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Panama Canal Transit Sailing


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Hello Community,

Sailing through the locks of the Panama Canal is high on our bucket list. Looking through various sites we see that Royal has sailing which sail close on the Alantic side but only saw one actual transit cruise through to the Pacific which was cancelled; was supposed to sail in February. I see other lines like Princess and Holland have some but we would like to stay loyal to Royal.

Does anyone know when they might be scheduled to release a transit sailing? Perhaps I am searching incorrectly, so is there certain destination or departure ports I should be searching by? 

Also if anyone has done a transit sailing, would love any hints or tips.     

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40 minutes ago, CruisingOz said:

Hello Community,

Sailing through the locks of the Panama Canal is high on our bucket list. Looking through various sites we see that Royal has sailing which sail close on the Alantic side but only saw one actual transit cruise through to the Pacific which was cancelled; was supposed to sail in February. I see other lines like Princess and Holland have some but we would like to stay loyal to Royal.

Does anyone know when they might be scheduled to release a transit sailing? Perhaps I am searching incorrectly, so is there certain destination or departure ports I should be searching by? 

Also if anyone has done a transit sailing, would love any hints or tips.     

Keep in mind you will only sail through locks into Gutan Lake and do an about face. A transit is so worth it. Can't wait to do it again. 

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Serenade has a full transit that is bookable now for Oct 2, 2022.  It's eastbound Los Angeles to Tampa.

Radiance will need one as well westbound from Miami to California in 2022 before the Alaska season starts but it hasn't been posted yet.

The easy way to see when they appear is to search for cruises on Royal's website with the destination set to Panama Canal.   When there aren't any it doesn't appear as a destination. 

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On 3/6/2021 at 1:44 PM, twangster said:

Serenade has a full transit that is bookable now for Oct 2, 2022.  It's eastbound Los Angeles to Tampa.

Radiance will need one as well westbound from Miami to California in 2022 before the Alaska season starts but it hasn't been posted yet.

The easy way to see when they appear is to search for cruises on Royal's website with the destination set to Panama Canal.   When there aren't any it doesn't appear as a destination. 

You are so knowledgeable and always extremely helpful with great details. Thank you for your help throughout all our posts. 

I would love to have you go up against Matt in a Royal quiz, I suspect you may put Matt to shame, LOL

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33 minutes ago, CruisingOz said:

You are so knowledgeable and always extremely helpful with great details. Thank you for your help throughout all our posts. 

I would love to have you go up against Matt in a Royal quiz, I suspect you may put Matt to shame, LOL

I've seen them go up against each other during trivia that Matt hosts occasionally on his Periscope (or whatever it's called these days) live chats.  It's dog-eat-dog competition!

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41 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I've seen them go up against each other during trivia that Matt hosts occasionally on his Periscope (or whatever it's called these days) live chats.  It's dog-eat-dog competition!

 

1 hour ago, CruisingOz said:

I would love to have you go up against Matt in a Royal quiz, I suspect you may put Matt to shame, LOL

It's not a fair competition when @Matt creates the trivia questions!  He already knows the answers!  

Just kidding around.  Matt knows stuff.  A lot of stuff.  It's hard to compete with that.

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I've been eyeing the October 2022 cruise @twangster mentioned above. I'd pull the trigger but cost & vacation time uncertainty is keeping me away.

But, the Panama Canal is a big bucket list for me, I'd even be happy with a "u-turn" sailing. Luckily, while Royal is my preferred cruise line, I am willing to cheat. ?

edit: heck, I'd go through in a rowboat.

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13 minutes ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

I've been eyeing the October 2022 cruise @twangster mentioned above. I'd pull the trigger but cost & vacation time uncertainty is keeping me away.

But, the Panama Canal is a big bucket list for me, I'd even be happy with a "u-turn" sailing. Luckily, while Royal is my preferred cruise line, I am willing to cheat. ?

edit: heck, I'd go through in a rowboat.

One strategy is to book one of Serenade's 10 night round trip cruises from Tampa that stop in Colon.  There you can book an excursion boat that goes into the canal.  Cheaper cruise fare and you get a closer look at the canal in a smaller tour boat.  Best of both worlds.

Jan. 18, 2023

Feb. 22, 2023

10 night cruise means less days of PTO consumed.  

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

One strategy is to book one of Serenade's 10 night round trip cruises from Tampa that stop in Colon.  There you can book an excursion boat that goes into the canal.  Cheaper cruise fare and you get a closer look at the canal in a smaller tour boat.  Best of both worlds.

Jan. 18, 2023

Feb. 22, 2023

10 night cruise means less days of PTO consumed.  

Thanks, I'll look into that!

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12 minutes ago, steverk said:

Another option is to book the October repositioning cruise as a refundable deposit. Cancel if you change your mind. 

Yeah, if I did book it would be refundable for sure. I know my vacation allotment for 2022, same as 2021, 2020, etc. This trip would cost me at least 10 of 19 days, not horrible but significant enough. At present, my wife would have a difficult time getting two weeks off if she was dead LOL (they are short staffed). She is also in the market for new opportunities, so who knows what her new vacation situation will be. All options are on the table :). 

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  • 2 weeks later...
27 minutes ago, Jill said:

What’s the largest RC ship that can go through the canal? Can Navigator do it or is she too big? 

The largest ship that has gone through the canal for Royal is Radiance class.  This class was built to the original Panamax standard.  It's possible Quantum class could fit based on the Bliss making the transit before.  Quantum class have retractable stacks.

This post discusses if Navigator could go:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/15076-good-news-if-you-have-been-dreaming-of-west-coast-cruises/&do=findComment&comment=238580

 

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1 hour ago, Jill said:

What’s the largest RC ship that can go through the canal? Can Navigator do it or is she too big? 

It is my understanding that the new locks are large enough for all of royal Caribbean's ships but the oasis ships are  too tall to pass under the bridge. 

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13 minutes ago, steverk said:

It is my understanding that the new locks are large enough for all of royal Caribbean's ships but the oasis ships are  too tall to pass under the bridge. 

Locks yes, the Bridge of the Americas, no.  

Technically Oasis class could fit under the bridge on paper.  With stacks retracted they are 62.5m.

Oasis and Allure cleared the Great Belt Link when they were first built in this manner.  However in the real world they wouldn't send a ship under with mere inches of clearance, they need safety margins so in practice Oasis class would be unlikely to try before the bridge is gone.

Freedom and Voyager class do not have retractable stacks.  As built they can't clear the bridge.

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Prior to the canal, goods were transported overland, across the isthmus. This would require the ancient skills and knowledge used to build Stonehenge thousands of years ago, scaled up modestly, to transport Navigator from Caribbean to Pacific. A sprinkle of magic would certainly help.

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