Advice please on panama canal

[yorkiescot]

We are considering trip on Coral Princess in March 2012. Is it better to sail from or into LA?

Would appreciate any views or tips.

YS.

[PatriciaF]

I would sail from LA just because of the Pacific Current that always causes rough to very rough seas down to Cabo San Lucas. My father, retired Navy, said that he could always count on rough seas coming in to Long Beach from the south.

 

But--the most spectacular part (it is all spectacular and amazing), is the portion from the Pacific to Gatun Lake. It will probably start through the canal in early morning--so if you aren't an early bird, better chance to see this portion FLL to LA.

[Tucson Jim]

We are considering trip on Coral Princess in March 2012. Is it better to sail from or into LA?

Would appreciate any views or tips.

YS.

 

When we did the Canal, we went LA to Fort Lauderdale, then back to LA. I did not notice any difference based on which direction we were headed. I was just glad I didn't have to fly back to LA to pick up the car. (I see that won't be a problem for you, though.)

 

Going LA to FLL does make for a quicker and easier flight home though, doesn't it?

 

Jim

[Hazelnut1106]

We will be doing our 2nd Panama Canal cruise this December. Both cruises will have been FLL to LA for 2 reasons (1) we live in the LA area and hence get the flight to Florida out of the way in the beginning and (2) traveling from east to west you have three 25-hour days since you gain an hour each time crossing an time zone rather than three 23-hour days going from west to east.

[LeeBe]

The Panama Canal is a wonderful cruise and the good thing is the Canal will be great which ever direction you choose. I would make the decision on the convenience of getting to and from the embarkation/disembarkation ports, the costs of the flights etc. For example it may be easier to fly to California from your home than fly from California to home. Just your preferences come into play.

[jnc411]

Hi have done the canal twice and thinking about number 3, it is a wonderful cruise, both times we did the LA to Fort Lauderdale , we live here in LA it just seemed easier for us, then flew back. One thing is they have fewer stops in Mexico (due to problems they are having in Mexico) now than they use to going either way, so on some cruises you have lots of sea days , if you like that great , if not then it is not as appealing . We love sea days so it does not bother us.

[yorkiescot]

Thanks to all for advice .

[knittinggirl]

We did FLL to Acapulco, and we got to see Gatun lake around lunch time, and the Straight in the afternoon. After flying out of Acapulco once, we don't plan to do it again. Late flights, combined with limited venues in the international terminal, but that was back in 1999.

[C Cruise Dude]

The Panama Canal is a wonderful cruise and the good thing is the Canal will be great which ever direction you choose. I would make the decision on the convenience of getting to and from the embarkation/disembarkation ports, the costs of the flights etc. For example it may be easier to fly to California from your home than fly from California to home. Just your preferences come into play.

 

I bet it is interesting to travel through the locks. I only had the opportunity to visit. Maybe someday... :)

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisin Kay D]

We have also been considering a March cruise through Canal, most likely LA to FLA. Twice, we took the 10 day round trip from Ft. L thru the Gatun locks and turn around in Gatun Lake. We rode a ferry through the Pacific side locks once but I am eager to make the full passage. Liking the 3/13 LAX-FLL best....

 

Thinking too it would be better to get the chilly Pacific weather out of the way first and have the warm weather to look forward to.... Plus we have friends we'd like to visit with near LA and could do that for a day or 2 prior to the cruise.

[LeeBe]

I bet it is interesting to travel through the locks. I only had the opportunity to visit. Maybe someday... :)

 

C Cruise Dude, It 's really something to be on such a large ship and squeeze it all into what all of a sudden looks like a small space. If you can't find enough time to do a full transit as we are talking about here, do consider one of the partial transit cruises offered by either Princess or HAL. Those cruises can be accomplished in 10 or 11 days.

[juakkers]

Hello Yorkiescot

 

Also being from the UK, our main decision when we did this cruise was regarding flights. We chose to do LA to Florida because that way we would have the shortest flight coming home.

 

However, Miami airport is AWFUL and has very bad facilities, and since Princess dumped us there at lunchtime after our tour of the everglades we had 9 hours to wait !! (and you can only check in 4 hours in advance).

 

So my advice would be:

Cruise-wise it doesn't matter which way round you do it, but do your research on the flight times and associated transfers/trips etc - it's a long journey home!

 

If you have any onther questions - happy to answer. The cruise itself was FANTASTIC and well worth the hassle of the journey!

 

Julie