Have you been to the Panama Canal? Cruise recommendations?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I would love to travel on the Panama Canal, just once. Not just see the start of it, but actually traverse it. Looking on line there are approximately a gajillion or two options for doing this; obviously some of them are better than others.

I don’t really care about fancy dress parties, casinos, and entertainment. The more casual the better. But I certainly don’t want to get Legionnaire’s disease or salmonella. Nor do I want to be surrounded by bratty spoiled children (of any age) I’d really appreciate hearing about others’ experiences or second-hand stories about what lines or companies to consider and which to avoid.

2

I’ve been through the Canal, and found the experience fascinating. I think it’s worth the effort to see if you can manage it. Seeing the locks was a huge thrill.

I can’t recommend a cruise line for you, however. The ship I went through the cut aboard was blessedly child-free, and didn’t have much on offer for entertainment, and lacked any kind of official casino. Navy ships do have a few compensating disadvantages, though.

3

Unfortunately the Navy probably wouldn’t want me, not now anyway.

4

Moving from Cafe Society to IMHO.

5

I is quite a trip. I made two trips through. After the open ocean it is spookie to be traveling so close to land. Depending on time of year use sunblock plenty of sun block. Can give a cruise line recomdentation. I when through when going to school, and the old training ship is now razor blades.

6

I can see it from my apartment window (or at least the stacks of ships going through it) and my office is right at the mouth of the canal. I’ve been through it a couple times (all the way through once, and a half-transit another time). It’s a great experience, especially going through the lockages. However, I also can’t give a recommendation on cruises, since I went through on marine research vessels.

7

Assuming you are talking major cruise lines you will have to consider:

Partial or full transit. Some itineraries go all the way through the canal and some go in a lock, then back out the way it came. Expect cruise durations to be 9-14 days.

The more casual and cheaper the ship the more likely you will encounter children. This will be offset by families do not tend to go the canal route and the ships tend to use the canal for repositioning (towards the Caribbean for the winter and towards Alaska for the summer). School in session= less kids.

Longer cruises also = less children

You could interview a travel agent or cruise consultant and ask them to discuss with you the differences between a contemporary, premium, and luxury cruise line.

8

I took a cruise that went through the Atlantic locks to Gatun Lake and back out the same way. It was a nine day cruise. The cruises that went all the way through were all about five days longer.

The cruise line was Royal Caribbean. This is the only cruise I’ve done, so the following is not from personal experience, but comes from experienced cruisers I talked to while on my cruise. Royal Caribbean is more of a luxury line that a party line, Celebrity is more luxurious, Carnival more of a party line.

The majority of the people on our cruise were old. There were some couples with children, but most of the folks were 65 and older. The dining room rules were fairly relaxed, shirts and shoes were required, and there was one formal night, jackets required.

If you do an in and out cruise like I did, you will probably have an opportunity to do a day excursion while the ship sits in Gatun Lake. There is a train excursion that goes to the Pacific end, so you can see the locks on that side. There are also jungle hikes and bus trips on which you can see some wildlife, like sloths and monkeys.

I’m sorry I didn’t know Colibri when I did the cruise. We could have had a mini dopefest.

9

Thanks for the info.

I don’t want to go with a travel agent or the like; I have had very bad experiences with them and always felt I could have handled the arrangements better by myself.

Crotalus, did you take the train to the Pacific? How was that? Do you think taking the ship all the way to the Pacific would have been better?

10

My parents did the Panama Canal on Princess Cruises about a year ago, and had a very good experience. They’ve done several cruises on Princess and generally like them a lot. They’re at about the same level as Royal Caribbean in terms of luxury and “party-ness”.

11

I did the Panama Canal all the way through on Princess years ago, but the length of the cruise pretty much made it unattractive to couples with children. Ours was 10 days IIRC. You can also travel at a time when the kids are still in school to avoid that problem. Most of the cruise lines do want you to dress for dinner in the formal dining room, but you always have the option of just getting the food in the main buffet, which has no dress code, and it is usually the same option as what is being served in the dining room anyway.

As others have stated, the cheaper the cruise, the more likely it is to have kids. That said, the cheaper the cruise line, the more likely the crowd is to be young and fun versus all old people. While I would avoid Disney altogether (as it is obviously for kids and is NOT cheap), Carnival can be hit or miss in that regard, and tends not to have as good of food as the other lines. My recommendation is to see where you can get a cruise deal on vacationstogo.com and then research the ship/itinerary itself on cruisecritic.com to see if it’s cheap because everyone got sick, if it’s falling apart, service sucks, etc.

12

Thanks again. Of course I should have made clear that I am one of the “old people.” My fun would be seeing nature and the canal, not whatever else it is that young folks these days <shakes fist> consider fun.

13

A stereotypical HAL passenger! :wink:

If “nature and the canal” are your priorities, the differences between the six major lines are probably not going to be a big issue for you. Concentrate on price and itinerary. Also single pricing, if you don’t have a travel partner – the “supplement” is typically 100%.

The Six are (roughly top to bottom) HAL, Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and NCL. They have c. 92% of the market and most of the 8% is more upscale/expensive. The downscale lines were shaken out after 9/11 and that segment of the market now occupies the inside cabins on The Six.

Carnival’s food is better than its rank would suggest. Royal Caribbean is the most family-oriented, has busy-mom food (the passengers don’t care if it’s good, just that they don’t have to cook it), but good (by cruise ship standards) entertainment. HAL has a reputation for comfortable cabins; Princess for good prices on balcony cabins. Celebrity has the newest ships. NCL is infamous for charging extra for everything.

Don’t worry about sanitation; the Coast Guard inspects, issues report cards, and can even shut them down. Passing score is something in the nineties.

If you want to avoid children, choose a line with a strong children’s program – it will keep them on a separate track from the adult passengers.

A willingness to dress up a bit for dinner may lift you up a social bracket or two. One person’s “country club casual” may be another person’s “my husband dresses better than that to go to the hardware store”. Cruise lines haven’t had masquerade balls for decades.

There are lots of review/chat sites devoted to cruising, with one dominant (you won’t have trouble finding it). They are fannish, but good for specific information.

You might want to try a shortie cruise – three or four day Bahamas itineraries are the usual entry level – before you commit to a longer one. If you don’t hate it, you’ll be oriented for the Big One. And! You may get “past passenger” perks for it, if you stick with that line.

14

Thanks very much!