Panama Canal?

[bjkTX]

We've done Alaska and New England/Canada and we're looking at places to go next. After traveling 30 years with the military there aren't many places I (we) haven't been to, and so far the two cruises that interest us are one to the Panama Canal and the other would be to the Western Caribbean. I've been able to read quite a bit about the Caribbean on CC, but haven't found anything on the Panama canal cruise.

Would those of you who have made the cruise give me your opinions - good, bad or otherwise?

Thanks.

[wwinfl91]

We did a full transit Panama Canal cruise a couple of years ago and it was definitely a cruise I would recommend to anyone who enjoys history as well as seeing the scenery. We left from SF and ended up in Ft Lauderdale with a number of stops along the way. We weren't overly impressed with the Mexican Rivera but Costa Rica was nice. The Canal is definitely the high light of this cruise and makes it worth the whole trip. Great opportunities to take a lot of pictures. We went through the canal with another cruise ship and were able to get pictures of it in the locks ahead of us. Curacao was another stop we made that was a neat place to take pictures and it was a clean neat place to wander around and visit. If you have a chance do one of the cruises leaving the west coast and do the full transit of the canal rather than the ones that just go in one set of locks and comes back out.

Have a GREAT next cruise.

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib
Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib
HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib
Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib
HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal
RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib
Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib
HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib
Golden Princess 07/03 Med
Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib
HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada
Next cruise
Island Princess 11/04 Hawaii

[Blamar]

We have done both those cruises. The Western Caribbean with Carnival and Panama canal with Holland America. Both were a bunch of fun but the Panama Canal was by far the best for us. Your milage may vary. Our trip included Miami, Grand Cayman, Venezuela, San Blas, the Canal, Costa Rica and Acapulco. It was all delightful,except maybe San Blas, a whole day of poor people calling "Money, Money, Money" is a bit much. The trip through the canal was fasinating, especially if you do a little research on it. Overall it was one of my favourite trips.

b

Blake of
Blake and Marla
Blamar

Nordic Prince 1982 Eastern Caribbean
Rotterdam 1988 Panama Canal
Noordam 1995 Southern Caribbean
Imagination 2001 New Orleans/Western Caribbean
Star Princess 2004 Venice/Grand Mediterranean

We leave for Venice
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We leave from Venice on the Star Princess
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[kkorman]

I did the full transit last month and it is truly a remarkable sailing. You get to visit some of the ports less travelled and get to see the engineering marvel of the Canal. I would only do a full transit though as I thought the Mira Flores locks and Pacific side to be the cooler part of the trip. I do not think I would do the RT from FLL and just do the Gatun Locks.

Next: #23 Dawn Princess 10/04
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Last Few: Coral Princess 6/04 (AK-South), Coral Princess 4/04, (Canal-FLL-VAN), Conquest 12/03 -New Years, Norwegian Sky b2b 12/03

[roohound]

Plus, with a PC cruise, you're likely to hit some Western Carib ports as well. Some of the popular Western Caribbean ports on a cruise are Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Belize and on our Coral Princess PC sruise this October, we're hitting all 3 [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[DrivesLikeMario]

I also vote for the Panama Canal. You'll hit a lot of the usual West. Caribbean ports on that itinerary.

We cruised on the Coral this past April and the ship was beautiful, (almost as pretty as the Radiance of the Seas), but the cabin stewards, food and waiters were excellent. I'd highly recommend it.

--------------------------
'05-Golden Princess, West. European Capitals, '04-2 wk. land cruise to Wash. State, '04-Monarch of the Seas, '04-Coral Princess, '03-Monarch of the Seas, '02-Ecstasy, '02-Adventure of the Seas, '01-Radiance of the Seas, '01-Grand Princess, '00-Grand Princess, '99-Viking Serenade, '98-Elation

[Layla]

We did the full transit from Miami to LA and it was great! A naturalist comes on board during the transit and describes the history and what you are looking at each step of the way. We loved the trip and would do it again in a minute. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[cruisequilter]

Our first, and only so far, cruise was the Panama Canal, Sun Princess, Nov 2001. It was wonderful. Round trip FLL was fine for our first cruise. We loved Costa Rica, are glad we got to see Cartegena before it became "unfriendly", and thought the transit was very interesting. Other ports were Cozumel and Grand Caymans so we saw those fun ports too. We also were the first ship to stop at the port (shopping center, actually) at Colon--the dancing kids were very entertaining.

