Best cruise for panama canal??

[ajj0624]

My husband and I are thinking of postponing our Yellowstone trip this fall and instead take a Panama Canal cruise all the way through.This has been a dream of his and everyone states that the prices to cruise now are better than they have been but i have no idea which cruise or ship. also what about the height of the cabin/deck for viewing? Left or right of the ship? We would prefer a 10 day because it is tight to get off work for the longer cruises. I am trying to process this all quickly and i am not sure i can do this without your help!!Thanks

[Essiesmom]

Forget cabin location. You will want to be outside on deck. On ships that have small decks facing forward, they will let passengers out there, including down on the bow where usually is is only crew. From a side balcony or OV you won't be able to see the operation of the locks. You might see more from an aft balcony, but you really need to be out on deck and move around. Any line that does a full transit is fine. I did mine on HAL (Oosterdam). Some good bargains are to be had when ships reposition from one coast to the other. EM

[cb at sea]

Exactly! If you stay planted like a potato on your balcony, you may as well not go. You HAVE to roam about the ship to truly experience this engineering feat! All sides of the ship. All levels! Don't worry about your cabin location. You shouldn't be in there for this part of the cruise!

[Grandpaul]

Something else you should do is read up on the history of the Canal before you go. And usually on the ships they have a lecture the day before the passage which will be interesting. It is a great cruise though. Just be forewarned the humidity is very high. I didn't mind it but it does bother some people.

[kitty9]

If you want to do a full transit of the canal, you will need 14 days--I don't know of any ship that can do a full transit in less than 14 days. If you just want to do a partial transit, which means you only go through one set of locks, you might be able to do it in 10 days, but you'll be hard pressed to find one. Those cruises generally start in Florida, cruise to a few islands in the Caribbean and then do a very short passage through one lock----you really miss a lot when you only do a partial transit. Most full transit cruises start in either LA or San Diego and end in Miami or Ft Lauderdale or they do the reverse FLL to LA/SD. And depending on when in the fall you're thinking about, realize that most transits don't start until November.

 

I've done 4 canal cruises and they are fantastic. Don't worry about where your cabin is located. You're going to be out on the decks unless you can book a cabin at the very back of the ship. Those are actually the best cabins for a canal transit.

[Grandpaul]

I've done 4 canal cruises and they are fantastic. Don't worry about where your cabin is located. You're going to be out on the decks unless you can book a cabin at the very back of the ship. Those are actually the best cabins for a canal transit.

 

I love those cabins in the back when the ship gets into a lock and they close the gates to lower or raise the ship. Quite a view from there.

[kamfan]

We did a 19 day repositioning cruise from Seattle to Miami last fall. We we on the Norwegian Pearl and absolutely loved the experience. While I do understand what some people are saying about being up on deck, we spent a lot of our time in our deck 9 cabin with a side balcony. I wandered the decks many times through the day, but found that we had a wonderful view of all operations right from the balcony. It was really nice that they switched us from one side of the locks to the other at various times of the transit, so were able to see a lot more that if it stayed to one side. The other thing I found good was that just ahead of us, and on the opposite side, was a cargo ship going through, so although, we did have limited views of the operation going on around our ship, we had a full view of the other ship. Anyway you look at it, it was wonderful, and the transit is long enough that you will be able to experience all facets of that miraculous journey.

[Treven]

I'm planning on a 15-day cruise next May from FLL to SFO, on the Sea Princess. I'm so looking forward to it, & know that I'll spend all day long out on deck taking it all in.

[Putterdude]

We did it this year on the Coral Princess and thought it was terrific. Unfortunately Princess is making it a 15 day cruise this season, droping the Central American countries and making it look more like a Mexican Riv. cruise. So with that said I would look for an itinerary that stops on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatimala as these countries were more interesting to us then the canal. I would prefer a starboard cabin if going from Pacific to Caribbean and a port if going the other way, however I do agree with the other poster you will want to spend a lot of time out on deck while going thru the canal.:)

[jmspcl16]

My husband and I are thinking of postponing our Yellowstone trip this fall and instead take a Panama Canal cruise all the way through.This has been a dream of his and everyone states that the prices to cruise now are better than they have been but i have no idea which cruise or ship. also what about the height of the cabin/deck for viewing? Left or right of the ship? We would prefer a 10 day because it is tight to get off work for the longer cruises. I am trying to process this all quickly and i am not sure i can do this without your help!!Thanks

 

November 1, 2009 through November 14, 2009 Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas San Diego to San Juan, Puerto Rico full transit of the Panama Canal.

