cruise into the panama canal

[gray top surfer]

My wife and I are looking into a cruise INTO the Panama Canal - not all the way to the Pacific. The length of the cruise is what is driving this.

 

Anyone out there have experience with that 10 or 11 day cruise? It is offered by Princess. Leaves & returns to Ft Lauderdale, FL

 

Thanks - we are looking at January 2016.

[kcarrots1]

mh DH and I did the 11 day one in Jan 2014. You went through the first set of locks, the ship then let those off who had excursions booked through Princess, the ship stayed out in the lake for whatever period of time and then went back out through the same set of locks that it entered and docked to pick up those that had gone out on excursions. If you do not book an excursion through the ship, you cannot get off the ship for any private tours. We enjoyed the trip. We did do a ship excursion which we enjoyed. WHat else would you like to know?

[PatriciaF]

We did this cruise in 2013--great cruise--10 day itinerary. Nice smaller ship.

 

We got off the ship at the stop in the lake and went to Panama City for a tour. Very interesting to see all the growth and revitalization of the old city.

 

I have done the full transit many years ago--but Acapulco to Jamaica.

[akeasley]

I did the 10 day Panama in April 2013 on the Island and it was a wonderful experience. I would recommend taking the boat excursion when you get to Panama. The boat ride takes you through the other set of locks and in to the Pacific Ocean.

[Talisker92]

We did it on the Coral Princess and enjoyed it. The only problem we had was high water in Gatun Lake that cancelled some of the shore excursions.

Our trip story and photos are on our website.

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/panamacana2010.pdf

we are always happy yo answer any questions.

[BillB48]

What you are looking at is commonly called a partial transit cruise. The short explanation is you enter the Canal from the Atlantic side, lock though the first set of locks (Gatun), once you reach Gatun Lake you have the option of taking a tour (there are many) or remain on the ship while it retraces it's route and docking in Colon. The stop in Colon is primarily to pick up the touring passengers.

 

The pluses of this cruise are, it does not take as much time, it is a round trip cruise, so no need for flying to different parts of the country. The one big downside is you really are only seeing about 8 miles out of the 48 miles of the Canal. You can minimize some of the downside by taking the tour that is a partial transit of the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut, this will enable you to see a significant portion of the Canal. However there are are a number of other tours that may be of interest if the first set of Locks satisfy your Canal curiosity.

 

Most Canal purists will recommend a full transit, if you select the partial transit it really is a great cruise as well. You can't go wrong... you just probably will return for a full transit at a later date!

[akeasley]

We did it on the Coral Princess and enjoyed it. The only problem we had was high water in Gatun Lake that cancelled some of the shore excursions.

Our trip story and photos are on our website.

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/panamacana2010.pdf

we are always happy yo answer any questions.

 

 

 

Good review...thanks for sharing!

[GradUT]

The 10-day partial transit cruise on Princess is an EXCELLENT cruise. The ships have to be small to go through the Canal and we loved ours--the Island Princess.

 

I agree with those who recommend taking the ferry excursion through the other locks on the Canal. It's fascinating to see the Canal from the perspective of a small boat vis-a-vis a cruise ship!

[cruzsnooze]

I did it and loved it. They brought a lecturer on board to give some history and information about the canal.

[janetz]

Which ship is preferred and what would be the best time to sail? 😊

[flamomo]

Back in 2004, this was my very first cruise ever, and it completely wowed me ...... both the ship (the Coral Princess) and the itinerary, and in the intervening 10 years I have done over 20 more subsequent Princess.

IMO, one of the great things about this itinerary is the Princess excursion that takes you through the rest of the Canal, thru the western locks into the Pacific, and docks in Panama City, where you board a tour bus for the ride back across Panama to where the ship us waiting. In essence, with this tour you get to experience the entire Canal for the same cruise duration as a partial transit.

Edited September 30, 2014 by flamomo

[nasa1974]

We did a partial transit in October of 2012 on the Island. It was a great trip. We stayed on the ship while most everyone got off for their excursions. It allowed us to get up close and enjoy the transit back out of the locks.

[Seafoam Green]

We did it on the Coral Princess and enjoyed it. The only problem we had was high water in Gatun Lake that cancelled some of the shore excursions.

Our trip story and photos are on our website.

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/panamacana2010.pdf

we are always happy yo answer any questions.

 

Thanks for sharing details of your cruise on the Coral. Your description of the whitewater rafting trip in Costa Rica helped me to make our excursion decision for that stop. It looks like you had a great time.

 

:D

[sawtooth]

We cruised the Island 11 day partial transit in January. It was a great cruise. Love the stop in Cartagena, Colombia and Aruba. Not so much Limon,Costa Rica (the Pacific side of Costa Rica is so much better.

We did the ferry boat to make the full transit of the canal and that was just great. It was the whole reason we came on the trip to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific. You are so close to the canal walls and really get a up close and personal experience of the canal. Some might call it boring, we loved it. We would have liked some time in Panama City, perhaps another time.

[FritzG]

What you are looking at is commonly called a partial transit cruise. The short explanation is you enter the Canal from the Atlantic side, lock though the first set of locks (Gatun), once you reach Gatun Lake you have the option of taking a tour (there are many) or remain on the ship while it retraces it's route and docking in Colon. The stop in Colon is primarily to pick up the touring passengers.

 

The pluses of this cruise are, it does not take as much time, it is a round trip cruise, so no need for flying to different parts of the country. The one big downside is you really are only seeing about 8 miles out of the 48 miles of the Canal. You can minimize some of the downside by taking the tour that is a partial transit of the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut, this will enable you to see a significant portion of the Canal. However there are are a number of other tours that may be of interest if the first set of Locks satisfy your Canal curiosity.

 

Most Canal purists will recommend a full transit, if you select the partial transit it really is a great cruise as well. You can't go wrong... you just probably will return for a full transit at a later date!

 

Thanks for the clear and concise explanation of the partial transit. It's next on our list, and you confirmed our choice of the partial transit.

[Mary Ellen1]

We did this a couple of years ago on Holland America. We stayed on the ship, because DH didn't want to miss a minute of the canal experience. And because I'm (occasionally) silly, I made a point of heading to the buffet while we were still in the locks, and eating bagels & lox. Lox in the Locks! Yes please! :D

 

Also, the ship made a brief, early stop for the photographer to get off the ship & take some really cool pictures of the ship (and passengers) in the canal. We were out on the forward decks at that time, and could pick ourselves out of the crowd. Great picture! You might want to find out if your ship does something similar.