Panama Canal – Ocean to Ocean

Fans of the Apollo Space Program will remember watching rockets being launched from nearby Kennedy Space Center. From Jetty Park on the beach, occasional liftoffs can be observed.

Port Canaveral is an environmentally sensitive area of major scale, with a rich wildlife habitat. Right Whales make an annual visit to the coastal waters off Port Canaveral to bear their young during the winter. Also, manatees have a long history of using the corridor between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River where the Port Authority is located. Manatees also use the Port area for playing, resting, reproduction, feeding, freshwater drinking, and as a warm-water refuge.

For a taste of Europe with Caribbean flavor, look no farther than Nassau. The main city on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Nassau offers everything from British-influenced cricket games and bewigged judges to Riviera-style casinos. And its banking system, with its strict secrecy laws, rivals that of Switzerland. Situated less than 75 miles from the coast of Florida, the islands of the Bahamas lure visitors with their tropical landscapes and clear waters. More than 700 islands, covering some 100,000 square miles, make up this popular archipelago, although only 20 or so are inhabited. Most of the island nation’s 330,000 inhabitants live on New Providence Island, centered around bustling Nassau with its colorful waterfront area and open-air markets.

One of the more interesting cities on your itinerary steeped in history. This was the transit port for all the wealth Spain derived from South America. The famous “Old City” is comprised of 12 square blocks filled with attractions, boutiques and restaurants.

Throughout Colombia, the Spanish Empire’s influence in the New World is self-evident. Its fortress walls, quaint narrow streets, and balconied houses are all vivid reminders of Spain’s hold on Cartagena and throughout the Caribbean and South America. This is the land of El Dorado and flamboyant adventurers in search of the ever-elusive gold. Cartagena’s well-constructed fortifications defended its borders against seafaring pirates whose attacks lasted for more than 200 years. Today this modern and bustling city, seaport, and commercial center still boasts much of its original colonial architecture. Your journey here will provide you with a significant link to the region’s grand past.

**Please note that passengers may encounter numerous local vendors at various tourist locations and may find them to be persistent in their sales offers.

The narrow isthmus separating the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean had a colorful and turbulent history long before Ferdinand de Lesseps first dreamed of building a transcontinental canal. Spanish conquistadors hauled Incan gold through the dense rainforest to ports on the Atlantic. English freebooters sought to ransack those ports and attack the treasure ships that sailed from Portobelo. And 49ers braved mosquitoes and yellow fever to get to the California gold fields. While the Panama Canal remains one of the great American engineering feats of the 20th century, visitors to Panama will discover a whole range of scenic wonders. Hike into the dense rainforest, home to over 1,000 species of animals. Or pay a visit to an Embera Indigenous village in the heart of Chagres National Park. Disembarkation in Gatun Lake is restricted to passengers who have booked tours with Princess. Passengers on these tours are taken ashore by tenders. Later in the day, the ship then retraces her route through the Gatun locks to dock at Cristobal in the Caribbean. The tours return to this point. There are no tours offered in Cristobal. Tours are not available on overnight calls in Gatun Lake. Note: The Panama Canal Authority assigns specific time slots for the transit of a vessel through the locks. The ship will anchor in a designated area and will wait for instructions. Once clearance is transmitted to the ship, procedures begin to bring ships tour passengers ashore. Therefore, tour departure times may vary and will be announced onboard. **Please note that passengers may encounter numerous local vendors at various tourist locations and may find them to be persistent in their sales offers.** In ports where guests utilize tender boats to go ashore, Princess staff will make every effort to assist but are not allowed to individually physically lift more than 50 lbs. (22kg). Guests requiring physical assistance must travel with an able-bodied companion. With your safety and comfort in mind, the final decision to permit or prohibit passengers from going ashore will be made on each occasion by the ships Captain.

Fuerte Amador, situated at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is a man-made peninsula extending out into the Pacific Ocean.

The one-mile causeway was created by connecting four small islands with rocks excavated from the Panama Canal. There are several shops, restaurants, and other specialty stores centered around a large marina that serves as a tender dock. The causeway also affords a panoramic view of Panama City’s impressive skyline and serves as the home for the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research.

To Spanish explorers, the rumors of gold and vast riches could only mean that this section of Central America was the costa rica – the “Rich Coast.”

Hailed as the Switzerland of the Americas, Costa Rica occupies a unique position, lying between two oceans and two continents. On both coasts, tropical rainforests rise to the mountains of the interior, many of which soar over 13,000 feet above sea level. In the west, a seemingly endless succession of brown-sand beaches forms the nation’s Pacific coast. Puntarenas is your gateway to Costa Rica’s wonders – and to its capital city of San Jose.

This small beach and fishing village is perfectly situated at the foothills of the Sierra Madre and the Pacific coastline, providing over 20 miles of unspoiled beaches to explore. For an unforgettable adventure, go in search of the secret coves and hidden lagoons within its nine bays. These nine bays bordered by 36 golden-sand beaches form the beautiful Las Bahias de Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca.

Puerto Vallarta is a resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, in Jalisco state. It is known for its beaches, water sports and nightlife scene. Its cobblestone center is home to the ornate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church, boutique shops and a range of restaurants and bars.

The City of Angels always hovers between dream and reality. Once a near-forgotten colonial outpost, the pueblo metamorphosed into an agrarian paradise before reinventing itself as a movie colony. Perhaps no other city owes so much to the technological innovations of the 20th century, from the automobile to the airplane. Little wonder that LA is oft described as the “dream machine.” In LA, reinvention is a way of life. Yet this talent for change has created a city with a rich ethnic diversity and a sizzling culture. LA is the source for trends that migrate across the country and then the world. Where else can you enjoy a Thai taco or munch on a kosher burrito? Or travel from downtown’s high rises to the beaches of Malibu, shopping in Beverly Hills along the way?

Los Angeles is a port of embarkation and disembarkation for some cruises.