favorite ship for partial Panama Canal ???

I am not sure where to ask this question..... so thought perhaps this area is best :confused:

for those who've been thru the PC on a partial transit.... what ship or at least what cruise line do you prefer and why?

I have sailed many cruise lines and am not 'sold' on only one. Sometimes I go for a particular ship and port is not a selling point - sometimes it is the port and itinerary.......that cause me to book.....

Curious who does it best????

Thanks for sharing your opinions! :D

For a partial transit cruise there are actually not very many choices... so that should make choosing a lot easier. Right now there are only 3 ships and 2 cruise lines offering a partial transit cruise. The Coral Princess, Island Princess (Princess of course) and the Zuiderdam with Holland America. I really believe they both would do the Canal justice and the "best" would come from what you would prefer that each line has to offer.

Just a little nudge towards Princess... Search this board for "Richard in Panama," not only has he provided a lot of info on the Canal, Panama, various tours and such but he has also written a book (several editions with slightly differing titles) "Panama Canal Day" by Richard Detrich. I don't know for how long, but he is currently on one of the two Princess ships I mentioned earlier as the port lecturer.

I'd nudge you to NOT do the partial. It's incomplete, and feels that way. Do the full transit.

NCL has scheduled some partial transits from Miami on the Pearl. That's a nice ship, but I know nothing about the cruise itself (trolling here for info on a PC cruise).

NCL has scheduled some partial transits from Miami on the Pearl. That's a nice ship, but I know nothing about the cruise itself (trolling here for info on a PC cruise).

I had trouble finding NCL'S partial transits, did not think to look all the way into '16! That's great someone else is going to enter that market. Since they are the new guy on the block in so far as the partial transits, there is not a whole lot known about the cruise itself. I can say that the 10 day itinerary seems fairly typical for this type of cruise, while the 11 day itinerary offers some ports not regularly seen. The only other thing to add is that the fares seem a bit lofty, but then I don't know if the taxes and port fees were already wrapped up in the fare price or not. The port fees on any Canal cruise are usually a bit higher than an equal length cruise to another part of the Caribbean.

If you have any questions... someone here might help.

If you do a Princess partial transit, once you go thru Gatun locks and are in Gatun lake, you can take an excursion and do the full transit by ferry. We will be doing it in Feb. and from the reviews on the Princess thread, everyone highly recommends it. If you wait too long to do it, they may have the new locks ready and you might miss going thru the historical ones. But, this is Panama so who knows when it will be finished. ;)