Full or Partial Transit????

[Ladybug1121]

Hey folks, trying to get an idea about the canal and the cruises through it. I am hearing it is not "all that". My parents want to book a cruise through the canal from Florida, down to south america, antarctica, etc. Is the canal spectacular? Is it just as good to do a partial transit vs. the full? They could book a separate South America cruise and pick a more specific ship that way. Opinions anyone???:confused:

[BillB48]

"Is the canal spectacular? Is it just as good to do a partial transit vs. the full?"

 

That's a hard one to answer, I have talked to several people who have done full or partial transits and the responses I received were anywhere from "like watching paint dry" to "WOW, the best ever!" I'm sure most people are somewhat in awe of something that was built almost a 100 years ago and is still chugging right along very nicely today. The short answer to your question is, full transit is better than the partial but either cruise is great.

 

Here are a recent threads on this subject that may answer some questions:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=600000

[Ladybug1121]

Thank you so much. I will go and take a look! :)

[jff50]

Both the partial and full transits are great, but the full transit is greater.

[GloriaF]

We are doing the partial transit, not because we did not wish to do the full transit but because of scheduling issues. I've been told that the partial transit takes the ship through 2 locks to Gatun Lake, where the ship spends some time then turns around and returns the way it came. Some cruise lines offer an excursion that involves full transit on a small boat and you meet up with your cruise ship in Panama at the port, I think.

[jff50]

We are doing the partial transit, not because we did not wish to do the full transit but because of scheduling issues. I've been told that the partial transit takes the ship through 2 locks to Gatun Lake, where the ship spends some time then turns around and returns the way it came. Some cruise lines offer an excursion that involves full transit on a small boat and you meet up with your cruise ship in Panama at the port, I think.

As I recall, you go through 3 locks into Gatun Lake. When we took the partial transit on the Island Princess, we got off in Gatun Lake (you could only do this if you had a Princess shore excursion booked) and took a smaller ship all the way to the Pacific. While we were doing this the ship went back out the Gatun Locks. We then took a bus back from the Pacific side to the ship, which was anchored outside the canal. I would suggest this shore excursion, because you get to see the Culebra Cut and the Bridge of the Americas. As I recall, excavating the Culebra cut and the logistical challenge of getting all that dirt out of the canal zone was as great of/a greater challenge than building the locks and the Gatun dam. keeping the Culebra Cut excavated is an ongoing process.

 

Be sure to read "The Path Between the Seas" before you go.

[YoPhilly]

We did a partial transit on the Coral Princess, RT from FLL, and loved it. Some people think it's a dull cruise, but my husband and I love to see & learn how things work. We thought it was fascinating.