Panama Canal vs. Mediterranean Cruise

[CruiseNovice44]

My husband and I want to plan a big "before any little ones" cruise for 2017. We're undecided as to whether to do the Panama Canal or head to the Mediterranean. We know we'll eventually do both, but which do you think should be a priority? I'd love to hear anyone who has done both (or either). Thanks!

 

 

 

 

December 2016 - Carnival Magic - Western Caribbean

July 2016 - Carnival Sunshine - Exotic Eastern Caribbean

April 2016 - Carnival Pride - Bahamas

July 2015 - Carnival Pride - Eastern Caribbean (Wedding Cruise)

April 2014 - Caribbean Princess - Western Caribbean

[Slopoke15]

My husband and I want to plan a big "before any little ones" cruise for 2017. We're undecided as to whether to do the Panama Canal or head to the Mediterranean. We know we'll eventually do both, but which do you think should be a priority? I'd love to hear anyone who has done both (or either). Thanks!

 

Have done both ... actually did the Panama canal twice. Cannot go wrong with either one, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Mediterranean. There will be a larger variety of cruises to choose from, with lots of different itineraries, and some port stops that offer some very interesting things to see/do.

[CruiseNovice44]

Thanks! Which cruiseline(s) did you use?

 

 

 

 

December 2016 - Carnival Magic - Western Caribbean

July 2016 - Carnival Sunshine - Exotic Eastern Caribbean

April 2016 - Carnival Pride - Bahamas

July 2015 - Carnival Pride - Eastern Caribbean (Wedding Cruise)

April 2014 - Caribbean Princess - Western Caribbean

[OCruisers]

If you decide on the Panama Canal, do a FULL transit!

For that ... seriously consider Coral Princess. ;)

[Slopoke15]

Thanks! Which cruiseline(s) did you use?

 

Mediterranean was with RCI

Panama Canal was with Princess

[Essiesmom]

Have done both, Panama Canal with HAL and Celebrity. Have done the Med with HAL and Celebrity, and a bit with Carnival. If you choose the Med, do it with a ship small enough to visit Venice. Preferable with a cruise that starts or ends in Venice, with a couple of days there before or after the cruise. Arriving even one day early doesn't give you enought time to absorb Venice. EM

[cb at sea]

Either/or...they are TOTALLY different! The MED is a big excursion place...unless you live there. The Canal is a "pass-thru" sort of thing. Both are worth seeing...but they are TOTALLY different!

 

Which appeals to you?

[navybankerteacher]

Think about a trans-Atlantic repositioning after spending several days in Italy. There are many options from late September to early November. You would have several days to really see, say, Rome or Venice -perhaps both, then several stops in the Mediterranean before crossing to home. Fares per day are generally lower on T/A's.

[CruiseNovice44]

Thanks for the advice!

[CruiseNovice44]

Think about a trans-Atlantic repositioning after spending several days in Italy. There are many options from late September to early November. You would have several days to really see, say, Rome or Venice -perhaps both, then several stops in the Mediterranean before crossing to home. Fares per day are generally lower on T/A's.

 

 

Thanks! I hadn't even thought about looking into a transatlantic cruise!

[baja mama]

I did the Canal in 2003 and was not excited about it at all but after we went through it I said to my husband I want to do it again it was so cool.

 

On the other hand Venice is the best city I have ever been to and say to anyone if you could go to only one place go to Venice!!!

 

Have a great cruise were ever you go.

 

Lynn

[CruiseNovice44]

Either/or...they are TOTALLY different! The MED is a big excursion place...unless you live there. The Canal is a "pass-thru" sort of thing. Both are worth seeing...but they are TOTALLY different!

 

Which appeals to you?

 

My husband is leaning towards Panama Canal at the moment, because he's fascinated with the history in that region and the engineering of the canal, but we both want to make it to the Mediterranean at some point too. It's a hard choice!

[Slopoke15]

My husband is leaning towards Panama Canal at the moment, because he's fascinated with the history in that region and the engineering of the canal, but we both want to make it to the Mediterranean at some point too. It's a hard choice!

 

I completely understand the attraction of the Panama Canal, as the history and engineering of the original canal were of interest to me as well. However, in my opinion, a cruise of the canal will be easier, and possible after "the little one's" arrive, whereas, a trip to the Mediterranean with kids would be much more difficult :);)

[Flatbush Flyer]

OP: as others have said, quite different. MED = port intensive while Canal = nice mix of sea days and ports plus an engineering marvel. Whichever you choose pick start and end ports that are worthy of extra days visit.

For our first Med cruise, we did Lisbon to Rome with great land time pre/post cruise. For the Canal, we went SF to NYC (need I say more?)

In both cases, we sailed with Oceania -excellent food and service (with "O Life" perks and included air plus other amenities) at a great "net daily rate" for your trip.

[Essiesmom]

I would also recommend you do the Med before you have children - unless you planned to travel without them. Airfare is much more, and flight time longer, jet lag worse, especially if you have children to get through it. EM

[Markanddonna]

I agree with the posters who lean towards the Med cruise. I think it might depend on where your fascination lies. I've been to Spain, Portugal, Italy (the countries that most resemble the Spanish influence in South and Central America.) The Mediterranean is SO much more fascinating (sorry South America and Central America). Also, consider doing a few days or at least a week elsewhere in Europe after a Med cruise.

 

Here's an idea: book a 14 day transatlantic to Barcelona, spend a few days and then hop on a plane to go to your dream country or city. You will find that the airlines within Europe are inexpensive. I traveled from Barcelona to Warsaw (to visit my newly discovered family) and the flight was $46. From Warsaw to a small airport that would be closer to the village was another $25!

