Panama Canal Authority to host a total of 234 ships and over 237,000 passengers this season
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Ten cruise ships will transit either the Panama Canal’s Panamax or Neopanamax Locks for the first time in the 2018-2019 season.
This season, which opened on 5 October with a call from Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Mariner, the Panama Canal Authority will welcome maiden visits from vessels in the Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Viking Ocean Cruises, Hurtigruten, Ponant and Blount Small Ship Adventure fleets.
Return visitors to the Neopanamax Lock will include Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess, Carnival Freedom, Disney Wonder and Norwegian Bliss, which became the largest passenger vessel to ever transit the waterway earlier this year. Also returning to the Panama Canal are lines such as Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean International, Windstar Cruises and Lindblad Expeditions.
In total, around 234 cruise ships will transit the canal in 2018-2019.
“As the second full cruise season with the expanded canal, we aim to build off our recent milestones and success,” said Albano Aguilar, senior international trade specialist for Panama Canal Authority. “In the next year, we look forward to welcoming more than 237,000 passengers through the Panama Canal.”