HAL for partial or full transit through Panama Canal?

[sandiego1]

We are looking at 2 options on Holland America in Feb 2014. The Veendam does a full transit over 14 days. The Zuiderdam does a partial transit over 10 days. Duration and cost are not issues for us. If we choose the Veendam, we only need to fly to Ft Lauderdale since we end the cruise in San Diego where we live. However, we don't mind doing 1 way vs. round-trip flights.

 

One issue is that there a lot more At Sea days on the full transit (7 vs. 4, plus the 1 day transit through the canal). How do we keep ourselves occupied for 7 At Sea days? We've only done 1 wk cruises w/ 2 At Seas days max. Worried that we will get bored.

 

Another issue is that of the 5 ports for the Veendam, 3 of them are in Mexico and we aren't interested in visiting those ports again. So that's even more possible "boring" days.

 

On the other hand, the Zuiderdam stops at 4 ports. 3 are places we are interested in seeing (1 is new for us) plus Half Moon Cay which is always a nice relaxing time for us. BUT, and this is a big BUT, the cruise only goes to Gatun Lake. I checked googlemaps and it looks like you only go through 1 set of locks before the lake, then turn around and go back.

 

The Veendam doesn't have any of the private verandah cabins left. So we would have to do a cabin w/ a window. The only suites are over $8K and that's a bit out of our price range. Would we miss a lot by not having a Verandah? There are plenty avail on the Zuiderdam.

 

Will we miss a lot by not going through all the locks on a full transit? Is it worth the potential for boring ports (to us) and lots of At Sea days to do the full transit? I doubt we'll go on a 2nd Panama Canal cruise again so perhaps we should just suck it up and do the full transit? Oh and I should mention that we would be celebrating our 25th anniversary on board. That's the purpose of the vacation :)

 

I know I asked a lot of questions. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance!

[SALMARK]

We have done 2 full transit cruises and are doing our 3rd soon with the grandkids. I have always advised people who have never done it to do the full transit especially if they do not plan on returning. You are correct that in the partial you just go through one set of locks, into the lake and back out again. I am unsure what excursions if any are offered while in the lake. Personally I do not think that you get the panama canal experience unless you do the full transit. I love days at sea and am never bored but do understand your Mexico port feeling - I just stay on the ship and enjoy it without the crowd. Hope this helps.

[jtl513]

If this is likely your only PC cruise, definitely do the full thing. IMO not having a balcony makes no difference, since you should not be on your balcony when transiting locks anyway - you'd miss at least half of what's going on. Get out on the bow or a forward deck, and take a walk around the ship to see the sides and behind as you're exiting the last lock of a set. When going across Gatun Lake and through the Culebra/Gaillard Cut go up to a high deck for the view.

 

Are there any Lower Prom Lanai cabins left? That could be a good compromise.

 

I was worried about being bored on a recent TransAtlantic where we had 4 sea days in a row at one point, and 9 total. Somehow there always seem to be enough activities going on to fill the days for me. For the rare times that there was nothing that interested me, I edited pictures on my netbook.

Edited October 29, 2013 by jtl513

[sue1898]

We did the partial but opted for the excursion that takes you in a smaller vessel all the way through then buses you back to meet the ship. I thought this was the best of both worlds because the smaller ship gave a totally different perspective. We could not take 14 days off to do the full transit so this was a perfect solution for us!

[kazu]

We did the partial because it was round trip Ft. Lauderdale and much easier for us compared to where we live.

 

Really enjoyed it and the ports were very nice. We really liked Gatun Lake and did the Embera village that day.

 

Everything I have read has said to do the full, but the flights would have been much longer with different time zones. Hate to say it, but if we are going to have to face a lot of time zones and have to adjust then we would rather go to Europe, Australia or Asia.

 

We were quite content with what we did. DH did not want the Mexican ports either that were available at the time so we preferred the partial.

 

there is no right or wrong answer - it depends upon what suits you the best.

 

As to the sea days - no worries, they pass without incident and are actually one of the things we like about cruising ;) The time passes quickly and it's actually a very nice time:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulations on celebrating your 25th anniversary.

If you are planning on only doing one Panama canal cruise -- do the full transit. We have done the full transit quite a few times and love them. We have done the partial a few times but you really don't get the experience of seeing everything since you only go through the first set of locks.

Too bad you can't sail at a later time as there are several repositioning cruises on other ships starting in April that do the full transit.

[janmcn]

We've done 2 full transits and loved them both. We're not huge fans of the other ports, either, but we have found we LOVE sea days…and in fact end up booking cruises that have lots of them.

 

Sea days allow you to enjoy other passengers you meet, read those books you've loaded onto your Kindle, play games, watch movies, exercise, attend cooking shows, play Trivia, do crafts with others, … so much! Lots of things available on sea days…and if you don't go off ship in places, the bonus is that the ship is pretty empty…so you can find a nice spot to relax, swim, etc.

 

I'd vote for you to try it anyway…you're heading home, so that works great.

Yes, you miss a lot of activity and sights if you only go to the lake. The trip beyond that through the Cullebra Cut is lovely.

