Panama Canal with Holland America
12 Day Partial Transit Panama Canal Cruise
12 Days | February-March
Starting At $CUSTOM
The construction of the Panama Canal is one of those epic tales from the past, an old-school feat of engineering, ambition and courage. A cruise along it today is a journey through the centuries, from the Spanish fortifications near Limón Bay to the glittering skyline of Panama City, not to mention the canal itself.
Highlights
Price Includes:
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Ports of Call:
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Call For Pricing. Airfare Prices Can Be Quoted Upon Request.
Passports are Required For This Sailing.
Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrive Ft Lauderdale, FL
Today arrive into Ft Lauderdale and check in to your hotel for your overnight stay.
Day 2 – Transfer to Port, Board the Eurodam
After breakfast this morning, take a short transfer to the Port of Ft Lauderdale and board the Eurodam. Holland America Line’s first Signature-class ship, Eurodam has recently received many exciting updates. Guests cruising on this graceful ship can enjoy the full Music Walk experience, including Lincoln Center Stage, B.B. King’s Blues Club and Billboard Onboard. Explore onboard at BBC Earth Experiences. Enjoy regional cooking demonstrations and food and wine tastings with EXC Port to Table programming.
Day 3 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
All Bahama Islands are full of tropical wonders and sun-kissed beaches. But Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas is an absolute stunner. We’re not the only ones enamored with our crescent-shaped slice of heaven—Half Moon Cay is the highest-rated Bahamas private island. It has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award consecutively for 20 years and garnered the best in Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards. When you feel the sugar-white sand on your toes or see its brilliant blue lagoon, you’ll understand why cruise travelers love Half Moon Cay. True bucket-list excursions, secluded cabanas, and stunning beaches make it ideal for any type of vacation.
Day 4 – Day at Sea
Today is a full day spent at sea.
Day 5 – Willemstad, Curacao
This precious island has a good mixture of history and modernism which all of our guests can truly enjoy. The capital of Curaçao, Willemstad, is almost as old as a more famous Dutch settlement—it was founded in 1634, just 10 years after New Amsterdam, later called New York. But while the Dutch control of New Amsterdam was relatively brief, Curaçao remains a part of the Netherlands to this day. Our Curaçao cruise takes you to its historic center which is a unique mixture of Dutch architecture and Caribbean pastels, its gabled row houses overlooking Sint Anna Bay, a waterway dividing the city in two and connecting the Caribbean to the protected Schottegat Bay. The entire historic center of Willemstad has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While Willemstad’s legendary days of yore can be explored at institutions like the Kura Hulanda and Curaçao Maritime Museum, this is a vibrant, living city too. Our Curaçao cruise highlights this multicultural melting pot which might include a stop at its floating market and a visit to a Curaçao distillery to taste the famous local liqueur. Natural wonders await as well: Some of the Caribbean’s most stunning diving and snorkeling spots are here. Finally, a meal in Willemstad will let you experience the diversity of the island through the surprising flavors of its cuisine, which reflects European, Caribbean and Latin American influences.
Day 6 – Oranjestad, Aruba
It’s hard to find a more beautiful vacation destination than the Southern Caribbean, and on our cruises to Aruba, you’re the star of that perfect snapshot. Splash and play your way across this sparkling corner of the Caribbean, or simply relax on a sun-baked beach on one of Carnival’s cruises to Aruba. The locals call it the “happy island,” and they prove it — Aruba cheerily welcomes visitors to picture-perfect strips of beach, swaths of exotic blooms, and some of the Caribbean’s top shopping and nightlife locales. Celebrate the year-round Caribbean spirit, or simply unwind to the island’s bewitching and relaxing tempo. It’s easy to find your own tropical beat when you cruise Aruba-style.
Day 7 – Day at Sea
Today is a full day spent at Sea.
Day 8 – Panama Canal Partial Transit/Gatun Lake/Colon, Panama
Think of the Panama Canal, and the image that may come to mind is of the world’s huge tankers and cruise ships passing through a series of locks. That, however, reflects only one aspect of this part of the world. As ships travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, they also pass colonial towns, historic fortresses and manmade lakes that are today home to sanctuaries for hundreds of different animal and plant species. At the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, Colón evokes the old Panama of yesteryear, with its historic buildings gradually being restored. Some 77 kilometers (48 miles) to the south, at the canal’s Pacific entrance, Panama City’s glittering skyline of office towers and condominiums reflects the country’s dynamic present and future. Traveling between these two cities, an epic tale unfolds before you—an old-school feat of engineering, ambition and courage. As David McCullough recounts in his sweeping history The Path Between the Seas, it was a combination of sheer human might and engineering prowess that today allows ships to cross the Panama isthmus, saving sailors from making the dangerous, almost 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey around the tip of South America.
At the center of one of the world’s greatest engineering projects is a place where nature has been given a space to flourish—the vast Gatún Lake. The lake includes some 33 kilometers (20 miles) of the 77-kilometer (48-mile) route that ships follow through the Panama Canal. While a passenger gazing at its forested shores may assume they are looking at a landscape that predates the canal, the lake is as much a manmade creation as the various locks. It was formed in 1912, with the damming of the Chagres River, and the islands that dot the lake were once the peaks of hills.
The surface of the lake sits at an elevation of between 25 and 27 meters (82 and 87 feet) above sea level. At its Caribbean end, the Gatún Locks raise ships traveling towards the Pacific to the level of the lake; at its other end, the Pedro Miguel and then the Miraflores Locks lower them back to sea level. In addition to opportunities to see the infrastructure of the canal, created at the expense of millions of dollars and thousands of lives, Gatún Lake is fascinating for its remarkable biodiversity. More than 100 species each of mammals and reptiles, as well as some 500 different birds, thrive in the nature reserves in and near the lake.
Day 10 – Day at Sea
Today is a full day spent at sea.
Day 11 – Day at Sea
Today is a full day spent at sea
Day 12 – Arrive Ft Lauderdale
This morning arrive back into Ft Lauderdale and start your journey home.