Tony

I realize this is a very subjective question, but my wife and I are considering taking a cruise through the Panama Canal. We are in our early 50s. We would like to get others opinions/advice as to their experiences with the different cruise lines. Thanks

Karen

We have been on Holland America three times, one of them through the Panama Canal. Love the ships and service and think it is nice, if you can afford it, to have a veranda. This is one trip that is scenic, especially on the long day trip through the canal. The one thing that you should be careful about, are your off shore excursion stops. Ask around for the nicest stops...the only one we enjoyed was the day off the ship in Costa Rica, other than that, I think I could have chosen better if I'd better informed myself. Getting off in Guatemala, with machine gun toting soldiers on the dock and having fumigators spraying everyone's purchases was not our cup of tea. But it is a wonderful trip for winter, nice and warm, sunny and humid.

Burt

Also, have been thinking about taking a cruise through the Panama Canal. What is the very best time of year to do it?

Andy

We did Panama Canal the first week in March--weather was ideal--felt the trip was rather boring-ports were not much since the ship docks on the other side of most islands that it necessitates a 2hr drive over bad roads to see sights-- <BR>We did Celebrity-liked the ship-bored with ports--BUT if you do go to Panama <BR>Canal-make sure you are on the back of the ship while going thru--there are places to sit down and relax during the all day odyssey-on the front of the ship there are usually just a few deck chairs set up and you have to stand and push to see anything--best answer would be a balcony cabin in the rear (aft) of ship!

sandy

I did the Panama Canal on the Crystal Symphony in October. The weather in Panama is always hot and humid, and it rains a lot. But the weather in the other ports of call (St. Thomas, St. Bart's. Aruba. Purto Caldera, Acapulco) was just perfect. Crystal has a number of outside decks in the front of the ship, so there is room for everyone to have a view looking forward. They did such a wonderful job of keeping us supplied with ice water and cold drinks as we sailed through the canal. And there were photographers on the shore taking photos of us on the ship with giagantic zoom lenses. Wonderful! I think it was the best way to do the Panama Canal.

Kathy

Tony, <BR>My husband and I also had to make a decision on who to sail with through the Panama and we decided on the Ocean Princess, April 19th, 2002 from Ft. Lauderdale thru to San Francisco but we are also going to remain onboard for the second leg to Vancouver, seeing we live here. We're in the same age group as you and our research brought us to this decision. Good luck!

neviboy

Just returned with RSSC Mariner. This is the best line and ship to go through the canal, especially with a stop at the Gatun Yacht club.<BR>neviboy

Linda

We went through the canal last Sept on Ocean Princess and loved it, and would love to do it again. We did have a balcony cabin which is desirable for the long humid day.The Ocean Princess is one of the largest ships allowed to go thru the canal.We actually scraped on each side and each port that we stopped the crew was busy taking care of the scratches.If you're into history, the canal is fascinating piece of America's past which is explained the day before you arive on the tv in your room.And also a special pilot and commentator come aboard to explain everything about the canal, plus Princess gives all its passengers lots of written material to read up on the history.I wasn't too impressed of our port stop in Colombia, but the rest of the ports were interesting.And after you've cruised a few times, you've been to most of the ports anyway-but it's just the enjoyment of the ship that most true cruiser's really enjoy.Again I would recommend the Ocean Princess for a wonderful vacation.By the way we are going again on the Ocean Princess in April to the Southern Caribbean.Have Fun!!!!

Sue

We did a 12 day transit from Norfolk, Va through the Panama Canal on Nov. 1 on the Holland America Amsterdam, ending in Costa Rica. We too are in our 50's, and were considered "young" for this cruise, average age was around 65. We loved the service, and the ship, and the transit through the canal was interesting for the first part of the day, though after a while it all looked the same, even the three locks are not all that different. We had never been on a cruise for more than 7 days, and thought we would like the extra days at sea, but it was a few too many. Nicaragua should be skipped in my opinion. Would suggest picking a ship that ends anywhere but Costa Rica if you plan to fly home the day of disembarkation. The San Jose airport is not equipped to handle large numbers of cruise passengers, all trying to leave at the same time, plus it is a 2 hour bus ride from the ship. Be wary of the use of charter flights by Holland America-we were told we would have a direct flight back to Norfolk, but on the last day of the cruise were informed the Norfolk airport customs office could not accommodate all of us due to their limited security, and we would be divered through Florida to clear customs first. This process took over 4 hours, as their were over 350 of us on the flight.Our nearly 24 hours of travel time to reach our home in Va nearly runined what until then had been a very pleasant experience.

