The best of Panama

Hi

Still confused about the best type of Panama cruise to take. One that goes through all the locks and continues on or one that just does part, and you get then get a few hours in Panama. Wish there was an opportunity to spend more time in Panama. Advice please for this naive traveler. :)

PS no ship preference.

For us it's an easier decision because we take land vacations to Mexico, and we like hitting the Caribbean islands on the partial transit cruise. So we chose the roundtrip Coral Princess.

To me the "best" Canal cruise is one that does a complete transit Pacific to Atlantic or Atlantic to Pacific and has a full day port call in Panama before or after your transit. Princess offers what they call a two day experience on select Canal cruises. This includes your transit plus a full day stop at Ft. Amador on the Pacific side of the Isthmus. HAL has a similar option on a few of their Canal cruise as well. Celebrity also offers a full day stop in Colon on the Atlantic side either before or after you transit. on most of their Canal cruises. Either one will give a great chance to either see more of the Canal or see what else Panama has to offer.

The drawback of the stop on the Pacific side, it is a tender port, so you will need to allow time for the tender operations. On the plus side should have a nice view of the Panama City and the other ships at anchor. The plus about Colon is your ship is docked so it will be much easier to meet your tour. The down side is there is nothing whatsoever for the tourist in Colon, it is just a place you have to drive through to get to what you would like to visit.

Of course there are Canal transits offered by the various cruise lines that do not have any port stop in Panama. The other option is a partial transit which will take you through the Atlantic side locks and then give you the option of taking a shore excursion.

what a fabulous reply. Thank you for putting it all down for me to absorb.

Happy cruising :)

Diane