Panama Canal welcomes first cruise ship transit for new season

The Island Princess departed from Vancouver, Canada and is heading to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in a 21-day voyage.

Specifically, Senior International Trade Specialist, Albano G. Aguilar commented

"We will see about a ten% increase in cruise ship transits at the Panama Canal this season in comparison to last year, a boost largely driven by Neopanamax vessels. We are proud to play a role in Panama's thriving tourism sector and look forward to showing off what our country has to offer to the more than 320,000 passengers visiting us from around the world this season."

He added that the Canal will be able to accommodate about 258 transit in the following months, including a record-breaking number by Neopanamax vessels.

Moreover, the Panama Canal expects that about 29 Neopanamax cruise ships will sail through the canal this season, including at least one by the Norwegian Bliss, which remains the largest cruise ship to pass through the waterway.

It will be followed by its sister ship, the 3,883-passenger Norwegian Joy, which will pass through for the first time later this month.

Moreover, additional ten vessels will conduct their inaugural transits this seasons, such as the smaller, 2,340-passenger Norwegian Dawn, as well as Ponant’s Le Dumont D’uwille, P&O Ventura Cruise, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Glory, Regent Seven Seas Cruise’s Seven Seas Splendor, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours’ Scenic Eclipse, Star Clipper’s Flying Clipper, Hapag Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration and Hanseatic Nature, and Greg Mortimer’s Aurora Expedition.

The Canal's closing cruise season for 2018-2019 was in late May. The closing was marked with the transit of the Panamax cruise ship Pacific Princess, with a capacity of 670 passengers, which took place on May 22.