Table Of Content
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. Here are some Panama Canal cruise tips to help you plan and get the most out of this bucket list experience. Gain a deeper understanding of the impressive engineering behind the 48-mile-long Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific.
Card Issuer
Descend on some of the most exciting travel destinations in Central America during a Panama Canal cruise. Stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and Colón, Panama, means appreciating countless natural landscapes on top of traversing through the famous shortcut itself. Should Semana Santa (Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday) fall in March, there will be more crowds nationwide in Panama with religious processions and reenactments, parades and other special events. Many venues and attractions may be closed on some days during the festivities.
Award Winning Ships
Or choose a grilled chicken breast sandwich or juicy portabella mushroom stack. Dive-In is the perfect spot to dine poolside on the best burgers at sea. Each day on board offers delicious dining options, world-class entertainment and enriching activities. With floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a private verandah, these spacious suites are flooded with light.
Featured Cruise Itineraries
It takes passengers through the remaining two Canal locks, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A motorcoach ride delivers passengers back to their waiting ships at Colon. Traversing the 40-mile Panama Canal is a rite of passage and something you'll remember for a lifetime.
More days means more to discover, with extension packages you can add before or after your Viking cruise or cruisetour. Enjoy additional days to explore your embarkation or disembarkation city, or see a new destination altogether with a choice of exciting cities.Pre & Post Cruise Extensions vary by itinerary and are subject to change. To learn more about each port of call and our included as well as optional excursions, click on the individual days below. Trace the coast of Central America, uncovering rich history, vibrant culture and natural beauty. Discover the colonial past of Cozumel, and glimpse Belize’s Mayan civilization and Panama’s Emberá people. Gaze upon white-sand beaches and turquoise waters in Honduras and lush rainforests in Costa Rica.
Related Ports
If having the best weather is your top priority, January, February and early March offer the best weather during the dry season with low humidity — but it's also the most expensive time to travel to the region. March is also the last month for surfing enthusiasts to hit the big waves on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. With the warmer temperatures, March is an ideal month to head to the beaches on one of the San Blas Islands, an archipelago of about 365 islands and cays off the Caribbean coast of Eastern Panama. Some cruise lines that visit the archipelago are Windstar, Star Clippers, Hapag-Lloyd and Ponant. 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.
And even though the crossing is fascinating, let's be honest — it can also be tedious. Ships and passengers spend much time waiting, and 40 ships pass through the canal each day. Since they all line up in Limon Bay to wait their turn, you may be docked there the entire night and start the crossing early morning; you might even be lined up ready to go and still need to wait part of the day. Even if the canal transit is what you're cruising for, don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on the itinerary. You'll want to consider whether you're more interested in Caribbean islands or Central and South American destinations.
Bottom line: The best time to cruise the Panama Canal
With the high temperatures and humidity — and the threat of rain — you might want to take tours where you can easily escape from the heat and the showers. If you're in Panama City, visit the vibrant neighborhood of Casco Antiguo in the city's historic district. Cruising with Norwegian means more dining and entertainment options than ever.
ONE TRIP, MANY ADVENTURES
BEST Celebrity Cruises to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) 2024 & 2025 on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
BEST Celebrity Cruises to the Panama Canal & Central America (with Prices) 2024 & 2025 on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:48:18 GMT [source]
The canal never stops working and you will traverse along with other ships and boats and witness the swift movement of these vessels. 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. Some ships will do their best to make passengers comfortable, offering chilled towels and water, juice and Panama rolls (Danish-like pastries with sweet fruit filling in the center) for a small breakfast alfresco. Tortuguero National Park offers close encounters with the green tortoise, crocodiles, monkeys and exotic birds, all seen at water level on the canals. Carnival Cruises has a range of Panama Canal cruises leaving from different ports in the US, including Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston. Picturesque harbors, sun-drenched coastlines and unusual rock formations are just some of the sights that will remain with ...
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. Most of the major lines and some smaller ones offer at least a few Panama Canal sailings each season. November can be rainy — and even the rainiest month of the wet season — with temperatures starting to warm closer to December. The month brings a mix of low-priced early-season fares but also several public holidays that bring crowds of both tourists and residents to attractions in places like Panama City and Boquete. Full transits are also available as part of longer voyages like world cruises, circumnavigations of South America, or other extended-length journeys.
Listen as a historian shares tales of this incredible engineering feat that divided two continents. Explore the intriguing landscapes, culture and people of this amazing region. From engineering marvels to exotic wildlife, there's so much to discover while on your Panama Canal cruise.
These sailings call on Cartagena, Colombia; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The partial Panama Canal experience isn't much shorter than a full crossing, but you'll experience the Caribbean-side locks twice and miss out on the Pacific side. 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.
You’ll see everything from giant cargo ships to small yachts making the transit. Visitors in the viewing galleries at the locks will wave as you pass through. A full transit of the Panama Canal takes you from the Pacific to the Caribbean, or vice versa. A partial transit, on the other hand, gives you a taste of the Panama Canal on a shorter cruise from Colon, on the Caribbean side, to the Gatun Locks and back again.
No comments:
Post a Comment