CruisingOz Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 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. IRMO12HD and cruisellama 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 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. CruisingOz and IRMO12HD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 Definitely a bucket list item for us, too, though probably after our son is out of school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 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. CruisingOz, teddy, cruisellama and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingOz Posted March 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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 twangster and cruisellama 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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! IRMO12HD, cruisellama, CruisingOz and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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. IRMO12HD, cruisellama, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 3 hours 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 I'm far from an expert in trivia. I just know some useless knowledge, but not sure I know as much as @twangster IRMO12HD, cruisellama and CruisingOz 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Matt said: but not sure I know as much as @twangster It's tough for us, mere mortals, to compete with THE BOT Lovetocruise2002, joshgates, IRMO12HD and 6 others 1 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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. IRMO12HD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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. CruisingOz and sk8erguy1978 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 Another option is to book the October repositioning cruise as a refundable deposit. Cancel if you change your mind. sk8erguy1978 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted March 7, 2021 Report Share Posted March 7, 2021 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 :). SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 17, 2021 Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 A new full transit has appeared. Radiance April 10, 2022, westbound. Matt, SpeedNoodles, teddy and 5 others 3 2 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 19 hours ago, twangster said: A new full transit has appeared. Radiance April 10, 2022, westbound. Thats 1 cruise i would love to be on! Only issue i would have is getting my missus on a smaller ship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Only thing holding us back is that my wife would use two of her three weeks of pto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 19 hours ago, twangster said: A new full transit has appeared. Radiance April 10, 2022, westbound. 17 minutes ago, teddy said: Only thing holding us back is that my wife would use two of her three weeks of pto. I need to retire! SpeedNoodles, teddy, twangster and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 23 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I need to retire! OHMYGOODNESS YES. I can't wait. Working is overrated WAAAYTOOO, Lovetocruise2002 and twangster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 39 minutes ago, Ray said: Thats 1 cruise i would love to be on! Only issue i would have is getting my missus on a smaller ship Same, except it's the hubby. I'm holding out for Navigator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 25 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I need to retire! Or win the lottery! KristiZ and Lovetocruise2002 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 What’s the largest RC ship that can go through the canal? Can Navigator do it or is she too big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharla Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 @jill I feel like Navigator has to go through because she has to get to California. But maybe they'll send her around S America, which would also be a fantastic option! Ray, KristiZ and Jill 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 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 Jill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 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. Jill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 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. Nicci, IRMO12HD and DDaley 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Has no one considered Navigator could get to California through MAGIC? The black arts are vastly underrated. WAAAYTOOO, Reigert2008 and Sharla 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmondFarmer Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 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. emmef and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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