Which cruise Line?

[Fireopal36]

My DH and I are thinking about doing a Panama Canal cruise in the next couple years. Need help choosing a cruise line though!

 

Dates don't really matter for us. We are in our 30s, no children. We would prefer a cruise that goes from Los Angeles or San Diego, to Florida (or vice versa). The only port that my DH really cares about is Cartagena, though I would like to visit as many ports as possible (though we could take or leave Cabo but I do love Puerta Vallarta). We do want a balcony so we can watch as we go through the canal. (And maybe a suite if the price is right or if it greatly enhances the experience).

 

We've ruled out Disney (as we don't want a ton of children around), and Celebrity is a little too expensive for us.

 

Other than that, anyone have opinions/suggestions/experiences to share?

Thank you!

[CruiserBruce]

If you read down the board, there are at least 6 threads discussing picking a cruise line for The Canal. Just on the first page. Some reading would be good.

The cruise is too long (minimum 10 days, more likely 14 or more), so extremely few kids on board. Plus virtually all Canal cruises are during school. Kids really aren't a factor.

 

The Canal "season" is late September to early May. So dates do matter.

 

Different cruise lines do different routes at different times. Again, dates do matter.

[BillB48]

If you are looking at regular mass market mainstream cruise lines there are really only a few choices. HAL, Princess and Celebrity offer the greatest number of cruises to pick and have a fair number of dates available, usually in the fall and winter. RCI has re-entered the Canal market offering two cruises this October and two more next March. You may find that Carnival and NCL will have an occasional Canal cruise as part of a repositioning cruise. The only time Disney makes it through the Canal is on the occasion of repositioning one of their ships from one coast to the other, which is not all that frequent. Don't discount Disney because hordes of kids, usually cruises longer than 7 days are not filled with the little ones. However Disney is not one of the more economical choices.... usually.

 

Cruise ships that are not registered in the US (which is just about all of them) must include what is called a distant foreign port in their itinerary in order to be in compliance with US law for them to be able to transport passengers between two US ports. What all that means is Cartagena (which is a distant foreign port) is almost always included in the ship's itinerary.

[AKman2495]

We do want a balcony so we can watch as we go through the canal. (And maybe a suite if the price is right or if it greatly enhances the experience).!

I am sailing through next month on Princess. But,from what I understand, you do not want to go through the canal sitting in your balcony because, for one thing, when you are in the locks all you will see is a lot of concrete-up close and personal. THe experts say you want want to move around the ship to get the full sense of the canal.

 

Obviously the balcony is great, but not for sitting back and watching the canal go by.....

[Northern Aurora]

We have done three complete transits of the canal. We always book balcony cabins (I guess I am just a balcony snob!) because we enjoy sitting outside on our own little bit of space, but most people will be wandering through the ship during the day of transit.

 

Don't discount Celebrity. We recently did B2B canal cruises on the Infinity. On the Celebrity M-class ships the helipad is in the bow. If they can dry off the helipad (ie no rain that day) it is opened for passengers during the transit. Folks with mobility problems would not be able to climb over a bulkhead and then climb up a steep set of stairs to reach the helipad, but for those who can the view from the bow is fantastic. On the second of that pair of cruises another cruise ship was also transiting and at times we beside the other ship (if my memory is correct it was a Princess ship), and the design of that ship did not allow such a view.

[Keith1010]

I would take another look at Celebrity and also look at Princess.

 

Keith

[Northern Aurora]

The Celebrity cruises through the Panama Canal are excellent, particularly on the M-class ships. On the Celebrity M-class ships the heli-pad is located on the bow, and if the weather cooperates (ie. no rain) the heli-pad is frequently opened during the transit. The heli-pad is not accessible to those with mobility problems, but the view is excellent.

[CruiserBruce]

The Celebrity cruises through the Panama Canal are excellent, particularly on the M-class ships. On the Celebrity M-class ships the heli-pad is located on the bow, and if the weather cooperates (ie. no rain) the heli-pad is frequently opened during the transit. The heli-pad is not accessible to those with mobility problems, but the view is excellent.

 

Holland America also opens their bow area for the transit. Many cruise lines do.

[lcmslady]

I wouldn't take Celebrity off your list. I really like the M-class ships (Infinity does the Canal the most).

I think you'll also find that Celebrity is cheaper than Princess.

 

My Sis and BIL did the full transit on the Infinity and said it was great to get on the bow.

Princess' Panamax ships do not have this area.

 

We are doing Princess just to experience Princess. My travel partner hasn't sailed with them and I haven't since 1999

 

I don't know that I'd look at HAL. Based on your age, you might be bored. The sidewalks roll up right after dinner and there will be very little to do.

 

Have fun!

[Ciyra]

My DH and I are thinking about doing a Panama Canal cruise in the next couple years. Need help choosing a cruise line though!

 

Dates don't really matter for us. We are in our 30s, no children. We would prefer a cruise that goes from Los Angeles or San Diego, to Florida (or vice versa). The only port that my DH really cares about is Cartagena, though I would like to visit as many ports as possible (though we could take or leave Cabo but I do love Puerta Vallarta). We do want a balcony so we can watch as we go through the canal. (And maybe a suite if the price is right or if it greatly enhances the experience).

 

We've ruled out Disney (as we don't want a ton of children around), and Celebrity is a little too expensive for us.

 

Other than that, anyone have opinions/suggestions/experiences to share?

Thank you!

Fireopal... My husband and I are in the same boat... in our 30s, no kids, not sure which line we want to go with... but I've been looking into it and we're leaning towards celebrity, possibly Princess.

 

We're looking into going in Spring 2014.

[mlkitt3]

We have just finished Oct cruise on Celebrity Millennium doing the canal. It was great. We have cruised both holland and celebrity before. The age demographics on Hal is older than Celebrity. If you can do it I think Celebrity would be a better choice for your age. On our cruise our friends had a balcony booked then after final payment suites came up on special so they upgraded for $140 each. Paid less than we did for our suite. Which ever line you choose the canal cruise will be wonderful.;)

[Keith1010]

I agree with mliitt3.

 

Keith

[Buckerook]

Another great view is from aft/stern cabins on Celebrity M class ships. Huge balcony and you can watch 180 degrees action.

[azevedan]

repost from a similar thread:

 

There are several on Azamara. 10 nights, Miami to Costa Rica, departing Jan 5 (we're on that one!) and 12 nights, Costa Rica to Miami, departing March 4.

Azamara is a fabulous small cruise line...great on-board experience and longer port stays.

[tropicbird]

One thing to take into account is that Panama has essentially 2 seasons, wet and dry. Dry (that coincides with the cruising season) is January and later. Wet is the beginning of the Panama cruising season through December. The differences in rainfall between, say, November and February are staggering. Something to keep in mind if you have a choice in dates...

 

Of course you can always get a rainy day in the dry season and vice versa (we were down there last week and nary a drop of rain) but in general this is something to take into account, especially if you want to do any off-the-ship activities.

[tiffanieb]

we are looking to do a canal crossing in january 2014 same problem 30 no kids looking for the best option we have cut it down to carnival imagination or ncl star, the star as better port i think:D