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With that, you may be wondering what the best itinerary is for your specific cruising goals. From repositioning cruises to Mexican Riviera adventures, there are positives and negatives to every itinerary option in the cruising realm in regards to Panama Canal cruises. I highly recommend booking a balcony or higher stateroom on your cruise ship as you will not regret waking up to the breathtaking Panama Canal from your own private balcony.
The best time to cruise the Panama Canal
With this trans-Panama Canal itinerary, you can expect to spend a full day on the canal, crossing the beautiful Panama Canal from the Caribbean to the Pacific, or vice versa. Most trans-Canal itineraries will call in many ports found in the Western Caribbean. These include Puerto Limon and Puntarenas in Costa Rica, and Cartagena, Colombia. Other Panama Canal itineraries include stops along Mexico’s west coast and in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. There are way more Panama Canal cruises than you probably thought possible!
What are some things to do in the Panama Canal & Central America?
Princess handles all the details – including transfers and baggage handling – with accommodations selected for their incredible locations and excellent service. Partake in a Costa Rica excursion for a Caribbean adventure with Princess Cruises. One of the world’s greatest engineering wonders, the 51-mile-long Panama Canal is a major tourist attraction in Central America. And it’s a hugely popular cruise destination, too, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
THE 7 BEST Cruises from Vancouver to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 7 BEST Cruises from Vancouver to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 09:18:21 GMT [source]
Panama Canal Cruise Port Highlights
It then travels through Gatun Lake and the other sets of locks to exit the canal on the Pacific side. If you want the best pricing and fewer crowds, October and November are the rainy season, so the pricing will be lower — and you'll avoid the holiday crowds and high fares in December. Here, we look at Panama's peak cruise season month by month, so you can consider the weather, pricing and crowds to determine the best time to cruise through the Panama Canal. It used to be that only smaller Panamax ships could squeeze through the locks of the Panama Canal. However, with the opening of a new set of locks in 2016, larger New-Panamax-sized ships can transit, as well.
Partial Crossing
From there, look into the shore excursions carefully to fully plan your Panama Canal adventure. If you are lucky, you may be able to find some longer sailings departing from Seattle, Washington or Vancouver, Canada. However, if you prefer to plan a back to back cruise, I highly suggest heading out of and to one of the most popular ports, as these will typically have more options to extend your cruising vacation.
Ocean to Ocean
That means you take a Panama Canal cruise on a small-masted Windstar ship or luxury Silversea cruise or can sail on a megaship as large as the 1,094-foot-long and 136-foot-wide Norwegian Bliss. Puerto Vallarta is another one of Mexico’s beautiful gems frequently visited on Panama Canal cruises. As a destination that has welcomed travelers from around the world for many years, there are plenty of fascinating activities and Puerto Vallarta shore excursions for every age. In fact, hiking to the Jesus statue sitting atop a hill overlooking San Juan del Sur is the top thing to do when in this fabulous city.
Perfectly Sized Ships For Panama Canal Cruises
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. 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).
Walk through a cloud forest at Villa Blanca, where you're surrounded by mist and water droplets clinging to the vegetation. See one of Costa Rica's renowned rain forests at Pura Vida Gardens, or climb a set of wooden steps up to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Most of the major lines and some smaller ones offer at least a few Panama Canal sailings each season. The couple had chosen to sail on one of the smaller cruise ships, the Regent Seven Seas Splendor, with destinations due south of Florida in Mexico, Roatan, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru.
The Panama Canal Cruise Experience
Being able to fit through the Panama Canal is so important that engineers specifically design vessels, called Panamax ships, that can fit through the locks. Next, the Pedro Miguel Locks lower ships to the level of Miraflores Lake, after which the Miraflores Locks lower the ships to sea level. To transit the canal, ships must be raised to cross the Continental Divide and to bridge the difference in height between the higher Pacific Ocean and the lower Atlantic. By using the 50-mile-long man-made canal, ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific or the reverse reduced their voyage by about 8,000 nautical miles. Make the most of your visit to the Panama Canal by understanding the canal’s history, mechanics, and importance to trade. You'll first see the skyscrapers of Balboa on the port side, then eventually the Bridge of the Americas will come into view.
Selecting the ideal time to set sail on a Panama Canal cruise depends on your preferences and priorities. If you’re seeking the best weather and comfortable conditions, the dry season from mid-December to April is your top choice. For those looking to avoid the crowds and still enjoy relatively pleasant weather, consider the shoulder seasons of May to early June or late October to November. Budget-conscious travelers can find the most attractive fares during the wet season, from June to November, with the lowest prices often in September and October.
When the canal opened in 1914, ships transiting the canal could be no wider than 106 feet, no longer than 965 feet, with a maximum draft of 39.5 feet. In crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the Gatun Locks raise the ships 85 feet to the level of man-made Gatun Lake. Then, ships cruise the Culebra Cut, formerly known as the Gaillard Cut, which allows the vessels to cross the Continental Divide. Cutting through the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, creating an essential shortcut for ships.
Thanks to a 2016 canal expansion project, a third set of locks can now accommodate larger vessels. It's possible to cruise the Panama Canal on ships of all sizes (from 148 guests to more than 3,000) on itineraries that range from a week in the sun to a six-month world cruise. Late March and April also offer lower fares as it's the beginning of the rainy season, but you can expect crowds during the Holy Week festivities in the country. March is also the last month for surfing enthusiasts to hit the big waves on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
We also find that on longer cruises, people don’t stay out late every single night. Something nice is that there is a slower pace to the day and you can take advantage of the downtime. If you’re going on a Panama Canal cruise for the first time, these are some potential mistakes to avoid, as they can impact your cruise. Candyce H. Stapen is an award-winning travel journalist, author, and family travel expert. As USA TODAY’s travel editor/producer, Candyce launched the company’s digital travel sites.
Cruise ships usually depart from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco, making stops in the Caribbean, Colombia, or Mexico. 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.
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