Panama Canal

[Betty333]

Which is better for warm/hot stable weather? Do the March, April, May dates or do the cruise in October? Travelling with our young grandson - being able to get into the outside pools or to enjoy the sun and sand is a must for this guy.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Its been our experience in both spring and fall sailings of the the PC, that it is hot and humid. I think either sailing would be enjoyable for your grandson.

 

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[cruisenfever]

It's very hot and humid going through the canal no matter the month.

 

Lots of sunscreen needed, definitely wear a hat and drink lots of water.

[bighairtexan]

You're getting closer to the equator, so the temperature variations from month to month aren't that great. I've done early April and late October and it was sweltering both times.

[OCruisers]

It's always SUMMER in the Panama Canal -- Hot & Humid! :D

LuLu

[Jiffymom]

We went March 17 and weather was beautiful very warm

[SeagoingMom]

Average high temps (in degrees Fahrenheit) for March, April, May and October in Panama are 85, 86, 87, and 86, respectively. The difference in these months will be rain: average rainfall in inches for March, April, May, and October are 1, 4, 11, and 18 inches, respectively, and the average number of rain days are 4, 5, 15, and 18, respectively.

[BillB48]

As the temps are not going to change much regardless of the month, the biggest consideration will be that liquid sunshine... rain!;)

The Dry Season runs from late December through April, so March and April are going to be better times in the less rain department. As you get into late April going into May is a transition between the Dry and Rainy Season. As with any transition period the rains can come early or they may drag their feet in returning... you never know. The biggest downside with May is the change of seasons, the Dry Season winds have died down, so while it may not be any hotter, without the breeze it can feel warmer than it actually is. The other couple of negatives about the May time frame is that it can get rather hazy and the foliage probably is not as lush as it can be in the wetter periods.

 

That leaves October, which is well within the Rainy Season and it can be very wet at times. Whenever you choose to go, the good thing is the rains can very heavy downpours as you might expect. The good thing they are not all day events usually, so you can still get out and do what you had planned.

 

One last thing, no matter when you go I'm sure the youngest gran will be able to enjoy the pool and sun, but around the Canal including Colombia and Costa Rica... these are not the best beach stops in the world. You can find beaches for sure but, they are not the sugary sand and azure blue waters that comes to mind in many of the Caribbean stops.

[dep]

Which is better for warm/hot stable weather? Do the March, April, May dates or do the cruise in October? Travelling with our young grandson - being able to get into the outside pools or to enjoy the sun and sand is a must for this guy.

 

We did the Panama Canal in April of last year. From San Diego to Fort Lauderdale 15 nights. We entered the canal approximately 6 AM and exited into the Caribbean at approximately 4 PM. Awesome cruise. There were many people in the pools that got badly sunburned. At one point on the cruise you are approximately 90 miles from the equator. The sun is extremely hot. Bring lots of Sunscreen and use it Liberally. Be very careful in the sun. As you go through the canal there is a person that is narrating the entire experience through the PA system on the ship he does an awesome job explaining everything. You will have an unbelievable experience. We were on the Vision of the seas.

Edited June 24, 2014 by dep

[cb at sea]

It's HOT, HOT, HOT all the time....year round.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I agree that spring is better. We went in April, too. October is too iffy with hurricane season.

[KPLEE]

Went in january weather was perfect , no rain at all great cruise:

[beckster42]

We went in October a number of years ago on the Serenade and it was fantastic. Hot, yes. But even with a couple brief showers, we had no issues. Beautiful weather in our days before the canal. And beautiful weather in our days after the canal. Predicting the weather... It's kinda like a box of chocolates though. Never know what you're going to get.

[DShock]

We have done 8 full transits of the canal...our favorite cruise. And we have done them in various months but April is our favorite time. Doing 15 night full transit in April 2015 on the beautiful Coral Princess and can't wait.

[OCruisers]

Went in january weather was perfect , no rain at all great cruise:

 

Agree, January is an ideal time to go. :D

We've been on 5 full transits plus a couple of partials ... all in the January - February time frame. Never had any rain at all but it was very hot & humid.

