The Dos And Don'ts Of PANAMA CANAL CRUISES!

Most people will do a Panama Canal once in their lifetime and, based on the multiple trips I have been fortunate to do, I have theses Do's and Don'ts for cruising the Panama Canal to help make sure you get what you can and should from that trip.

I made many mistakes when I cruised the Panama Canal the first time, and since doing more Panama Canal transits I have seen other cruise passengers making the same mistakes. So, here are my Do's and Don'ts based on all of that.

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00:00 Start
00:43 It's Not A Canal
02:10 Doing Wrong One
04:30 Choosing Wrong Cruise
08:14 Going On Wrong Ship
09:32 Not Being Prepared

[JoeTourist]

I've transited the Panama Canal five times over as many decades. All were full transits on small and mid-sized ships. It is always fascinating! Don't get hung up in crowded areas of the ship - roam around from deck to deck and from bow to stern. People get tired, so you will get your chance to see canal operations from the rail. Try to stick to the shady side of the ship, since the heat and humidity can be oppressive.

[Kaiwaza]

Went on a two week cruise last minute from Florida to Chile just before Christmas thru the canal because it was SO cheap. I didn’t research, didn’t know what to expect. Spent most of the crossing on my balcony and enjoyed an amazing day. I didn’t even realize there was a huge lake area with islands, etc. It was a smaller ship that went thru the old canal and it was just a marvelous experience.

[thom]

I did this cruise two years ago just prior to the COVID lockdown, on the Eurodam (Holland America) (Fort Lauderdale to San Diego). It was amazing!

[CruisingEngineer]

Great information, Gary. We went through the old locks in 2013 and saw the new locks under construction. As a civil engineer, I was fascinated by the construction techniques and the amount of soil being removed. The worst part of the trip was the ultimate bad hair day because of the high temperatures and humidity. Curly, frizzy hair and my bangs stuck to my sweaty forehead. No photos, please!!! (Guess you didn't experience that).

[roderick.t]

My wife and I made the full transit cruise in 2012 for our 10 year anniversary! It was a fantastic 21-day cruise on Celebrity!! Highly recommended! We would agree with Dr. Deitch of sailing from east-to-west instead of the other way for one simple reason - time zone changes. We did the west-to-east cruise and scheduled several shore excursions along the way. You’ll lose one-hour the farther east you go, resulting in waking up earlier and earlier for each excursion activity. Going the other direction you’ll gain an hour which is much easier to deal with.

[sachaput]

I've been through the Canal twice. In 1970, going from West to East, but this was on a Naval vessel, so a different experience. Later, in 2009, on the Celebrity Constellation going East to West. A remarkable experience both times and certainly memorable. Close to a quarter of the passengers on the Constellation were German (a group of some sort), so all announcements and the historical information given during the transit were in both languages. Your advise would have been helpful at the time. My wife and I had a balcony cabin, which made the transit much nicer. WE ordered room service and had lunch sitting on our balcony.

[stuartdavis]

Very good video. Recently (February 2022) did a full transit through the new (large, 2016) locks. It was just fine. As a civil engineer I was thrilled and contrary to Gary's thought's, I found the cut area fascinating. This was the hardest area to construct and the area that resulted in the highest loss of life due to construction accidents. And if you're on a big ship there's not a whole lot of water underneath you. I do agree that knowing the history of the canal will enhance your experience.

I did get up very early and got a prime position for the approach and transit through the ascending locks. Watched the descent through the second set of locks from my balcony with a drink or two. Got great pictures. Even made a time lapse of both transits from a camera I left on the balcony (the cruise folks probably would not approve of a camera sitting on a tripod unattended for a couple of hours but it was a calm day).

Do your planning but don't overthink this. You can have a great time doing either sets of locks. The perfect can be the enemy of the good. Be inquisitive and you will have a good time, just be careful of the sun. And I would like to do the original locks but just because my wife and I enjoyed the first transit so much.

And remember, going through the Panama Canal has its ups and downs! Thanks for the video.

[karenjensen]

We are going on a full transit 15 day cruise on 4/17 from Miami to LA, we can’t wait!

[kvom]

I recently did a partial transit from Panama City on one of the tour boats Gary mentions. It was supposed to be a full transit but for "logistical reasons" we were disembarked at Gamboa. Personally I felt satisfied with the tour as far as bucket list is concerned, and I didn't have to spend 10 days on a cruise ship visiting other ports that I was uninterested in seeing. In the several days prior to the tour I did visit the Miraflores visitor center as well as the canal museum in Casco Viejo.

The advice I took from Gary's previous video was to use sunscreen on the back of my neck. Thanks my friend.

[BTimmer]

We transited the locks 3 times in the last 6 months on two different ships plus we've transited it 3 other times over the years. It never gets old for me. Your recommendations are spot on. One thing I would add is to recommend taking a land excursion from Panama City to see the new large Agua Clara locks and then experience transiting via the original locks as you recommend.

[jenfurmckinky]

Oh Gary I think I love you … my middle age cruise life is gonna be so much better because of you!

[ClaudiadeFries]

Love David McCullough's book Path Between the Seas. Can't wait to transit the Panama Canal cruise it's on my to do list. Thanks for your excellent video's Gary so glad I discovered them. I'm relatively new to cruising (3 trips so far) but totally in love with it and hope to see more of the world cursing in the years to come!

[karenfairbairn]

We did the canal on Holland America and went into the lake. We then transferred to smaller boat to go through the canal to the Pacific. Took the coach back to the boat. Loved that! We even touched the side of the walls. It was great. Thank you for your information.

[NYnative]

After a while we headed to the rear the ship, where hardly anyone was and we had fabulous views and got some wonderful pictures. Also Gary didn't mention the yummy Panama rolls and coffee we were served on the bow starting at 5:30am. Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam 2019. I also loved that they brought a guide onto the ship who narrated the whole experience, heard throughout the entire ship.

[lorettaolson]

We went from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale and back on HAL Rotterdam in 2020. It was fantastic.

[lisadiver]

Thank Gary for this informative video. Going on my first Panama Canal cruise in March 2025 and I feel more prepared.

[teams]

Our next cruise in 29 days will go through the Panama Canal. We did it in 2019 also. Being an Engineer, I loved it the first time. I may just relax and enjoy the day this time as it will be a 21 day cruise.

[royferguson]

Only got to go through the Panama Canal Twice in my job as an Engineer in the Merchant Navy, but Suez Canal 49 times.

[SirRommy]

The family did the Panama Canal cruise in 2018 on the Zuiderdam as well. Great trip. We had a rear balcony room and I did a time lapse going from the Gatun Lake to the Caribbean side. It turned out pretty nice. The guides on the ship suggested going to deck 5 as you would be right at the level as the locomotives, which we did and even got to talk to one of the drivers while transiting. A note about watching from the front; as Gary states GET THERE EARLY since as the crowd builds, you are all standing at the same floor level so you will be trying to see over someone's head in front of you and not really seeing anything much. Get a railing view which means getting up in the very early hours before the sun is up.

[janeshiota]

I will be cruising on a Viking ship through the canal in late 2023. Thanks for these tips and esp the books.