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Cruise The Panama Canal: Undiscovered Vacation Pleasure
By CruiseDirector | August 29, 2010
A small ship cruise through the Panama Canal combines a touch of the exotic along with the opportunity to see one of the worlds’s engineering marvels. If you are looking for a unique cruise vacation, consider a cruise to panama canal.
Originally designed to reduce the time for large sea going vessels to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans, the Panama Canal is today a major shipping channel used by over 13,000 ships per year. Prior to the construction of the Panama Canal, ships navigating from San Francisco to New York had to make the 14.000 mile journey by sailing around the tip of South America.
Today, over one million vacationers cruise the Panama Canal every year and continues to be one of the most popular cruise options for Central America. What makes this cruise so special? There are a lot of things. First is the canal itself. The Panama Canal is often referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World and is truly an engineering marvel. Ships transit the canal through a series of locks – the Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores. The locks lift the ships from sea level up to 85 feet and then slowly lowers the ship using a series of water chambers and gravity. By using the three locks, the ship is lifted a total of 170 feet when traveling from one ocean to the other.
Next, cruising the Panama Canal will take you through the very heart of Central American, complete with tropical rain forest and exotic jungle wildlife. A cruise through panama canal aboard a small cruise ship is perfect for any travel wanting an off-the-beaten path or even just a touch of adventure for their next vacation..
So what makes a small ship adventure cruise special? Because of their smaller size, the small cruise ships can explore many remote of secluded locations the big cruise ships can not. This makes it possible to explore small ports and secluded locations. Small ships often use Zodiacs, inflatable motorized rafts, to transport guests to secluded beaches and other undiscovered locations.
Expedition cruises feature lectures about the local wildlife, history and culture. Personalized service, less formality and a more intimate environment as all party of the small shiping cruising experience. T-shirts and shorts are the norm here, so you can leave your cocktail dresses and tuxedos at home.
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