I hate to do this...

[jimmyjam]

:rolleyes: i know this question has been asked a bunch.. and i actually looked for an answer before i wrote....

 

what H/A ship is better to cruise on through the canal, the Westerdam, the Statendam, or the RotterdamVI

 

any good advice would be cool.. thanks:cool:

[rjm1cc]

Don't see that it matters. They all go thrugh the same way and you see the same sites. Guess I would pick one that has gone through the refurshibing process.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have sailed through the Canal on the Westerdam in 2008 and 2009. Haven't been on the Statendam or Rotterdam in recent years.

We look at the itinerary as there some ports that we do not like.

[jtl513]

It's really a matter of personal preference on what size ship you like. I like newer, larger ships, so I would rank them W, R, S. But you can't go wrong with any. Which best fits your choice of dates and ports?

[CruiserBruce]

We have done it on the Westerdam (w/KK above in 2008) and on the Rotterdam. While we have started to take a liking to the Vista class ships, nothing at all wrong with the Rotterdam.

 

But the point is the Canal, and the route. Not the ship, IMHO.

[cruisecrasy]

We have sailed through the Canal on the Westerdam in 2008 and 2009. Haven't been on the Statendam or Rotterdam in recent years.

We look at the itinerary as there some ports that we do not like.

 

Wld appreciate knowing which ports u don't like and why - have a few I am not fussy about either and wondered in another thread why cruiseships even go to some ports..

 

Thanks in advance & happy cruisin'! :)

[Spinner2]

A feature that we really like for the Canal voyages is the presence in the Crow's Nest of a duplicate of one of the flat panel screens that's on the bridge. It shows where all of the ships in the vicinity (all labeled with names) are and you can watch them move into position in the early morning hours before it's quite daylight, while everyone's lining up for the Canal. Maybe you have to be a maps person, but for us, it's really enjoyable.

 

I mention it because not all of the ships have it yet. We enjoyed one on our Amsterdam crossing; the Maasdam didn't have it. I guess, if everything else were equal, I'd go with a ship that has it, but surely other things will matter more--the rest of the itinerary, etc.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wld appreciate knowing which ports u don't like and why - have a few I am not fussy about either and wondered in another thread why cruiseships even go to some ports..

 

Thanks in advance & happy cruisin'! :)

 

Cartagena, Columbia!! So many of the full transits stop here.

[jtl513]

OTOH, we liked Cartegena very much! We like the fort, the monastery, and old town.

[CruiserBruce]

We also thought Cartagena was fun, as we had never been there.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also thought Cartagena was fun, as we had never been there.

 

We have been there many times -- very dangerous port if you go out on your own.

So for us it is no longer fun -- done the fort -- took the pirate ship of the bay -- had our bus driver desert us at the mall leaving an entire bus load of people stranded -- no thanks -- we don't like being guarded by troups with machine guns.

[peaches from georgia]

We have been there many times -- very dangerous port if you go out on your own.

So for us it is no longer fun -- done the fort -- took the pirate ship of the bay -- had our bus driver desert us at the mall leaving an entire bus load of people stranded -- no thanks -- we don't like being guarded by troups with machine guns.

The number of times that we have been on cruises that were to stop in Cartegena it was cancelled. Too dangerous.

[SwissMyst]

:rolleyes: i know this question has been asked a bunch.. and i actually looked for an answer before i wrote....

 

what H/A ship is better to cruise on through the canal, the Westerdam, the Statendam, or the RotterdamVI

 

any good advice would be cool.. thanks:cool:

 

Here is what I would do: For the canal, choose the best balcony cabin you can afford, since the prices will differ for those choices. If you can afford a suite or verandah on the Westerdam for the same price as an window cabin on either the Statendam or the Rotterdam, I would choose the Westerdam.

 

Otherwise, I would choose a balcony on either the Rotterdam or the Statendam first, and still if a suite on the Westerdam is in close range, I would still choose the suite. I have probably stopped making sense here but I think you get the idea.

 

Smaller ship verandah or bigger ship suite --- there you go.

[cruz chic]

We have been there many times -- very dangerous port if you go out on your own.

 

So for us it is no longer fun -- done the fort -- took the pirate ship of the bay -- had our bus driver desert us at the mall leaving an entire bus load of people stranded -- no thanks -- we don't like being guarded by troups with machine guns.

I'm with you on that one. I don't like Cartegena at all.

 

To the OP - Go on any ship other then the Statendam.

[Taxguy77]

We have been there many times -- very dangerous port if you go out on your own.

So for us it is no longer fun -- done the fort -- took the pirate ship of the bay -- had our bus driver desert us at the mall leaving an entire bus load of people stranded -- no thanks -- we don't like being guarded by troups with machine guns.

 

We have that in Mexico, where we USED to go to dinner every few weeks. Now, no.:eek:

[Taxguy77]

Here is what I would do: For the canal, choose the best balcony cabin you can afford, since the prices will differ for those choices. If you can afford a suite or verandah on the Westerdam for the same price as an window cabin on either the Statendam or the Rotterdam, I would choose the Westerdam.

 

Otherwise, I would choose a balcony on either the Rotterdam or the Statendam first, and still if a suite on the Westerdam is in close range, I would still choose the suite. I have probably stopped making sense here but I think you get the idea.

 

Smaller ship verandah or bigger ship suite --- there you go.

 

That way you can see one side of the canal. I spent most of the passage on deck (with 80% of the px) and DW spent most of the transit in the topmost lounge with panoramic windows and A/C.

[SwissMyst]

That way you can see one side of the canal. I spent most of the passage on deck (with 80% of the px) and DW spent most of the transit in the topmost lounge with panoramic windows and A/C.

