Norwegian Jade - Panama Canal Repositioning: Tampa to Panama City

Where this cruise calls, day by day

10 ports and 2 sea days over 11 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Tampa, FL

   United StatesDepart

   Tampa's terminals sit in Channelside, in the city rather than out on an industrial spit, so you can walk from the ship to an aquarium and a row of restaurants. The catch is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge: everything sailing from Tampa has to fit under it, which caps ship size and keeps the megaships in Miami. Tampa International is about 20 minutes away.

   • The Florida Aquarium, next door to the terminals
   • Ybor City and Seventh Avenue - the old cigar district, reachable on the TECO streetcar
   • The Tampa Riverwalk from Channelside up to Armature Works
   • Busch Gardens if you have a full day and like roller coasters

   Getting ashore

   Cruise Terminals 2, 3 and 6 sit in Channelside within a few blocks of each other; Tampa International is about 10 miles out, usually 20 minutes.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (summer is hot, wet and inside the hurricane window)

2. Day 2

   Key West, FL

   United StatesPort

   One of the few Florida stops that is a genuine port call rather than a turnaround. Ships berth either at Pier B on the old Navy mole or at the Mallory Square pier, and both put you within a few blocks of Duval Street. The island is small enough to cover on foot and crowded enough by noon that the early hours ashore are the good ones.

   • The Hemingway Home on Whitehead Street and its six-toed cats
   • Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, the best swimming beach in town
   • The Southernmost Point buoy, if only to get the queue over with
   • Mallory Square's sunset celebration - only worth planning for if your ship stays late

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Pier B (the former Navy mole) or the Mallory Square pier depending on size; both are a walk of a few blocks into Old Town, with no tender involved.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr (Sep-Oct is hurricane peak and midsummer is airless)

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Cozumel

   MexicoPort
   Cozumel port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
5. Day 5

   George Town

   Cayman IslandsPort
   George Town port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
6. Day 6

   Ocho Rios

   JamaicaPort

   Ocho Rios shares its harbour with a bauxite loading terminal, so the view from the deck is industrial before it is tropical. The compensation is how close everything is - Dunn's River Falls, the tiered limestone cascade people climb in a linked human chain, is ten minutes away, and Island Village and Turtle Beach are a walk from the pier. Vendor pressure in town is among the most persistent in the Caribbean.

   • Climbing Dunn's River Falls
   • The Blue Hole at White River
   • Dolphin Cove
   • Konoko Falls and its botanical garden above town

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the Ocho Rios pier; Island Village and Turtle Beach are a five-minute walk and Dunn's River Falls about ten minutes by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest; May and October are the wettest months and Aug-Oct is hurricane season

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Cartagena

   ColombiaPort
   Cartagena port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
9. Day 9

   Panama Canal (Transit)

   PanamaPort
   Panama Canal (Transit) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
10. Day 10

    Puerto Limon

    Costa RicaPort

    Limón is Costa Rica's Caribbean port and a working one - the pier is in town, the town is scruffy and humid, and almost nobody stays. This coast is the country's wettest and its most Afro-Caribbean, with Jamaican-descended Creole culture and rainforest starting right behind the city. Everything worth doing runs inland to the canals, the aerial trams and the whitewater rivers.

    • Tortuguero canal boat trips
    • The Veragua Rainforest or the Braulio Carrillo aerial tram
    • Whitewater rafting the Pacuare or Reventazón
    • Cahuita National Park and Puerto Viejo down the coast

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock at the pier in central Limón; you can walk into town in minutes, though there is little reason to linger.

    Best months

    Feb-Mar and Sep-Oct are the driest windows - the Caribbean side reverses the national pattern and rains hardest Nov-Jan

11. Day 11

    Panama Canal (Transit)

    PanamaPort
    Panama Canal (Transit) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
12. Day 12

    Panama City (Fuerte Amador)

    PanamaArrive
    Panama City (Fuerte Amador) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore