Panama Canal Cruise

[jlnprt]

We are thinking about booking a Jan 2022 Panama Canal Cruise (Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego). We plan to book a balcony room and this would be our first Panama Canal. Any recommendations on preferred room location? Any other advice/recommendations appreciated as well. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by jlnprt

[Rotterdam]

I always book midship balcony cabins & w the Panama canal you'll want to be out on deck as much as possible so you can see the canal & all its workings.

I did 2x once on QE2 NYC TO LA. And once San Diego 16 days to miami on azamara..both great trips.

I'm waiting for the new locks to open & I'll go again.

Also use tons of sun block....and drink alot of water.

[PROCRUISE]

Have done the full transit once before FLL to LAX. Doing the same transit as you (hopefully) in February 2022. I do recommend a balcony cabin because you can always step back into the air conditioned room due to the high humidity and sometimes off and on rain showers. It's interesting to see all there is to see from your balcony but also spend some time top side on the ship. EVERYONE tends to want to be top side as the ship enters the first lock but, there are a number of locks to pass through.

As already mentioned sun screen and hydration are important. Also either online or via book, learn about the construction process and failures before actually taking the cruise. I'm assuming that if the cruise takes place in early 2022 that ship shore excursions will be required. There are several good ones but we tend to stay away from those that seem to rely heavily on shopping time as opposed to actually visiting and exploring time. It is a great cruise.

[What was that?]

8 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

Also either online or via book, learn about the construction process and failures before actually taking the cruise.

The best resource for the Canal story is "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough. Published in 1977, it has no info about the new locks development, so you would have to find that elsewhere. We did it in 2018 and had an aft-wrap Neptune Suite - that was ideal (except for the distance from the Neptune Lounge).

[lcand1923]

A full transit of the Panama Canal is my favorite cruise.  I have done it three times and am thinking about booking number four.

 

Make sure you are awake as you enter the Canal.  (This usually happens early in the morning.)  It is amazing watching the vessels around yours slowly line up to start their Transit.

 

I would add that some pre-Transit reading helps in your appreciation of the voyage.  I found two books especially helpful:  Anne Vipond's "Panama Canal by Cruise Ship" and David McCullough's "The Path Between The Seas"".  The first book gives a lot of background information on the Canal and information about the various ports.  The second book goes into a detailed history of the construction of the Canal.  

[Infi]

Have done 5 full transits, the last in January 2020, and seconding the suggestions above. HAL will also open the bow (access is through the showroom and up a flight of stairs) for a great viewing space. Though everyone wants to be there for the first set of locks, the crowd will wane significantly afterwards, leaving a great viewing space. I also like to be at the back of the ship on the promenade deck. At that level, one can truly appreciate the height increase or decrease while in the lock. Gatun Lake takes awhile to sail through, so it makes for a nice mid-day break to refuel with food or water and rest. It is a very long day - a marathon, not a sprint! - so be sure to rest when you can.

 

Also, try the Panama rolls - little sweet buns filled with custard, only served on Panama Canal day, both outside at serving stations and in the Lido. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Infi

[Turtles06]

We've done two full transits of the Canal, and no matter what type of cabin you book, please be sure to experience the transit (especially the locks) from all over the ship -- forward, aft, midships, high, low.  You'll have plenty of time.   I second the recommendation to read "The Path Between the Seas" -- you will appreciate the marvel of the Canal even more.

 

I also want to recommend the Ports of Call/Panama Canal forum here on CC; it has a wealth of info, with experts on the Canal ready to answer your questions.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, Rotterdam said:

I always book midship balcony cabins & w the Panama canal you'll want to be out on deck as much as possible so you can see the canal & all its workings.

I did 2x once on QE2 NYC TO LA. And once San Diego 16 days to miami on azamara..both great trips.

I'm waiting for the new locks to open & I'll go again.

Also use tons of sun block....and drink alot of water.

Just want to point out that the nw locks have been open since 2016 and ships too large for the original locks have been using them.  I transited on Carnival Splendor.  Also two full transits on Oosterdam and Infiniy.  EM

[Roz]

2 hours ago, Rotterdam said:

I'm waiting for the new locks to open & I'll go again.

 

 

I did my first full transit in February 2020 and we went thru the old locks on the Carnival Miracle.  My understanding is that you see more of the workings of the locks in the old ones vs. the new ones because the new ones are more automated.

[Tbay]

Good advice to move around the ship.  And.......it always rains at some point during the day!   Looking forward to doing the canal again in January 2023.

[thinfool]

New locks have been in use for several years now.  If you want to transit via these new locks you need to book a sailing on a ship that is too big for the old locks.

 

Otherwise the default passage for Panamax cruise ships is the old (1914) locks.  Cost to the cruise line (last I knew) is about $400,000. depending on number of passengers, cruise ships pay to cut the line, use daylight transit and a huge number of other charges.

 

[What was that?]

2 minutes ago, Tbay said:

Good advice to move around the ship.  And.......it always rains at some point during the day!   Looking forward to doing the canal again in January 2023.

I'm with you Tbay. Checking daily to see if the January 2023 FLL-San Diego cruises are listed! We did San Diego-FLL in 2018, and will plan to do it in an aft-wrap NS again. Hopefully we will make friends on board to share our champagne with (what are the chances? 😉).

