which side of the ship is best on a full canal cruise?

We are planning to sail from LA to Ft. L over Christmas, which side of the ship is best for the views, etc.?:)

Both sides have views..you're in a CANAL!!! And, you certainly don't want to sit on your balcony all day...you will miss 3/4 of the sights! Get out of the cabin, and off the balcony and wander the ship! Low deck to top deck...side to side, front to back!

I agree with cb. There's too much on both sides of the ship to not be moving around. If you stay in your cabin, you'll miss a lot.

Since the OP is sailing from the west coast I suggest booking on the port (left)side. If you want to watch the main workings of the canal, ships coming from the other direction, more land and port views during your cruise they are all better viewed from the port side.

I agree you should move about the ship during the trip through the canal but overall I think you will be happier with a port side stateroom.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

My experience is that you will get the best views from various spots on the ship including the highest open deck at the bow (front), stern (back) and each side and then from other decks on the ship including lower decks.

I would not worry about which side of the ship your room is on.

Keith

Since the OP is sailing from the west coast I suggest booking on the port (left)side. If you want to watch the main workings of the canal, ships coming from the other direction, more land and port views during your cruise they are all better viewed from the port side.

 

I agree you should move about the ship during the trip through the canal but overall I think you will be happier with a port side stateroom.

I disagree. It depends on which locks they are directed to. For instance, here is Insignia on an Eastbound transit yesterday. In the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks, they went through the 'port side' lock, and most of the operational views would be on the starboard side:

In the Gatun locks, she was given the starboard side locks and her portside view would have been of other ships.

But having a starboard side balcony might also have given views of only ships next to you, depending on how high up your balcony is, and how many layers high the containers are...EM

The only time you might find a balcony cabin useful while transiting the Panama Canal is after you've cleared either set of locks and have entered Lake Gatun heading to the next set of locks. If you're not out on deck taking in all the sights and listening to the usually excellent commentary one might as well rent a video of the canal and watch it at home.

The Lake Gatun portion of the transit is fairly lengthy and while certainly part of the canal experience lake Gatun is not nearly as exciting as the locks you've just passed through. You might want to visit your balcony for a short time then ;).

My opinion is to be up on deck so you can see both sides of the canal. And I think that the only way to see and get a good view of the locks working is to be all the way forward or all the way to the rear of the ship. Sitting on a balcony limits what you can see. The canal is amazing, enjoy the whole experience.