Best cruise line for Panama Canal Cruise

[BR47]

What is the best cruise line for a Panama Canal cruise? Were thinking Princess or Celebrity but looking for suggestions and best itinery.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Dancer Bob]

Are you interested in a full transit? Many ships now just go up to Gatun Lake, turn around, and head back out.

Do you have any preferences in addition to the Canal?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We think Hol or Princess

[orchestrapal]

For some informal class rather than Mass Market try Oceania!:)

[sail7seas]

We have done partial transit Panama Canal cruises about 4 times and really enjoyed them. We learned something new each time. :)

 

We enjoyed the ten day round trip cruise from FLL on Princess but our favorite is HAL.

[rentlady]

Hands down, go HAL! the panama canal is a " must see". Enjoy your cruise!:)

[eh2zed]

I agree HAL

[travelnap]

BR47, The panama canal trip is such a great cruise that I don't think it would make much a difference which ship you were on, or what line you were sailing with. It's a very enjoyable trip. I would like at the different lines, find one with the itinerary that you like, and go ahead and pick the one you like best. Good Luck, and you will enjoy that trip.

[gerryl12]

I would choose Holland America or Princess.

 

I have never been on Celebrity but have heard nothing but good things from people who have sailed with them.

[LeeBe]

In the mass market really only HAL, Princess and Celebrity are doing any regular Canal transits during the winter season. Of that group HAL and Princess offer partial and full transits. They all will do a great job, it will depend on which cruise line is a wee bit more to your tastes and they all probably have more in common than what separates them.

[Dancer Bob]

Cunard also has several Canal transits.

[sail7seas]

Check HAL's ten day FLL rountrip to Canal on Zuiderdam.

Great cruise.

[Keith1010]

There are many cruise lines to choose from. Certainly Princess and Celebrity are nice choices and there are several others.

 

Keith

[dublell]

I think it really gets down to your preferred cruise line and whether you want to do a full or partial transit. Since I live on the west coast, my preference is full transit east to west so I only have to take one long flight and end up in my time zone. I did the trip on the NCL Star a year ago and really enjoyed it, but then I like the informality and "freestyle" approach of NCL, which I considered important on a 14-day cruise. Again, I think it really depends on what line works best for you. I think you'll love the trip (and learn quite a bit about an important part of our world), but you'll love it even more if you're happy with the cruising style and the ship.

Larry

[sugarlandgal]

What is the best cruise line for a Panama Canal cruise? Were thinking Princess or Celebrity but looking for suggestions and best itinery.

 

Thanks for your help.

If you want to travel coast to coast (US) via Panama Canal, Oceania and Princess are my choices. If you want to travel US East Coast via Panama Canal to South America West Coast, cruise with Celebrity.:)

[muti]

We did the partial transit and full transit on Princess. It was terrific.

 

Jackie

[lcand1923]

We've done full transits on HAL and Oceania, partial transit on HAL. Both lines handled the transit well. The biggest differences were in the Ports of Call before and after the transit. Look at the ports and see which interest you more. You might want to look at Anne Vipond's "Panama Canal by Cruise Ship" to see the activities offered at the ports to help you choose the cruise line.

[dorisis]

What is the best cruise line for a Panama Canal cruise? Were thinking Princess or Celebrity but looking for suggestions and best itinery.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

I liked the Coral princess best of our 5 or 6 Panama Canal cruises. it is the perfect size for that trip. Full canal trip is best but take what you can get. Our last one was Rt FL and back.

 

~Doris~

[sheerfun]

Old chain. But, we just got back from 10 day Coral princess.

 

If you have to do with the partial transit, do the HAL. Princess wasn't great.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Princess does a nice job ..

[delily]

Holland America Line has an itinerary I'm dying to do! Leaves from Ft. Lauderdale goes through the Panama Canal and then turns south doing ports along the coast of South America to Chile. Most other lines I've seen go north to CA.

[Luvs2trvl]

Hoping to get some responses to this old thread. Mom (82) and I (no comment on age!) are considering Celebrity Century, HAL Westerdam or Princess Island Princess for a full transit next spring. Mom is fascinated by the Panama canal and I am trying to figure out which cruise line can provide the best overall cruise experience. We don't need late night entertainment, but what about days at sea? Cooking demonstrations? Computer/photography classes? Port lectures?

 

Thanks -

[dorisis]

The Coral and Island Princess were built for the Panama Canal cruises. They are long and narrow and relatively small (only 2000 passengers).

[Tom47]

Hoping to get some responses to this old thread. Mom (82) and I (no comment on age!) are considering Celebrity Century, HAL Westerdam or Princess Island Princess for a full transit next spring. Mom is fascinated by the Panama canal and I am trying to figure out which cruise line can provide the best overall cruise experience. We don't need late night entertainment, but what about days at sea? Cooking demonstrations? Computer/photography classes? Port lectures?

 

Thanks -

Hi

See my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1787067

 

Tom

[OCruisers]

The Coral and Island Princess were built for the Panama Canal cruises. They are long and narrow and relatively small (only 2000 passengers).

 

Per above, Island & Coral Princess were built for the purpose of going through the Panama Canal.

 

We've enjoyed our full transits on them and never had a problem with finding a place to view. :)

 

LuLu

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