Negating the need to sail around the southern tip of South America, the Panama Canal seamlessly connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This channel across the narrow Isthmus of Panama is a hugely important trade route and a marvel of engineering. Featured each year on a handful of Regent’s Caribbean sailings, it’s an experience that places you firmly in the ranks of the truly well-traveled.
As cruise experiences go, it’s unique and quite thrilling. This is not sailing as you know it — your ship gliding effortlessly across the open ocean — it’s a masterclass in overcoming the laws of physics and the grip of nature.
There’s something fascinating about seeing your ship in such a tight space, tethered to electronic mules. Those peering over the ship’s rail are often awed to see just inches to spare on each side. Never has your passage been so exacting or so improbable. The transit is a shared moment of camaraderie as guests and crew watch the ship’s progress through the system of locks, raising and lowering it 26 meters (85 feet) as the original steel doors hold back millions of gallons of water.
While many modern ships are just too wide or long for the original 1914 locks, navigating the newer, wider land instead, the dimensions of Regent’s current fleet allow you to sail the storied original route.
It’s a journey punctuated by emerald terrain and the wild sounds of the jungle. I sailed from Atlantic waters to the Pacific side some years ago now, and my overriding memories are of fork-tailed frigate birds wheeling overhead, the reverberating call of distant howler monkeys on the surrounding islands, and a strikingly large black and white butterfly that lingered on deck.
All of this is unsurprising when you realize that you’re in the tropical zone — the region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn — and close to Soberanía National Park, a 55,000 acre area of protected rainforest. These unfamiliar sights and sounds lend a palpable sense of adventure to your journey through the Gatun Lake and Culebra Cut (formerly known as the Gaillard Cut), which was a definite highlight for me.
Every Regent Panama Canal voyage features a knowledgeable speaker to bring to life the history, facts and figures of your transit. The route is famously paved with significant human sacrifice. Plagued by disease and an immensely inhospitable environment, many workers succumbed to malaria and yellow fever, or fell victim to accidents and landslides, as their excavations and the region’s high rainfall combined to disastrous effect.
It is estimated that over 20,000 workers died during the French attempt to build the Panama Canal between 1881 and 1889. The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy after years of battling the elements and its dwindling finances.
Is transiting the Canal from east to west better than from west to east? Both ways will amaze and inspire you. As a luxury traveler, you may have sailed to destinations along the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, but the experience of sailing through these two massive bodies is a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises® has consistently delivered ultra-luxury travel experiences with the very best value for over thirty years. Aboard The World’s Most Luxurious Fleet®, enjoy unrivaled onboard space, unforgettable shoreside excursions, incomparable culinary experiences and exceptional Heartfelt Hospitality™.
Our exceptional service begins long before you step aboard. Your Personal Consultant will help you or your Travel Advisor plan your next ultra-luxury cruise vacation.
