The Panama Canal inaugurated its new locks on June 26th
Princess Cruises will be the first, and for now the only, cruise line to transit the Panama Canal. The company has already included this transit in its new Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean itineraries. Furthermore, it has confirmed that the 3,080-passenger Caribbean Princess will operate using the new Atlantic locks upon its maiden voyage starting in late 2017.
This experience will be part of a 10-day Panama Canal cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The new itineraries will debut in the winter of the 2017-18 season.
Three other Princess ships, the Coral Princess, the Island, and the Pacific Princess, would make transits through the Panama Canal for the winter of 2017-18 using the original locks with departures from Los Angeles, Vancouver, and San Francisco.
The Caribbean Princess will make a series of thirteen 10-day cruises through the canal starting on October 21, 2017. Its voyage will include stops in the Cayman Islands, Cartagena (Colombia), Colón (Panama), Limón (Costa Rica) and will end its trip in Falmouth (Jamaica).
Its 36-meter width prevents it from entering the old locks built in 1914, which are only 34 meters wide. The new locks had been built to be inaugurated on the centenary of their creation, but were delayed for various reasons.
The new locks use tugboats instead of electric locomotives to move the 290-meter-long Caribbean Princess. The 427-meter length of the new locks will give it ample room to pass through.
With the Coral Princess, the Island Princess, and the Pacific Princess, passengers can enjoy a wide variety of trips, including those crossing the Panama Canal, from itineraries through Mexico or British Columbia and California to the 60-day "Grand South America" cruise that visits a total of 31 ports aboard the Island Princess.
Panama is one of the most modern and advanced tourist destinations in Central America, and the Panama Canal is perhaps its best-known and most popular attraction. A cruise ship transiting the Panama Canal is a truly memorable adventure.
