Panama Canal Cruises: Experience A Man-Made Marvel

Table Of Content

• Availability Click on prices below to view cabin upgrades and details
• Royal Caribbean International Panama Canal Departure Ports
• Panama Canal Cruises: Everything You Need to Know
• Bottom line: The best time to cruise the Panama Canal
• Striped fish in Gatun Lake
• 10 of 100 Royal Caribbean Panama Canal & Central America Cruise Reviews
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to the Panama Canal & Central America
• THINGS TO DO in Panama City

Then continue your Viking journey to the heart of the Caribbean & Central America. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. Should Semana Santa (Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday) fall in March, there will be more crowds nationwide in Panama with religious processions and reenactments, parades and other special events.

Availability Click on prices below to view cabin upgrades and details

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December is one of the peak tourism months in Panama, with Panamanians traveling for the holidays and visitors from North America and Europe escaping the cold weather at home. Those on "partial crossings" or simply docked at Colon might consider completing the crossing in a smaller boat. This popular shore excursion begins at Gamboa, one of the towns along the Canal. It takes passengers through the remaining two Canal locks, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A motorcoach ride delivers passengers back to their waiting ships at Colon. Many Panama Canal and Central America ports are relatively industrial, and some -- particularly Colon and Puerto Limon -- have a reputation for petty crime within the main city.

Royal Caribbean International Panama Canal Departure Ports

The Poas volcano features the amazing sight of a huge crater filled with iridescent blue water. Walk through a cloud forest at Villa Blanca, where you're surrounded by mist and water droplets clinging to the vegetation. See one of Costa Rica's renowned rain forests at Pura Vida Gardens, or climb a set of wooden steps up to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Panama Canal Cruises: Everything You Need to Know

Found by the waterfront promenade, the lavish and ornate Teatro Nacional features burgundy carpeting, a gold facade and brass fixtures, as well as a mural by local artist Roberto Lewis. Sit in one of the many gilded balconies under an exquisite crystal chandelier and enjoy a world-class performance during your vacation. Dating back to 1673, the UNESCO World Heritage Site features landmarks like the Panama National Theater and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary. You'll also find some of the city's best restaurants, beautiful squares and plazas and top-rated museums. If you've booked a pre- or post-cruise hotel in town, be sure to catch a sunset from one of the city's many rooftop bars. With the high temperatures and humidity — and the threat of rain — you might want to take tours where you can easily escape from the heat and the showers.

Panama enjoys a gentle tropical weather almost every day of the year. This translates into the easy planning of a crossing anytime is convenient for you. You can shop just about anywhere when you visit Panama City, but you'll find the best specialty stores in Casco Viejo. With your Panama City cruise, head to El Farol for a wide range of traditional Panama hats, to Reprosa for local art and jewelry, or to La Ronda for Embera baskets made in the Darien forest.

Striped fish in Gatun Lake

Many venues and attractions may be closed on some days during the festivities. Browse our photo gallery of Panama Canal cruising photos from Royal Caribbean. Keep in mind, this is just a sample of the sights waiting for you on a Royal Caribbean Panama Canal cruise vacation. With incredible weather, delicious fare and some stupendous attractions, you will find that Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades is one of the most attractive ports in the entire US. You'll get to see other ships as they cross, too, giving you a different vantage point and a new way of learning how the canal works.

Carnival Cruises has a range of Panama Canal cruises leaving from different ports in the US, including Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston. Most of the major lines and some smaller ones offer at least a few Panama Canal sailings each season. Walk between the worlds of the Mexican Riviera and Caribbean Islands with a Royal Caribbean Panama Canal cruise, and visit a truly iconic and breathtaking location.

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Transiting the Panama Canal from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for many travelers, especially for history and engineering buffs. If you're considering this bucket-list sailing, you'll want to find the best time to cruise the Panama Canal, whether that be to find better weather, lower pricing or fewer crowds. With the warmer temperatures, March is an ideal month to head to the beaches on one of the San Blas Islands, an archipelago of about 365 islands and cays off the Caribbean coast of Eastern Panama. Some cruise lines that visit the archipelago are Windstar, Star Clippers, Hapag-Lloyd and Ponant.

