At the suggestion of a friend I will start this process once again… from its inception.
Shortly after returning from my “most excellent” cruise I started receiving mailings from Holland America about future cruise opportunities. One stood out from all the others. It was a brochure describing about a dozen variations on a Panama Canal cruise. Most started in San Diego or Fort Lauderdale ending in the opposite port. A few variations ended in Vancouver or Los Angeles. There were also several round-trip versions out of Ft. Lauderdale going down to Peru. The Canal has always fascinated me; plans were made. The offerings chosen all leave in late 2009 which give plenty of time to recover from 2008. A cruise length of 14 to 17 days sounds about right. Choosing embarkation from Ft. Lauderdale affords a less trying return home. The initial leg of the cruise appears to be the only lengthy “at sea” sailing all the way to Aruba without a stop. There are about a dozen stops including 2 days in the canal and days in Costa Rica and Guatamala. 3 or 4 stops on the Mexican Riviera are followed by Cabo then up the coast to California. Preparations begin with reading David McCullough’s Path between the Seas which was written some 30 years ago but is considered the best account of the building of The Canal available.
