which ship would you take?

[bonezzz]

We are thinking about going on a full transit to see the panama canal.I have looked at most of the ships that do the canal, now I seem to be more confused on which one.Which one would be your choice and why?

[CruiserBruce]

You don't specify which ships, so can't help you there. Where do the cruises begin and end, and what other stops are there on the itinerary? That can help you make a decision as well.

 

If the Canal is your main goal, and all three are full transits, the ship won't matter much. But I think the other criteria above should probably play a part.

[Taxguy77]

Take one that has access to the bow area and a commentary by someone over the loudspeaker. You may have to talk to someone at the cruiseline.

We went several years ago on a trip to South America, so the Canal was of less consideration to us, but is something VERY interesting to see.

[Krazy Kruizers]

we have done full transits on several ships

 

all had commentaries

 

all had the access to the bow open the entire day

 

which ships are you considering?

[sail7seas]

As the others have asked, between which ships are you choosing?

 

We'd have to do all the research to know which ships are doing full transits and when. If you have done that research, let us suggest which ships we prefer.

 

[bonezzz]

We were thinking about leaving out of L.A. I thuoght about princess the coral or the island also ncl, never been on ncl or hal but I hear ncl has coffee pots in the room some negatives about ncl so I have heard, I know princess stops at aruba I think that would be nice.They seem to have alot of sea days.We love sea days, but not that many in a row.Carnival only does about two a year so maybe they are not to good at it.Any info about HAL would be great Iam not sure which Hal ship does the panama canal, thanks

[sail7seas]

Have you looked at HAL's Zuiderdam's ten day partial transit? That's a terrific cruise. We've done the partial transit, round trip from FLL a number of times and realy enjoy it a lot.

 

[bonezzz]

We are from calif. so paying for one way air mite be better for us. I did some homework and the zuiderdam does leave out of LA and the amsterdam, rotterdam ,statendam and the westerdam leaves out of san diego which would be nice also,HAL seems to have alot of ships going thur the canal:confused: you see why it gets confusing:D

[bonezzz]

My DH loves the casinos if it has penny slots he is happy.I like a nice pool area. good food, and shows.

[peaches from georgia]

We are from calif. so paying for one way air mite be better for us. I did some homework and the zuiderdam does leave out of LA and the amsterdam, rotterdam ,statendam and the westerdam leaves out of san diego which would be nice also,HAL seems to have alot of ships going thur the canal:confused: you see why it gets confusing:D

With those choices and wanting a full transit I would take either the Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Mid-size ships and both are the flagships of the cruiseline. Both are reminiscent of the more elegant traditional ships before all the new ships had to be glitzier and bigger.

[cruz chic]

I would take any ship but the Statendam.

[kazu]

I have been on the partial on the Zuiderdam (loved the ship). it's stops include Aruba and Curacao - very nice itinerary- loved the cruise.

 

I haven't done a full transit, but I have been on the Rotterdam and we fell in love with her. the Amsterdam is also a great ship - I think I would try to narrow my choices to those three to make your life simpler. :)

[CtheW0rld]

direction is important, too. with westbound transits, you gain an hour when the time changes. eastbound you lose and hour.

[bonezzz]

Do you mean HAL has a/c problems and restrictive smoking policy?

[CtheW0rld]

Do you mean HAL has a/c problems and restrictive smoking policy?

 

there's already one anti-smoking thread going on, so i'll just address the a/c.

 

for many years now, posters have been reporting a/c problems with the veendam. as this cruise was in the amazon and very hot weather, proper a/c was important to me.

[croozegal2]

I would take any ship but the Statendam.

 

We're doing the Panama the end of April on the Statendam. Can you offer some comments on the ship?

[cruz chic]

We're doing the Panama the end of April on the Statendam. Can you offer some comments on the ship?

I've spent 40 days on the ship(Nov.08 and Oct.09). I had many problems. It is broken down IMO and I had really bad problems with the A/C. There is a poster that almost always tells me that I'm wrong so I'm sure that post will be around shortly. This is my opinion only. You may have a perfectly wonderful cruise. Vacation time is precious to me because I'm still in the workforce.

[HeatherInFlorida]

You already said you are looking for the full transit so I'm not sure why anyone would recommend the partial transit. But since they are, I highly recommend you stick with your original decision. I've done both partial transit and full and there's no comparison. The full transit we did on the Celebrity Summit was one of our favorite cruises.

 

In our case we went from Long Beach to Ft Lauderdale because we live here in Florida. It's nice to get the flying out of the way and then arrive back home. So I recommend you look at itineraries beginning here in FL and transit west.

 

When we were on Summit we stopped in Aruba before returning home. All the ports were wonderful (loved Huatulco), but the transit was the high point ... an amazing day start to finish.

 

I agree if you sail HAL the mid size ships are the best. If Celebrity is doing that itinerary, I highly recommend that as well. I have no experience with the other cruise lines you mention.

[guestyguestyguesty]

All ready made our choice. The Statendam for 28 days roundtrip San Diego in Oct. 2011

[Copper10-8]

To the OP; living in Merced, I would catch a flight from either SF or LA to Ft. Lauderdale. Get on any dam ship there and take that bad boy to either San Diego or L.A. (San Pedro 0r Long Beach) west-bound. That way you're already back in your home state when you disembark and don't have a cross-country flt ahead of you.

As far as ship; everyone here will tell you that there are some major differences (size, pax capacity and onboard venues being the major ones) between certain classes of HAL ships (primarily "S" and "R" class ships versus Vista class ships) so that might come into play when you make that decision! The service/food and entertainment onboard all HAL ships is pretty much the same!

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your canal cruise; an unbelievable experience!

[bob brown]

I enjoyed my very first HAL cruise on the Ryndam back in 2001 from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego---15 wonderful days in all. Although the bow deck was open, I avoided the heat and humidity by getting up early and securing a choice easy chair in the front and center of the Crow's Nest, and spent the entire transit right there.

My only regret was not continuing on to Vancouver. It would have only cost $200. more for us to cruise five more days, but I had to get back to work.

[serendipity1499]

With those choices and wanting a full transit I would take either the Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Mid-size ships and both are the flagships of the cruiseline. Both are reminiscent of the more elegant traditional ships before all the new ships had to be glitzier and bigger.

 

I agree with Peaches & would either take the Amsterdam or the Rotterdam, if they do the full transit, only because we prefer the smaller more elegant ships..

And as Copper & several other posters suggest, we also prefer to have our flights pre cruise rather than post cruise..However that being said, please try to book a flight one or two days prior to your cruise & spend a night or two in a Fort Lauderdale Hotel..You never know when the flight will be delayed or cancelled & you don't want a nail biting day on the day your cruise departs..

We've done the Canal three times & loved it!

Whatever you chose, hope you have a wonderful cruise..

Cheers...:)Betty

[bonezzz]

Heather we have been on the x summit to hawaii loved it.Looking for something different not committed to any cruise line. Copper I think you are right fly to florida get on a dam ship and ride the bad boy west:Dlol