times and am so glad there are different ports to see on this one as well as transiting the great Panama Canal!

[rrogers123]

Just returned from 14 day Statendam cruise - San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale. Loved the canal, the ports, our cabin HH on Lower Promenade and the ship and it's crew. First class in all ways. We had wonderful weather - can you imagine a crossing of the Panama Canal and it raining ONLY after the ship is in the final lock? Well we did.

Read the McCullough book before you go. Many on board did the round trips from either San Diego or Ft. Lauderdale and loved the second crossing.