Panama Canal, which would you pick

[nyc12345]

Trying to decide between the following, which would you pick and why? TIA

 

10-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

Colon, Panama 5:00pm 8:00pm

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 7:00am 4:00pm

At Sea

Fort Lauderdale, FL 7:00am

 

15-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

At Sea

Puntarenas, Costa Rica 7:00am 7:00pm

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Huatulco, Mexico 8:00am 5:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 7:00am 2:00pm

At Sea

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 7:00am

[Colo Cruiser]

Trying to decide between the following, which would you pick and why? TIA

 

10-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

Colon, Panama 5:00pm 8:00pm

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 7:00am 4:00pm

At Sea

Fort Lauderdale, FL 7:00am

 

15-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

At Sea

Puntarenas, Costa Rica 7:00am 7:00pm

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Huatulco, Mexico 8:00am 5:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 7:00am 2:00pm

At Sea

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 7:00am

 

 

Which?? Of course the full transit!

Why?? Because its a longer cruise, and its the best way to experience the canal!

 

You don't say whether its the Coral or the Island?

Edited June 17, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[EightFurryPaws]

We did the full transit last year. I would choose the 15day because:

 

Puntaranes, CR is a great port. Took an all day excursion through the rain forest, river boat ride, and had a great lunch.

 

San Juan del Sur is a tender port, not much to see, but a nice way to relax at the beach.

 

i just love Cabo. Lots to do and can spend an entire day there.

 

When we arrived back in LA, we spent a few days at an Airport hotel. One day took the bus to Manhattan beach which was beautiful. The next day we took a Sunseekers tour. Spent the day seeing the sights. They pick up and return you back to your hotel.

 

Pam

[partybarbie]

Longer cruise wins out almost every time. If you have done the canal before, and are limited for time, then I might pick the shorter one. I absolutely love Huatulco, Mexico. Not too many ships go there and the people were so nice and friendly. We were on a Princess tour, about 20 of us, to go snorkeling. A father and his sons ran the tour. On the way back, they made us margarita's with fresh squeezed fruit and home chips and guacamole. I also love Puntarenas. We were lucky enough to see wild scarlet macaws, howler monkeys, and crocodiles. I would highly recommend going to the Villa Lapas Resort there. I've done the longer cruise 4 times and the shorter one 1 time, so I guess that would tell you how much better I liked the longer one.:D

[paul929207]

Another for the 15 day cruise. In fact, we are hoping to do it next year from FLL, and do a b2b so we have the short flights to and from FLL

[Kamloops50]

Also for the 15 day . For me it is the time and airfare cost.

[MustangGT]

We have done both Partial and Full transit. I find it interesting that the 10 day itinerary above states "Full Transit" when it is a Partial.

We preferred the Full transit as it gave you the complete experience from one ocean to the other. Many will say do the Partial and do an excursion on a small boat through the Pacific side locks. It's a personal decision. We loved the sea days so the 15 day was great. Have to admit that after a 15 day I felt our recent 7 day cruise was way too short:D

[nyc12345]

I also prefer the longer cruise, but saw that I don't actually get to see Panama in the full transit, so was wondering if I should have picked the shorter one instead. Based on all the expert opinions, I think it's going to be the longer cruise. Thanks! :D

[SantaFeFan]

Isn't that 10 night cruise only a partial transit? It's listed as a full.

 

I also vote for the full transit. The canal is an amazing sight, and doing the entire voyage is well worth it. Plus, as others have said, a longer cruise wins every time.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Full transit is my preference, but Huatulco is the real winner on that itinerary. It's my favorite Mexican cruise port but not many cruises stop there. It's a beautiful area with seven bays surrounded by mountains. Loved it!

[NavyVeteran]

Given you have the time and money, 15 nights on a ship is better than 10. But the 10-night cruise still gives you a great view of the canal.

 

If you do the 10-night partial transit, you can still do a full transit of the canal. Book Princess shore excursion PC1-615. You transfer to a small boat in Gatun Lake and take the small boat through the remaining locks to the Pacific; then return to the Atlantic by bus to meet your ship. In some ways this is better than a full transit on the ship because the view of the locks from the small boat is much different than the view from the large ship.

 

If you want the full transit, you have to take the Princess shore excursion. You cannot get off the ship in Gatun Lake unless you are on one of the Princess excursions.

[JimAOk1945]

We did the Partial Transit last December on the Island Princess due to time constraints. We enjoyed it very much.

 

We plan to take the full transit sometime soon. You might like to see the pictures my wife took and posted on her website at the link below. It might help you make a decision.

 

December 2014 Partial Transit On The Amazing Island Princess

 

Happy cruising!

[nyc12345]

We did the Partial Transit last December on the Island Princess due to time constraints. We enjoyed it very much.

 

We plan to take the full transit sometime soon. You might like to see the pictures my wife took and posted on her website at the link below. It might help you make a decision.

