Destination: Panama Canal cruise

Built between 1904 and 1914, the Panama Canal is not only an engineering marvel, but a popular cruise itinerary. Cruise ships that transit the Panama Canal transport cruisers between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The majority of cruise choices are offered between October and April. The most favorable time to cruise the canal is after the rainy season, which ends in November.

The Panama canal consists of artificial lakes, channels, and three sets of locks. The total length of the canal is 47.9 miles.

Full Transit – Sail Ocean-to-Ocean on a Trans-Canal Cruise

A typical Panama Canal cruise can last up to 14-days. Cruise visitors will embark the ship in Florida (Miami or Ft. Lauderdale) and head westbound through the canal. Eastbound canal cruisers will likely embark the ship in Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco before sailing through the Canal to Florida.  Popular ports of call include stops in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and California.

Partial transit

Guests opting for a shorter cruise itinerary can select a modified trans-canal experience which focusses on port calls on either the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Typically cruise guests will spend less time in the canal performing only a partial crossing, which means that the ship only crosses one lock. Ships arriving from the Atlantic side stop at Colon, Panama, at the entrance to the Canal.

Coral Princess makes it way through the Panama Canal. Photo from @canaldepanama

The main attractions

Costa Rica

Puerto Limón (on the Caribbean side) and Puntarenas (on the Pacific)

Near the Panama Canal

• Miraflores Visitors’ Center
• Gatun Visitors’ Center
• The Pipeline Road
• The Panama Canal Railway

A photo showcase of some of the most interesting weather extremes that I have had from my cruises.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.  ~John Ruskin

Snow on Ocean Princess in China

The pool deck on Ocean Princess

Sailing on Ocean Princess in early 2011 it actually snowed when we arrived to Dalian, China. For those that like the snow, like me, I thought it was so exciting to see the decks covered in the white stuff. Read more about the snow day from China.

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.  ~ Author Unknown

Rain in Japan

Rainy day schedule in Japan

When Ocean Princess called on the neighboring cities of Fukuoka, Tenjin, and Hakata as part of the 12 day China and Japan cruise itinerary it was a little wet. Not one to let some rain stop me from exploring the city, @CruiseJess and I walked around and during our visit to a shine, a random stranger gave me an umbrella. Read more here.

Now to the sunshine

A ship, the sea and a sunny day.

This is actually in the Caribbean during a sea day as we cruised to the island of Haiti to deliver aid in conjunction with the Cruise4Haiti voluncruise.

Question: What is the most extreme weather you have experienced on a cruise vacation?

Best of Caribbean

Labadee, Haiti. The private beach area for Royal Caribbean International.

What’s happening now: #CruiseChat

Via Twitter and #CruiseChat:

Who is a Caribbean cruise fan? Jump onboard and tweet-in about the “Best of Caribbean.”

We asked on Facebook where people wanted to go and it was between Europe and the Caribbean.  So let’s see what people bring to the table today regarding Caribbean cruising.

Be on the lookout for questions about: the Best Beach; Best Place To Beat The Crowds; Best Port-of-Call; Caribbean Cruise News; and Best Cruise Line Private Beach Experience.

Special guest host: @CruiseGuy joins @AvidCruiser, @CruiseBuzz (me), @CruiseLineFans and our friends that have helped us put together the chat. Thanks @TravelDesigned, @Shipsandtrips, @cruisesforless and @MeetOnCruise for posting on the FB page and reaching out on Twitter.

What is Cruise Chat? Is there a schedule?

What: Twitter party on #TravelTuesday focusing on cruise topics
When: Tuesdays from 2:00 – 3:00 pm EST
Where: Twitter, use the hashtag #cruisechat for searches and posts

Cruise 4 Haiti volunteer outreach cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas delivers final shipment of aid.

After many hundreds of hours of work – mission accomplished!

This morning the remaining 5 pallets of donated items for the “For Haiti With Love” orphanage have been delivered to the Royal Caribbean site in Labadee, Haiti.

