Alan Lam reports
According to a communication from the Panama Canal authority, during the forthcoming 2016-17 cruise season, more than 230 cruise vessels will use the Canal to carry their passengers from one ocean to another.
The season will extend from October 2016 to April 2017. The first ship to arrive will be Coral Princess, which will use the original canal on 4 October on her voyage from Los Angeles, California, to the East Coast of USA.
During this period, among the Canal’s cruise clients are some of the smallest vessels, such as Un-Cruise’s Safari Voyager and Lindblad’s National Geographic Sea Lion, on account of the fact that cruise ships are generally not yet using the neoPanamax passage.
A number of new clients are expected for the season: they include Seven Seas Explorer of Regent Seven Seas, which is due to arrive on 2 January, Eurodam of Holland America Line, scheduled to use the Canal on 13 April, and Hebridean Sky of Noble Caledonia, which will arrive on 17 April.
The Canal authority has announced that it is ready to accept cruise ship bookings for the New Panama Canal from next year. To date, eleven cruise vessels have booked to use the neoPanamax Canal during the following season, between October 2017 and April 2018.