My husband, the civil engineer, loved the Panama Canal and I bought him the book Path Between the Seas on board--he read it during the 10 day trip and that added to both our enjoyment/education. Also, the naturalist/historian on board provided great info.

Having a balcony was great--the decks are packed first thing in the morning as you enter the locks--being able to retreat to our cabin was nice. Also, as others have said, move around the ship to see the process from several vantage points.

Actually, the review I wrote of our trip is still listed on cruise reviews, Sun Princess.
[URL=http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=544]

Hope this helps. Up next for us is Alaska cruisetour, June 28, sailing Island southbound July 3.

[ronl]

I agree with everyone we are going again in Jan on the coral last time it was on the sun had a blast 10 days is just right going on a cruise 7 days to short

Ron

[bjkTX]

Wow - you folks are good - and fast!! :-) Sounds like there are too many choices already. I haven't done a cruise that wasn't round trip yet - I would imagine airfare could be quite a bit more if we did the full cruise rather than the round trip from FL. Maybe I can talk my DW into taking a second job for awhile to pay for it!

[mikesteg]

Sometimes you can get a good deal on the airfare from the cruise line on the repositioning cruises. If you go west to east, you might even not have to get up until 4am! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

However, Galaxy is coming in the fall to do the round trip from Galveston. A canal transit would be nice, but if the difference in total cost covers another 7-day cruise... [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Mike

[cruiseryyc]

I highly recommend doing the Canal, but also highly recommend that you get a balconey. Then you don't have to fight with the maddening hordes to get a birds eye view of the crossing.

[cammie10]

We just did the Island Princess in March of this year. It was absolutely awesome. Beautiful ports, beautiful ship,just beautiful, beautiful. I would highly recommend the Island Princess she is totally fantastic. (Except right now she has a Norwalk outbreak up in Alaska). No problems when we were on her. She was perfect.
Ports were all great and the days at sea were oh so relaxing.

Flamenco 1997
Bolero 1998
Explorer of the Seas 2000
Grand Princess 2002
Voyager of the Seas 2003
Island Princess 2004
Dawn Princess 2005

[KAJOKG]

Seems that so far the Panama Canal is it! I agree. It's a great cruise. Before you go, be sure to read David McCullough's book [I]Path Between the Seas.[/I] It's a wonderful book about the Canal from its inception to completion. It's detailed, but reads like a novel (it's not). You will enjoy and appreciate your journey a thousand times more if you peruse this book beforehand!

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002
HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004
CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[mii]

As a suggestion, go to the Ports of Call board and read everything on the Panama Canal thread. You may have to go back a few pages as the prime time is between Nov and March. We were on the Coral round trip out of Fort Lauderdale and the stops were the Canal, Costa Rica, Cozumel Grand Caymand and Nassau. It was a wonderful trip and I would it again in a heart beat.


Marilyn

[AmyinGA]

We did a partial transit on the Island in March. It is our favorite cruise so far. We have alco done the Eastern and Western in Princess. We liked going back to Grand Cayman and Cozumel at the end of the cruise because it gave us a chance to see some new things that we missed before, but we were more relaxed since we weren't trying to do too much. We also loved the 10 day schedule. I don't know if I can go back to a 7 night cruise now.

[mphouston]

Don't forget that on the partial transit, there is the 'Ocean to Ocean' excusrion. You take a bus to Gamboa (roughly halfway), board a smaller ship (100ft) and go the rest of the way to the Pacific. Not as good as a full transit, but should be fun if you have a tight schedule.

We will be doing that next year. I just wanted to make sure we get to see the Culebra cut and the Pacific locks. Might even be interesting to go through the locks in a a big and a small ship.

