Which Panama Canal sailing?

[cruisewiththekids]

I am looking at two different sailings for Panama Canal.   I don't have the time for the full transit cruise, so I'm looking at the 8 nt or 9 nt.     I'm comparing the ships, itinerary, weather in January vs. November, embarkation port.     9 nt appears to be the better itinerary, but I'm not sure about early November for weather.   How do the ships compare?   Thoughts from those who have done Panama Canal??

 

Pride from Tampa Jan 21 2023 8nt.

Sea

Sea

Limon 11 - 7

Panama Canal Partial Transit

Sea

Grand Cayman 8 - 5

Sea

 

Conquest from Miami Nov 10 2023 9nt

Sea

Grand Cayman 8 -5

Sea

Limon  8 -5

Colon 7 - 4

Cartagena  9 - 5

Sea

Sea

 

Thanks.

[jsglow]

While I LOVE the Pride, I'd 100% recommend Conquest for this one simply because of the two stops in Colon and Cartagena. You don't want to go all that way and miss out on two truly 'off the beaten path' cruise ports. At the former, absolutely arrange a visit by dugout canoe to the Embara Indian Village.  Perhaps the very best excursion we have EVER done. Google it. Do it privately. 

[hey-buc]

I don’t think the Conquest does the partial on this cruise, could be wrong.

[tallnthensome]

I've done the full transit and you want to do Cartagena with Dora Tours there. Amazing......

[cruisewiththekids]

As I'm doing some more research, it appears the 9nt does not do the partial transit of the canal as the 8 nt does.   Can anyone give insight into the difference?

[tallnthensome]

12 minutes ago, cruisewiththekids said:

As I'm doing some more research, it appears the 9nt does not do the partial transit of the canal as the 8 nt does.   Can anyone give insight into the difference?

What do you mean difference ? They go where they go ....... I will say  that going to Cartegena and Colon is much more important to me then the transit (locks portion) which was actually relatively boring to us while Colombia was great. To each their own though. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by tallnthensome

[lazydayz]

Our transit crossing was our favorite cruise day ever.  Since the Pride is a small ship they probably use the old locks.  It is an engineering marvel that we totally enjoyed. And the lake is gorgeous.  

[Guest BasicSailor]

Enjoy the Locks and the history that surrounds them. 👍 Visiting the area will show bob wired over chain linked fence. 

[cruisewiththekids]

I'm disappointed that the Conquest sailing doesn't actually transit the locks.    If you call a sailing "Panama Canal," I think most people would assume you will enter the locks.   I wouldn't have even thought about it had hey-buc not mentioned it in a previous post, which prompted me to research a bit.

 

[Essiesmom]

The Conquest spends the day in Colon and you can take excursions through the locks/canal from there.  The ship itself does not enter the canal.  The Pride goes into the canal through the Gatun Locks, and back out again.  There are no tours offered on canal day.  EM

[Honolulu Blue]

Random thoughts on comparing the two:

 

• As mentioned, the Pride goes through the (old) locks into the lake, while the Conquest docks in Colon - just outside the Canal and you'd have to take an excursion into the Canal if you want to see it
• I've been to Cartagena twice.  It's... interesting, let's just say that.  
• I've been on both the Pride and the Conquest, though not in the last five years.  The Conquest is considerably larger, but both have the basics.  Both were in decent shape when I sailed on them.
• Yes, hurricanes are possible in November, though they're very unlikely to be a factor south of Limon
• The weather in January should be ideal, though rain can happen any time - especially near the Canal
• I've done two partial transits and a full transit (east to west, new locks).  I thought each experience was nice.  I'd like to sail from west to east sometime, preferably through the old locks, though that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.  Too many other things I want to do take priority.

 

Whatever you decide, have a good time!

[tw67]

I am booked on the November 2023 Conquest cruise.  I am disappointed that we aren't going through the locks, but we plan to book an excursion to do it.  On the FB group for the sailing, a lot of people didn't realize that we weren't going through the first set of the locks. Yes the name of it should be changed. For us, the price was really good, and worth it to us, plus we can't make the spring sailing.  I understand that Conquest is doing shorter cruises these days, so I am a little apprehensive about a 9 day on her, but I realize that it will be cool to go where we never have before.  We will be making the best out of it, and will have a great time.  

[groundloop]

We did the Panama Canal cruise on Pride last November, it was one of my favorites.

 

They bring a local guide/historian on board who talks about the history of building the canal and how the canal is operated, that was fascinating to hear.  

 

I wonder if another cruise line combines a trip through the locks with stops at Colon and/or Cartagena.  

[firefly333]

My carnival dream goes to colon Panama and is not a partial transit. I have been asked but cant find information how much carnival charges for the big excursion all day to the locks. Rcl does one for about $189.

 

If anyone knows carnival price I'm asking. I asked on the oct roll call for this year but no answer. Mine isnt until jan 2024 so of course excursions arent posted. I'm trying to be a idea how much excursions will cost. I also have costa Rica and Columbia and aruba and curacao ...lol and jamaica. Going to cost a lot for excursions .. I'm especially interested in the locks. 

