Panama Cannal Cruise

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Has anyone done the Panama Cannal Cruise? If so, what did you think? I see there are ones that go in and out and return to the same port and ones that go all the way through it and end up at another port. Which one is the best? We are looking to take our two oldest grandchildren and trying to work out the times that we have seen will be difficult without them missing a lot of school, what time did you take your cruise?

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Has anyone done the Panama Cannal Cruise? If so, what did you think? I see there are ones that go in and out and return to the same port and ones that go all the way through it and end up at another port. Which one is the best? We are looking to take our two oldest grandchildren and trying to work out the times that we have seen will be difficult without them missing a lot of school, what time did you take your cruise?

I've done it Caribbean-Pacific and Pacific-Caribbean on a BGB. It was a terrific experience even though the accomodations/food were not that of a typical cruise ship. You will enjoy it and get a lot out of it whether you do a full transit or a partial transit where the just go through one side of locks into Gatun Lake and return.

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

Panama Canal Cruises

We've done two of them, both partials. One was Pacific, LA --> LA, which goes through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks, then turns around at Gatun Lake and returns to the Pacific through the same locks later in the day. The port at this end, Fuerte Amador, is a collection of duty free stores and nothing more, although you can get a taxi to Panama City. The other was Atlantic (Caribbean) which goes through the Gatun Locks, sets anchor at Gatun Lake (where you can tender out if you have a shore excursion, but only on this cruise, not the other one), and returns to Cristobal, which has a good tourist village at the port, with entertainment, crafts, etc.

Almost all of the one-way cruises (completely through the canal) are repositioning cruises, and are in May and September, when ships are moving to and from Alaska. I've just looked, and Carnival does an 8-day on Carnival Liberty from Ft. Lauderdale at least once a month during the summer. It makes a stop at Limón in Costa Rica, which has some wonderful eco-tours. That might suit you well...Hope this helps.

Fern

[Jaybee Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jaybee]

We've transited the canal several times; once on our own boat, and twice on Celebrity ships. Believe me, the ship transits are much more relaxing. We are always thrilled to go through the canal. It is such an engineering marvel, and if you read "The Path Between the Seas" before you go, it makes it much more meaningful. It isn't a novel, and not easy reading, but very worthwhile.
How old are your grandchildren? It's an educational experience at any age, although I've seen people sleep through the whole thing....so there's something for everyone.
Doing a partial transit is only a taste of the project. I think it's the only project our government has ever been involved in that was profitable....so we gave it away! Go figure!

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I've done it Caribbean-Pacific and Pacific-Caribbean on a BGB.

We've transited the canal several times; once on our own boat, and twice on Celebrity ships. Believe me, the ship transits are much more relaxing.

I was the navigator of the BGB and it was a lot easier than anticipated, almost like drivng down the highway with a few rest stops.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

The Grandchildren will be 13 & 11.

[Gil Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gil]

Gosh - we (wife and I) have done a partial cannal crossing - into the lake with a turn around and back - a few years back in early December on a Royal Carribean - as part of a 13 day cruise out of Galveston - and we thought it was GREAT !!!!!! It was our first cruise - and kinda ruined us - and we now look at the 7 days cruises - and is that all that they do ??? We were interested in returning to the same port so a full crossing wasn't in the 'cards' at that time.

With grandkids - wow - a full or partial would be impressive for them - and traveling with g'kids can be interesting - and we have done 36 states with g'kids plus several Canadian providences and Dominican Republic - never a boring time.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

We are now considering trying to match up their Spring Break for the Grandkids in 2008 or 2009 (March-April).

When do we need to start looking for cruises? Is it better to book early or wait? We have gone on a couple of cruises, but they were both booked by a travel agent, what are the best internet sites and is that the best way to go? Is it ever better to book directly with the cruise line, like it is with the airlines, sometimes?

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

We've done the half way/13 day Celebrity cruise out of Galveston. Seeing the locks was definitely interesting. For us, 13 days was pushing it; I was more than ready to get off by the time we got back. On our first cruise, I thought I could stay on the ship forever and be perfectly happy; now, I know that's not an option for me: too much of the same thing over and over.

Your grandchildren will, I think, be thrilled with the whole thing; kids love the freedom of a cruise. There's nothing they can do to actually get in trouble, so you can let them do lots of things on their own, and they love making friends in the kids club activities.

For looks at discount cruise rates, try www.vacationstogo.com There are other discount cruise sites, but that one is easy to use and will get you the general range of prices a discounter will offer. We've found that the discounters are generally within $200.00 of each other--not that isn't significant, but we shop on one or two, and then when we're serious, we try them all.

[razman10 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close razman10]

Taking a Panama Canal cruse is one of my goals over the next couple of years. I know someone that went on one and said it was one of the most amazing things (contraptions is the word I think they used) they have ever seen.

Razman10

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

I was the navigator of the BGB and it was a lot easier than anticipated, almost like drivng down the highway with a few rest stops.

I stayed away from those BGBs when I was in the Navy. I was a navigator too, but we flew into Howard AFB and transited the Canal Zone on the train.