 

13 days :cool:

[cruiselover57]

My husband and I are thinking of postponing our Yellowstone trip this fall and instead take a Panama Canal cruise all the way through.This has been a dream of his and everyone states that the prices to cruise now are better than they have been but i have no idea which cruise or ship. also what about the height of the cabin/deck for viewing? Left or right of the ship? We would prefer a 10 day because it is tight to get off work for the longer cruises. I am trying to process this all quickly and i am not sure i can do this without your help!!Thanks

 

Make sure you not only take pictures from the front of the ship (when the lock is opening) but the aft as well to see it close - great pics to be had! You will have great viewing because not everyone is going to be out there in one place for probably longer than maybe 20 minutes at a time - need to look around and get pictures from all angles of the ship.

[Grandpaul]

One of my favorite pictures from previous cruises is one taken by the ships photographer. We were going thru a lock and the photographer got off the ship and took pics of the ship looking at the bow. We happened to be standing on the top deck forward and he actually took a good picture with me in it. He was quite a photographer I would assume. So maybe keep an eye out for him/her and get into the pic. Or ask them if they are going to do that.

[navybankerteacher]

I think most full transit cruises are two weeks or longe,r as they are generally re-positionings from California to Forida or vice versa. We did the half transit R/T from Fort Lauderdale on HAL's Zuiderdam - also stopping in Aruba, Curacao and Costa Rica. It gave a good idea of the locks going into and back down from Gatun Lake. Other posters are right - you do not want to restrict yourself to one spot -rather as far forward as possible, then as far aft, then different spots on open upper decks; so cabin location is not that important.

[Grandpaul]

That's a great cruise, Aruba, Curacao and Costa Rica along with the Canal. What cruise line was that? Thanks.

[sharks48]

Grandpaul:

 

The Zuiderdam does that route in late October and probably through November.

[RenieRaider]

November 1, 2009 through November 14, 2009 Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas San Diego to San Juan, Puerto Rico full transit of the Panama Canal.

 

13 days :cool:

 

We did this cruise! Perfect intinary! West to East all the way through. Serenade of the Seas is one of my favorite class of ships. San Diego's a great town, we didn't have the extra time to go a day aerly but our friends did and they loved it! Flying east to west, you usually don't have a problem making the ship flying in on the same day. Ending up in the Caribbean is THE way to go!

[cathi]

If you are going to do the Panama do the whole thing!! Done full transits both ways and also a partial transit. Can't beat the whole experience!!!! I vote for a balcony if you're doing the full transit. You will enter the canal very early in the morning so order room service breakfast and watch the fun!!! Then later in the day wander the upper decks to get the full feel for the size of Gatun Lake!!! Then if you are lucky - a drink on your balcony as you exit the other side!!

Have fun planning!!

[sloth]

We did the Canal 10 day cruise on the Island Princess last January...it only made a partial transit, but there was an excursion offered that completed the transit aboard a smaller vessel. Scenery was terrific from the smaller boat (maybe 50 or 60 people onboard)...you could wander all over the boat and take photos; lunch was served. Might be an option to consider if you can only do a 10 day cruise.

Cindy

[RickEk]

Princess does offer 10-day full transit voyages between Fort Lauderdale and Acapulco.

 

Here's a sample itinerary...

 

http://www.princess.com/pb/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=2942&tourCode=&date=&noOfPax=2&resType=C&definition_name=

[sammamishcruiser]

My husband and I are thinking of postponing our Yellowstone trip this fall and instead take a Panama Canal cruise all the way through.This has been a dream of his and everyone states that the prices to cruise now are better than they have been but i have no idea which cruise or ship. also what about the height of the cabin/deck for viewing? Left or right of the ship? We would prefer a 10 day because it is tight to get off work for the longer cruises. I am trying to process this all quickly and i am not sure i can do this without your help!!Thanks

 

We are on Celebrity Infinity, full transit, this September 25th. Seattle to Ft Lauderdale - 16 days. We have a cc balcony, but plan on being up on deck for most of the transit. Can't wait!;). Check it out, would love to have you join us.

 

Melody:D

[JEDMELK]

We have gone through the canal twice. Both times were 10 day full transit from Acapulco to San Juan on Princess ships. I know they are still offering that itinerary in both directions although one direction may be 11 days and the other direction may be 10 days. I believe the Island or Coral Princess are doing that itinerary this year as well-- as a matter of fact, I know that there is a December 10-20 cruise going from San Juan to Acapulco this year.

 

The canal is without a doubt one of the best itineraries to be done and personally, I would not do the partial transit, its all or nothing.

 

An additional important note besides reading up on history of the canal is check out their website http://www.pancanal.com they have real time pictures from cameras at the locks. Its a great thing to look at while on conference calls in the office!

 

If you decide to do a canal cruise, try to find a friend or family member that can check the website the day you are transiting and have them take some "screen shot" images of your actual transit through the locks. I had 3 people do that for me the last time we went through. Its really nice to have these images and know you were on that ship.

 

Hopefully, you will find the canal cruise that fits your budget and schedule- it can be a great trip and I hope this information helps you decide.