 

We had a lot of back n forth on our roll call where people were confused. For sure not partial but some thought otherwise

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, groundloop said:

We did the Panama Canal cruise on Pride last November, it was one of my favorites.

 

They bring a local guide/historian on board who talks about the history of building the canal and how the canal is operated, that was fascinating to hear.  

 

I wonder if another cruise line combines a trip through the locks with stops at Colon and/or Cartagena.  

I havent seen any. The partial from tampa is one of the partial .. just I figure it would cost more to get to tampa from texas than just buy the excursion .. but it does have some other nice ports. Misses the B lf ABC issues. I cant wait. So far away. Roll call passed 100 long time ago, it's very popular from texas.

[groundloop]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

My carnival dream goes to colon Panama and is not a partial transit. I have been asked but cant find information how much carnival charges for the big excursion all day to the locks. Rcl does one for about $189.

 

 

 

Here's the excursions Carnival offers at Colon.  You can go to your planner where you select which cruise you want to book activities and at the bottom of the page is an option to look at offerings for all ships and destinations.

 

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions?q=:recommended:port:Colon+(Panama+Canal)%2C+Panama&sort=recommended&page=0

 

 

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, groundloop said:

 

 

Here's the excursions Carnival offers at Colon.  You can go to your planner where you select which cruise you want to book activities and at the bottom of the page is an option to look at offerings for all ships and destinations.

 

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions?q=:recommended:port:Colon+(Panama+Canal)%2C+Panama&sort=recommended&page=0

 

 

Thanks. Does carnival run excursions sales? I only saw 7 choices. I assume it's the one for $194. It doesnt mention a meal but I read a review saying there was a decent buffet. I'll see if I can see excursions now for my date. 

 

It would cost me more than $200 to get to tampa. Texas departure it is. 

[Honolulu Blue]

56 minutes ago, groundloop said:

I wonder if another cruise line combines a trip through the locks with stops at Colon and/or Cartagena.  

FYI - my full transit was on the Carnival Splendor in January 2018.  It went to Cartagena the day before our transit.  We didn't stop in Colon.

[skrufy]

On 8/22/2022 at 9:52 AM, cruisewiththekids said:

I am looking at two different sailings for Panama Canal.   I don't have the time for the full transit cruise, so I'm looking at the 8 nt or 9 nt.     I'm comparing the ships, itinerary, weather in January vs. November, embarkation port.     9 nt appears to be the better itinerary, but I'm not sure about early November for weather.   How do the ships compare?   Thoughts from those who have done Panama Canal??

 

Pride from Tampa Jan 21 2023 8nt.

Sea

Sea

Limon 11 - 7

Panama Canal Partial Transit

Sea

Grand Cayman 8 - 5

Sea

 

Conquest from Miami Nov 10 2023 9nt

Sea

Grand Cayman 8 -5

Sea

Limon  8 -5

Colon 7 - 4

Cartagena  9 - 5

Sea

Sea

 

Thanks.

Have done the canal full transit on Elation and Miracle. Both went through the original locks. Have not seen a Conquest class ship go through these locks. The Conquest might be going into the new locks. The Pride into the old ones. For me the canal is the old locks.

[groundloop]

39 minutes ago, skrufy said:

Have done the canal full transit on Elation and Miracle. Both went through the original locks. Have not seen a Conquest class ship go through these locks. The Conquest might be going into the new locks. The Pride into the old ones. For me the canal is the old locks.

 

Out of curiosity I looked up the dimensions of the Spirit class and Conquest class, the beam of the Spirit class is 106 feet and 116 feet for the Conquest class.  Seeing as how Pride only had about 2 to 3 feet of clearance I'll go out on a limb and say that Conquest has to go through the new locks.

[crystalspin]

On 8/22/2022 at 8:52 AM, cruisewiththekids said:

...I'm comparing the ships, itinerary, weather in January vs. November, embarkation port.     9 nt appears to be the better itinerary, but I'm not sure about early November for weather.   ...Thoughts from those who have done Panama Canal??

 

Pride from Tampa Jan 21 2023 8nt.

Limon 11 - 7

Panama Canal Partial Transit

Grand Cayman 8 - 5

 

Conquest from Miami Nov 10 2023 9nt

Grand Cayman 8 -5

Limon  8 -5

Colon 7 - 4

Cartagena  9 - 5

If you go to WeatherSpark.com and look at the historical data summaries (use Limon as your location), it shows that January is better (for heat and humidity*) than November. We did a full transit with NCL in November -- it was pretty ghastly especially Cartagena. (We did the Hop-on-Hop-off bus with an included walking tour.)

 

If you are interested in the Panama Canal and it's your first trip there, I would lean heavily towards doing the partial transit! See if you can get a copy of "Path Between The Seas" about building the canal.

 

I have not sailed with Carnival (yet), but have a booking on the C.Miracle which is sister ship to the Pride. Since I made that reservation, I have been reading most postings on Spirit Class ships and many here feel they are the perfect size ship! 

 

ETA: Impressions of the Pride here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2875816-on-the-pride-and-impressed-so-far/

 

*It will still be hot and humid! It is the tropics!!!

Edited August 23, 2022 by crystalspin