Guides
Princess Panama Canal Partial Transit from Fort Lauderdale: 10-Day Itinerary Guide
At a glance
- What it is: a round trip from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) that enters the Panama Canal's Atlantic-side locks, sails into Gatun Lake, and turns back. Princess describes this "partial transit" as passing through the locks and Gatun Lake (checked Oct 12, 2026).
- Length: 10 nights/days, typical published order shown below; confirm yours on princess.com.
- Typical ports (varies by date): some of Aruba, Cartagena (Colombia), Colon/Cristobal (Panama), Limon (Costa Rica), Grand Cayman, plus sea days.
- Embarkation: Port Everglades, right next to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) (checked Oct 12, 2026).
- Documents: a passport is the safe choice; see the entry section.
- Advisory snapshot: Colombia Level 3 (page dated April 17, 2025), Panama Level 2 (August 19, 2026), Costa Rica Level 2 (April 2 / September 4, 2026, page shows both), Aruba Level 1, Cayman Level 1. Details below.
- Tender port: Grand Cayman is typically a tender port; confirm.
- Best for: first-time cruisers who want one big bucket-list moment and several easy ports.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This sailing suits people who want a canal experience without committing to the 16-day ocean-to-ocean version. You get one dramatic day of locks and jungle lake, a historic walled city in Cartagena, a laid-back beach island, and a lot of ship time. It is a good fit for couples, multigenerational groups, and first-timers.
It is not ideal if you hate sea days (expect about three), if you want to see the whole canal end to end (that is the full transit), or if you want every port to be a beach day. The canal day is also a long, slow day on a ship; some people find the locks themselves less exciting than the idea of them.
The route in one paragraph
You leave Fort Lauderdale in the afternoon, spend a sea day crossing the Caribbean, then work through a southern string of ports: typically Aruba and Cartagena, then a Panama stop at Colon/Cristobal where the ship enters the Atlantic-side locks. The ship climbs into Gatun Lake, turns, and comes back down the same day. Limon in Costa Rica is a common next stop for rainforest and wildlife. Then it is back north with sea days and often Grand Cayman before you arrive in Fort Lauderdale on day 10. The exact order and ports differ by ship and date.
Embarkation basics
Port Everglades has multiple cruise terminals and sits next to FLL; taxis, shuttles and rideshares serve the port, and you need your cruise documents and government photo ID at the security checkpoint (checked Oct 12, 2026). Cruise parking in the port's garages and lots was listed at $5 for the first hour, $10 up to five hours, and a $25 daily maximum for standard vehicles (checked Oct 12, 2026); rates change, so recheck. Your terminal number is on your Princess booking.
Rough cost, three ways (fill in your own numbers)
Never trust a cabin fare you read in an article, including ours; fares change daily. Use princess.com for your sailing's price.
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Plan your budget
Your trip budget worksheet
Prices change daily, so we don’t quote them. Fill this in from the official fare pages.
Your trip budget worksheet Item Your amount Cash trip: cabin fare port fees/taxes gratuities excursions flights pre-cruise hotel Item 7 -
Plan your budget
Your trip budget worksheet
Prices change daily, so we don’t quote them. Fill this in from the official fare pages.
Your trip budget worksheet Item Your amount Points for flights: cabin fare (cash) fees excursions award flights (miles taxes ) + hotel (cash) -
Plan your budget
Your trip budget worksheet
Prices change daily, so we don’t quote them. Fill this in from the official fare pages.
Your trip budget worksheet Item Your amount Points for hotels: cabin fare (cash) fees flights (cash) hotel night via points ( points per night)
Three free things (one photo subject each)
- Sail-away from Port Everglades (day 1): stand on an upper open deck as the ship passes the Fort Lauderdale beach and skyline. Photo subject: the Port Everglades channel and the Fort Lauderdale shoreline from the ship at golden hour.
- Cartagena's Old City walls at sunset (typical port day): the walls and plazas are free to walk. Photo subject: the stone Walls of Cartagena de Indias and the Clock Tower gate.
- The Gatun Lake approach (canal day): the ship's own deck is your free seat. Photo subject: the ship inside a lock chamber with the lock gates ahead.
Entry and document rules
- Passport: bring a valid passport. US citizens on a closed-loop cruise (start and finish in the same US port) may have other options, but check the rule directly at https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/closed-loop-cruises; that page would not open for us today, so confirm it. A passport also makes it far easier if you have to fly home from a foreign port.
- Countries on this route: Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands) and Cayman Islands (UK territory) each set their own entry rules; cruise passengers are usually processed through the ship, but confirm on each country's official page. Aruba has an entry/departure card (ED card) system for air arrivals; confirm whether it applies to cruise passengers at https://www.aruba.com.
- Non-US passports: check visa requirements for every port country with your own government.
- Shots and health: check the CDC's destination pages for the countries on your itinerary.
What to expect on the ship
Princess sails ships in several sizes, and the ship on your date may differ from the one on a friend's; we do not name a ship because we could not confirm one for this itinerary on princess.com today. Expect a main dining room, a buffet, theater shows, pools, and a Panama Canal narration on the transit day. Gratuities are usually added daily to your onboard account, drinks and specialty dining cost extra, and Wi-Fi is sold in packages. Check the current rates for each on princess.com or in the Princess app after booking, because they move.
Best months and weather
The Caribbean is warmest and driest roughly from winter to spring, and hurricane season runs June through November, so late-summer and fall sailings can see itinerary swaps. Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, Limon included, is rainy in many months; the Costa Rica advisory page notes flooding is common in the rainy season April to October (checked Oct 12, 2026). Bring a light rain jacket whenever you go.
Want the whole plan?
The full guide is $4.99: a day-by-day plan with clock times, photo stops, insider moves and rain backups for every port, a points playbook, a fill-in cost sheet and printable pages. It also covers what to pre-book, how to handle Cartagena and Colon sensibly, and how to get home on debarkation day.
This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.
Good to know before you go
We checked the facts below on 2026-10-12 against official pages. Cruise itineraries, port calls, fees, gratuity rates and government advisories change often, sometimes after you book. Confirm your sailing's port list on princess.com, and the advisories on travel.state.gov, before you pay and again before you fly.