Help Panama Canal

[dam64]

Ready to book a PC cruise first time so my question is full or partial transit and I know with full there is more sets of locks but is there really a difference besides the locks? The full is 14 day out of LA different ports than the 11 day out of Miami. Please help us decide any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[www3traveler]

In a round trip Canal, you only go as far Gatun Lake, turn around and come back out to Miami. The one advantage to this cruise is the your airfare would be a round trip ticket to Miami.

 

If you do a full transit out of either Miami or LA, would get get ports of call along the Mexican Rivera and the Central American Coast.

 

I am heading out for my 3rd Panama Canal cruise on The Jewel in early February from La. I like the LA to Miami crossing better than the other direction because it puts the Canal crossing toward the end of your cruise rater that at the beginning.

 

It is a fascinating cruise and should be on you "wish list".

 

Mandy

[roger001]

If it is about the Canal, the full. If it is about the cruise, with a look at the Canal, partial. For us, the Canal, being one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements, we wanted to see each and every bit of it, and have done full twice now. Just to see the locks work, there are some great videos that do that. And...if you ever do get really interested in the Canal, do read A Path Between the Seas. Long, but well written and sooo interesting. It does include an in depth look at the early French efforts to build the canal.

[mugtech]

If it is about the Canal, the full. If it is about the cruise, with a look at the Canal, partial. For us, the Canal, being one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements, we wanted to see each and every bit of it, and have done full twice now. Just to see the locks work, there are some great videos that do that. And...if you ever do get really interested in the Canal, do read A Path Between the Seas. Long, but well written and sooo interesting. It does include an in depth look at the early French efforts to build the canal.

 

Second the motion to read A Path Between the Seas, best way to appreciate the canal.

[mugtech]

Also, for taking the Florida to Vancouver cruise through the canal, got a document suitable for framing or wrapping fish which said: Norwegians Take the Scenic Route. This is to certify that Mugtech crossed the Panama Canal at Longitude N90 82', Latitudes W079. Captain Gorin Blomqvist Norwegian Sun 24 April 2015 Don't know if you get such a valuable parchment for doing round trip out of Miami. Might be worth looking into, especially if you have room on a wall.

[Turtles06]

If it is about the Canal, the full. If it is about the cruise, with a look at the Canal, partial. For us, the Canal, being one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements, we wanted to see each and every bit of it, and have done full twice now. Just to see the locks work, there are some great videos that do that. And...if you ever do get really interested in the Canal, do read A Path Between the Seas. Long, but well written and sooo interesting. It does include an in depth look at the early French efforts to build the canal.

 

Second the motion to read A Path Between the Seas, best way to appreciate the canal.

 

We will be making our first transit of the Canal in January on the NCL Jewel. We chose a full transit because for us, it IS about the Canal, and we want to experience all of it.

 

I am about halfway through A Path Between the Seas right now and echo the recommendations to read this excellent, fascinating book by a wonderful author (David McCullough).

 

I will also recommend the Panama Canal forum here on CC as a source of excellent info.

[Tarheel_Cruiser]

The partial canal trip offers an excursion through the pacific locks via ferry. You get off the ferry in Panama City and take a bus back to Colon where you reboard the ship. There's a few on our roll call doing that.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

The full transit is preferential, but the most picturesque and IMHO, the most impressive locks are on the Caribbean side, so if your budget or schedule will not allow you to do a full transit, I would not hesitate to do a partial. We have done both and I would do either of them again.

 

The path between two seas is indeed a must prior to this trip. It is a bit dry as it was written by an engineer, but priceless from an information standpoint. If you do the full transit there will be a guest lecturer on several days prior to the transit and he is very good, especially if you have read the book and have a base of information for some of the technical details. On the partial there was only a speaker on the day of the transit.

 

You might go to the reviews of both cruises and get a more detailed views.

