Panama Canal One-Way: Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles or San Diego (Celebrity / Holland America)

The idea in one minute

A one-way Panama Canal cruise takes you from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side, or the reverse, in a single sailing. From Fort Lauderdale you head for the Caribbean, pass through the canal on one daylight day, then work up the Pacific coast of Central America and Mexico to finish in California. Instead of a loop that returns to where you started, you end the trip on the other side of the continent from where you parked or landed, which changes the logistics more than the sea days do.

Both Holland America Line and Celebrity Cruises run Panama Canal programs. Holland America's official Panama Canal page lists Fort Lauderdale and San Diego among its embarkation ports and describes cruises of 12 to 21 days . Celebrity's official site shows a Panama Canal destination and a 17-night "Panama Canal Westward from Fort Lauderdale" product page in its web address, but that page is a general listing, so check the specific sailing page for ship, dates and ports .

At a glance

• Typical length: about 14 to 21 nights depending on line and sailing; check the sailing page.
• Start: Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), right beside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
• End: Los Angeles (San Pedro) or San Diego, depending on the sailing.
• The big day: one daylight canal transit; the Panama Canal Authority describes a canal about 80 km long linking the two oceans, with Gatun Lake raised 26 meters above sea level .
• Ports named by the lines: Cartagena (Colombia), Aruba, Puerto Caldera (Costa Rica), Acajutla (El Salvador), Huatulco and Puerto Chiapas (Mexico) appear on Holland America's page; your sailing will call at some of these, not all.
• Flights: you fly in to Florida and home from California, so price it as two one-ways or an open-jaw ticket, not a round trip.
• Book ahead: canal sailings are limited per season; book the cruise and the flight home early, and confirm the line's current refund terms on its own booking page.
• What most people get wrong: treating the flight home as an afterthought. A one-way flight on debarkation day has to leave after you clear the terminal, so pick a flight time only after reading the line's debarkation guidance.

When to go

Canal cruises between the coasts are seasonal. Industry coverage of Holland America's 2026-27 program describes 12 Panama Canal sailings of 14 to 21 days; read the line's departures page for exact dates. Typically these coast-to-coast sailings run when ships reposition between Caribbean and Pacific seasons, so a Fort Lauderdale to California sailing may exist only a handful of times a year. Hurricane season in the Atlantic and Caribbean runs through the autumn, so read the line's weather and itinerary-change policy before you book. (We could not confirm this on the official site when we checked — confirm it there before you book.)

Where to stay by area

• Before you sail (Fort Lauderdale): stay near the airport and port. Port Everglades is at 1850 Eller Drive and the official port page says FLL is "located next to the port" . Check Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton and IHG maps for properties near FLL.
• After you sail (Los Angeles): the Los Angeles World Cruise Center is in San Pedro, about 18 miles south of LAX . A night near LAX is the usual way to avoid a stressful early flight.
• After you sail (San Diego): the B Street terminal at 1140 North Harbor Drive is 2.4 miles from San Diego International Airport .

Rough cost, three ways

You fill in the numbers from official pages for your dates.

Rule of thumb: the fare is only part of the cost. Add port fees and taxes, gratuities, and the two flights; use the line's booking page to see what the fare includes today.

Entry rules

Cruise passengers still have to meet each port country's entry rules. The U.S. State Department's page for Panama was at Level 2, "Exercise Increased Caution", in an advisory dated August 19, 2026 . Colombia is at Level 3, "Reconsider travel", issued March 31, 2026, with no separate Cartagena warning on that page .

Before you travel: confirm passport validity, visa and health rules for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Aruba and any other port on your sailing on each country's official entry page and the U.S. State Department's country page for your dates.

3 free things

1. Watch the canal from an open deck. The transit itself costs nothing beyond your fare. The Panama Canal Authority page says the locks work as "water lifts" raising ships to Gatun Lake. Photo: Gatun Locks lifting a ship toward Gatun Lake.
2. Walk off the ship and look at the old town. In Cartagena, a ship docking inside the port area typically leaves you within reach of the walled old city on foot or a short ride; confirm distance and shuttle rules with the line's port guide. Photo: Cartagena's walled old city.
3. Sail past the Culebra Cut. The Panama Canal Authority describes it as the narrowest part of the canal, about 13.7 km long . Stand at the rail and read the narration. Photo: Culebra Cut.

What the full guide adds

The full guide ($4.99) gives you a day-by-day sample itinerary with clock times, photo stops and rain plans, the one-way airfare logic, embarkation and debarkation logistics for Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles and San Diego, a points mini-playbook using the verified transfer chart, an insider's checklist, a cost sheet and a printable chapter.

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.