Tell me about the Panama Canal cruise.

[xavier2001]

We went in 2018, hands down best trip we've ever taken. The 14 days flew by. Per night its actually pretty reasonable cost wise. We paid as much to go to Alaska for 7 days as we did to Panama for 14. Aside from the cruise length, there are other 'perks'. You get unique menus every night, staff really gets to know you well (was a bonus for the kids to be on a first name basis with all the CMs and other kids who hung out in the club, and there are less overall people on board b/c many just couples go so even though every room is sold out, many are at half capacity. It was so good we are talking about going again in 2020.

 

[DVC Jen]

The cost may seem like a big obstacle, but if they were to offer these same cruises during the summer or school breaks, the cost would go up exponentially. Not to say that women don't enjoy the PC cruises, but I would think that most men would truly love the experience of sailing through the PC. It is my DH favorite cruise, although in all fairness, he is an engineer.

My DH is an engineer as well and *I* am the one who wants to go through the PC. I think it would be fascinating

 

[lorimay]

February cannot come quick enough, I can't wait to do this cruise.
Its been a bucket list for several years.

 

[GoofyNewfie]

This Feb will be our 3rd WBPC. I agree with a PP who said the first one is amazing and the second one great (sorry for likely misquoting). Let's see how #3 goes. They've changed the itinerary slightly but we're finding less and less interest in the ports anyways. I tend to look at the cost as more of an investment. It's a cool trip that we get to talk about for a long time. So many people dream of that trip and you get a chance to try to convince them to do it with your experiences.

The crew really keep inventing new things to do that don't happen on the shorter itineraries. Both of our trips they did a crew talent contest. The cruise directory gets to open up a little more. There's been a cruise director morning show on the Panamas (I think that's unique to the PCs?). Something I had no idea about was how much more sealife we saw on the pacific side. turtles and so many more dolphins.

It really is a great trip. And like others said, the per night price is pretty good.

Good luck with it. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Watching the mechanics of the old lock system was fascinating for me. Can't wait to see the new system. Well I have to wait. Maybe a WBPC cruise is in order when I finish my PhD.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

My DH is an engineer as well and *I* am the one who wants to go through the PC. I think it would be fascinating

I would think if he is an engineer, you would have no trouble convincing him to go. Plus, the new locks are completed and in use. We went through the old locks twice, and we will be going through the new locks twice, also.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

OMG! I literally just got off the EBPC yesterday in Galveston. It was my 7th Disney cruise and one my husband wanted to do forever, except we wouldn't take our daughter out of school to go. Now that she is in college, we decided to go and it was simply amazing. It was unlike any of my previous cruises because of all of the sea days, but I loved them. It was so much fun doing the activities and getting to know the activity staff so well. We had to miss a port in order to avoid Hurricane Willa but it was no problem, the captain did a great job of getting us out of rough water and we got another sea day. We really enjoyed hearing Capt. Puckett tell us about the history, the building and the crossing of the canal. I hope he can continue to do the cruises in the future. The entertainment was phenomenal. The passengers were also a different demographic from what I'm used to. It was a lot of older people (60+). The adult pool was always more crowded than the Goofy pool! I would love to do another one, but my DH is more of a one and done guy with this cruise. I will be writing a trip report soon.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

OMG! I literally just got off the EBPC yesterday in Galveston. It was my 7th Disney cruise and one my husband wanted to do forever, except we wouldn't take our daughter out of school to go. Now that she is in college, we decided to go and it was simply amazing. It was unlike any of my previous cruises because of all of the sea days, but I loved them. It was so much fun doing the activities and getting to know the activity staff so well. We had to miss a port in order to avoid Hurricane Willa but it was no problem, the captain did a great job of getting us out of rough water and we got another sea day. We really enjoyed hearing Capt. Puckett tell us about the history, the building and the crossing of the canal. I hope he can continue to do the cruises in the future. The entertainment was phenomenal. The passengers were also a different demographic from what I'm used to. It was a lot of older people (60+). The adult pool was always more crowded than the Goofy pool! I would love to do another one, but my DH is more of a one and done guy with this cruise. I will be writing a trip report soon.

Tell him that now that you've done the EBPC cruise, you need to do the WBPC cruise!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Tell him that now that you've done the EBPC cruise, you need to do the WBPC cruise!

 

[Queenofthecastle]

We also just got off the EBPC 2018 cruise, which was #13 for us and it was our best one yet! We did it last year too, and loved it so much we decided to book it again, and are so glad we did! I was even secretly thrilled that Puerto Vallarta was cancelled due to the hurricane, so we could have five sea days in a row! 14 nights was perfect for us, but I could have gone longer to be honest. Even with all those sea days we still didn't get to do all we wanted, and we never even took the time to sit out on our veranda or deck 4, use the pool, the Rainforest, watch a handful of movies in the Buena Vista theatre, hang out more at the pub, hang out at Cove Cafe....the ship activities were action packed and we enjoyed them all day long. We love the ballroom dancing lessons they offer on the longer cruises and most days there were 2 lessons/day. I feel like I need a redo to do the things I missed. It is really what you make of it though. I have heard some grumblings that there was nothing to do for 5 sea days, but that wasn't the case for us.

 

[bobbiwoz]

My DH is an engineer as well and *I* am the one who wants to go through the PC. I think it would be fascinating

I was the force behind our three Panama Canal Cruises. Would do one again!

 

[darnheather]

We also just got off the EBPC 2018 cruise, which was #13 for us and it was our best one yet! We did it last year too, and loved it so much we decided to book it again, and are so glad we did! I was even secretly thrilled that Puerto Vallarta was cancelled due to the hurricane, so we could have five sea days in a row! 14 nights was perfect for us, but I could have gone longer to be honest. Even with all those sea days we still didn't get to do all we wanted, and we never even took the time to sit out on our veranda or deck 4, use the pool, the Rainforest, watch a handful of movies in the Buena Vista theatre, hang out more at the pub, hang out at Cove Cafe....the ship activities were action packed and we enjoyed them all day long. We love the ballroom dancing lessons they offer on the longer cruises and most days there were 2 lessons/day. I feel like I need a redo to do the things I missed. It is really what you make of it though. I have heard some grumblings that there was nothing to do for 5 sea days, but that wasn't the case for us.

LOL some people will complain that the sky is blue. Glad you had a fantastic time.

 

[JW9DVC]

We just did the 14 day 2018 WBPC. It was a great trip. I will say though the menu becomes blah after about 8 nights. Became very boring. You can only have so much steak or chicken or fish. It’s not subpar. Yet the variety is not available.

 

[DVC Jen]

We just did the 14 day 2018 WBPC. It was a great trip. I will say though the menu becomes blah after about 8 nights. Became very boring. You can only have so much steak or chicken or fish. It’s not subpar. Yet the variety is not available.

I can see us opting for counter service/room service or the buffet some nights instead of the dining room all 14.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

And the 2020 PC cruises are going to New Orleans. So that will make it not a one and done!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

We just did the 14 day 2018 WBPC. It was a great trip. I will say though the menu becomes blah after about 8 nights. Became very boring. You can only have so much steak or chicken or fish. It’s not subpar. Yet the variety is not available.

This keeps you from eating too much and gaining weight on this 14-night cruise!