Island/Coral Princess are our favorite ships for the Panama Canal! :)

LuLu

Edited June 24, 2014 by OCruisers

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We went in October a number of years ago on the Serenade and it was fantastic. Hot, yes. But even with a couple brief showers, we had no issues. Beautiful weather in our days before the canal. And beautiful weather in our days after the canal. Predicting the weather... It's kinda like a box of chocolates though. Never know what you're going to get.

It sounds as if that box of chocolates will be melted!:eek::D

 

We are doing the canal in October '15 on the Jewel for the first time and are really looking forward to it. Hopefully, being hurricane season we won't have any issues, but we may have an adventure after all! Here's hoping for a smooth sailing in October.:)

[PCWalton1]

We went last November and were extremely lucky as you could could almost count the time it rained is minutes. Just the luck of the draw as I know we should have been seeing rain every day but we did not. :)

[OCruisers]

The Rainy Season for the Panama Canal is mid-April through mid-December.

That doesn't mean it will not also rain other times.

LuLu

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

PC average rainfall is over 100 inches per year! :eek:

 

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[michaelsop]

I desperately want to do the PC, but the DW doesn't feel the ports of call on most of these cruises would be considered be as safe as the more traditional eastern and western Caribbean routes.

 

Anything you can say to alleviate those concerns of hers would be appreciated.

Edited June 24, 2014 by michaelsop

[DShock]

It can pour in Panama any day, any month. We also fish in Panama (billfish and Peacock Bass) and only once for all the time we have spent in Panama has it rained for long periods of time. Usually it just dumps and in an hour its over...then the humidity kicks up even more than normal. Love that place!

[BillB48]

I desperately want to do the PC, but the DW doesn't feel the ports of call on most of these cruises would be considered be as safe as the more traditional eastern and western Caribbean routes.

 

Anything you can say to alleviate those concerns of hers would be appreciated.

 

 

The typical ports of call for Royal on a Canal cruise for the Pacific coast are Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, both Mexico, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala and Puntareanas, Costa Rica. None of these stops are inherently bad ports particularly if you stick with group tours and don't head out into uncharted territory by your lonesome. Is there any particular concerns she has about them? On the Atlantic portion of the trip more than likely would include Cartagena Colombia, again no real problems using ship's excursions or a reputable private operator. Perhaps she is just more comfortable with the Caribbean ports because she may be more familiar with them??

[michaelsop]

Perhaps she is just more comfortable with the Caribbean ports because she may be more familiar with them??

 

I think it's more about past reputations of some of the places and more recent news stories about Mexico.

 

I try to tell her the last thing the cruise lines need would be for a major issue with their pax in a port on one of their excursions.

[bighairtexan]

I've done the canal a couple of times, with a gal pal. We're both in our 60's. In Cartagena we just walked around and did our own thing both times and felt as safe or safer than we would in many major American cities. In Guatemala, there aren't any private tour companies we felt confident with, so it was the only port in many years where we did ship excursions and it was just fine. Pretty much anything you do in Guatemala entails a 90 minute bus ride to Antigua so we wanted to be on a ship tour since we traveled so far from the port. Colonial Antigua and a coffee estate was our choice. There are some remarkable tours (independent) in both Panama (the Embera Indian experience was kind of once in a lifetime), and Costa Rica (various eco-tours available independently and ship sponsored.) I've cruised to Puerto Vallarta many times and this time we did an independent food tour. It was spectacular and we felt completely safe.

[SPacificbound]

I desperately want to do the PC, but the DW doesn't feel the ports of call on most of these cruises would be considered be as safe as the more traditional eastern and western Caribbean routes.

 

Anything you can say to alleviate those concerns of hers would be appreciated.

 

We were on Legend full transit San Diego-Fort Lauderdale in April. We didn't really do anything in PV or Cabo, just walked around a bit. In Costa Rica we did a ships tour over a rail forest. For Guatemala we took the ships tour to Antigua which was just getting us there and then we had a really nice private tour, I think there were 8 of us. Really beautiful and we had lunch at a place recommended by the guide. Check out Tours By Locals. In Cartagena we had a private tour also very nice.

 

We will be going through the canal again in March 2015 returning from South America. In Cartagena we are just going to old city and then have a nice lunch. haven't thought much about the other ports.

 

Just use common sense like you would anywhere, don't go off anyplace isolated.