PANAMA CANAL???

[Cruising Girl]

Anyone have any idea if Disney will EVER do another Panama Canal cruise again? I just looked and it is no longer on the cruise line website as a destination and the length of cruise filter only goes as high as 13 nights now. I only got to do it once but it was AMAZING and I was really looking forward to doing it again.

 

[Marc D]

With 4 ships on the east coast during winter, Wonder is now staying year-round on the west coast, doing Mexico/California/Alaska cruises. The PC cruises were repositioning cruises needed to bring Wonder to Galveston/NOLA/PC for winter cruises.

 

[holula]

I hope they run them as one off cruises occasionally, like they do with Hawaii. Maybe every 3-4 years. Disney could definitely increase the price point if they did that.

 

[Marc D]

I hope they run them as one off cruises occasionally, like they do with Hawaii. Maybe every 3-4 years. Disney could definitely increase the price point if they did that.

Logistically and financially, one-off cruises are not worth it, especially PC cruises. The toll is around 450k$ one-way for crossing the canal. Berthing in a port requires them to conclude contracts for refueling and filling the ship with food and amenities. It requires them to put an entire supply chain in place to limit costs. That’s why they prefer to keep the ship sailing out of the same ports year-round. That’s part of the reason why European cruises are so expensive. They are using short-term suppliers, renting terminal space, etc.

 

[holula]

Logistically and financially, one-off cruises are not worth it, especially PC cruises. The toll is around 450k$ one-way for crossing the canal. Berthing in a port requires them to conclude contracts for refueling and filling the ship with food and amenities. It requires them to put an entire supply chain in place to limit costs. That’s why they prefer to keep the ship sailing out of the same ports year-round. That’s part of the reason why European cruises are so expensive. They are using short-term suppliers, renting terminal space, etc.

At 2000 guests that’s only $225 a guest. Most of the ports they stop at on PC they go to year round (except Cartagena.)

 

[happycamper47]

Having done the PC 3 times I can honestly say now that they have to use the new canal, it is not the same experience. When we went through the old locks there was a lot of visible history regarding the city and the engineering and much more activity. Once the Wonder had the "duck tail" added she can no longer use the old locks and the ambience of crossing is gone in our opinion. The new locks were interesting, but not overwhelming and even the lake crossing is now, just ok. I know HAL still uses the old locks as they were crossing at the same time we did.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Sakura1017]

Having done the PC 3 times I can honestly say now that they have to use the new canal, it is not the same experience. When we went through the old locks there was a lot of visible history regarding the city and the engineering and much more activity. Once the Wonder had the "duck tail" added she can no longer use the old locks and the ambience of crossing is gone in our opinion. The new locks were interesting, but not overwhelming and even the lake crossing is now, just ok. I know HAL still uses the old locks as they were crossing at the same time we did.

Just my 2 cents.

I didn't even know there were 2 different experiences old locks versus new locks. Since Magic is gonna be doing it next year will it be the old locks?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I didn't even know there were 2 different experiences old locks versus new locks. Since Magic is gonna be doing it next year will it be the old locks?

The Magic will be going through the new locks. It is too big to go through the old locks.

 

[Geomom]

@Sakura1017
After the Magic got it's 'duck tail', only the Wonder could fit through the old locks. Once the new locks opened, the Wonder got the 'duck tail' and can only fit through the new locks now. The tail made the smaller ships too long for the old locks.

 

[Sakura1017]

Currently I have a reservation booked on the Magic for October of next year for this itinerary. I'm debating if I should keep it or cancel it now that they have changed the guidelines, and I have a concierge room at the moment. I looked at the ports for excursions and majority of them are beach activities. My family doesn't swim. We booked for this itinerary to view the canals and the locks. Is this itinerary worth it just for the canal day? I could do activities like whale or dolphin watching but if each port is doing that it's repetitive. I know some ports are offering resort stay so you can use their facilities. But if I'm going to a port I would rather explore the city and the culture etc.

For those that did this itinerary what were your best excursions at each port that didn't involve beach/swim activities?

 

[Flying Fish]

Currently I have a reservation booked on the Magic for October of next year for this itinerary. I'm debating if I should keep it or cancel it now that they have changed the guidelines, and I have a concierge room at the moment. I looked at the ports for excursions and majority of them are beach activities. My family doesn't swim. We booked for this itinerary to view the canals and the locks. Is this itinerary worth it just for the canal day? I could do activities like whale or dolphin watching but if each port is doing that it's repetitive. I know some ports are offering resort stay so you can use their facilities. But if I'm going to a port I would rather explore the city and the culture etc.

For those that did this itinerary what were your best excursions at each port that didn't involve beach/swim activities?

Having done the old locks and the new locks, I will say I was severely disappointed with the new locks. There is nothing much there in my opinion, so the real interest is in the journey and not the canal/locks. YMMV on that.

