Panama Canal Cruises

View all available Panama Canal Cruises »

When to cruise to Panama Canal

Month	Cruise season indicator		Month	Cruise seacon indicator
January			July	No
February			August	No
March			September
April			October
May			November
June	No		December

Panama Canal Cruise Season Guide »

All you Need to Know

by Travel Journalist Tony Peisley

One of the most popular cruise destinations is also one of the most unusual because the chances are you will never set foot on it and - instead - see it all pass by from a moving ship.

The Panama Canal is a genuine one-off, an authentic contender for any list of Modern Wonders of the World and a unique cruise experience.

It is 50 miles long and, from the Caribbean/Atlantic side, your ship will be lifted 85ft by the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake before cruising through the narrow Gaillard Cut to the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks which lower the ship back down to the level of the Pacific.

Although it can take nine hours to do the full transit, it was actually built nearly 100 years ago as the ultimate short-cut. Previously, the only sea route between the east and west coasts of Central and South America involved a 3,000-mile journey via Cape Horn.

But even the cruise lines originally only offered this itinerary twice a year as they repositioned ships in spring and autumn between their Caribbean and US West Coast cruises to Alaska, Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera.

Then they discovered that people were fascinated by the journey in its own right and now there are many more Canal cruises throughout the year.

These operate in both directions although my favourite is from east to west because of the sheer added thrill of cruising under the magnificent Bridge of the Americas into the Pacific Ocean.

The cruises can seem a little expensive but that is because the tolls are high - cruise lines pay up to $200,000 per transit - but this has not dented their popularity as the canal is not just fascinating to wannabe engineers or Clarkson-style petrolheads because it tells a remarkable political and human story, too.

After the French spent 20 cash-guzzling years to 1900 trying to build a canal straight through the land, the Americans took over with a new plan involving a series of locks. This worked, with the canal completed after 11 years in 1914. But it was achieved at a terrible human cost, with thousands of workers dying the diseases rife in the swampland the canal was cutting through.

Memorials to their sacrifice are a moving counterpoint to their engineering achievement as you witness both from the comfort of your ship. You will also see ships of all different kinds, shapes and sizes making the same journey. In fact, so many ships are now choosing this route that there is a huge project to add more and wider locks to cater for the increasing demand and also for the larger ships (including cruise ships) that are being built.

Panama also became tired of seeing cruise passengers just passing by and has now developed some cruise ports (Colon 2000, Cristobal and Balboa) where you can stop, smell the coffee (it’s excellent) and - they hope - spend a little money, too. The real benefit, though, is that you can now see both sides of the story - how the Canal works from landside as well as from a ship going through it as there are excursions to the locks.

DOS and DON'TS of Panama Canal Cruising

DO attend (or listen on the cabin TV) to the expert lectures given about the Canal during the cruise as knowing the whole story really will enhance the experience. Also get hold of a copy of “The Path Between the Seas” by David McCulloch (Simon and Schuster) – the best book written about the canal bar none.

DON'T worry if you haven't the time or the money to make a full Canal cruise as some ships make partial transits from the Caribbean side (just as far as Gatun Lake) but call at Colon 2000 so you can still see the full transit process from landside.

DON'T miss out on seeing Panama City, especially the old colonial quarter (Casco Antigua or Casco Viejo) which is being restored.

But...

DO be careful while travelling in Panama as it has a little more than its fair share of street crime.

Panama Canal Offers