Another cruise I would love to do is a Panama Canal cruise. A cruise that would be rich with history! Just think of before the canal what ships would have to do – go all the way around South America! Sometimes people would get off the ship in Panama and cross by land and meet another ship on the other side. Either way, it wasn’t a “time-saver.”
As a teen, we would take trips on the Mississippi river in the family boat. It was always exciting to go through the locks. Waiting for them was one thing – those barges can take a long time getting in and then getting out – but it was a different experience to go higher or lower in the water.
We would sometimes have a worker there who would tell us about the locks and the boats that went through. We were always fascinated by those stories.
Taking a Panama Canal cruise offers a number of different learning opportunities. You can experience the locks by being on board. There are many ships that have experts on board who will give lectures about the locks and the history of them. There are a number of different excursions that offer the learning opportunities, or things just for fun.
The Panama Canal isn’t the only highlight of a cruise like this, you’ll also get to visit other ports.
Some of the cruises go fully through from one side to the other (Atlantic to Pacific or the other direction). These are usually ships being seasonally re-positioned. However, there are some that will have a partial transit. You end up in the lake between the locks then return the way you came.
Both options are a great opportunity!