Panama Canal???

[punkmuse]

im sorry if this has already been discussed and is old news but is RCCL getting rid of their Panama Canal cruises??

 

i was just looking on their website and all i see is one single cruise listed for the Panama Canal in April 2010 and nothing for the rest of 2010 and nothing in 2011.

 

can someone fill me in on what im missing?

 

thank you! :)

[Retired LEO]

im sorry if this has already been discussed and is old news but is RCCL getting rid of their Panama Canal cruises??

 

i was just looking on their website and all i see is one single cruise listed for the Panama Canal in April 2010 and nothing for the rest of 2010 and nothing in 2011.

 

can someone fill me in on what im missing?

 

thank you! :)

 

Yes, they've basically done away with them. I think the only one's you'll see will be a repo.

[punkmuse]

well that is a major bummer for me. :(

 

i have been dying to go on a Panama Canal cruise and we just got off a family vacation cruise that my parent's booked with Princess so i am all dreaming about my next vacation :rolleyes:

 

while on Princess my husband and i agreed we liked RCCL the best and now they have gone and gotten rid of what i wanted to do next!!!

 

booo on them! :mad:

 

thanks for the reply! :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

There are some that stop in Panama and you can take an excursion through the canal. I much prefer the second option because it is much more difficult to notice the change in water level in a cruise ship rather than taking a ferry through. The smaller the boat the more authentic the experience is in the Canal.

[punkmuse]

do you take the ferry boats through the entire canal or through a piece of it?

 

im just trying to visualize the size of it. ive always assumed the canal itself is a very large distance??? :confused:

 

that is a great idea though! thanks for the tip. :)

[rokcop]

We just returned from a cruise aboard Jewel that included a stop in Colon, Panama. "We took the Panama Canal by Ferry" excursion offered through the ship at a cost of $160pp. You take a bus (approx 90 mins) from the port area to a section in Gatun Lake beyond the first three locks. You then board a ferry and cruise through the canal and through the other three locks which lower you a total of 85 feet (31ft + 27ft + 27ft). You then continue out to the pacific ocean. You then board a bus and travel (approx 90 mins) back to the port area. I enjoyed it.

 

 

We were in the lock with a container ship as the water level was lowered. Notice the container ship in the adjacent lock to the left before the water level was lowered.

 

 

Here is a view of the other container ship in the lock with the doors closed waiting to be lowered.

[punkmuse]

very cool stuff!!!

 

i guess my next task will be to look for a RCCL cruise that stops in Panama.

 

should i search their Caribbean section or do they have Central America?

[dwillis43]

very cool stuff!!!

 

i guess my next task will be to look for a RCCL cruise that stops in Panama.

 

should i search their Caribbean section or do they have Central America?

 

Look to the Southern Caribbean section. My wife and I will be heading that way on the Jewell at the end of April. Can't wait!

[waterbug123]

very cool stuff!!!

 

i guess my next task will be to look for a RCCL cruise that stops in Panama.

 

should i search their Caribbean section or do they have Central America?

 

It is considered a southern Caribbean itinerary. We are leaving on the 4/11 sailing of Enchantment. It leaves from Colon, Panama and ends up in Ft. Lauderdale. We fly down 2 days early and are doing a partial canal transit excursion like others have mentioned.

[jt58203]

A few weeks ago I got off HAL's Zuiderdam (10-Day Panama Canal). We were told that it cost our ship $300,000 in tolls just to go in/out of the canal. Multiply this by many times during a cruising season. So maybe it isn't very profitable for RCCL at this time.

 

However, they are making a larger (wider) sets of locks which they hope to have open in 2014 (100 year anniversary of the canal). This will accommodate a ship as large as Oasis or Allure. So maybe RCCL will make a return.:)

[cruisenfever]

The only full transit through the Panama Canal will be a 15 day cruise on September 24, 2010 on Radiance. 2011 itineraries for that particular cruise, if there will be a full transit, have not been released yet.

 

I did a search on the RCI website, put in your April 2010 date and found no Panama Canal cruise.:confused:

[Trainman-2]

We were on the next to the last Partial Transit cruise. We did it on both the Jewel and the Radiance and they were spectacular! It is much better in a big ship then in a little excursion boat.

 

 

 

 

 

We were told there were two reasons RCI was giving up on the Partial Transits.

 

First, they were hard on the ship. In the photo below, the ships, If not perfectly aligned with the locks. rub against these wheels which align them. In the process. the ship's hull plates are often bent in a bit. The sides of the ship are scraped and gouged here and there. When we tied up in Colon, work crews immediately started pressure washing and repainting the ship.

 

 

Second, was the cost of the toll the ship had to pay. We were told by a Senior Officer that 5 years before our cruise the toll was only $30,000.00 for the Partial Transit. For our cruise, the Partial Transit toll was $425,000.00! That is a big cash bite out of the ship's profit for a cruise!

 

The higher tolls are to pay for construction of the new lock being built.

[cruisenfever]

The only full transit through the Panama Canal will be a 15 day cruise on September 24, 2010 on Radiance. 2011 itineraries for that particular cruise, if there will be a full transit, have not been released yet.

 

I did a search on the RCI website, put in your April 2010 date and found no Panama Canal cruise.:confused:

To correct myself and to add to my post above, Jewel is doing 3 cruises in April with each cruise stopping in Colon, Panama ......but they are not identified as Panama Canal cruises where the Jewel will actually enter a set of locks.

[denhur]

i've done both. go for the repositioning cruise through all three locks, go under the bridges and through gatun lake, much better than a ferry.

[STEVE-O]

Check out Celebrity!......They do a great job on PC cruises....and Celebrity's Captain's club bennies are way better than RCCL......