Deter

Taking a cruise through the canal in April from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles. Will the weather be alright? Going in that direction, is it better to have a cabin on the port or starbord sides of the ship?

jmdpsca

We are booked on the Oceania, from LA to MIAMI, Panama cruise on 1/28/08, anyone been on Oceania thru the Panama?

petlover

We have done this several times. Our best was with Regent Cruise Line (done it on 2 of their ships...the Mariner and the Voyager). I personally much prefer the size of these ships (max capacity is 700 passengers) rather than the huge ships that most cruise lines have. It is hot and muggy but I guess the best time to do it is between January and March.

Panama Canal is much more scenic than the Suez Canal (done that several times as well).

Julia_E

Hello,

Crystal and Regent are luxury cruise lines with outstanding service, good food, smaller ships and more amenities are included in the price so you receive a better value for the price of your cruise. Holland American and Princess have larger ships and are premium cruise lines, but also have wonderful service and onboard experiences if money is an issue. If you have the option, you will be spoiled and pampered on Crystal, plus the experience will be better on a smaller ship.

Best Regards,
Julia

Hold

Here is another option. You said &quot;through&quot; the canal, implying that you'll start at one port (Like Miami) and end at another (such as a port on the West Coast).

If you'd just like to get a taste of what this is like, some cruises do a &quot;partial&quot; transit where the ship starts at a port, enters the canal...but then later turns around and exits the same locks that it came in. It then goes back to the original port.

My first experience was like this and it was a real eye opener. The canal was not what I had in mind. The locks are very interesting, but it reminds you of being in an industrial port, not a setting like you may be imagining. The canal is also a rainforest area (the heavy rainfall is what makes the locks function), so picture in your mind rain forest vegitation, not a tropical island setting.

It is well worth visiting, but different than you might have in mind. Hope you do it and enjoy the adventure! I've never heard anyone say that they were sorry for doing it, but I have heard many say it was not what they expected.

tampatramp

Tony,

as you can see from previous posts the best ship to take is xxx.

We did it Jan.'07 on Oceania and would strongly recommend that line if you like open seating, great food, no formal dressing up just to eat dinner on your vacation. You might want to check out www.cruisecritic.com to compare ships.

I would second getting a veranda, and look carefully at the other stops the ship makes.

Also be sure at some time, to watch the locks from the rear of the ship, not too many people do, but it is an interesting sight.

jmdpsca: It is an absolutly wonderful trip, you will not be disappointed! You too might want to check out the cruise critic board, but for Oceania:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=51

AndreaD

Hey, Tony,
We've been to the canal 4 times...2 times with Princess, 1 time with Celebrity and 1 time with Holland America. All of the cruises were just great. We really enjoyed our last one in December of 2005 on Celebrity because it was the first one that had shore excursions to Panama City, which we really enjoyed. Part of the tour included time on a &quot;reviewing&quot; stand in the canal at one of the locks. We were so close to a container ship, I felt like I could reach out and touch it!! Awesome! Also, it was the first time we had a large ship in front of our ship so we could see all the workings of the canal locks, the raising and lowering, etc with a birds eye view. We've done a full transit and a partial transit, and while both are interesting, try and book a full transit if you can.
Whatever line you go on, your experience will be fabulous. Just remember, it will be hot and humid most months. Go in December or January if you can.

picky

Been through Panama canal. Ship has nothing to do with experience. They all pass through in exactly the same way. Choice is dependent on cruise line; the more expensive lines cannot do anything more traversing the canal than the less expensive ones. So the question is basically irrelavant.