[rafinmd]

What ship is that?

 

Roy

[What was that?]

7 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

What ship is that?

 

Roy

Roy - to whom are you replying?

[IPB4IGO]

We will be on the same cruise, on the Zuiderdam. We are doing the Canal both ways--a round trip from San Diego. We did the same back-to-back about 10 years ago.

 

The only advice I have to add to the great tips already provided is to not bother trying to view entering the locks from the Crows Nest.  People crowd in there hours ahead of time, many of them, like the ass-hats around the pools, "reserving" spots while they go off and do other things. The interactions among these passengers gets pretty unpleasant.

 

The transit takes so long that there is plenty of time to see everything from all vantage points by drifting around the weather decks. It's a great cruise, with a lot of quiet at sea days. 

[JeffElizabeth]

8 hours ago, PROCRUISE said:

Have done the full transit once before FLL to LAX. Doing the same transit as you (hopefully) in February 2022. I do recommend a balcony cabin because you can always step back into the air conditioned room due to the high humidity and sometimes off and on rain showers. It's interesting to see all there is to see from your balcony but also spend some time top side on the ship. EVERYONE tends to want to be top side as the ship enters the first lock but, there are a number of locks to pass through.

As already mentioned sun screen and hydration are important. Also either online or via book, learn about the construction process and failures before actually taking the cruise. I'm assuming that if the cruise takes place in early 2022 that ship shore excursions will be required. There are several good ones but we tend to stay away from those that seem to rely heavily on shopping time as opposed to actually visiting and exploring time. It is a great cruise.

Great advice. It was nice to retreat to the cabin AC because our transit was hot! And we went in March of 2020. 

[VintageGeo]

We did the same cruise last Feb. on the Oosterdam, in cabin 5172. We wanted to be away from the lifeboats for improved viewing, while still having a fully covered balcony. It was a bit farther aft than we are used to, but only a short hike to the elevators and we had no issues. We very much enjoyed it.

One thing, you might check out the forward balconies on decks 4, 5, and 6 for a slightly different viewpoint. Do be sure, as has been stated, to make your way around and see things from many angles. You'll not run out of interesting things to see. And definitely catch a Panama Roll... or two. 😁

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did, and have weather just as nice!

 

George

 

[Turtles06]

11 hours ago, thinfool said:

New locks have been in use for several years now.  If you want to transit via these new locks you need to book a sailing on a ship that is too big for the old locks.

 

Otherwise the default passage for Panamax cruise ships is the old (1914) locks.  Cost to the cruise line (last I knew) is about $400,000. depending on number of passengers, cruise ships pay to cut the line, use daylight transit and a huge number of other charges.

 

Regarding the various fees that ships pay to transit the Canal, there are new fees going into effect in April, as explained in this interesting post by one of CC’s resident and helpful Canal experts, @BillB48

 

 

[rafinmd]

I am going to make a couple of off the wall suggestions.  I have transited the canal 8 times, all but one on Crystal.  One of the things I always do is go through one lock on the lowest level of the ship where we go from day to night as we enter the chamber, get a closeup look at the the walls and gates, and then emerge into daylight as the ship rises.  Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge no current HAL ships have public rooms with windows on that level, and I would likely choose an oceanview cabin on deck 1.  If not doing that, I would likely go to deck 2 (possibly Explorer's Lounge) for a lock.  Other than that I would want to get to as many different points of view as possible including the bow and at least one aft deck at least once.

 

If I were going to be in a balcony I would probably want to be on the port (for Atlantic to Pacific transit) as I think there is more of interest there.  The one exception is the space between Miguel and Miraflores locks where there are views looking up at ships transiting the new locks.

 

Roy

[jlnprt]

Thank you all so much for the informative responses. We booked the cruise! (Now just crossing our fingers that the cruise will happen!)  Great advice about moving around the ship. Making note of the books to read ... plenty of time to accomplish that! I love the idea of having so many sea days. Dh is not as excited about the number of sea days, but a Panama Canal cruise is on his "bucket list." If this goes well, maybe I will eventually talk him into a transatlantic!!!

[zelker]

20 hours ago, Tbay said:

And.......it always rains at some point during the day!  

Not always ... we sailed west to east in February 2020 and not one drop of rain the entire day.

[What was that?]

2 minutes ago, zelker said:

Not always ... we sailed west to east in February 2020 and not one drop of rain the entire day.

Same for us in March 2018.

[cruzn single]

I have done 2 cruises on Zuiderdam that were partial.  There is so much to see from all points of the ship.  The one in 2019, I was on aft deck outside Lido on the return trip out.  That was fun to watch as the ship would lower and the ship behind us was still higher.  Not many people were on deck at the time.

 

I am anxious for my first full transit from San Diego to FLL in January, 2022.  Hoping it will sail.

[T8NCruise]

3 hours ago, zelker said:

Not always ... we sailed west to east in February 2020 and not one drop of rain the entire day.

Nope.  Done 4 and it only rained once- which was refreshing!

[Turtles06]

On 2/28/2021 at 5:38 PM, Tbay said:

Good advice to move around the ship.  And.......it always rains at some point during the day!   

Two full transits — January 2017 and January 2020 — no rain.