Panama Canal Cruises

I have been unable to find any Panama Canal cruises in 2016 and 2017. Has RCCL ended Panama Canal cruises?

As someone else mentioned in another thread, if this is the case, how will this affect repositioning cruises?

I have been unable to find any Panama Canal cruises in 2016 and 2017. Has RCCL ended Panama Canal cruises?

 

As someone else mentioned in another thread, if this is the case, how will this affect repositioning cruises?

There are no more scheduled through April 2016. Royal will usually release more cruises in the spring time period, so if they are going to have more Panama Canal cruises, we won't know until March/April 2016.

What ships does royal have left that can fit through the canal? I know X and AZ have some ships that can make the transit. Check them out.

What ships does royal have left that can fit through the canal? I know X and AZ have some ships that can make the transit. Check them out.

Wouldn't the Voyager Class and below fit through the canal?

Wouldn't the Voyager Class and below fit through the canal?

No, Voyager class is too big. Only Vision and Radiance class (let's leave Majesty out of this ;) ) will fit.

Wouldn't the Voyager Class and below fit through the canal?

Don't you remember my wonderful live thread from 53 nights on the Mariner, as we traveled from Port Canaveral to Los Angeles, going all around South America, because she was too big to fit through the Canal? ;)

Wouldn't the Voyager Class and below fit through the canal?

Even after the new larger locks are finished, there's still a question as to whether Voyager class and larger can fit under the Bridge of the Americas.

Don't you remember my wonderful live thread from 53 nights on the Mariner, as we traveled from Port Canaveral to Los Angeles, going all around South America, because she was too big to fit through the Canal? ;)

 

LIVE LIVE LIVE from the MARINER with MERION MOM for 53 DAYS!!!

Can you believe I didn't read your Live from...but thanks for the info. One of our Cruises for 2016 (September) is on the Explorer Of The Seas RT from Seattle.

Wouldn't the Voyager Class and below fit through the canal?

Even after the new larger locks are finished, there's still a question as to whether Voyager class and larger can fit under the Bridge of the Americas.

Yup, still nothing 100%, but after trying to figure this out for a couple of years here on CC, talking to Capt's on board, etc etc, the best explanation I've ever received from someone who had done previous work at the Canal is here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47335693&highlight=radar#post47335693

From someone this knowledgeable in this discussion, I would have to take this explanation with a lot of validity. So looks like Voyager Class can get under BOA.

Perhaps a bigger question... will RCL ever bother trying?

Posted by BillB48

"I spent a number of years working for the Canal in my other life, so it is sort of understandably a favorite subject of mine..."

"The actual clearance of the Bridge is 201' at Mean High Water Springs (MHWS), MHWS is calculated to be right around +17.7' and where the 201' is the controlling height. Of course when there are Spring tides of this height the Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS) are right at -2.0', which will provide almost a 19' swing in the amount of clearance available. Actually there are times if you are not considering "mean" heights of water the largest difference is closer to 21' with the actual highest and lowest tides. Those of course may only happen once or twice a year and would not be very convenient to try and plan a transit around.

If we don't count the neap or spring tides at any given time, there are a reasonable number of days in a month where the tide has around a 14' swing with +14 being the high and 0 being the low with 2 high tides and 2 low tides in a 24 hour period. On a tide of that size (14') they should reach a clearance under the Bridge of 213' around 8 hours after high tide with the water dropping for another 4 hours before slack water. That would provide them with almost an 8 hour window where the clearance below the Bridge would be 213' or greater. I used the 213' figure because that is what the clearance is for the Great Belt Bridge which all the Voyager and Freedom ships had to negotiate coming from Finland. I honestly don't know what clearance the Canal would ultimately allow. Looking at the Sunshine Skyway, the permitted air draft is 175' and the actual clearance is 181'. So I am guessing that a 5' or 6' clearance would be something that is practical."

Just got off Vision Med cruise 10/7. We booked a Panama Canal Cruise while on board, but it is with Celebrity in 2017. RCCL doesn't offer anything right now. Will keep watching and will switch that booking to RCCL if they start doing that route again.

can you believe i didn't read your live from...but thanks for the info. One of our cruises for 2016 (september) is on the explorer of the seas rt from seattle.

9/30?

9/30?

9/16.