As for the ports, I would say only Cartagena seemed to offer a lot of interest by way of history or non-beach interest to us. That all being said, this is our favorite cruise, because we enjoy being on the ship and time at sea. We are actually doing this cruise next October as well on the Magic.

If you can get on a ship that still does the old locks and you're interested in the history, that trip might be worth it. Someone else might chime in with some great shore excursions that we missed and sway you to stay.

 

[Sakura1017]

Having done the old locks and the new locks, I will say I was severely disappointed with the new locks. There is nothing much there in my opinion, so the real interest is in the journey and not the canal/locks. YMMV on that.

As for the ports, I would say only Cartagena seemed to offer a lot of interest by way of history or non-beach interest to us. That all being said, this is our favorite cruise, because we enjoy being on the ship and time at sea. We are actually doing this cruise next October as well on the Magic.

If you can get on a ship that still does the old locks and you're interested in the history, that trip might be worth it. Someone else might chime in with some great shore excursions that we missed and sway you to stay.

Thanks for sharing the info. Yeah the longest itinerary so far I experience was the 10 night Hawaii cruise. I loved that itinerary and I liked the balance of sea days and port excursions.

 

[happycamper47]

Having done the old locks and the new locks, I will say I was severely disappointed with the new locks. There is nothing much there in my opinion, so the real interest is in the journey and not the canal/locks. YMMV on that.

As for the ports, I would say only Cartagena seemed to offer a lot of interest by way of history or non-beach interest to us. That all being said, this is our favorite cruise, because we enjoy being on the ship and time at sea. We are actually doing this cruise next October as well on the Magic.

If you can get on a ship that still does the old locks and you're interested in the history, that trip might be worth it. Someone else might chime in with some great shore excursions that we missed and sway you to stay.

Agree that the new locks are blase by comparison, however we too are again booked on the Oct 23 WB as we enjoy it too. Just wish it was still on the Wonder and Capt Puckett was doing his talks.

 

[Flying Fish]

Capt Puckett

He was the best. It seemed he had a seemingly endless number of stories to tell, and I feel he could have truly continued on forever if they had let him. Is there a replacement for him or what will they be doing? I think I read something about this on here once, but I cannot remember.

 

[happycamper47]

He was the best. It seemed he had a seemingly endless number of stories to tell, and I feel he could have truly continued on forever if they had let him. Is there a replacement for him or what will they be doing? I think I read something about this on here once, but I cannot remember.

He wasn't on the November EB Cruise last year and nobody did any history,. We did however have someone that did a narration as we crossed but not nearly as colorful . You can get his book on Amazon and it's an enjoyable read.

https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Puckett-stories-former-Panama/dp/0692086110

 

[Intr3pid]

Currently I have a reservation booked on the Magic for October of next year for this itinerary. I'm debating if I should keep it or cancel it now that they have changed the guidelines, and I have a concierge room at the moment. I looked at the ports for excursions and majority of them are beach activities. My family doesn't swim. We booked for this itinerary to view the canals and the locks. Is this itinerary worth it just for the canal day? I could do activities like whale or dolphin watching but if each port is doing that it's repetitive. I know some ports are offering resort stay so you can use their facilities. But if I'm going to a port I would rather explore the city and the culture etc.

For those that did this itinerary what were your best excursions at each port that didn't involve beach/swim activities?

Disney's PC itinerary is similar to those of other cruise lines on a full transit. The region on either side of the canal is a sun destination. A full transit will invariably add the beach-y ports regardless of when or with which cruise line you sail.

If you want to mix it up, here are my suggestions.

Cozumel: Tulum ruins (or even Chichen Itza if arranged through DCL)
Grand Cayman: Beach + Crystal caves
Cartagena: Tour of the old town
Puerto Vallarta: Sierra Madre mountain canopy
Cabo: Combo of a (whale watching) cruise, glass blowing, and scenic view of the bay

 

[mocodis]

awesome guy, i got his book many years ago. we saw him last on our 2019 PC cruise toward the end of the year. His presentation and stories were as good as ever. His wife was onboard as well. I had the pleasure of talking to him.

 

[Flying Fish]

Our last PC was also the November 2019 cruise, and that's where we spoke to him. The new locks are really a let down compared to the old ones. It was his stories and narration that made it interesting. Big loss to the PC cruises.

 

[mocodis]

Our last PC was also the November 2019 cruise, and that's where we spoke to him. The new locks are really a let down compared to the old ones. It was his stories and narration that made it interesting. Big loss to the PC cruises.

totally agree

 

[Flying Fish]

I just saw his book is available to read free on amazon kindle unlimited. Knowing him from the cruises I think it will be an enjoyable read, and I'm going to read it before the cruise next year.