Panama Canal Cruises

The first thing to check is whether the cruise goes through the canal or only into it. A full transit is an ocean-to-ocean voyage: the crossing itself takes roughly eight to ten hours through three sets of locks, Gatun Lake and the Culebra Cut, and the cruise around it is a long one-way trip - Florida to Los Angeles, or even Seattle, typically two weeks or more. A partial transit is a round trip from Fort Lauderdale or Miami that rises through the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake, spends the day there while some passengers go ashore on excursions, and turns back. It shows you the locks without the cross-country commitment.

Canal day is the whole point, so it is worth planning. Most ships make the crossing during daylight and it fills the day, so don't plan on much else. Move around rather than staking out one spot - forward and aft, high and low decks each show the locks differently - and watch for the films or lectures most ships run beforehand to explain what you are about to see.

Cruise season runs roughly from autumn to spring, with most full transits scheduled as ships reposition between Alaska or the West Coast and the Caribbean. December through early March is the drier stretch and the most expensive; October and November are wetter and cheaper, and the rains return from around mid-March.

Because a full transit starts and ends on different coasts, you need a passport and two one-way flights. These trips suit retirees and anyone with two weeks or more to spare who likes engineering and sea days; travelers tied to school holidays usually take the partial transit instead.

Sources: voyagerinfo.com, thepointsguy.com, directlinecruises.com