The pallets contain Cholera meds and numerous donations that will help bring the holidays to the orphans served by the For Haiti With Love projects in  Cap-Haitien Haiti.

Volunteers from For Haiti WIth Love offload 5 pallets of supplies at their headquarters

Summary of Cruise4Haiti outreach: a voluncruise story.

Over 30 humanitarian travelers joined the Cruise4Haiti on Royal Caribbean International’s Liberty of the Seas sailing roundtrip from Miami on Nov. 14th, 2010.

Cruise4Haiti’s many accomplishments included:

• With the help of Royal Caribbean, delivered 6 pallets of aid to Haiti to benefit For Haiti With Love’s medical clinic, orphanage and food bank projects in Cap-Haitien. Brought donations of food, medicines, school supplies, individual gift bags and 200+ personalized cards, toys, sports equipment, and clothing for 50 orphans and more than 500 needy children and their families. Our group was the first cruise passenger group to assist For Haiti With Love’s projects.
• Delivered 33 individual Christmas gift bags, over 100 personalized cards, and over 120 pounds of clothing, toys, stuffed animals, school supplies, medicines, sports equipment and toiletries to the St. Maarten Orphanage & The I Can Foundation. Our group was the first cruise ship or airline group ever to visit the orphanage. One group member is beginning the adoption process for one of the young children. In addition, our visit forged connections for this orphanage that will result in future visits and aid.
• Delivered over 75 pounds of Christmas gifts, infant & toddler clothing, stuffed animals, toys, books, medicines and baby items to La Casa Cuna de San Juan Orphanage. Our group was the first cruise ship group to visit this orphanage.
• Held benefit concert for the entire ship and raised money for our charities.
• Raised over $5500 in cash donations for our two charities, Airline Ambassadors and For Haiti With Love.
• Raised over $25,000 in in-kind donations for Airline Ambassadors and For Haiti With Love.
• Generated well over 3 million impressions through articles, blog posts and social media – thus significantly increasing awareness of opportunities to give back on a cruise (voluncruising), the outstanding humanitarian work of For Haiti With Love and Airline Ambassadors, Royal Caribbean’s cruise options and its significant ongoing support for Haiti, and the continuing needs of the Haitian people.
• Created and executed a high-profile special event mission for Airline Ambassadors, resulting in the launch of a new line of outreach voluncruise service programs at sea.

The Cruise4Haiti was organized after January’s earthquake to raise awareness of Haiti’s needs and help children and families in Haiti and the Caribbean.

Nancy Schretter, Rich Tucker and Carrie Finley-Bajak say thank-you!

Youth Ambassador Sara, age 14, from Boulder, CO gives her report about Cruise4Haiti.

Sorting through massive amounts of donations on the cruise ship. We made gifts for kids in three orphanages during the 7-night cruise.

Today around the world people all over are trying to help with poverty and devastation.

Cruise4Haiti has teamed up with cruise line Royal Caribbean International to help raise funds for Airline Ambassadors and For Haiti With Love while bringing donations and aid to orphans in St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and Haiti for the holidays.

What most people see on the islands and experience on the ship is not what our group has been doing on this trip. When I think of a cruise I think of friends, different cultures and food. Along with these things, I also enjoy working and helping.

When people think of humanitarian trips they probably think of kids, desperate needs, and letting kids light up your face. But what they don’t think of is how much you are changing people’s lives. When I have gone to Haiti, I usually stay there for a few days so the kids are able to become more familiar with me.

Although on a cruise we are restricted by time constraints in the ports, a bright side to working on a tighter time schedule is being able to bring large amounts of goods to places with the idea that we can always  go back. Some downsides are you can’t really connect with the kids because you need to warm up to each other and you are making a difference but not in a huge way.

Overall as a first time cruiser and an experienced humanitarian worker, Cruise4Haiti has been very beneficial.