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Transit
Through the Panama Canal
You've probably seen video of the ships transiting the Panama Canal. But what’s it like on the canal itself? We had the chance
to transit the Panama Canal aboard the Pacific Queen,
a day cruise that took us from the community of Gamboa to Panama
City. The journey took four hours (although, because traffic on
the canal can be unpredictable, the trip can sometimes take as
long as six hours.)
The three-decked ship takes vacationers through two sets of locks,
the most unique portion of the canal, as well as along the wider
lake portion of the canal near Gamboa. A bilingual tour, given
in English and Spanish, is given throughout the journey, and tickets
include a hot lunch buffet featuring chicken and rice, macaroni,
cole slaw, and dessert.
Two decks are air conditioned while the top deck is open air (and
most popular). You’ll find the best seats on the top deck
at the front of the ship.
During our transit, we traveled through both sets of locks with
a freighter ship although we also had the opportunity to see a
cruise ship on the canal (not that common of an occurrence since
ships can pay close to a quarter million dollars to make the journey!)
We also had the chance to cruise beneath the new Centennial Bridge,
an architectural beauty, and we saw the Miraflores Visitors Center,
a stop we would have liked to have made. The cruise ended with
a beautiful view of the Panama City skyline, pulling into the
Amador Causeway.
The cruise is not inexpensive—almost $100 per person for
the partial transit (once a month, the cruise ship also makes
a complete transit from the Caribbean to the Pacific). For travelers
with a real maritime interest, the transit is interesting; for
other couples, a stop by the visitors center (which includes a
deck for canal viewing) might suffice.
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