Panama Canal Cruise - port or starboard? About This Page:

[bobyetman]

For anyone that's been on a Panama Canal Cruise - is there any big difference in what you see from your stateroom if it's port or starboard? Or are the views similar? We just rebooked from the WBPC in May 2013 to the EBPC in Dec 2012, and I'm curious what the differences are in views. For the WBPC, port would be looking south and starboard looking north, and for the EBPC, vice versa.

[Dave Marx]

There's not a serious difference between port and starboard. Different, of course. No matter which side you're on, it's a good idea to check out what's happening on the other side from time to time, and some views can only be had from the bow (10 forward) or stern. At least once while the ship is in a lock, go down to deck 3, where you can view the walls of the lock as you rise/fall and move through the lock.

Another reason to leave the stateroom is that there will be someone aboard doing "play-by-play" over the PA system. You'll have a hard time hearing that from your verandah.

It's an all-day process, so you're not going to spend all of it on your verandah anyway.

[lauriep]

I agree with Dave that it's a good idea to check out all around the ship when going through the canal. I spent most of the day on my veranda (they played the "play-by-play" narration all day on one of the channels on the TV in the stateroom and I could hear it on the veranda. It was a really memorable day! I'll be on the 2013 Westbound canal voyage with you!