Panama Canal

[landlady1952]

Thinking of booking this to celebrate our big 65 birthdays. Any thoughts or recommendations from those who have done this cruise would be appreciated.

 

TIA for your help

[casofilia]

If you want a great cruise how about doing the repositioning cruise in one or other direction. Florida to WCNA (April 2016) or WCNA to Florida (early Feb 2017).

 

Look at https://www.ncl.com/vacations/panama-canal-cruises-los-angeles,-california-miami,-florida-?destinations=4294934550&embarkationport=4294908684+4294908691

 

We did Vancouver to Florida 12 months ago and it was wonderful.

 

Mike

[mizLORInj]

Yes, a one way from west coast to east or vice versa.

 

We did Acapulco to Ft. Lauderdale (on Princess) a few years ago and it was GREAT!! When the new locks are open I want to do it again!

[don't-use-real-name]

Beware there are different PC cruises.

 

1 - the popular expensive FULL Transit of the canal (Atlantic to Pacific or v.v)

takes 6-8 hours and is very impressive. 14-15 day cruise*

* Ship positioning cruises maybe a few days longer

 

2 - the partial less expensive transit of the canal usually done on the Atlantic

side going thru the first set of locks and cruising Lake Gatun and then back

out the way you came in. Time variable a couple of hours. 10 day cruise

 

3 - cruises with designated Port stops usually on the Pacific side Panama City

and may or may not transit the canal.

 

Whatever is planned enjoy your BIG "65" and if doing the FULL transit note

the new wider canal being built for the Mega-ships too wide to go through

at this time. Impressive engineering event just like the original.

[marelind]

A 14-day (plus or minus a day or two) full transit of the Canal is our favorite cruise of all time; we've done it three times. :D We like to go east (FL, TX or NY) to west (SD, LA or SF) because you gain an hour of sleep 3 times during the cruise, also we cruise home to west coast. These are the things we like most about the cruise:

- a longer, more relaxed cruise. When you have 14 days on a ship everything takes a slower pace. Passengers aren't so anxious to get activities packed into every minute.

- roughly an equal number of port days and sea days, which again makes it more relaxing than a port intensive itinerary

- The Panama Canal!!! - It truly is a wonder of the modern world. The locks alone are fascinating. Be sure to read Path Between the Seas by McCullough (I forget his first name). It made a huge difference in my ability to appreciate the cost in lives, the feat of technology and medicine, and the historical significance of the building of the Panama Canal.

 

We splurged twice on a suite all the way forward. The view from the balcony going through the Canal is outstanding. If you don't splurge, the captain may open up the bow deck, which is the crew deck all the way forward, to passengers on Canal day. Also, if you are on the Jewel or Pearl, the Spinnaker Lounge has lots of forward facing windows with a great view. We did not have any rough seas on any of the Canal cruises, though it is not guaranteed.

[www3traveler]

I have done a full Canal transit twice on The Pearl. The first time was from Miami to Vancouver, B.C. (21 days) and the second time was from Los Angeles to Miami (14 days). If I were to do a full Canal again, it would be from LA. Coming from the West Coast it puts the Canal near the end of your cruise rather than at the beginning.

 

Either way I would suggest that you read David McCullough's The Path Between The Seas The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914. Very well documented book and very detailed.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[kjquilts]

We just cancelled the February 18, 2017 19 day Auckland to Singapore cruise on the Norwegian Star and instead booked the 14 day Los Angeles to Miami Panama Canal cruise on the Norwegian Jewel for February 5, 2017. Both are bucket list cruises but for now Panama Canal makes more sense for us.

 

The full transit was a must for us. We spent some time looking at the various PC cruises available on all lines and narrowed choice to either the west bound cruise on the NCL Pearl Oct 2016 or the one we ended up choosing. The Pearl cruise is 15 days with 7 port stops plus the daylight transit while the Jewel is 14 days and 6 port stops plus the daylight transit. There are a couple differences in ports. The Pearl includes Puerto Chiapas, Huatalco and Puerto Vallarta while the Jewel has Corinto Nicaragua and Acapulco Mexico. Both go to Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas and Cartagena. A couple of the scheduled port stops are an hour longer on the Pearl but these are always subject to change. We're on the west coast and will only "have to" fly in one day early to LA. The Pearl cruise is a little more expensive (extra day), weather may be drier in February and we're hoping the Jewel is less likely to be chartered out from under us. For those reasons although we preferred the port stops on the Pearl we picked the Jewel. We'll be on the Jewel this time next week for Mexican Riviera cruise.

 

We do like the Jewel class ships. Spinnaker Lounge is still an observation lounge and we like the Great Outdoors on the back of the ship. Both will come in handy for Panama Canal cruise. Our best friends are in an oceanview stateroom close to rear stairs and our balcony is two decks directly above them. We all have the Ultimate Beverage Package and the Specialty Dining Package thanks to the promo that ends today unless it is extended. Life is good :)

 

[Oakman58]

We did a full transit of the Panama Canal on the Star in November 2014 for our 40th wedding anniversary. Our cruise was from San Pedro, CA to Miami, FL and it was absolutely awesome. I posted some photos of our transit through the canal in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2133347

 

 

A cruise through the Panama Canal is a great way to celebrate your birthday.

[Clay Clayton]

I second what most of the OPs have said....it is a great cruise (not as great as 'round the horn but right up there). We were lucky enough to snag one of the two forward facing balconies on Sun and had a great trip and truly enjoyed the big balcony especially on "Canal Day". We had "open house" most of the day for our roll call and when the guest services coordinator found out we were doing that, she had ice team and lemonade dispensers sent up along with chips and cookies.

 

Suggestions

- if you can find a cruise with a port stop in Panama consider it (to my knowledge Norwegian doesn't).

-if you can swing a balcony, do so...having it available on canal day is wonderful and for what are typically more sea days.

-bring a hat and sunglasses.....its VERY sunny and hot on Canal Day.

-get involved with your roll call...on a longer cruise it makes it so much more fun.

-if you can do one of the longer relocation cruises it is a blast - we sailed from Tampa to Vancouver and while packing for 19 days of varying weather was interesting the ability to really RELAX once on board was great.

 

Have a great cruise!