Panama Canal

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] We are thinking of taking a cruise through the Panama Canal in February. Which ship is the best to go on? Our favorite line is Celebrity. We would like to go out of Florida and go for about 11 or 12 days. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thank you!

We did the Coral Princess just this last Feb. and it was wonderful. It hold aroound 1850 passengers not too big and not too small. Just remember not all ships can go through the canal so find out the size from your TA.


Marilyn

Forgot to add is that the Coral Princess went out of Fort Lauderdale and was a 10 day cruise. Our particular stops were Nassau, Grand Caymand, Cozumel, Panama Canal and Limon, Costa Rica.


Marilyn

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] Panama Canal

We have done the full transit several times.

There are a lot of cruises that begin in Ft Lauderdale and some that end in Costa Rica.

We have talked to several people who flew home from Costa Rica. Terrible. The airport is not close to the cruise terminal. The airport is in San Jose which is hours away by bus. They don't have a very large terminal and people had to wait out in the sun on folding chairs.

If you can avoid getting off the ship there, you would be wise.

If you can find a cruise that ends in Acapulco you would be better off.

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

We did a 10-day on the HAL Rotterdam and chose it primarily because it stopped at both Curacao and Aruba. This was a partial transit that left out of Fort Lauderdale, and also included stops at Half Moon Cay, Panama and Costa Rica. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. The only stop we didn't love was in Panama after coming back out of the canal.

My guess is you will enjoy this on HAL, Princess, RCI or Celebrity. Shop for value and the rest of the itinerary.

Enjoy!

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Happy Cruising!!

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;6;19;11;30;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]

HAL Zaandam - June 2004
HAL Rotterdam - Jan 2004
RCI Enchantment - Mar 2003
Sun Princess - Sep 2002
Celebrity Millennium - Feb 2002
RCI Radiance - Apr 2001
Sea Princess - Jan 2001
HAL Veendam - Jun 2000
HAL Veendam - Feb 1999
Carnival Inspiration - Apr 1997

In January I booked the Infinity from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale for a fourteen day. I would have rather gone eastward but the dates were not good for us. There are many that do go eastbound. First on Celebrity for us, except for Bermuda in 2002and we also have Bermuda on the Zenith this June. I have started my research on the canal and it's fascinating. Just realized a year from yesterday we depart SD.
I was amazed how quickly these cruises fill up. I had trouble getting midship, and it was fourteen months out.
Have a great cruise however you go.
Peace,
Larry
There are many

If you are looking for a great ship my wife and I sailed on the Summit Oct 2002. We had an aft cabin and it was great for seeing the canal. We were able to have several other couples join us and got great pictures. They even broadcast on TV so we were able see what was just ahead.

Have a Great time no matter what ship you sail on.

[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/davissatx"]http://community.webshots.com/user/davissatx[/url]

You will be able to find pictures of our cruise at the about site.

Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img][img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/drinkin_md_wht.gif[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/lickin_food_md_wht.gif[/img]