As others have said your factors will be

Open jaw air fare

Possible jet lag considerations

Ports of call differences

Interest in the engineering of the canal

Cruise length

Cruise cost

 

Bottom line - you can't go wrong either way! Enjoy

Edited July 28, 2016 by MagnoliaBlossom

[Turtles06]

The path between two seas is indeed a must prior to this trip. It is a bit dry as it was written by an engineer, but priceless from an information standpoint.

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

"The Path Between the Seas" was written by Pulitzer Prize winning and National Book Award winning historian David McCullough. The book itself won the National Book Award in History, among other awards.

 

I think it's fascinating and compelling, not dry at all. That's my personal opinion. The other information is fact.

[Oakman58]

My wife and I did the full transit of the canal and thought it was awesome. The only disadvantage to doing it from LA to Miami is losing a few hours of time as you pass through the time zones. Going east to west you would gain those extra hours. A small thing but still...

 

Here's what the certificate that megtech mentioned looks like.

 

[4774Papa]

If it is about the Canal, the full. If it is about the cruise, with a look at the Canal, partial. For us, the Canal, being one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements, we wanted to see each and every bit of it, and have done full twice now. Just to see the locks work, there are some great videos that do that. And...if you ever do get really interested in the Canal, do read A Path Between the Seas. Long, but well written and sooo interesting. It does include an in depth look at the early French efforts to build the canal.

 

Exactly, I go for the full transit. You will miss the part of the canal were the vast majority of the excavation took place.

 

I read A Path Between the Seas twice before the cruise and it totally enhanced my understanding of what I saw on the cruise.

 

Also, If you are going from Atlantic to Pacific, you will see very early in the morning on the French excavations, which were abandoned by the US.

[SeahawkSiren]

My wife and I did the full transit of the canal and thought it was awesome. The only disadvantage to doing it from LA to Miami is losing a few hours of time as you pass through the time zones. Going east to west you would gain those extra hours. A small thing but still...

 

Here's what the certificate that megtech mentioned looks like.

 

 

Thank you so much for posting that certificate (and to mugtech for initially referencing it). We look forward to getting one of those on our full transit in October.

 

We are going east to west (Miami to San Diego). And I hadn't even thought of the gaining the extra hours when passing through time zones. We just chose that direction so we could get the long distance flying out of the way before the cruise, flying from Seattle to Miami. Not sure there are any two cities in the Lower 48 that are further apart! :eek:

Edited July 28, 2016 by SeahawkSiren

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I understand that the Path Between the Seas is a highly acclaimed book, and I highly recommend it, but my "dry" comment was to advise readers that it is not an everyday historical piece. But readers must be prepared for some areas where the content is less than compelling for some readers. I did not say that to take away from the recommendation, but on our last PC cruise I had highly recommended it on our board and got grief over the drudgery of the reading from several members of the roll call. So, this is a disclaimer - this is not a travelogue for the canal, it is an historical piece from multiple perspectives, some of which you may find "dry".

[4774Papa]

I understand that the Path Between the Seas is a highly acclaimed book, and I highly recommend it, but my "dry" comment was to advise readers that it is not an everyday historical piece. But readers must be prepared for some areas where the content is less than compelling for some readers. I did not say that to take away from the recommendation, but on our last PC cruise I had highly recommended it on our board and got grief over the drudgery of the reading from several members of the roll call. So, this is a disclaimer - this is not a travelogue for the canal, it is an historical piece from multiple perspectives, some of which you may find "dry".

 

To some history may not be as compelling, but David McCullough is a great author and if you like history is a easy read.

[asubaru]

Does this mean you get the same views of the locks as the full transit cruisers do? (It's likely an ignorant question but I know very little about it and just starting to research)

 

 

The partial canal trip offers an excursion through the pacific locks via ferry. You get off the ferry in Panama City and take a bus back to Colon where you reboard the ship. There's a few on our roll call doing that.