 

Having the balcony is for the times you might not want to be on deck, like when you wake up or when you go to bed, or when you are getting ready for meals, or when its raining, or too hot, or too crowded in the Crows Nest, or when you want to dine with room service and watch the world go by in private.

 

It is a long time transiting the canal and it does become a little routine after a while so having a private retreat no matter which side of the canal you view would be in addition to being out on the ships full open decks, viewing and walking around that is also wonderful to do during the canal transit time.

[cruz chic]

Having the balcony is for the times you might not want to be on deck, like when you wake up or when you go to bed, or when you are getting ready for meals, or when its raining, or too hot, or too crowded in the Crows Nest, or when you want to dine with room service and watch the world go by in private.

 

It is a long time transiting the canal and it does become a little routine after a while so having a private retreat no matter which side of the canal you view would be in addition to being out on the ships full open decks, viewing and walking around that is also wonderful to do during the canal transit time.

Hopefully the OP can afford it. My dream is to someday have a balcony. I've decided that I can finally go with a window instead of an inside. Not everyone can afford to go the balcony route....or wants to.

[outerspaceguy]

what H/A ship is better to cruise on through the canal, the Westerdam, the Statendam, or the RotterdamVI

 

The only time I went through was on Celebrity. Doing a Panama Canal cruise isn't something that I long to do again, but it is definitely something everyone should do once in their lifetime.

 

I'd definitely pick a Panamax ship (look for a ship around 91,000 tons). It's amazing to watch the ship exactly fit, with inches to spare on all sides. Not sure which, if any, of your listed ships are Panamax. I know Statendam isn't, since it is quite a bit smaller than the Celebrity M-class (which are Panamax) ships.

 

Hope this helped

[RMLincoln]

She's like Amsterdam which we sailed through the canal on last December, the perfect size, great bow area for viewing from outside, great Crow's Nest, with the big map board, if you're into maps.

 

We couldn't go the price for a balcony but had a Cat C OV room on Promenade deck, the perfect solution, just steps away from the biggest "balcony" and when it was too hot for me I went inside and perched on the bed sitting in the window sill and watched the goings on from both the window and the bow cam on the TV in the AC... got a little room service too.

[jimmyjam]

:) all good posts.. i defintely will be cruising thru on one of them!!!!

 

Again, thanks

 

j jammer:cool:

[SwissMyst]

Hopefully the OP can afford it. My dream is to someday have a balcony. I've decided that I can finally go with a window instead of an inside. Not everyone can afford to go the balcony route....or wants to.

 

Agree. A lot of our cruising also takes place at the bottom rung porthole cabins too. Cruising is cruising and in a lot of ways it makes no sense to pay a lot extra to get to the same places and eat the same food. And for many cruises it is almost a waste of time to have a balcony if it is port intensive.

 

Why pay for it when you are not even on the ship to enjoy it all that much. But some cruises which have more sea days or transit sea days like the Panama Canal and Alaska Inside Passage, then if one can ratchet up the price to a balcony those would be the times it can be worth the extra.

 

But if it were possible to get a balcony on one of the Vista ships for a competitive price versus a regular room on one of the smaller HAL ships, I think it might be better to pick the Vista balcony - all other things being equal since the OP asked about that range of ships which do come in with very different cabin prices. Seemed like it might be a good consideration when choosing.

 

I wish I could always have a balcony too, but often we take anything just to get on a ship if it is going where we want to go. And the real irony was paying a bit more for a porthole on our last ship instead of the inside cabin only to have the porthole closed tight for weeks while we were in the pirate waters in the Indian Ocean. So even the port hole was wasted money for a good part of the trip. Should have picked an inside cabin on that one.

[Susie51]

The only time I went through was on Celebrity. Doing a Panama Canal cruise isn't something that I long to do again, but it is definitely something everyone should do once in their lifetime.

 

I'd definitely pick a Panamax ship (look for a ship around 91,000 tons). It's amazing to watch the ship exactly fit, with inches to spare on all sides. Not sure which, if any, of your listed ships are Panamax. I know Statendam isn't, since it is quite a bit smaller than the Celebrity M-class (which are Panamax) ships.

 

Hope this helped

 

I agree. While the ship was in the lock, I kept moving around the ship. Once while standing on the promenade deck I was even with the workers on the lock. We were so close they could have jumped on or we could have jumped off.

 

While you are going through Gatun Lake, go to a high forward location, so you can watch as other ships approach and pass you by.

[CruiserBruce]

A ship can't do a Canal trip unless it is Panamax. So a ship that is too big won't be scheduled for the Canal route.

 

All 3 ships the OP mentioned are Panamax. Most- but not all (RCCL's Oasis for example)- cruise ships are Panamax. They kept that in mind when they designed the ships.

[outerspaceguy]

All 3 ships the OP mentioned are Panamax. Most- but not all (RCCL's Oasis for example)- cruise ships are Panamax. They kept that in mind when they designed the ships.

 

No.

 

Panamax means it is exactly sized to fit inside the existing locks. You can be smaller than Panamax and fit through easily. The benefit to being on a Panamax ship is to watch as you literally exactly fit, with almost no room whatsoever to spare on any side.

 

"Panamax and New Panamax are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The size is limited by the width and length of the available lock chambers, by the depth of the water in the canal and by the height of the Bridge of the Americas. Consequently, ships that do not fall within the Panamax-sizes are called Post Panamax."

 

"The plans to build bigger locks have led to the creation of "New Panamax", based on new lock dimensions... The world's largest cruise ship Oasis of the Seas has almost New Panamax dimensions..."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax