Panama Canal

[mickeyd]

I'm thinking that a cruse that includes a pass thru the PC would be great fun. DW and I have only gone on a cruise once (Alaska) and had a blast. I have looked at travel sites that have cruises to/from LA/Ft. Lauderdale/Miami. We're in TX, so either way is a flight to embarkation/disembarkation is ok and part of the expenses. So I have no problem there.

Any ideas/experiences with a PC crossing?

 

[Gumby]

I've been through the Canal twice, on a (surfaced) submarine. It is incredibly interesting. Read the David McCullough book The Path Between the Seas before you go and you will have a much greater appreciation for it.

Amazon.com: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (9780671244095): David McCullough: Books

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I've done that trip, and found it very interesting from an engineering and historical persective. Basically it is a slow trip to the lake and back. Nothing spectacular or deeply moving but interesting just the same, the way the lock system works. The short stop ashore was similar to other Caribbean ports.

I wouldn't make it out to be the highlight of cruising but definitely of some interest.

 

[grumpy]

We did the Panama Canal as part of a cruise that also included Aruba, Curacao, and Costa Rica. It was on the Holland America line (not our favorite). The cruise went thru the locks from the Atlantic side, cruised a bit on Lake Gatun and then returned to the Atlantic. The passage thru the locks was fascinating and exciting. The stop in port in Panama was very disappointing - nothing but t-shirt shops and touristy junk. The highlight of the trip for me was a boat tour thru the Costa Rican rain forest.

 

[Achiever51]

We did the full transit of the Canal several years ago and highly recommend it. Be aware that many cruises only go thru one of the locks and then, like Grumpy mentions, cruises Lake Gatun before returning to the Atlantic side and docking for hours in Panama.

Our cruise was set up that way, but one of the "shore excursions" was the opportunity to leave the ship in Lake Gatun, board a much smaller ferry-type boat, and go thru the remainder of the Canal, returning to the ship via bus several hours later. I think this was the best way to really experience the Canal.

Going thru a lock on a huge ship that clears the walls of the Canal by mere inches is just amazing, looking down on all the small boats, and all. Then, getting on one of those small boats and sharing a lock with sail boats and other ships (as you look UP at the huge ships on the other side) gives you the opportunity to really learn about the Canal. We have some great pictures of me and DH touching the walls of the locks as the water recedes. I strongly recommend it!

 

[mickeyd]

I've been through the Canal twice, on a (surfaced) submarine. It is incredibly interesting. Read the David McCullough book The Path Between the Seas before you go and you will have a much greater appreciation for it.

Amazon.com: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (9780671244095): David McCullough: Books

Thanks for the recommendation Gumby. I have ordered it from the library. McCullough is an awesome writer and I look forward to reading it.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We were on a Princess ship that went through the Gatun Locks into the lake; we then got off the ship for an excursion on a smaller boat that went all the way through to the Pacific. We then took a bus back to the ship (which had moved back through Gatun to dock at Colon).

It was great both to go through the canal and then to see the country from the bus, including parts of the former Canal Zone. It is a really pretty country.

 

[loner]

We considered a complete passage and decided against it. Instead we flew to Panama city (low cost) and stayed there a few days seeing the sites. Then we took a bus(very safe and very cheap) to the east coast and took a southern cruise which returned us to Fl Lauderdale. There are just a few locks to see which we did at both sides and saw the museum too. We saw a lot more of Panama than we would have on a cruise and it was much more economical too.

 

[Zoocat]

There's a trip that Overseas Adventure Travel takes in a small ship through the PC where you get to use kayaks and stop different places along the way. It sounds very cool! And I'm considering it myself.
Panama Canal Cruise & Panama: A Continent Divided, Oceans United (2010) | OAT

 

[MasterBlaster]

Here's a link to a guy that did a wonderful slideshow presentation of his Queen Mary II cruise doing a Panama Canal trip (New York to Los Angeles via Panama canal)

I really, really enjoyed this:

A photo slide show - Cruise Critic Message Boards

Note the cold weather in New York, and the wonderful weather in Panama.

 

[Rustic23]

Three or four years ago one of the boats out of Galveston use to go through the canal turn around in Gatun Lake, I think, and back to Galveston. I am hoping they do this again. Princess does it out of Ft. Laurderdale.