Panama Canal on the Bliss

[Salf777]

So we just booked our 15 day Panama Canal sailing on The Bliss from Los Angeles to Miami in The Haven

Its a ways off but we are wondering if anyone who has done this sailing has any suggestions on must do excursions, or anything else that’s a must do on this sailing it would be greatly appreciated 

[YVRteacher]

What are the ports for this cruise? I did this trip in January 2020 and absolutely loved it.  Do you go to Guatemala and Nicaragua!

[Turtles06]

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you read David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas.”  You will appreciate the extraordinary marvel that the Canal is even more. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

50 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

What are the ports for this cruise? I did this trip in January 2020 and absolutely loved it.  Do you go to Guatemala and Nicaragua!

 

Not great ports I'd say, Cabo, PV, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Puntarenas, CR, Panama City and Cartegena. Also, you go through the new locks I believe.

 

I like the smaller Princess ships that go through the old locks and Cabo or PV and then Huatulco, Mexico, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Fuerte Amador, Panama and Cartagena, Colombia. Huatulco is a great stop, so are San Jose del Sur and Puntarenas.

 

I do agree about The Path Between The Seas. There will be a short quiz when you finish on how many pounds of potatoes were consumed during construction and how many tons of dirt was moved

[YVRteacher]

4 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Not great ports I'd say, Cabo, PV, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Puntarenas, CR, Panama City and Cartegena. Also, you go through the new locks I believe.

 

I like the smaller Princess ships that go through the old locks and Cabo or PV and then Huatulco, Mexico, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Fuerte Amador, Panama and Cartagena, Colombia. Huatulco is a great stop, so are San Jose del Sur and Puntarenas.

 

I do agree about The Path Between The Seas. There will be a short quiz when you finish on how many pounds of potatoes were consumed during construction and how many tons of dirt was moved

I loved every port on our trip except Bonaire but that was because our excursion in Bonaire was awful.  The island itself is beautiful.  

[tallnthensome]

I've done it in reverse. Dora Tours (private) in Cartagena is a must . Also check Geo Tours in Costa Rica ......great as well. 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I've done it in reverse. Dora Tours (private) in Cartagena is a must . Also check Geo Tours in Costa Rica ......great as well. 

 

I agree about Dora.  She's terrific and an excellent choice, especially for first time visitors; the link to her web site is below.   Cartagena is a very interesting city.  For a repeat visitor, consider a DIY tour of the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.

 

http://www.cartagenatour.com/

 

A handful of us on our Roll Call had a great tour out of Puntarenas, CR with GioTours (note the spelling) back in 2017.  Unfortunately, when I tried to contact them this year several times (email, web form submission) I never received a reply, and their phone number never rang.  I just checked Trip Advisor, and I see several current reviews about them, so I'm not quite sure what's going on.  I hope they really are in business.

 

[Turtles06]

@Salf777 -- especially given the number of ports on this cruise, I suggest you research them in their specific Port of Call forum, and also ask questions in the Panama Port of Call forum.   

 

I will just add to my few comments in the posts above that if Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala is on your itinerary, I highly recommend visiting Antigua, and taking NCL's "Antigua on Your Own Tour" to do so.  This is round trip transportation to Antigua; you'll then have a number of hours there on your own to  walk around this historic capital. You'll have a map, and the area is very small.  Antigua is a good distance from the port along a two-lane road that can get very busy, which is why you want to use the ship's transportation for this.   (There should also be ship's tours to Antigua that won't leave you on your own, if you're not comfortable with that.)

[Salf777]

11 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

What are the ports for this cruise? I did this trip in January 2020 and absolutely loved it.  Do you go to Guatemala and Nicaragua!

Yes we do

[schmoopie17]

We did the reverse trip on the Bliss in April. 2019. I guess I'm weird, but going through the canal was the most boring part of the trip.

 

But if you go to Cartagena, we highly recommend the segway tour of the old city (private tour). Passed by numerous other tourists walking around and looking at us like "Why didn't we think of that?" One of the highlights of our trip. Took two minutes to learn to ride the segway.

[MidCitiesMan]

I would love to go through the Panama Canal. The only locks I’ve been through were on the Nile, and the geek in me loved it. 

[Oakman58]

8 minutes ago, MidCitiesMan said:

I would love to go through the Panama Canal. The only locks I’ve been through were on the Nile, and the geek in me loved it. 

 

 

 

If you ever have the chance to go through the Panama Canal be sure to book a cruise ship that is small enough to go through the original locks.  They are so much more interesting than the new locks.

