Vessel size not an issue when cruising Panama Canal
Big and small ships offer different but equally fascinating perspectives on iconic journey
One of the cruise destinations I get asked about a lot is the Panama Canal. It’s no surprise, either: there are many ways to experience this 82-kilometre-long engineering marvel that links the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific.
But booking and planning a Panama Canal cruise can quickly become overwhelming: Is it better to take a big ship or a small ship? Should I do a full transit or a partial transit? And what the heck is the difference?
The first thing to consider when planning a Panama Canal cruise is how long you want to be away.
Full transit cruises take at least two full weeks to complete, whereas partial transit cruises can be as short in duration as a week to 10 days.
The difference between the two, in a nutshell? Partial transit cruises don’t actually travel the entire length of the Panama Canal. These voyages typically sail in the Caribbean side of the canal and transit the three Gatun Lake locks, tootle around Gatun Lake for a bit, and then exit out the way they sailed in.
The benefit of a partial transit cruise is that it tends to be shorter than a full transit, and partial transits typically leave round trip from the same city — for example, Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
That makes air and hotel arrangements much easier.
Like the name implies, a full transit of the Panama Canal is exactly that: a voyage that goes clear through the canal from one ocean to another. These cruises are typically at least two weeks in duration (though some shorter full-transit voyages do exist) and commonly start and end in different ports.
Los Angeles to Miami/Fort Lauderdale is a popular run, and during the start and end of the Alaska cruise season, it isn’t uncommon to see voyages that sail from Miami to Vancouver, or vice versa.
Is one better than the other? I’ve done both, and to be honest, I like each of them for different reasons.
A full transit of the canal is thrilling. If you enter from the Pacific side, you sail up the channel, under the Bridge of the Americas, past Panama City. You then arrive at the Miraflores Locks, which lift your ship up 54 feet.
You then ascend another 31 feet in the Pedro Miguel Locks before sailing down the Gaillard Cut.
After that, your ship arrives at man-made Gatun Lake before descending a total of 85 feet in the three Gatun Locks and finally reaching the Port of Colon and the Atlantic Ocean.
Keep in mind, though, that a full transit takes almost an entire day. Some ships might traverse part of the Canal at night, while others will do it all in the heat of the day — and the Panamanian heat is something to be reckoned with. I’ve seen the most diehard sun worshippers run for cover under the shade or retreat into the air-conditioned comfort of the ship on these trips.
With your ship inching along the canal at a snail’s pace, don’t expect to be cooled by any refreshing breeze for much of the journey.
Still, watching your ship transit these gigantic locks is worth splashing on the sunscreen for.
I personally enjoy transiting the canal on a larger cruise ship. A small ship gives you the scale of the lock, but a bigger, taller ship gives you a much better vantage point to admire the hive of activity that takes place on shore as your ship transits the locks.
Lines have to be hooked up to electrically driven “mules” (sort of like a mini-locomotive) that help pull the ship evenly through the locks.
Everything has to be done with precision; this is the only area of the world where a ship’s captain cedes all responsibility for the vessel over to a local pilot who is brought on board.
But this is just one aspect of the Panama Canal cruise.
Both full and partial transits will also include port calls in other Caribbean or Pacific destinations.
It all combines to make a Panama Canal cruise one of the world’s most iconic journeys.