If you go: Cruising on the Panama Canal

January 21, 2007|Randall Shirley

Resources Most big cruise lines do complete transits on Panamax ships, including Celebrity (celebrity.com), Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.com), Norwegian (ncl.com), Princess (princess.com), and Holland America (hollandamerica.com). CruiseWest (cruisewest.com) offers numerous small ship transits.

The closest port to Boston with full-transit sailings is New York. Try Princess or Holland America for itineraries from New York to Los Angeles, Seattle, or Vancouver.

Full transit takes a minimum 10 days (Acapulco to San Juan on Princess). For Florida to California, plan on 14 nights.

This trip is generally too long for families with young children. The big lines' itineraries include several full days at sea, and children tend to need more distractions than the ship can offer.