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Once you're crossing the canal, head to the front of the ship for the best view. Cruise from Los Angeles or Miami and pick the trips that make your favorite stops. There's a cruise with stops in Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. Step into the past as you stroll down the Spanish Colonial lanes of Antigua in Guatemala, a picturesque town with pastel buildings and balconies filled with pink flowers.
Award Winning Ships
Since the crossing does take a while, especially sailing across Gatun Lake, you might find it fun to watch it from a different vantage point from time to time. You can enjoy views from a hot tub on one of the decks, from your table at lunch or even from a deck that's aft, so you can see the locks after you leave them instead of when you arrive. A full transit of the Panama Canal involves passing through six sets of locks, crossing an entire lake and contending with other marine traffic waiting to go through the lock system one at a time. It can take a cruise ship 10 hours or so to cover the 48 miles from the Caribbean to the Pacific. A full transit allows you to experience the entire canal and all the locks. On a full-transit Panama Canal cruise, the ship enters the first set of locks (usually from the Atlantic Ocean side, as most cruises originate from there or the Caribbean).
Understand the two main itinerary options before you book
You could also be aft, at the back of the ship, with a pair of binoculars to spot other ships. Visiting the Panama Canal for the first time is an extraordinary experience, made all the more special if you take some time to learn about this incredible feat of engineering. Learn about the latest ships and destinations by browsing hundreds of questions (and the answers to those questions) posted by real cruisers.
THE BEST Cruises from San Francisco to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE BEST Cruises from San Francisco to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic.
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Relax Through The Holidays On A Panama Canal Cruise
There are so many fabulous encounters with nature available from this port, you'll have a hard time deciding on a shore excursion. A visit to the Tabacon Resort Hot Springs takes you to the slopes of the active Arenal volcano. The Poas volcano features the amazing sight of a huge crater filled with iridescent blue water. Walk through a cloud forest at Villa Blanca, where you're surrounded by mist and water droplets clinging to the vegetation.
Norwegian Cruise Line's 17-day South America: Peru, Colombia & Chile cruise
But not so fast — traversing the Panama Canal actually takes at least 20 hours! Cruise it and enjoy a zoomed-in real-life look at perhaps last century’s greatest engineering achievement… along with its surrounding lush, verdant lands. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. This is one situation where a balcony cabin offers a unique perspective, but it isn't really a necessity (unlike on an Alaska or Hawaii itinerary, where you're guaranteed gorgeous scenery on either side of your ship).
Most of the major lines and some smaller ones offer at least a few Panama Canal sailings each season. Being in the locks is a thrilling experience and gives you an insight into how extraordinary the canal is, all the more so given that it’s more than 100 years old. You’ll see everything from giant cargo ships to small yachts making the transit.
PANAMA CANAL CRUISES
THE 25 BEST 10 Day Cruises to the Panama Canal & Central America (Prices & Itineraries) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 25 BEST 10 Day Cruises to the Panama Canal & Central America (Prices & Itineraries) on Cruise Critic.
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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. Passengers can purchase round-trip airfare or even drive to their departure port, which can be cheaper and logically easier than ending up on the opposite coast than you set out from. Silversea Cruises' indulgent 31-day New York to Lima sailing aboard its newest ship, 728-guest Silver Nova features a Panama Canal transit in the middle of the trip. January's dry weather makes the month the perfect time to explore Central America's national parks, jungles and tropical rainforests, including Costa Rica's Manuel Antonio National Park and Curú Wildlife Refuge and Panama's Darien National Park. During your visit, be sure to look for monkeys, sloths, iguanas, blue-footed boobies, capybaras, crocodiles and even manatees on a jungle boat tour along the canal and into Gatun Lake.
Partial transits often originate in Florida or the Caribbean, enter the canal at Limon Bay and travel 7 miles to the Gatun Locks. They then turn around at Gatun Lake, heading back to Colon and continuing on the itinerary. Despite the early start, you'll want to be prepared for the Panama sun, as it can get surprisingly hot while you're out there waiting.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises' newest ship, Seven Seas Grandeur, debuts in November 2023 and its first two Panama Canal itineraries in early 2024 are already waitlisted. Remove the hassle from air travel and give yourself the gift of flexibility, time and a thicker wallet with Princess EZair flights. We negotiate lower rates with the airlines, allow you to modify your flight up to 45 days prior with no penalty and protect you if your flight is late or canceled.
The guide will have downtime during certain parts of the day, so feel free to ask questions then. Wear a hat and long-sleeved clothes if you can, apply sunscreen before heading out on deck — and reapply often — and drink plenty of water all day. While passing through Gatun Lake, you'll be amazed at how wide it is in spots. At 180 square miles, it was the world's largest artificial lake at the time it was constructed.
Don't miss the Culebra Cut, an artificial valley through the Continental Divide made by cutting through the Culebra Mountains; it's recognizable by the staked, stepped cuts. Unless you have a companion to save you a spot, know that you will give up your original seat if you choose to move to another area for a different perspective. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. When it comes to packing for a Panama cruise, make sure you bring lightweight, breathable clothing to be comfortable in the country's hot and humid tropical climate. Experience a full crossing with our slideshow, Postcards from a Panama Canal Transit on Celebrity Infinity. From the ship, you'll get great views of Soberania National Park, a 55,000-acre area of protected rainforest that's home countless species of birds, mammals and reptiles.
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. Most full Panama Canal cruises do call in the Western Caribbean, the Costa Rican ports of Limon (on the Atlantic side) and Puntarenas (on the Pacific), and Cartagena, Colombia. Experience one of the wonders of the modern world on Holland America Line’s Panama Canal cruises. Our Panama cruise itineraries depart from both east and west coasts for loads of convenient options.
It then travels through Gatun Lake and the other sets of locks to exit the canal on the Pacific side. On the day of the transit, prime viewing locations on the bow and near windows go quickly. Most cruise lines do their best to give everyone a decent seat -- sometimes opening up "crew only" areas -- but competition can still get fierce. So set your alarm; the sooner you can pull yourself out of bed, the better the spot you'll snag.
The busiest travel months for Panama are from October through April, with temperatures starting off cool in October and getting warmer as the weeks pass. 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. 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. Celebrity will take you seamlessly from one adventure to the next as you explore jewel-like Caribbean islands and historic Cartagena.
You'll first see the skyscrapers of Balboa on the port side, then eventually the Bridge of the Americas will come into view. Take some photos and video as you go underneath it; if it's too crowded with passengers jockeying for position, head aft on the ship and snap some after you pass under it. Keep in mind that die-hard canal lovers will stand on deck the entire time, blocking the view from inside, so be prepared to move around. Don't miss your ship's information session the evening before the crossing so that you can learn more about the process and find out when your ship is scheduled to begin its transit. Don't be surprised if people start grabbing spots in the predawn hours in the best viewing areas. If you want a front-row view of the action, you'll probably have to do the same.
As David McCullough recounts in his sweeping history The Path Between the Seas, it was a combination of sheer human might and engineering prowess. Even though the tropical destination's peak travel season is between October and April, the best time to cruise to Panama depends on how much you plan to be active outdoors. Keep in mind that Panama has a rainy season between May and December so if you're looking to spend time exploring, plan around these months.
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