Introduction: Our Panama Canal Cruise on Oceania Sirena
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Introduction
For those of us who cruise with some regularity, we probably have some version of a cruise “bucket list.” Cruises we want to take because of the ports, because of the experience, because of the ship, or some combination. For many, a Panama Canal cruise is one such journey. In this post we’ll cover What to Expect on a Panama Canal Full Transit. Having taken two recent cruises that began with transiting the Panama Canal we’ll share our thoughts from both with an emphasis on our most recent sailing aboard Oceania Cruises‘ Sirena.
Panama Canal Sailing Options
Broadly speaking there are three general types of Panama Canal transits done by cruise ships:
- A full transit of the canal as part of a trip that begins either on the Atlantic or Pacific side and ends on the other. These are often repositioning cruises that take place at the beginning or end of a season, like when a cruise ship goes from it’s Caribbean positioning over the winter to it’s Alaska positioning for the summer. There’s a great deal of variety in these sailings, though most of them are “one-offs” each year.
- A full transit of the canal that begins or ends in Panama City, Panama. These are the most common of the sailings as they start in Panama City on the Pacific side, pass through the entire length of the Panama Canal and then complete some itinerary involving the Mayan Riviera, Western Caribbean, or Eastern Caribbean. This is what our cruise did beginning in Panama City and ending in Miami.
- A partial transit of the canal. In this case the ship generally goes through one lock in the canal, turns around in Gatun Lake, and then reverses course.
What to Expect on a Panama Canal Full Transit
Whether you are an an itinerary that falls into either category 1 or category 2, the experience is the same, with the only difference being if you began on the Atlantic/Caribbean side the highlights will happen in reverse order to those that I will outline below.
Expect an early morning! Transiting the canal takes most of the day with ships generally beginning around sunrise and finishing a bit before sunset. If you’re beginning your transit on the Pacific Side/Panama City you do not want to sleep in. One of the highlights happens almost as soon as you leave port as you begin to enter the Panama Canal you sail under the Bridge of the Americas. I don’t know about you, but I love passing under a bridge on a ship.
With a prime view off the front of the ship we took advantage of a room service breakfast for optimal morning views.
As we passed from Balboa Harbor under the Bridge of the Americas we were able to spot several crocodiles near the water’s edge.
After Bridge of the Americas the next highlight is when the ship enters the Miraflores Locks, where passengers witness the impressive process of lifting the vessel through massive gates and chambers. There’s a visitor center and viewing area at Miraflores Locks where Panama Canal enthusiasts will wave to similarly enthusiastic cruise passengers. The larger your ship the closer you are to the viewing platforms.
Gatun Lake, a pivotal feature of the Panama Canal, is a striking highlight of the journey. Created by damming the Chagres River, the lake spans over 160 square miles and is a vital component of the canal’s operation. As your ship glides across its smooth waters, passengers are treated to breathtaking views of lush tropical rainforests and an array of wildlife. Gatun Lake not only underscores the impressive scale of the canal’s engineering but also highlights Panama’s rich and diverse ecosystems.
The final lock system in the Panama Canal before entering the Atlantic Ocean is the Gatun Locks, located on the northern end of the canal. This set of locks consists of three chambers, each designed to lower ships from the higher elevation of Gatun Lake down to the level of the Atlantic Ocean. The transition from the freshwater lake to the saltwater of the Atlantic is noticeable with the change in water color.
Biggest Surprises
I fully admit, that while I understood the history of the Panama Canal in decent detail, I had very little knowledge of the physical “canal” itself. The reality is, for much of the time, you aren’t in fact in a canal, but are instead in a lake. I had a misconception that we would effectively be sailing through a narrow passage most of the way. This was not the case.
The other thing that surprised many, though I was aware of it ahead of our first cruise, was that the Panama Canal today is really two canals, the original and a much larger canal capable of taking the largest modern container ships. For much of our journey we could actually see freighters alongside us and passing in the opposite direction.
Another surprise for many is that there is a railway line that runs alongside the canal. During the current drought conditions, previously discussed here, the largest ships have to offload part of their cargo onto the rail at one end and load it back on at the other. The reason for this is to reduce the draft of the ships (the amount of the ship below the waterline) due to lower than normal water levels in the canal.
Final Approach / Would we do it again?
We really enjoyed our Panama Canal cruise on both large and small Oceania Cruises ships. Sailing in a Vista Suite with a balcony directly over a working and open bow provided a fascinating view of the workings of both the ship and the locks.
Watching lines being thrown out and pulled in, coordinating with Panama Canal staff, etc. really added to the experience we’d had previously. Given we’ve now done this “bucket list” cruise twice, I don’t think it’s high on the list for us to do again anytime soon. However, we strongly recommend cruisers try it at least once! – Michael
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Loved all the information on going through the locks I went through about 30 years ago and I’m very much looking forward to our Oceania cruise at Christmas time 2024, Four of us will be traveling together and this will be our first cruise on Oceania and have heard very nice reviews so are looking forward to leaving Miami and arriving in LA!!