[tallnthensome]

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

We did the reverse trip on the Bliss in April. 2019. I guess I'm weird, but going through the canal was the most boring part of the trip.

 

 

Very few people would admit that....... but it's true!!!!! Haha! I agree ...... I spent that time in the thermal spa. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, tallnthensome said:

Very few people would admit that....... but it's true!!!!! Haha! I agree ...... I spent that time in the thermal spa. 

 

Maybe true for some people, and maybe true for the new locks, but I think the majority enjoy the crossing, especially in the old locks. Nothing is more special to me than the dozens, maybe hundreds, of Panamanians standing on the balconies at the visitor center waving to you and you waving back. It feels like a very special moment of shared humanity and friendship.

 

http://www.svcountingstars.net/uploads/1/0/6/4/10645747/img-1381_orig.jpg

[Turtles06]

22 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

Maybe true for some people, and maybe true for the new locks, but I think the majority enjoy the crossing, especially in the old locks.

 

Agreed.  Totally fascinating.  We've had two full transits of the Canal, both in the historic locks, and are scheduled for two more next winter.  When you read The Path Between the Seas, and truly understand what it took to build the Canal, and what it takes to keep it going (e.g., the constant dredging), I think you really appreciate what a marvel of human engineering and medical accomplishment it is.   And consider this  -- the historic locks are still operating the way they were built more than a century ago.

 

In addition to the actual operation of the locks, I find it fascinating to see the oncoming traffic in Gatun Lake -- the huge container ships, LNG carriers, you name it. 

 

Yes, it's a long, hot day.  Pace yourself!  😊

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 minute ago, Turtles06 said:

I think you really appreciate what a marvel of human engineering and medical accomplishment it is.

 

What I find most fascinating, especially in reading The Path Between the Seas (which I finished on board the Coral Princess the day before we entered the canal), was the indomitable human spirit and courage it took to conquer the jungle, the diseases, the heat, the setbacks, etc to accomplish a great thing.

[greatestvalue]

On 5/25/2022 at 10:55 AM, Oakman58 said:

They are so much more interesting than the new locks.

If you end up going thru the new locks, cant you take an excursion to see and learn about the old locks?

[greatestvalue]

On 5/25/2022 at 2:31 PM, Turtles06 said:

are scheduled for two more next winter.

If you dont mind me asking, which ships/itineraries are you doing?  Or how to determine which goes thru new vs old.  We so want to make sure we are going thru the old locks. 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, greatestvalue said:

If you dont mind me asking, which ships/itineraries are you doing?  Or how to determine which goes thru new vs old.  We so want to make sure we are going thru the old locks. 

We’re booked B2B on the Gem from NY to Fuerte Amador and the return from Fuerte Amador to NY.   The Gem uses the original locks.  The determining factor is the size of the ship. The ships that can transit the original locks are called Panamax ships, with dimensions no larger than 965 feet long, a 106-foot beam, and a 39.5 -foot draft. The bigger ships that must use the new locks are called neo-Panamax. They can be no more than 1,200 feet in length, a maximum beam of 160.7 feet, and a draft of no more than 49.9 feet. The Bliss, for example, is too large for the original locks, and uses the new locks.

 

Here’s a helpful article on Cruise Critic:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=4187

 

If you are looking at a specific ship and have a question about which locks she will use, a good place to ask is over in the Panama Canal Port of Call forum, which in any event is a great resource about the Canal:

 

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

 

Keep in mind that on a very rare occasion, some circumstance could require that a Panamax ship use the new locks. 
 

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, greatestvalue said:

If you end up going thru the new locks, cant you take an excursion to see and learn about the old locks?

Only if your ship has a port call in Panama (on a full transit), or you are on a partial transit and there are excursions offered by the ship (which is usually the case).

[MyTMo777]

We did the same itinerary on the Bliss in November 2018. I agree with the suggestion to the ship's tour to Antiqua and do the "on your own" walk about. Our tour bus broke down and was two hours late getting back to the ship, and they waited for us. We love just wandering through foreign towns/cities, so we enjoyed Antigua.

 

On the day of the transit, don't just sit on your balcony. Go all over the ship to see the transit from different angles. Be sure to go out on the bow! It's probably your only chance to ever do that on a ship unless you go to Alaska. When we crossed there were so many ship employees who were allowed to go up on deck and mingle with the passengers because they hadn't been through the canal before either. I loved chatting with the entertainers, laundry employees, an engineer, etc. And do educate yourself about the building of the canal first. You'll find it much more interesting that way.

 

But don't buy cheap Panama souvenirs on the ship. Everything I bought broke or shrunk. Lesson learned.