[swedish weave]

Does this mean you get the same views of the locks as the full transit cruisers do? (It's likely an ignorant question but I know very little about it and just starting to research)

 

This may be a minor difference to some, but if you take the partial transit with a ferry to the Pacific side, you will not get as good a view of the new dig on the Pacific side because the ferry doesn't allow you to get as high as you will be on a cruise ship.

 

The water levels are even until you go through the Pedro Miguel lock into Miraflores lake, then you are lower than the water in the new dig which bypasses Miraflores. The locks on the new channel are closer to the Pacific and very near the Miraflores locks.

[asubaru]

Thank you, I appreciate your perspective.

 

 

This may be a minor difference to some, but if you take the partial transit with a ferry to the Pacific side, you will not get as good a view of the new dig on the Pacific side because the ferry doesn't allow you to get as high as you will be on a cruise ship.

 

The water levels are even until you go through the Pedro Miguel lock into Miraflores lake, then you are lower than the water in the new dig which bypasses Miraflores. The locks on the new channel are closer to the Pacific and very near the Miraflores locks.

[Turtles06]

Also, If you are going from Atlantic to Pacific, you will see very early in the morning on the French excavations, which were abandoned by the US.

 

I recently asked about this over on the Panama Canal forum, and got great replies there as usual, including a very helpful photo of what to be looking out for and when:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2382491

[roger001]

Here are a huge bunch of pictures I took on our first trip through the Canal a few years ago on the Pearl. They begin early morning on the Atlantic side as we approach the first locks. The continue throughout the day until exiting the last locks on the Pacific side just about dark. It is an all day trip.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/media/Panama%20Canal/DSCN8966.jpg.html?sort=2&o=0

[Turtles06]

Here are a huge bunch of pictures I took on our first trip through the Canal a few years ago on the Pearl. They begin early morning on the Atlantic side as we approach the first locks. The continue throughout the day until exiting the last locks on the Pacific side just about dark. It is an all day trip.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/media/Panama%20Canal/DSCN8966.jpg.html?sort=2&o=0

 

Thanks for the photos. I was surprised not to see more people out on the bow; too hot?

[roger001]

Thanks for the photos. I was surprised not to see more people out on the bow; too hot?

 

The bow is crew area. It is usually closed to guests. But....yea...PC is very near the equator and pretty hot/humid territory.....although I think I've been hotter in Miami and Key West sometimes.

[Turtles06]

The bow is crew area. It is usually closed to guests. But....yea...PC is very near the equator and pretty hot/humid territory.....although I think I've been hotter in Miami and Key West sometimes.

 

Yes, thanks, I know it's the crew area. But what I've read on here is that most captains open it up to pax during the transit. Was that not the case on yours?

[Oakman58]

Our November ’14 cruise on the Star went from west to east and we passed through the Miraflores Locks early in the morning. This is what the bow of the ship looked like. Fresh fruit and refreshments were also offered to those at the bow of the ship. Here are a few pics.

 

 

 

 

 

For those who thought it was too hot outside they could watch our passage on the big screen in the Atrium.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Oakman58

[Turtles06]

Oakman: thanks for the photos. Love the fruit set up on the bow! :)

[17cruisesnsl]

Full transit, Acapulco to FLL, many years ago on another cruise line, was a fabulous experience. Highly recommend the full transit Great ports in addition to the canal. Loved Costa Rica. In Guatamala, Excursion flew from the port to Tikal

 

This cruise was pre cell phones. I purchased an expensive camera just for the trip but it broke in Costa Rica so my photos were taken using Kodak panoramic throw away cameras I purchased in the ship gift shop. Good photos but not what I planned, so I see that as a valid excuse to do this trip again.

 

We sailed the canal in February. It was HOT. In addition to your sun glasses, Bring lots of sun screen and a sun hat. Between locks, many people, including me, were neck high in the pool, trying to stay cool.

 

Whichever transit you decide upon, enjoy your cruise!