Princess or Holland America fro Panama Canal

[jacktssr]

Have wanted to go on a cruise through the Panama Canal and am ready to do this October. Which line should I use. Which has the best service, cabins,etc. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[pms4104]

We have been very loyal HAL passengers for several years ... last Fall we did Princess for the first time and loved it. Long story short: my spouse couldn't get vacation approved for November/December, which is when we normally sail, and we had to go October when HAL was not yet in the Carib.

 

Decided to do the full transit Panama Canal this year and agonized over going with Princess or HAL, as we found the lines to be comparable in many respects. On the one hand, the Princess itinerary had many more sea days ... and on the other hand, HAL had several port stops along the Mexican Riviera. Decided on Princess because we had no desire to hit so many Mexican ports and, more importantly, the Princess itinerary included a full day at Panama City in addition to the full day transit of the Canal.

 

Also, I found the Princess prices for this itinerary to be way more favorable for comparably sized cabins ... like $1500 total less than HAL.

[Pam in CA]

Can't go wrong with either. Take into consideration itinerary and pricing. The full day in addition to the transit is a plus for Princess but the ships and cruise experience are similar. The Coral or Island Princess have more public viewing space forward and aft but don't have aft balconies. I LOVED my aft balcony on the Zuiderdam last year so much my friend and I booked the same cabins on the Oosterdam in about three weeks. HAL ships have the Crow's Nest for viewing, the Coral and Island have the buffet which is far forward on these ships. Ship shore excursions for both HAL and Princess are essentially the same.

[tjcox9]

I've been through the Canal four times on HAL and twice on Princess and found that HAL makes more of an "event" out of transiting the Canal than does Princess. However, I must mention I did it on the Royal (small) so perhaps they do more on the larger Princess ships.

 

On HAL, the bow is open for viewing. Panama rolls, juice and coffee are served there and in other areas around the ship. Panama roll is some kind of pastry with a cream filling and mandarin orange slice. Why they are "Panama" rolls, I have no idea, but they've had them every time.

 

On Princess, there was nothing different other than the narrative throughout the day.

 

However, it'll be great which ever you use as even as many times as I've transited, it never ceases to fascinate.