By the way…read David McCullough's "Path Between The Seas" prior to taking that cruise….it'll make a difference in how you view it.

(like the Veendam too.)

[luv4cruises]

Consider Princess. They have two wonderful ships that do the full transit, Coral and Island. Their entertainment is better than HAL and sea days will have plenty of activities including ongoing entertainment in the Piazza.

Also consider Celebrity. The unwanted stops in Mexico would weigh heavily in a decision I would make. That would basically add more sea days if you are not a fan of sea days. I have cruised on six different cruise lines and find that they all have something special to offer.

 

Both Princess and Celebrity do the full transit between FLL and Southern California!

 

The partial transit seems like a good compromise with the small boat full transit excursion.

I am partial to the Vista and Signature class ships.

 

Read the reviews for all ships.

 

Some changes have been made on the Veendam and from the reviews I have read they are not for the better.

 

Bon Voyage!

[kyriecat]

First, let me say that I have never taken a full transit PC cruise so I cannot compare it to a partial.

 

For his 40th birthday, my husband wanted a Canal cruise. We looked through the options of full vs. partial and decided on the partial. The main reason was we do not care for Mexico (been there a few too many times) but we liked the ports on the partial cruise. I'm also not a fan of sea days. I thought 4 was one too many. I'm not sure what I'd do with 7. On a partial transit, you can get off the ship in Gutan Lake and take an excursion. I don't know if HAL offers that on the full transit.

 

We were on Zuiderdam for the Atlantic locks then took the HAL excursion that transfers you to a smaller boat for the Pacific locks. Personally, I liked having the different perspectives (big ship vs. small boat) for the locks. We were able to get on the upper and lower decks of Zuiderdam to see an overview of the canal workings. On the smaller boat we were able to experience the walls of the canal towering over the boat.

 

Since we had two weeks off work, we spent a few post-cruise days in Key West, which we enjoyed.

 

I had a fabulous time on Zuiderdam and am glad we chose the partial transit. We may take a full transit cruise later but there are too many other places that we want to see.

Edited October 30, 2013 by kyriecat

[sandiego1]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. You've made the decision harder :) But it looks like we really can't go wrong either way. There are pros and cons for both cruises.

 

I will definitely look into Celebrity and Princess. We have cruised once on each and been pleased. We've been on HAL several times and bought a future cruise deposit last time. So I started w/ the HAL options first.

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to offer your opinions. Much appreciated! I know I can always count on my Cruise Critic "friends."

[kyriecat]

If you decide on a partial PC, I think HAL and Princess are the only ones that still go to Gatun Lake. Celebrity used to have what was called a Panama cruise but it docked in Colon on the Atlantic side. The ship never entered the canal. Celebrity had an excursion to Gatun Lake but not a half-transit on ship, half on boat.

[stlouistravelers]

I chose the partial transit because I wanted to go to Aruba and Cauraco. I was not interested in the Mexican cities on the Pacific side. On a side note, I like the sea days just to relax.

[OCruisers]

Doing the FULL transit is so worth it to totally experience the canal. It's way different from doing a partial. :)

 

LuLu

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[Cornishpastyman1]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. You've made the decision harder :) But it looks like we really can't go wrong either way. There are pros and cons for both cruises.

 

I will definitely look into Celebrity and Princess. We have cruised once on each and been pleased. We've been on HAL several times and bought a future cruise deposit last time. So I started w/ the HAL options first.

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to offer your opinions. Much appreciated! I know I can always count on my Cruise Critic "friends."

In case it helps here is my shot at capturing the full transit on the Noordam in October 2007 from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Balboa - Culebra Cut (Miraflores & Pedro Miguel locks)

 

Culebra Cut - Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean (Gatun Lake and Gatun Locks)

 

I thought the full transit was a superb experience and can't imagine the direction of travel would make any difference to anyone enjoyment of it. All the best, Tony

[Randyk47]

We've done a partial transit and would love to do a full passage but as destination oriented cruisers we've had trouble with the number of sea days. A full transit us still on the "bucket list" but it's competing with the Med, Baltics, Asia, and South Pacific. :) We're glad we did the partial transit, it was very much worth it, and certainly have no real regrets.

[ithaca gal]

We took the partial transit cruise on the Zuiderdam and then took the excursion that transfers you to a 300 (or so) person boat that continues the transit to the Pacific. You then board a bus back to the area where the ship is waiting. I agree with the earlier post that this gives you a completely different perspective of the canal and the locks. We have some great photos of us in front of the huge locks. We were even able to touch the walls of the canal as we waited for the water level to be lowered. It was very hot, so be sure to take a hat and some water but we wouldn't trade the experience for anything! A great way to really experience the transit! HIGHLY recommended!

[puppycanducruise]

We did the partial transit on a southern caribbean itinerary on HAL about 10 years ago. We really enjoyed many of the ports, especially Aruba, Curacao and Limon. And of course, the canal into Gatun Lake. We are looking to take a cruise with the full transit of the canal in 2015. So, I can't compare, but after taking one, we will be doing the other. We would have done it sooner, but neither of us really likes the heat.