Panama Canal trip squeezes in a variety of tropical ports

At one time a Panama Canal cruise was thought to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But since the Sept. 11 attacks many travelers with time and money have chosen to avoid planes and travel coast to coast by ship. More repeat passengers are taking the cruise not just for the canal experience but also for the variety of Caribbean, Central American and Mexican ports of call.

Lines are offering stops at a number of ports, including Aruba; St. Lucia; St. Martin; St. John and St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; Jamaica; San Juan, Puerto Rico; the San Blas Islands of Panama; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua; Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala; and Cozumel, Santa Cruz Huatulco, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

But the highlight of the voyage is still the six to eight hours spent squeezing into lock chambers barely wider than the ship and navigating by stair-step locks from sea level up 85 feet and then back to sea level. The spectacle draws passengers on deck throughout the day.

The canal cut runs 50 miles across the isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, passing, east to west, through Gatun Locks, the man-made Gatun Lake, the steep Galliard Cut excavated through eight miles of rock and shale, and the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks.

Nine major cruise lines have Panama Canal sailings from October to May.

Celebrity Cruises ([800] CELEBRITY [235-3274], www.celebritycruises.com) has 14-day cruises on the Infinity between San Diego and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., December through February and on the Summit from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego leaving April 25.

Crystal Cruises ([800] 820-6663, www.crystalcruises.com) has 11-day transits on the Crystal Harmony and the Crystal Symphony November through February from Fort Lauderdale and Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica.

From January through April, Holland America ([877] SAIL HAL [724-5425], www.hollandamerica.com) has 10-day round-trip partial canal transits from Fort Lauderdale. They include an entrance into the canal at Cristobal, traversing the Gatun Locks, cruising Gatun Lake and returning to the Caribbean. The line also has full canal transits in the spring and fall, when the ships are repositioned between Alaska and the Caribbean.