Panama Canal Cruise - Old Locks vs New Locks

[Jacary]

Hi all, we are looking at doing a cruise from LA through Panama Canal and wondered if anyone knows what cruise lines go through the old locks rather than the new ones? 

[crystalspin]

18 minutes ago, Jacary said:

... wondered ...what cruise lines go through the old locks rather than the new ones? 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

My understanding is that passage in the new locks is significantly more expensive to the cruise line than the old. Unless a particular cruise states "New Locks", you should assume Old Locks;.If it says New locks, expect your fare to me more for the equivalent.

[Essiesmom]

A couple of suggestions:  At the top of the page is a pinned topic Panamax ships.  It is a list of which ships use the old locks and new locks.  Keep that list in mind, because new or old locks does not depend on which cruise line goes through, but which ship of that line.

 

Next, go to cruisetimetables.com and choose Cruises to… and then Panama/Panama Canal.  Then choose the time you want to cruise.  Some months are much busier than others.  There is not much happening during the Northern hemisphere summer but start to pick in October when ships leave Alaska for winter in the Caribbean.  It is really active November through March, then slows down in April when the ships head back to Alaska.  Don’t be concerned about weather, it is always hot and humid as Panama is near the equator.  The only variable is how much rainier it will be in some months.  
  Once you see who is transiting when you want to go, you can look them up in the Panamax thread to see which locks they will use.  EM
 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Essiesmom

[CruiserBruce]

Here is the Sticky at the top of the board:

 

One of the suggestions in the Cruise Critic Guidelines is to look around. There is a good chance any topic has been discussed many times before.

[9tee2Sea]

14 hours ago, Jacary said:

Hi all, we are looking at doing a cruise from LA through Panama Canal and wondered if anyone knows what cruise lines go through the old locks rather than the new ones? 

if you are one of the newer mega ships ( 4,000 passengers), almost 100% sure you will be going thru the New Locks.  The "Old Locks" cannot handle the size of the new mega ships.  But the smaller ships can also go thru the "New Locks".  It has to do with length and beam width of ships.

[Travel Junkie Judy]

22 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

if you are one of the newer mega ships ( 4,000 passengers), almost 100% sure you will be going thru the New Locks.  The "Old Locks" cannot handle the size of the new mega ships.  But the smaller ships can also go thru the "New Locks".  It has to do with length and beam width of ships.

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Travel Junkie Judy
wrong place

[Travel Junkie Judy]

On 6/30/2023 at 12:48 AM, Jacary said:

Hi all, we are looking at doing a cruise from LA through Panama Canal and wondered if anyone knows what cruise lines go through the old locks rather than the new ones? 

 

Norwegian smaller ships use the old locks - The SUN in particular, just went though in April - we were on her.  Check the dates and the ships -These would also  use old locks - Star, Dawn, Spirit, Sky, Jade, Jewel, Gem, and Pearl. I see Encore, Bliss, Breakaway and Joy go to or through Panama and they would use the new locks.

Good Luck,  

Judy

[CruiserBruce]

6 hours ago, Travel Junkie Judy said:

 

 

Norwegian smaller ships use the old locks - The SUN in particular, just went though in April - we were on her.  Check the dates and the ships -These would also  use old locks - Star, Dawn, Spirit, Sky, Jade, Jewel, Gem, and Pearl. I see Encore, Bliss, Breakaway and Joy go to or through Panama and they would use the new locks.

Good Luck,  

Judy

Probably 80 or 85% of the cruise ships going through the Canal use the old locks, as noted in the Sticky at the top of the board.

[Subman738]

We did the old locks back  in 2017 on the Celebrity Infinity when we went from Miami to San Diego. It definitely was interesting and was on my mothers bucket list. 

[darkhorizon]

Is it worth doing a cruise of Panama Canal specifically, if your cruise is going through new locks?

[CruiserBruce]

32 minutes ago, darkhorizon said:

Is it worth doing a cruise of Panama Canal specifically, if your cruise is going through new locks?

Worth is something only you can determine.  The old locks are pretty amazing technology for their time, and a much more intimate look at the Canal.

