A man, a plan, Panama!

[uppitycats]

Is there any particular cruise line that is considered an "expert" for Panama Canal cruises? This will be a one-time-only experience for us (we're getting old, I'm disabled, who knows what the future will bring?) so want to make it the best possible.

 

And is there any significant different on "which way"? Florida to California..or the reverse?

 

Anything else I should know?

[paul929207]

We have only been thru the canal once on Prncess going from San Juan to Acapulco and it was great.

[BillB48]

First I think you may wish to consider which is your favorite cruise line and then look to see if they are doing any full transits. I'm sure Celebrity, RCI, Princess, HAL, NCL and any I may have omitted would do a good job. I think if you are pleased with the line's performance in the past you would be happy with them on a Canal cruise.

 

As far as Pacific to the Atlantic or the other way, really no difference in the Canal portion itself. In general terms you will find a few more cruises Pac-Atl in the fall and in the spring you find a few more Atl-Pac, mainly because the companies are repositioning their ships for the seasons. Celebrity and Princess have a few cruises through the Canal during the winter months in addition to the fall/spring cruises mentioned earlier.

 

I believe that your flights, cost, connections and convenience to and from your embarkation/disembarkation ports should be your deciding factors. Beyond that, whatever time frame and intinerary which suits you the best should be the deciding factor in which way to go through the Canal.

[cb at sea]

I think you should pick the ship you want....I mean, there's really no "trick" to going through the canals. All ships have to have a canal navigator aboard for the transit, and you'll get their expertise no matter which ship.

[fann1sh]

Panama has two seasons: "wet" and "dry". Dry is December through April, and this seems to be the best time of year for this cruise.

 

Everyone will tell you "The Path Between the Seas" By David McCullough is a "must read" book. There is a reason for this. It's an amazing book. :D

 

I'm going this November because I'm going with friends. It wasn't until I read the book I found out my mistake. However, McCullogh points out a reason climate was discounted as a factor in building the canal. Most visited in the pleasant and sunny "dry". It will be interesting to see the Culebra Cut in the weather that almost defeated the engineers.

 

Please visit the Panama board here at CC.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=89

 

Richard In Panama is one amazingly helpful poster who makes that board a pleasure to surf and learn.

 

A final tip, from someone who hasn't even been yet. :rolleyes: Our friends got us to book a "partial transit". This means only locking through as far as Lake Gatun. However, I can still see all of the canal by choosing a shore excursion (which I think most cruise lines call) "the Canal Experience". I'll travel one way through the rest of the locks in a small ferry. It's accessible for walkers, and there is an air conditioned part of the boat, restrooms, etc. By going through the locks in a tiny vessel instead of a huge one, I'll get a completely different experience. I'll then return to the ship by bus.

 

So, advice on this board changed what could have been a "what a mistake!" cruise into one I'm looking forward to a great deal.

 

You, however, get the chance to do it "right" from the beginning!

[Sailingpeace]

May I congradulate you on your attitude : who knows what the future will bring , but let's make the best of what we have now ! Wish you a great cruise !

[uppitycats]

Thanks for the link to the Panama board! I'm sure I'll learn a ton of stuff there.

 

We have cruised before -- Alaska 3 times, a west coast cruise, New England a couple of times, but never "south", so this will be an adventure.

 

Thanks for the tips, so far. I'll head over to the other board and check it out.

[Aunty Pat]

Check out Holland America’s itineraries. Not only do they have a good selection going through the Panama Canal they also have a higher percentage of accessible cabins, mid size ships so you don’t have to travel far to get to an elevator & larger staterooms than you will find on the other lines.

 

Aunty Pat

 

 

Barefoot Windjammer - Phantom ‘81

K&D German Rhine Line ‘84

NCL - Norway ’85, Pride of America ’05, Southward ’87, Star ’97 & ‘05, Starward ’92, Sun ’02 & Windward ’93

RCC - Song of America ‘89

American Hawaiian - Independence ‘98

HAL - Volendam ’99, Noordam ’06, Oosterdam ’07 & ‘09, Statendam ’02 & ‘08, Prinsendam ’03 & ’06, & Zuiderdam ’04, ’06 & ‘07

Carnival - Spirit ‘05

Celebrity – Summit ‘05

Cruise West - Yorktown Clipper ‘06

Princess - Golden Princess ‘07

A & K - East Queen ‘07

Cunard - QM2 ’08

Pending Cruises:

HAL – Westerdam, September 6, 2009

Oceania – Insignia, June 17, 2010

[Treven]

I'm 64 and I just made my reservation for a full transit of the canal; FLL to SFO, 15 days. I guess you really can't go wrong no matter which direction you're going in. I'm of the opinion this is probably a "once in a lifetime" cruise.