 

So, do you want to go to Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, etc? Take a TA and go hopping around Europe before or after your cruise.

 

I loved the Panama Canal full transit (19 nights), but to be honest, my favorite days were the transit and then Astoria, OR and Victoria, Canada. The Mexican ports were ok to scary and Cartagena was just ok. Costa Rica was really filthy near the port and rather disappointing. I'd like to see the REAL rainforest, not just the edges. We saw no wildlife!

 

We did the PC on the NCL Jewel and thought it was wonderful. BTW- RCL and Celebrity offer pretty low one way fares for transatlantics.

[Gloria Mundi]

However, in my opinion, a cruise of the canal will be easier, and possible after "the little ones" arrive, whereas, a trip to the Mediterranean with kids would be much more difficult :);)

 

That was my thinking, too. I just booked a cruise from Panama City to San Jose, CR and both are about 4 hours from Atlanta and, since I'm in the Central Time Zone (except for the connection in ATL) there's no jet lag. I even sprang for Business Class on the flight because it's so reasonable compared to Business Class to Europe (or, heaven forbid, Australia).

 

With Europe, on the other hand, you cross enough time zones that you really need some time to acclimate and it makes sense to do a longer cruise once you get there. Much harder after the kids come, whether you have them with you or you leave them with someone at home.

[marco]

If both are on your bucket list, I'd do the Med cruise now and Canal at a later date.

[SuiteTraveler]

I agree with the Med cruise recommendation. The thing about the Med is that it really doesn't matter what ship you go on because most days you are off the ship by 8am and don't get back on until 5pm or later. For this reason, it is smart to pick the least expensive Med cruise you can find with the most port time as you are just using the ship as a hotel. Most cruise lines can produce a competent breakfast and dinner. But other than that, you really don't have much time to use the amenities onboard the ship. We've gone on NCL to the Med twice and also Celebrity. I would recommend you consider sailing from Barcelona as the port is very convenient to the airport and also Barcelona is a great city - definitely plan to fly in a day or two early to see all that Barcelona has to offer and also to make sure you don't miss your ship. On our first Med cruise, our flight over was delayed by 6 hours. Fortunately, we had a whole extra day before the cruise so it was not a problem. We stay at Hotel 1889 on Las Ramblas - it's great and has a thalisotherapy pool and also a dry sauna and steam room that hotel guests can use for free. It is also very close to the Bouqueria Market - a great place to visit and take photos. Then there is all of Las Ramblas which is very interesting as well.

 

You will find that the ship excursions are expensive for Med cruises, so do get on your roll call and plan to share private excursions with other cruisers - you see more and it costs a lot less than ship excursions. The ship excursions tend to run at the speed of the slowest walker in the group - which is often someone on a walker. For some excursions, you can simply take the train to where you want to go and walk around or take taxis as needed. Rome, in particular is very easy and inexpensive to get to via train and then back to the port of Citavecchia via train. Rome is meant for walking, so it is easy to spend your day there with a walking tour ap on your smartphone to help you navigate to the sights you want to see.

 

Do some research on each port so you know what you would like to do there.

[cruisemom42]

I love the Mediterranean and would strongly recommend it. As others have said, it can be intensive and is not so easily done with young children.

 

If you have limited vacation time (as many people do), I would not recommend doing a Trans-Atlantic cruise. You have anywhere from 4-6 days of travel just to get where you're going. Fine if you have unlimited time... I prefer to maximize the amount of time I have actually IN the Med, rather than spend it getting there.

 

Itineraries in the Med are much more important than the actual ship. Do a lot of research and figure out where you want to go. Unfortunately, a number of ports are "off the menu" at the moment due to instability, terrorism, what have you. Remember, ships will not take you anywhere unsafe -- but on the flip side, a port may be cancelled and another one substituted at a relatively late date.

 

Plan for at least a 10-11 day cruise and as much additional time in Europe as you can swing. A great idea is to plan a cruise that starts and ends in different ports, and spend 2-3 days in each of these, at a minimum.

 

There is a lot more info on the Ports of Call boards here. Good luck with your decision.

[VMax1700]

Just a couple of points (no flaming please! :eek:)

 

Med cruises need relatively high energy levels - early starts etc to get the best from your restricted times in port.

 

Med cruises are not really for young children (in my view) unless you are going to waste valuable time with beach visits. Teens will find it more interesting.

 

Panama canal cruises are really more relaxed as they tend to visit some caribbean islands, unless you go for a full transit, which then includes Mexico.

 

Most cruises are priced in US dollars and with current exchange rates it might be the opportune time to visit the Med.

[rockdoctor]

As others have said, make sure you do a full transit. But even with a full transit, taking a ferry excursion through the canal gives a very different feel than on a cruise ship. Also, consider Celebrity since the Infinity has aft cabins which allow you to see the operation of the locks without being in congested public areas. The cabins are a little more expensive but the balconies are hugh and partly covered. As I write this it occurs to me that maybe you might want to do the Med first since it may be too late to get what, to me anyway, is an ideal Panama Canal cabin.

 

WRT a Med cruise, with all the instability in the eastern Med, you may want to look at a western Med cruise. Airfare seems cheap to Barcelona right now.

[zoncom]

Canal is like watching paint dry.

[iancal]

Another vote for a Med cruise.

 

We never did get around to doing a Panama cruise. We have done many Caribbean cruises. Just as well because we plan to do the canal on a post cruise land trip in Feb/March. We want to go out to the Miaflores observation area on one day, then the train out to the coast, and then grab the smaller tour boat for a trip through the canal the following day. Our friends in Panama suggested that this is the way see the canal.

 

I am sure that you will have a good time whichever itinerary you select.

Edited November 14, 2016 by iancal