[BillB48]

If I my my druthers, I would prefer transiting the Canal via the original locks for the reasons Bruce stated.  However, the new locks are only a small portion of the Canal in terms of distance and the remainder of the Canal is the same.  I realize that most people look at the locks as the focal point of the Canal and they are without a doubt the portion you can see that has moving parts.  Probably two other parts of the Canal are almost overlooked and are just as key as the locks.  Those two parts are Gaillard Cut and the Gatun Dam, they were huge earth moving projects that would be enormous even by today's standards.  Now they just are part of the landscape, but they were engineering milestones in their own right.

 

Yes, it is worth it!

[KreinKrunker]

On 7/27/2023 at 8:37 AM, darkhorizon said:

Is it worth doing a cruise of Panama Canal specifically, if your cruise is going through new locks?

If you think that this will be the only trip you make through the canal, I would try to do the old locks.  But, if only the new ones are available for your time frame, go for it.  The trip through the canal is amazing.  Please read this book before going.  It will give you a better understanding of the trials and tribulations that were gone through, over 100 years ago, to build this engineering marvel.

 

 

[darkhorizon]

4 minutes ago, KreinKrunker said:

 

 

Placed a hold at my local library

[piper28]

While the McCullough book is the one lots of people tend to recommend, personally, I'm not really a huge fan of it.  I can't fault his research and dedication to detail, and the book is probably the definitive history of the project, but god is it a dry read.  Personally I prefered Matthew Parker's "Panama Fever: The Epic Story of the Building of the Panama Canal".  It's definitely not quite as detailed, but I feel still does a very good job of covering the topic, and personally I thought it was far more engaging and easier to read.

[Subman738]

Cruises through the Panama Canal may be SERIOUSLY restricted due to drought conditions in the Panama area. Since the locks depend upon water flow only to raise the ships priority is being given to cargo ships with a more pressing need to transit the locks vice a cruise ship full of sightseeing passengers. RCI has already cancelled several of their PC cruise and changed the itineraries to other locations. 

[Subman738]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:50 PM, darkhorizon said:

Placed a hold at my local library

I read that book prior to a trip through the canal back in 2017. It was interesting reading but VERY TOUGH reading. Lots of facts/details made it difficult to get through. 

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, Subman738 said:

Cruises through the Panama Canal may be SERIOUSLY restricted due to drought conditions in the Panama area. Since the locks depend upon water flow only to raise the ships priority is being given to cargo ships with a more pressing need to transit the locks vice a cruise ship full of sightseeing passengers. RCI has already cancelled several of their PC cruise and changed the itineraries to other locations. 

Maybe...but maybe not, with the exception of any cruise line that makes the decision to cancel on their own...see this discussion just down the board:

 

I would say partial transits are most at risk, not full transits.

[BillB48]

56 minutes ago, Subman738 said:

Cruises through the Panama Canal may be SERIOUSLY restricted due to drought conditions in the Panama area. Since the locks depend upon water flow only to raise the ships priority is being given to cargo ships with a more pressing need to transit the locks vice a cruise ship full of sightseeing passengers. RCI has already cancelled several of their PC cruise and changed the itineraries to other locations. 

 

While Royal Carib wound up cancelling Canal cruises for one of their ships and substituting alternate itineraries sailing from Panama, I don't believe it was drought related.  Of course RCI like most businesses don't generally give you the real reason in their decision making, they will provide some spin that gives them all the wiggle room in the world.  My opinion the Canal cruises were cancelled were the continued uncertainty of the Ft. Amador cruise port facility to be up and running for their planned cruises and more importantly, I think bookings were soft.  RCI had not proposed this itinerary with a huge lead time and I don't think there was enough interest for them to commit to the high cost of transiting the Canal.

 

As far as ships having priority, ships having reservations have priority, other wise the ship shows up and waits its turn.  Passenger vessels almost universally transit the Canal with reservations.  The Canal is very happy to accommodate a passenger ship as it will provide much more revenue than a cargo ship of similar size.  The revenue generated from the reservation fee and the additional daylight transit guarantee can generate almost another $100,000 above the base rate for tolls.  Believe me, the Canal loves to see all those smiling faces standing at the rails of the ship!

 

Concerning the drought, yes it is a concern and the Canal is taking measures to mitigate the effects.  The rains have returned sufficiently to postpone further planned draft limitations.  The last draft reduction was supposed to take place in mid June for ships using the new locks, but that draft reduction was never implemented as there was enough rain and the draft at the new locks is 44'.  In fact no draft reduction whatsoever has been imposed on ships using the original locks, that draft limit remains at 39.5'.