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Grand Princess 7/03

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[KAJOKG]

The Ocean to Ocean excursion is terrific. We took it last year and highly recommend it!!!

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002
HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004
CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[MaryPoppinz]

I think Grand Princess is doing some Panama Canal itineraries early next year sailing from Galveston. I think they've taken Cartegna off and substituted Belize. That's a great trip for Texans, and I think you will enjoy it! It can be a really active and adventurous trip (great scuba, snorkle, boating, rain forest, etc.), if that's what you like, and you really won't have to choose between the Western and Canal trips on this itinerary.

[b]"I'm gonna book myself on that Princess Cruise." [/b]
-- [i]Fox Mulder, X-Files 'Three Words'[/i]

[daWoods]

We've done both Panama and Western Caribbean, and loved both. However, the chance to go through the canal on a smaller craft was great. You get to see the operation of the locks up close and personal, and get a pretty good view of Panama City when you get to the Pacific side. If I had to make a choice, I'd go with the Panama cruise. It also includes some of the Western Caribbean stops anyway.

Island Princess Feb. 2004
Grand Princess Feb. 2002
Norwegian Sky Feb. 2001

[Pam in CA]

Mary... unfortunately, the Grand-class ships can't do any part of the Panama Canal -- they're too big. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

I've done the full transit and loved it. While not an engineer, I found the whole story of the Panama Canal and the engineering and challenges that went into it fascinating.

One thing to keep in mind is that one of the reasons why there's (barely) enough fresh water for the locks is because it's a rain forest, i.e., it's not unusual to have overcast or rain during the transit. Which is good for the locks.

Do the Panama Canal -- you'll love it.

Song of Norway & Song of America, 1986-88; Royal Princess 2/99; Sun Princess 1/00; Ocean Princess 12/00; Royal Princess 4/01; Grand Princess 12/23/01; Sea Princess 2/9/02; Explorer of the Seas 12/21/02; Coral Princess 8/9/03; Nordic Empress 12/27/03; Regal Princess (4/20/04)

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[bjkTX]

Again - thanks for all the great input and suggestions! Sounds like a Panama Canal cruise is in our future - I have to use that $300 credit Princess gave me from our last cruise on something :-)

[jnc411]

Hi, I agree with everyone else. Go !!! the Panama Canal is a wonderful cruise. We did it last year from San Diego to New Orleans, we had a great trip. You will enjoy it. Go for it.
Cori

[cowtec]

Just back from the Dawn trans-canal in April and loved it! Started in San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, Aruba, Costa Rica, and ended in Acapulco. Wouldn't go back to Acapulco but loved the rest of the trip. No rain in the Canal zone in April but some in the Caribbean. Wouldn't have traded the balcony view for anything, although there were some great spots in the bow for seeing the sights. I also highly recommend Path Between the Seas - it will give you so much appreciation for all the history behind the canal itself. Have a great time!!

Sue

Dawn Princess - Panama Canal - April 2004

Dawn Princess - Alaska - August 2005

[tanlamb]

We did Western Caribbean on the Grand Princess in March/03 and 10 day Panama canal on the Island Princess this past March. We thoroughly enjoyed both cruises but I have to say that Panama canal cruise was our favorite.

The Island Princess is a beautiful ship and the crew were fantastic. As much as we loved the Grand, the Island is so far our favorite ship.

The ports of call during the Panama canal cruise were great and the canal is a place everyone should have the chance to experience once in their lifetime. Jamaica was nice, but not a place I would choose again. I think our favorite port other than the canal was Costa Rica. We found this country to be very beautiful, the people friendly and it was a great experience spending the day there. Grand Cayman and Cozumel we also did last year on the Grand and it was nice to re-visit them.

The 10 day cruise is much more relaxing and ours worked out with a sea day and then a port day etc. so we had plenty of time to relax between ports. I agree with Amy, it is going to be very hard to go back to 7 day cruises.

Island Princess - March 25/04
Grand Princess - March 30/03