panama canal partial transit

[Bob Gimbel]

i am looking to book a cruise for a partial transit panama canal cruise. not sure what cruise line to use. there are only a few leaving from FLA. ANYONE have gone on either coral princess or norwegian pearl? have heard both pros and cons

[BillB48]

Right now the only cruise lines that I am aware of that are offering partial transit cruises are Princess and HAL. They both leave from Ft. Lauderdale.

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Partial transits are only done from the Caribbean side. None from the Pacific side.

 

Holland America does a regular partial transit. In fact, they may do the most partial transits. You can find all the HAL info you will ever need, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171

 

Princess info here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

 

And NCL info, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

[Talisker92]

I have gone on the Coral Princess, and we enjoyed it. The only problem we had was there had been some heavy rains and the roads were flooded so we could not take the trans canal train.

Below is the link to our trip story:

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/panamacana2010.pdf

We are always happy to answer any questions.;)

[cb at sea]

You really don't NEED to take an excursion from the canal...the ship's transit IS an excursion!! Just be sure to move about the ship....side to side, different deck levels, etc....

 

It's HOT in Panama!!!

[CruiserBruce]

i am looking to book a cruise for a partial transit panama canal cruise. not sure what cruise line to use. there are only a few leaving from FLA. ANYONE have gone on either coral princess or norwegian pearl? have heard both pros and cons

 

You really don't NEED to take an excursion from the canal...the ship's transit IS an excursion!! Just be sure to move about the ship....side to side, different deck levels, etc....

 

It's HOT in Panama!!!

 

I missed it. Did the OP ask about an excursion?

[Bob Gimbel]

thanks for the information. We are still new to cruising. we have taken one carnival (did not like it) and 4 RC. i have just booked one HAL for the jazz cruise and one more RC on the OASIS - for 2 weeks after we return from the jazz cruise. Have never been on PC - CORAL?

THANKS FOR THE FEED BACK

[Boozebabe]

WE did PC on Coral Princess. Some of the best food we ever had at sea. Ship was nice. Not too big. We did the train excursion that takes you thru the jungle to the Pacific and stopped at other locks. After the ship passed into Gatun Lake we got off the ship and on the train. We were delivered back to the ship which had by then turned around and back thru the locks. We also stopped at Cartagena, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and one other stop I don't recall. It was a great cruise and glad we did it.

 

I'm not crazy about the layout of the Grand Princess but the Coral was much better as I recall. Cabins were nice. We had a junior suite.

[Bob Gimbel]

THANKS FOR THE INPUT. I am looking to start booking as it will be our 50th wedding anniversary. That is what my DH wants. Since i have fallen in love with cruising this was a an easy item. I am also possibly looking at booking the quantum from NJ in October of 2015. lots to do now that i am retiring in Dec.

 

Just have never gone on PC so i needed some reviews.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We much prefer the full transits but I know that not everyone can take off work for an extended period of time.

We have done HAL's Zuiderdam 10 day partial Panama Canal cruise. You enter the canal, anchor in Gatun Lake. Those who have booked the ship's excursions can take the tenders to shore. Anyone who does not book a ship's excursion can not get off the ship.

Once all the people are taken ashore who have excursions and the tenders are raised, the ship goes back through the Gatun Locks and picks up everyone in Colon. The ship will dock here for about 3 or 4 hours. People on the ship can get off and look around at all the vendors.

[OCruisers]

Coral Princess is a great ship and was designed especially for the Panama Canal! :)

LuLu

[geoherb]

We enjoyed our Princess cruise to the Panama Canal four years ago. We are partial to Princess but also enjoy Holland America. I wouldn't sail on NCL again.

[sail7seas]

We have done partial transit ten and eleven day cruises round trip on HAL about 4 times and Princess once. They both did a good job but we much preferred HAL. It's a terrific cruise and I'd do it again without hesitation.

 

[spirit rev]

We have been on the Coral Priness for a full transit of the Panama Canal We enjoyed the ship and the cruise - one of our best. We really enjoyed the understated energy and elegance of Princess. We will be back on the Coral Princess this January for a partial transit of the Canal.

 

We have been on two of the NCL Pearl's sister ships several times. They are about the same size as the Coral but with more passengers. We enjoyed these ships also. There is a higher level of energy and brighter colors on NCL. Production shows are very good on NCL. (We didn't go to any of the production shows when on the Coral Princess.) We found the atrium could be crowded when they set up shop with "deals of the day".

 

Either ship will probably be a good experience. We enjoy both lines.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We enjoyed our Princess cruise to the Panama Canal four years ago. We are partial to Princess but also enjoy Holland America. I wouldn't sail on NCL again.

 

 

When NCL started their "Freestyle" cruising, that's when we stopped sailing them. JMO -- but their concept doesn't appeal to us.

[skrufy]

If possile, do a full transit. Its an amazing journey from one end of the canal to the other.