 

December 2014 Partial Transit On The Amazing Island Princess

 

Happy cruising!

 

Thanks for the awesome pictures. Where's the best place to be during the transit? Front/back/side/everywhere? :)

[nyc12345]

Given you have the time and money, 15 nights on a ship is better than 10. But the 10-night cruise still gives you a great view of the canal.

 

If you do the 10-night partial transit, you can still do a full transit of the canal. Book Princess shore excursion PC1-615. You transfer to a small boat in Gatun Lake and take the small boat through the remaining locks to the Pacific; then return to the Atlantic by bus to meet your ship. In some ways this is better than a full transit on the ship because the view of the locks from the small boat is much different than the view from the large ship.

 

If you want the full transit, you have to take the Princess shore excursion. You cannot get off the ship in Gatun Lake unless you are on one of the Princess excursions.

 

Do they offer excursions if it's only a one-day transit? Doesn't seem to indicate they will be stopping during the transit...:confused:

[nyc12345]

Isn't that 10 night cruise only a partial transit? It's listed as a full.

 

I also vote for the full transit. The canal is an amazing sight, and doing the entire voyage is well worth it. Plus, as others have said, a longer cruise wins every time.

 

That's what I thought too, but the online website I used to research cruises said full transit, I went to Princess website and they don't say that. So it must be a partial...

[paul929207]

That's what I thought too, but the online website I used to research cruises said full transit, I went to Princess website and they don't say that. So it must be a partial...

I think it has to be a partial transit. Otherwise, they would need a second full transit to get from the Pacific back to the Caribbean

[Colo Cruiser]

We did the Partial Transit last December on the Island Princess due to time constraints. We enjoyed it very much.

 

We plan to take the full transit sometime soon. You might like to see the pictures my wife took and posted on her website at the link below. It might help you make a decision.

 

December 2014 Partial Transit On The Amazing Island Princess

 

Happy cruising!

 

 

Great photos!

[VTX-AL]

For us, longer is better, which is why we are booked April 19/2017 - 21 days FLL/Panama/YVR, Island Princess.

 

...VTX-Al

[elliair]

Trying to decide between the following, which would you pick and why? TIA

 

10-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

Colon, Panama 5:00pm 8:00pm

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 7:00am 4:00pm

At Sea

Fort Lauderdale, FL 7:00am

 

15-night

Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Aruba 7:00am 12:30pm

Cartagena, Colombia 9:00am 3:00pm

Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

At Sea

Puntarenas, Costa Rica 7:00am 7:00pm

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 7:00am 6:00pm

At Sea

Huatulco, Mexico 8:00am 5:00pm

At Sea

At Sea

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 7:00am 2:00pm

At Sea

Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 7:00am

 

We're doing the 15-night Panama Canal in December. We're flying into FLL 2 days early. We live in California, so it made sense to do the 15 day. This will be our second 15-day cruise to the Panama Canal.

[scienceteacher]

We are doing the partial the first week of November. I have no interest in the full transit. Four sea days are enough for us. I love vacation but also enjoy my activities at home. I would not like to be gone longer. I guess I am alone in that. Whichever you choose, I hope you have a wonderful time.

[sunshine nana]

We did the 10 night and loved it! I hate flying and it is so long from the west coast to our home on the east coast. Also, DH does not like sea days. He is a train buff, so we took the train excursion to the Pacific. Depending on where you live, you may need to add a plane flight to the total cost.

[downsmead]

We have just done a full transit of the canal (May). You ask where is the best place on ship. The answer is everywhere. A full transit takes from ~7am to ~4-5pm, therefore you can wander all over the ship and view from different vantage points. We started out on the bow of the ship (the helipad) for Gatun locks, despite the pouring rain!!:D. Once through we then went to peel off our soaking wet clothes, have a shower to warm up and get breakfast. After that we went to the front lounge to see the passage through the lake. At times, we went out on deck to get a closer look at things, especially when passing through the cut and where the continental divides meet and passing under the bridge. We then went onto one of the promenade decks for the next set of locks and for the last set, went back onto the top deck. Most ships have a commentary throughout the day. It is a fabulous experience, and the whole cruise was one of our best. We want to go back when the new locks open though I cannot see that they will open when expected. The trip to visit the Gatun locks the day before is worthwhile, as you do not get that prospective whilst on board.

[OCruisers]

The FULL transit! :D

 

LuLu

[Treven]

Another vote for the full transit of the canal; one of the man-made wonders of the world needs to be experienced in its entirety.:)

[NavyVeteran]

Do they offer excursions if it's only a one-day transit? Doesn't seem to indicate they will be stopping during the transit...:confused:

 

They offer excursions in the middle of a partial transit. I've never taken a full transit, so I can't comment.

 

Princess lists excursions on its website. Take a look at the specific cruise you are considering and look at the excursions listed. They are generic to the itinerary and may not be completely accurate for your specific cruise, but the list should be close for something like a Panama Canal cruise that they do repeatedly.