These holidays, along with a few others in November, feature parades, parties and other displays of national pride, so you can expect it to be busy in towns across the country. In addition to visiting Panama, many itineraries include ports of call in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia or Mexico, which can be the highlight of the trip, especially for outdoor enthusiasts. This is one situation where a balcony cabin offers a unique perspective, but it isn't really a necessity (unlike on an Alaska or Hawaii itinerary, where you're guaranteed gorgeous scenery on either side of your ship). Bigger ships can only squeak through the canal, with two feet (or less) on either side. While the railing of the balcony can give you a better appreciation for just how tight that squeeze is, being up on the bow is the best way to appreciate the full scope of the process.

However, with the opening of a new set of locks in 2016, larger New-Panamax-sized ships can transit, as well. That means you take a Panama Canal cruise on a small-masted Windstar ship or luxury Silversea cruise or can sail on a megaship as large as the 1,094-foot-long and 136-foot-wide Norwegian Bliss. Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals. The canal never stops working and you will traverse along with other ships and boats and witness the swift movement of these vessels.

Once you're crossing the canal, head to the front of the ship for the best view. Cruise from Los Angeles or Miami and pick the trips that make your favorite stops. There's a cruise with stops in Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. Step into the past as you stroll down the Spanish Colonial lanes of Antigua in Guatemala, a picturesque town with pastel buildings and balconies filled with pink flowers. A short trip from the port at Puerto Quetzal, the city is home to museums like Casa de los Sueños, where the history of this town is depicted through art. Gain a deeper understanding of the impressive engineering behind the 48-mile-long Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific.

October is a rainy month, but it's also one of the coolest months of the year, with high temperatures in the low to mid-80s. The average year-round temperature in Panama is about 86 degrees, so it doesn't vary much during the year, but it's more humid in October with the wet weather. It's also possible to have hurricanes this time of year if you're cruising in the Caribbean. Here, we look at Panama's peak cruise season month by month, so you can consider the weather, pricing and crowds to determine the best time to cruise through the Panama Canal. There are so many fabulous encounters with nature available from this port, you'll have a hard time deciding on a shore excursion. A visit to the Tabacon Resort Hot Springs takes you to the slopes of the active Arenal volcano.

Or go snorkeling along the coral reef off the coast of Grand Cayman. Stopping at different cruise ports during a Panama Canal crossing makes it easy to savor the varied flavors of these countries, each with its own signature spice and tang. The thrill is not over after you go through the canal locks, there's more to see as you travel through the canal, with tropical flora and fauna adorning the way.

Many cruisers consider a cruise through the Panama Canal a must-do, and for a long time, the itineraries drew mostly seniors, due to the length of a full-transit trip (which usually runs 14 days). Partial Panama Canal cruises -- where ships only go halfway through the locks before turning around -- not only cut the number of days, but increase day-trip options in the Central American cities near the canal. While several ships bring lecturers onboard to talk about the canal's history, this is one trip where a little extra reading might add to your enjoyment. "The Path Between the Seas," by historian David McCullough, is highly recommended. With drier weather and high temperatures hovering around 88 degrees, it's less humid in the region in December. However, it's the holiday season, so cruise fares and other costs, like hotels for pre- and post-cruise stays, will be more expensive if you travel this month.

If you're in Panama City, visit the vibrant neighborhood of Casco Antiguo in the city's historic district. For a rainy-day excursion, ride the Panama Canal Railway, one of the world's great train rides. If you're in Panama City, plan an indoor excursion with a visit to the world's first museum dedicated to biodiversity, the Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo. From the ship, you'll get great views of Soberania National Park, a 55,000-acre area of protected rainforest that's home countless species of birds, mammals and reptiles. See if you can catch a glimpse of an orange-chinned parakeet or a white-faced capuchin monkey. A cruise to the Panama Canal is a chance to land on amazing destinations during the same trip.