Late November Full Transit Questions

[skwaller]

Greetings everyone!

 

I recently found Cruise Critic and have really been enjoying reading up on everyone's experience and feedback on the Panama Canal. We are looking at doing a full transit repositioning cruise with Royal Caribbean from November 21 – December 5, from Los Angeles to Miami. I had a couple of important questions I was hoping to get some feedback on before we booked.

 

• Should November be avoided because of heavy rain? I read that November is the rainiest month of the year for Panama and was wondering if anyone had done any late November cruises that could possibly speak to this. If it did rain, was it still an enjoyable experience? Is it much like Florida where it rains and then it's sunny pretty quickly after? Has anyone been on the canal and seen it rain the entire time? This is a once and a lifetime experience and we're trying to time it with our daughter's Thanksgiving break.
• We would love to try to do a balcony but what would be recommended as far as which side of the ship to be on if we wanted to see the land as we came into the ports of all the cities? This is a newbie question I'm sure, but does the port side mean that in general, that's where the land will be in most cases? We don't want to be docked at the other ports along the cruise and be facing the ocean - we'd prefer to face the land.
• Does anyone have any tips for first-time cruising for our daughter's first cruise at 8 years old being this long?

 

Thank you all in advance. 

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Might it rain in November? Definitely. The Canal is in a tropical rain forest, and requires a lot of water to make the locks work. So rain is a definite possibility. Would I avoid November? Absolutely not. We have seen brief showers, and heavy downpours that lasted an hour or two. The transit is an 8 to 10 hour process....very unlikely rain would impact much of your transit.

 

One of the number one questions here is "what side of the ship?" Doesn't matter.

 

With the exception of being in the Canal,  most sailing will be far from land, and mostly at night. When approaching a port, there will usually be land on both sides of the ship. 

[BillB48]

12 hours ago, skwaller said:

I read that November is the rainiest month of the year for Panama and was wondering if anyone had done any late November cruises that could possibly speak to this.

I will echo CruiserBruce's opinion as far as rain goes.  Yes it can be a rainy time in Panama, but there is even a better chance it will be ideal weather.  Late November/early December is a transitional time in so far as weather in Panama, going from wet to the dry season.  So it is possible to get some of the best or worst weather at that time.  Most of my full transits have been in the Oct to Dec period and have not been bothered by rain that it would have marred the transit.

 

Choosing which side for a balcony is something you can overthink very easily, maybe the best selection criteria is where do you prefer the afternoon sun?  The starboard side would give you more PM sun on the way to the Canal and then after that it really depends on your route back to the States.  I would give a slight preference to a starboard side balcony the day of the transit, but when you defer to viewing the Canal from your balcony there is a lot you will miss.  Which way your balcony will face in port?  Who knows, location of the berth, which way the ship is docked and what port you are in will all influence your view while you are in port. 

 

Usually there are fewer children on the longer cruises, but there are normally some.  Royal Caribbean has a good youth program, so I would think your daughter will do well.

[skwaller]

CruiserBruce & BillB48, 

Thank you for your input and expertise. Those are all great things to think about. BillB48, have you ever done the Los Angeles to Miami cruise with Royal Caribbean? I see your profile says it's one of your favorite cruise lines. The ship looks like it would be the Serenade of the Seas which I believe was recently refurbished some. Also, we're based out of Florida as our home base as well.

Edited June 8, 2023 by skwaller

[BillB48]

A minor point... don't recall  making LA-MIA Canal cruises but I have done several LA-FLL as well as San Diego-FLL and the reverse from Florida to LA.  Have made a transit on the Serenade and one time followed it all the way from California through the Canal to Cartagena where we went separate ways.

 

Here is a pic from the time we followed her through the Canal.  The Serenade is entering Gatun Locks.

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by BillB48

[skwaller]

That's a beautiful shot! Do you think that there is much diesel or engine fume smell at the aft of the Serenade? The balconies on aft/side in the corner look neat but not if there is a fume smell.

[BillB48]

I doubt that you would experience any exhaust issues.  The Radiance class ships which the Serenade is one of are gas turbine vessels.  They are very quiet and clean burning.