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Extend your cruise vacation, and simplify your travel plans with a hotel stay at the beginning or end of your cruise. With a Cruise Plus Hotel Package, a Princess representative meets you at the airport and pier, transporting you to and from your hotel. The package includes the cost of your hotel stay, transportation, luggage handling and the services of the representative.
Day by Day
As ships pass the locks from the east their elevation is gradually lowered and as they pass the final set of locks, the Gatun locks, the ships ascend an amazing 85 feet bringing them back to sea level. Many cruisers consider a cruise through the Panama Canal a must-do, and for a long time, the itineraries drew mostly seniors, due to the length of a full-transit trip (which usually runs 14 days). Partial Panama Canal cruises -- where ships only go halfway through the locks before turning around -- not only cut the number of days, but increase day-trip options in the Central American cities near the canal. While several ships bring lecturers onboard to talk about the canal's history, this is one trip where a little extra reading might add to your enjoyment.
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There's a cruise with stops in Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. A cruise to the Panama Canal is filled with country-hopping adventures that take you to Mexico's Mayan ruins, white beaches in Cabo San Lucas or Colonial treasures in Colombia. Along with crossing the impressive Panama Canal during your vacation, you can also get in touch with the local cultures of different countries, where indigenous peoples still live and where heritage and history are treasured and preserved.
Why Cruise to the Panama Canal with Celebrity
Explore the engineering genius of the Panama Canal with Celebrity on a thrilling voyage that brings history and human achievement to life. On a Panama Canal cruise, experience the lush rainforests of Costa Rica, teeming with scarlet macaws and slow-moving sloths. Other great shore excursion options include taking the refurbished Panama Railway from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It rides parallel to the Canal and offers a great view in luxuriously paneled railway cars. Another exciting alternative is to take a trek through the rain forest at Gamboa, or visit an authentic Embera Indian Village on the Chagres River (which often takes place by canoe). Apart from length of sailing, the biggest decision you'll need to make on a Panama Canal cruise is whether to opt for a traditional trans-canal experience or take a partial crossing.
Take the world's greatest shortcut with our Panama Canal cruise.
These itineraries sail roundtrip from Florida, pass through the locks before turning around and returning to their originating port after re-entering the canal system on the return trip. Passengers often choose an Atlantic to Pacific or Pacific to Atlantic route, depending on where they live, although you'll gain hours if you choose the latter. (Some people prefer to have their longer one-way flight at the beginning of a trip, instead of the end.) With this trans-canal option, you spend a day on the canal, crossing from ocean to ocean and going through the complete lock experience. If having the full "canal experience" is part of your bucket list -- or if you're an engineering geek and don't care too much about shore excursions within Panama itself -- this trip is for you.
Cruising Through the Panama Canal Locks
Regardless of transit type, keep in mind that Panama Canal cruises can be longer-than-average sailings. Most cruises shorter than two weeks are one-way sailings, often beginning or ending in Panama. The shortest sailings are predominantly offered by small ships, and they begin and end in Central America.
Exotic Views
"The Path Between the Seas," by historian David McCullough, is highly recommended. The partial Panama Canal experience isn't much shorter than a full crossing, but you'll experience the Caribbean-side locks twice and miss out on the Pacific side. On the flip side, the ship will often sail round-trip from Florida, allowing passengers to enjoy various Caribbean ports before and after the transit.
Panama Canal Cruises
Register with Cruise.com to get access to exclusive rates, discounts and special offers. We've listed the pros and cons of travel by each month so that you can make the best of your Panama Canal cruise. Hit the gift shop on the way out for a hat, T-shirt or another souvenir to mark the day you traveled in 10 hours from one ocean to another.
The ship makes one Atlantic stop in Aruba before passengers disembark in Fort Lauderdale. And Princess provides live narration from the bridge while transiting the locks, just one reason we were voted "Best Cruise Line for Enrichment" by Cruise International. Major cruise lines that sail to Panama include Carnival, Royal Caribbean Princess, Holland America Line (HAL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Celebrity, Oceania and Viking. Prices per person depend on several factors, including which line you book, the month you travel and the duration of the trip. A full transit allows you to experience the entire canal and all the locks.
THE 5 BEST Cruises from Port Canaveral to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 5 BEST Cruises from Port Canaveral to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:21:26 GMT [source]
And even though the crossing is fascinating, let's be honest — it can also be tedious. Ships and passengers spend much time waiting, and 40 ships pass through the canal each day. Since they all line up in Limon Bay to wait their turn, you may be docked there the entire night and start the crossing early morning; you might even be lined up ready to go and still need to wait part of the day.
So stretch out on a Caribbean beach, admire the pristine rainforests, stroll the cobbled streets of colonial towns and journey through the fabled Panama Canal with Princess. Experiencing the Panama Canal doesn't have to be time-consuming or budget-busting. Experiencing this marvel of early 20th-century engineering appeals to those with a wide array of interests, from history and politics to colonial architecture and wildlife spotting. Built by the U.S. government between 1903 and 1914, this 50-mile waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans revolutionized shipping by creating an expedited route for the transit of cargo and, ultimately, cruise ship passengers.
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