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They offer a full transit between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego, or vice versa, and are offered on multiple ships, including Zaandam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Volendam. These sailings call on Cartagena, Colombia; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The year 2014 marked the 100-year anniversary of the Panama Canal and we were happy to commemorate its centennial when we visited the famed waterway back in March, earlier in our trip. Then, we went to the visitor center at the Miraflores locks and watched a few ships transit them, which grew our fascination of the engineering marvel.
Capuchin monkey Lake Gatun, Panama Canal
In Panama itself, you’ll have a chance to look for wild sloths in the Gamboa rainforest, walk the cannon-lined walls of historic Spanish forts in Portobelo, and enjoy duty-free shopping in Colon. Once you reach Panama City, stroll the streets of Casco Viejo, the old center, set against a distant backdrop of the glittering skyscrapers of the modern city. The third and final set of locks was the Miraflores Locks, where we had previously visited in back in March.
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Uncover legends of pirates and conquistadors among the ruins of Panama Viejo. On the Panama City side of the canal, you’ll sail under the graceful arch of the Bridge of the Americas, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Patagonia. Just beyond the bridge, as you head toward the Pacific, look out for the Biomuseu, a striking jumble of brightly colored shapes designed by famous architect Frank Gehry, housing eight galleries showcasing Panama’s biodiversity. Entering Gatun Lake, it’s fun to be forward on deck as you can see the procession of ships coming towards you. You could also be aft, at the back of the ship, with a pair of binoculars to spot other ships.
The best time to cruise the Panama Canal - The Points Guy
The best time to cruise the Panama Canal.
Posted: Sun, 14 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Princess Cruises' 10-day Panama Canal with Costa Rica & Caribbean cruise
Browse our photo gallery of Panama Canal cruising photos from Celebrity Cruises. Keep in mind, this is just a sample of the sights waiting for you on a Celebrity Cruises Panama Canal cruise vacation. If you like the natural beauty, the music, and the rich culture of the Panama Canal region, you may enjoy visiting these similar destinations. This wonder of engineering, first conceived and built over 100 years ago, has changed the shipping and tourism industries.
Night Panama Canal & S. CaribbeanDetails
Rather than attempt to shout over to the tourist hoards at the visitor center, we instead tried to again carry on conversations with the workers that were nearly eye-level with us on the side of the ship. It would be a very slow and peaceful voyage of 37.5 kilometers down this most pleasant stretch of the Panama Canal. While the locks and the canal itself are the star attractions, we found that leisurely cruising through the Lago Gatún to be an unexpected delight.
As we witnessed this spectacle earlier on our trip, we never imagined that we would be making the Panama Canal transit ourselves, only nine months later. Yet here we were, now back in Colon Panama aboard the Celebrity Infinity, now in December, ready to make the bucket list crossing of continents from the Atlantic to the Pacific. For a Panama Canal experience that begins and ends in Fort Lauderdale, Celebrity Cruises' 11-night Panama Canal & Southern Caribbean itinerary is a great option.
Destinations & Ports
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. Once in Lake Gatún, we would slowly cruise through for a few hours before reaching the next set of locks.
Land Vacations
The locks are only 110 feet wide, so this only leaves about two feet on either side to spare! Once the new portions of the canal open in 2015, these dimensions will change, so it was kind of neat to do this transit on a Panamax ship in the original canal, 100 years after it was opened. The first of three locks we would reach was the Gatún Locks, which was nearly at the mouth of the Caribbean Sea. This lock would lift us up from the Caribbean Sea and deposit us into Lago Gatún. The closed circuit TVs on the ship provided commentary and the bow of the ship (normally off limits) was open to passengers. But perhaps it was high atop the upper decks of the ship that perhaps provided the best views.
Norwegian Cruise Line's 17-day South America: Peru, Colombia & Chile cruise
When your ship spends the day in Colon, you can see more of Panama on a range of shore excursions. Despite the monumental achievement of engineering that the Panama Canal represents, the drive from Colon to Panama City is just under an hour, so there are plenty of options. The most important thing to do is to head up on deck and absorb this spectacular experience.
With four pools (including an adults-only aft Serenity Pool), a WaterWorks aqua park, Camp Ocean kids club and seven restaurants, the ship offers enough diversions for sea-day fun, even at half the size of Carnival's newest megaships. (2) If you have a veranda stateroom, consider ordering room service to enjoy from the comfort of your cabin or on the balcony itself. And remember, with most cruises room service is typically complimentary. There’s actually quite of few Panama Canal Cruise Tips you should be aware of if you are considering embarking on the transit. We jotted down notes throughout our voyage to assemble a collection of Panama Canal cruise tips for anyone who is considering this epic voyage. And if you’ve done the transit yourself and have any Panama Canal cruise tips of your own, we’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
Passengers cooled off in the pool, some more active and heat-resistant folks ran the jogging track, while others staked out a window inside a much cooler interior bar. The main dining room eventually opened for lunch and we were fortunate enough to snag a table with a fantastic view to marvel at the beautiful Panama scenery passing us by as we rejoined some friends to each chow down on a three-course feast. By the night before our crossing, we were getting thoroughly geeked up for our transit. Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals.
Cruise to the Panama Canal with Celebrity Cruises for a unique experience you won’t soon forget. Sail across the sea and discover some truly incredible ports-of-call along the way, whetting your palate for the incredible and unbelievable destination ahead. As you enter the canal, you’ll rise 85 feet in one of the Gatun Locks and find a new world waiting for you on the other side. With jungle zip lines and encounters with the natives among some of the spectacular excursions—your Celebrity Cruises Panama Canal will deliver all that you expected and more. The array of options means that a Panama Canal cruise experience is possible even if you're short on time or have a limited budget — and chances are high that your favorite cruise line offers one or more itineraries. Most sailings attract couples, typically retirees, but if the timing is right a Panama Canal cruise can also be a great multi-generational experience.
The next time we glanced over the side of the Infinity, we were passing all the freighters lining up in the Pacific awaiting their transit to the Caribbean. The sun set down behind the Isla Tobaga, a familiar island for us to reflect back on, since we had spent a beach day there earlier in the year. With this action-packed cruise day, it was time for a little snack to compliment our beers. So we thought it would be fun to take advantage of the gratis room service available on the Infinity and had some pizzas delivered directly to our stateroom. It was a little bit surreal to enjoy pizza delivery as we transited the famous canal. The wide lake ultimately began to narrow and the pilot navigated the ship into the actual canal section.
As we left the Caribbean Sea and approaching the canal, a beautiful rainbow further taunted us to get out of bed and take in the experience. With incredible weather, delicious fare and some stupendous attractions, you will find that Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades is one of the most attractive ports in the entire US. Cartagena de Las Indias is one of Colombia’s most vibrant cities, with a perfectly preserved 16th century center that’s a joy to wander around.
While most ships wait their turn to enter the canal, based upon their arrival, cruise ships tend to pay extra to ensure a daytime crossing, which was also evident in the taxes section of our cruise payment. During the evening before our transit, the Infinity revealed our slotted time to enter, to the appeasement of many curious passengers that can now review and plan their day. It would be an early morning to begin the journey, so the NOVA documentary would help send us to sleep as it prepared us with details of what was to come. On a cruise to the Panama Canal from Florida you’ll visit incredible ports like Cartagena, Colombia, and spend time on the dazzling white sand beaches in Aruba.
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