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Panama Canal?

semiretired52

By semiretired52,
in Princess Cruises

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baldercash

baldercash

Posted
Posted

One of the best things on a cruisers bucket list! We did it from Ft. Lauderdale on a 14 day. We sailed to Chile and flew back. The best part of the trip was the day passing through the canal. We did it on a the Celebrity Millennium which is a Panamanian class ship so nothing bigger can get through, they had to paint the hull after we got through as the sides scrapped it was that tight.

We want to do it again and disembark in San Diego. Plus in a few years they will open up the new bigger locks and the super ships will be able to get through and we will do it again.

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gliles

gliles

Posted
Posted
Hi

Has anyone ever been on the Panama Canal Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If so did you like it and how are the ports. Thinking of doing that April of 2013. Any info would be appreciated.

 

I will let you know in about 2 weeks. We leave on that very cruise on Tuesday. Only difference is for some reason we are going to Grand Cayman instead of Ocho Rios (fine with me) on this sailing.

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KruzPrincess

KruzPrincess

Posted
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I've done 1 full transit and 2 partial transits. I have another full transit booked for next year. I really enjoy this cruise. I still find the canal and going through the locks fascinating. There are usually a few relaxing sea days and I love my sea days. The Island and Coral are a great size ship to cruise.

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted
Hi

Has anyone ever been on the Panama Canal Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If so did you like it and how are the ports. Thinking of doing that April of 2013. Any info would be appreciated.

 

Are you considering a full or a part transit?

 

~~~~~

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Kamloops50

Kamloops50

Posted
Posted
Hi

Has anyone ever been on the Panama Canal Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If so did you like it and how are the ports. Thinking of doing that April of 2013. Any info would be appreciated.

 

You'll enjoy the Panama canal. You'll actually spend most of your time moving around the ship looking at the canal from points of view.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
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I just completed my third full transit plus I've also done a partial transit. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It still amazes me that "new" technology developed for the Canal was so good and far-sighted that its still in use today.

 

You will have a chance to see the building of the new Canal which is an awesome project. Ships such as the Oasis, new Royal Princess, etc. will be able to transit instead of just the "Panamax" sized ships. Watching the digging and the trucks is fascinating to me. Perhaps not to someone else. :) I love everything about the Panama Canal. To me, the ports are gravy but stand on their own as interesting places to visit.

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RickEk

RickEk

Posted
Posted
Hi

Has anyone ever been on the Panama Canal Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If so did you like it and how are the ports. Thinking of doing that April of 2013. Any info would be appreciated.

 

We have done the 10-day Partial Transit twice. The first one on the Island Princess (my first cruise!) stopped at Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Rica and the Canal. It was a great cruise (well, I didn't have anything to compare it to, but we had a great time). All the ports were great, one of the highlights was a very long rainforest excursion in Costa Rica that was excellent. The second time was on the Coral Princess. Because of a tropical storm, our itinerary was reversed and Grand Cayman was substituted for Jamaica. We also went to Aruba, Cartegena, the Canal and Costa Rica. We had another great cruise. On the second cruise, we stayed aboard and watched the transit back out... just as fascinating but without the crowds.

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RNGALNG

RNGALNG

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My favorite cruise to date. I really wanted to go through the old locks before the new ones were finished. As Pam stated, watching the trucks as they work on the new locks is also fascinating. We did the full transit and loved every minute of it. So much to keep you busy on the ships - we went to all the lectures on the ports where we would be stopping. The history of the making was also told to us and I found it very educational.

 

Be sure to check in your library for the DVD on the making of the canal. Very informative as well.

 

We await to hear what cruise you decide to take!

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Putterdude

Putterdude

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We certainly enjoyed our full transit on the Coral a few years ago. Ports of calls have changed a bit but the constants are Aruba and Cartagena, Columbia. Caragena is fascinating, take a little time and read about it before you go, you will get more enjoyment then. We also loved our stops in Central America. We are thinking we will likely book another Panama transit in 2015 if the new canal is finished.

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted

If you are interested in the history of the Panama Canal, the highly recommended book The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough is a great read.

 

I also found online a PBS documentary about the Panama Canal. It's about 1.5 hours long but I found it well worth the time to watch. It's professionally done with lots of history, old photos, and film footage of the building of the canal.

 

It's available through PBS at:

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/panama/player/

 

or through youtube at:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lufdPIRgxtY

 

 

.

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