Jed

[EGG]

We've done both a partial and full transit and here are my observations:

 

Our partial was on HAL out of Fort Lauderdale. It was 10 days. We splurged on a balcony that we never used. As it turned out, that entire trip, from the time we stepped off the plane in Fort Lauderdale was hot and humid, humid, humid. During the transit we enjoyed running around the ship and watching from both the front and back of the ship. Even though our balcony ended up on the best side in both directions, there was little to see from the side. We returned to our cabin a few times, looked out, saw the wall, and went back to the front of the ship. In addition, it was very hot and humid, so we welcomed the breaks to watch the transit on a treadmill (I can say I walked through the Panama Canal), spent some time in one of the indoor, air conditioned bar where our traveling companions had scored 2 comfortable seats right at a front window and talked with the other passengers. We were the first ship in and it was still dark as we headed in. This was the beginning of Nov. I had not thought of the legnth of the day being an issue when we booked. Another nice thing was that the crew brought some traditional food up to the viewing areas on the upper deck where I waited for the transit to start on a lounge chair. Later I decided I didn't like viewing through the glass and I went to one of the secret front viewing areas. After the transit we had breakfast. Most of the ship got off to do excursions. We thought about doing an excursion, but we had paid so much for a balcony to watch the transit, we passed on the excursion. This left us with a fairly empty ship for the return transit. I really enjoyed this.

 

This year we did a full transit from Ft. Lauderdale to LA on Princess. We were the third ship in and this ended up better than I could imagine. Being the third ship meant there was a ship in front of us and one on the side partially ahead of us. It was a whole different experience. The ships on the side of us were huge. We went to the buffet to get coffee and we easily found seats at the front table on the elevated level in the buffet. Maybe because it was May, or maybe because we were a little later entering the canal because we were the third ship, or a little of both, but it was already light. We had breakfast and enjoyed watching the ship go through the first lock. Then we headed up to one of the secret viewing area. I was quite surprised that it wasn't too crowded. I guess everyone was on their balconies. Good for us. We got spots on the rail for the next 2 locks. We spent the passage through the lake at the air conditioned indoor pool. Where was everyone? We did not have any trouble getting lounge chairs. We were able to look down on some of the balconies and they were empty.

 

For some reason that I think had to do with the second ship next to us, we were held up in the Gatlin locks and the first two ships were waaay ahead of us. We barely saw them again. Maybe because of this, or because of the fact that the Pacific Locks are further apart from each other, we did not have anyone going through with us at the Pacific side. It lost some of the interest of watching a huge ship in front, next to and/or in back of you. Because of this I enjoyed the Atlantic locks a lot better.

 

There is an interesting bridge that you go under near Panama.

 

My conclusion is that no 2 transits are the same. I've seen people write about going through with another cruise ship next to them. How cool would that be. On the other hand, I've read of people going in behind a ship that was spewing bad smelling fumes.

 

My advice is if you normally take a balcony cabin and if it is not significantly more expensive, then go for it. If you are on a budget, as you appear to be, you can enjoy the cruise just as much without the balcony. (Let's not make this a balcony thread).

 

If you want to do an excursion, then you may need to do a partial transit. Our full transit did not stop to let people off for excursions.

 

The ports that we stopped at on the Pacific side were not as nice as the ports in the Caribbean. I would look at the other ports of call when making my decision on which cruise to take. The full transit had 6 sea days which ended up as 7 because we missed one stop in Mexico because of the swine flu. This is great if you are retired, but a little too much if you have limited time. Watch out for that shorter cruise that ends in Acapulco. I've heard it's a horrible airport and if you get there early you have to stand outside.

 

Whatever you decide you will enjoy. If you decide on Yellowstone you will enjoy. If they find a way to take a cruise ship to the American SouthWest, I would do that trip again and again.

[arlodog]

We did a 14 day full transit from FLL to San Diego on HAL Statendam. We had an inside cabin 409 on deck 6 which was wonderful. It was steps away from the wrap around deck.

As others have said you will want to be out on deck for the transit. It takes all day and about 8+hours to complete. If you are thinking about going please read The Path Between The Seas. It is a wonderful detailed book about the building of the canal. I picked up a copy on e-bay for a couple of bucks before the cruise--well worth it.

[luvscruising2007]

We did a partial transit on Brilliance of the seas. Our itinerary included Cartegena, Aruba, Curaco and Labadee. The We first went thru the first lock into Gatun Lake. We were tendered to shore and driven by bus to a ferry that took us through more locks.

We then returned to the ship. It was a great day. Our cruise was Jan 2008 and not as humid as maybe other times of the year might be.

Our ship did have an expert speak the day before so that we had seen pictures and heard alot about the building of the canal.

I would love to do a full transit.

Whatever you choose you will enjoy it.:D