Wich best ship for ?

[sb_enfrance]

Hello

This will be my first Panama Canal cruises in December, I want to do the full transit, so I plan to leave from Florida and going west to California. If some people can share their experience and ship is the nicest to do it on ?

Regars

Sylvain

[CruiserBruce]

Best in what way? The Canal is the Canal. It doesn't change based on the ship you use.

 

What cruise lines have you sailed on? If happy with those cruise lines, I would be considering using the one(s) you are familiar with.

 

If you read down the board, you see several threads on transiting the Canal. One comment you will see is getting a stop in Panama in addition to the transit. Some people view this highly, some not so much.

 

Others look closely at the ports before or after the Canal, preferring to stop, or not stop at specific locations. Do you have such preferences?

 

You have already made the first important criteria- you are doing a full transit as opposed to a partial.

Edited February 8, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[OCruisers]

Island or Coral Princess are great ships for doing a full transit of the Panama Canal. They are long and thin with lots of viewing areas ... and especially built for going through the Panama Canal! :)

LuLu

[CruiserBruce]

Been through the Canal on three different ships, none of which were the Island or Coral Princess. Never seen a ship that doesn't have plenty of open deck space, including the bow. The claim about Island and Coral Princess is simply advertising hype.

[BillB48]

Princess has used the "built for the Canal" quite successfully, people do associate those two ships for Canal cruises. In reality any ship that is or comes close to the dimensions of 965'x106' are indeed specifically built to transit the Canal. There of course have been "exceptions" such as the Iowa class battleships at 108' in beam and the San Juan Prospector at over 980' in length. There were studies for the SS United States at 990' to transit, but she was removed from service before that could happen. However if you want to be a regular Canal customer you will have to stick to the 965x106 figures.

 

Back to sb_enfrance's question... the easiest cruise lines to find full transits on are Celebrity, Princess and HAL as they have the biggest selection of full transits during the Canal season. If you are satisfied with any of those cruise lines, just pick a date, cruise line and ship, since they will no doubt all do a great job on a full transit. Not that you can't find a full transit on Royal Carib, NCL, Carnival and Cunard, it is just their offerings are only occasional during the Canal season. You may even find cruise lines that sail mostly out of Europe such as P&0 or Thompson.

Edited February 8, 2015 by BillB48

[Richard in Panama]

The Canal is the Canal. It doesn't change based on the ship you use.

 

CruiserBruce I beg to differ with you!

 

For some cruise lines Canal Day, although mostly people book a Panama Canal cruise FOR the Panama Canal (Dah!), appears to be more of an inconvenience for the ship and crew than an event for the guests.

 

Some cruise lines provide great, informative lectures and information in a leadup to Canal Day, and others don't. Some ships provide commentary as you are going through the Canal, others don't. I'm just back from a stint doing lectures on the Canal for 2.5 months, and a lady came up to me and said, "I'm so glad for the programs and commentary! The last cruise line we were on, going through the Canal, nobody gave any commentary or said what was going on."

 

The design of the ship itself makes a big difference. Just advertising a "ship designed for the Panama Canal" may just mean it's the largest ship to be able to go through the Canal (i.e. a "Panamax" ship), but does not necessarily mean it is designed for guests to enjoy the Canal experience. Some ships open the fore deck for passengers during the transit. Other ships reserve this prime viewing spot for the crew, while the passengers cram into whatever other space is available. Some ships are designed so that the fore deck is inaccessible because it's jammed with winches, etc., or the steel walls are too high to be able to see anything.

 

The glass walls that protect guests from wind on the upper deck when they lay out to sun themselves, become a real hassle on Canal day. It's often difficult to see through the glass, or get a good photo, or you and everyone else is trying to squeeze your camera, iPhone or iPad into a 6" space between glass panels.

 

Some ships have really good inside areas for watching the action up front, and others don't. It all depends on the design of the ship. Some ships have windows that are slanted in such a way that all you see is moisture and steamed over windows. And it's on the outside where no body can deal with it, not on the inside.

 

Some ships put out coffee for guests up early so they don't miss a thing and others rigidly adhere to their schedules without consideration for the guests. One cruise line even has created what they claimed to be a historical "Panama Roll" for the day. Another cruise line not only opens the foredeck but puts out chairs and tents to shield guests from the sun.

 

Some cruise lines are stuck in the past, running and rerunning, David McCullough's "A Man, A Plan, A Canal" ... great video when it was made ... 28 years ago! It was shot on Royal Viking: Royal Viking disappeared in 1998. A lot has happened in Panama and with the Panama Canal since!

 

So, yes, it DOES make a difference, a big difference!

 

 

ONLY inside area to look forward on this ship was the buffet lounge, which didn't open until 5:30 am, when we picked up our pilot at 5 am. This picture was taken when we were actually entering into the first set of locks!

 

Inside viewing area on another ship.

 

 

Open fore deck on one ship ...

 

 

Closed and cluttered with equipment on another ...

 

 

Those glass windows on the upper deck, while great at sea, aren't so great on Canal day.

 

 

Have to hand it to ZUIDERDAM (I don't like naming names, but since it's blatantly all over the tents) ... making Canal day an event for the guests ... bar service, coffee, Panama rolls, chairs, tents all starting at 5 am.

 

 

How do you find out this stuff? Good luck! The cruise line booking folks are there to sell and book, and generally they don’t know and can’t find out an accurate answer. Folks who have done a few Canal cruises have only their limited experience on which to base their expertise. I work for all these guys, so I can’t use names, and frankly every cruise line has some real advantages and a few negatives. All I can say is read, read, read. Follow all the blogs. Look at all the pictures on line people post about their Canal trips: you’ll see some where for example the fore deck is empty and others where the fore deck is filled with guests.

 

Regards, Richard

[sb_enfrance]

Bonjour

I took note of this informations. I have sailed with NCL/Princess/Celebrity. Will be a solo passenger. I understand it is worth to stop/visit Panama or knowing the cruise line stop there. What other port of call are nice to see on the West Coast ?

Merci

Sylvain :)

[sprint180]

Thanks Richard, I have lots of things to look for now.

[DNorthrup]

I just got off celebrity Equinox 11day best ship ever!

[MazziB]

Thanks, Richard. Your information on the canal was very helpful. I'm hitting blogs and UTube as I write. Thanks again for taking the time to write.