Cruise Season to Kick Off in Panama

Panama’s Tourism Authority (ATP is the Spanish acronym) has announced that the new 2014-2015 cruise season is going to tee off in October, with the arrival of such vessels as the Monarch, Vision of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Coral Princess and Regatta.

The cruise season will give a boost to the tourism industry in our country, which has become a benchmark in the sector.

The Manager of Panama’s Tourism Authority (ATP), Jesús Sierra Victoria, asserted that the cruise season is one of the main tourism products that contribute to the development of the sector and the Panamanian economy.

In 2013 the cruise tourism segment in Panama went 11.7 percent up thanks to the arrival of nearly 400.000 passengers on 135 ships. This year’s season starts in October 2014 and comes to an end in May 2015.

Some of the uppermost cruise lines visiting Panama’s ports are Pullmantur, with the Monarch; and Royal Caribbean, with Vision of the Seas. They are followed by Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium, with room for 2.038 passengers; Infinity, Coral Princess and Island Princess. The country’s ports will be also receiving the Wind Star, Regatta, Holland America’s Zuiderdam and Carnival Cruise’s Freedom.

The Panamanian waters are also going to be sailed by Pullmantur’s Horizon and Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, which are described as the top stars of the season.

The cruise passengers that arrive in Panama are interested in the history of the Canal; they want to tour the country’s capital city, its Historic Core and Portobelo. That’s why the go to visitor centers in Miraflores and Gatún, in the interoceanic route, take the train to Colon, walk the historic area of Panama City and learn about the operation and enlargement of the canal.

Along with the cruisers coming from the Pacific Ocean and others sailing to the Caribbean, the tourists have the opportunity to follow the interoceanic route (which celebrated its 100th anniversary on August 15 as the epicenter of world trade) or go into the jungle of Darién on luxurious ships.

The Discovery cruise is one of them: a deluxe vessel that can only house 24 passengers in 12 spacious cabins with magnificent decoration and customized service, and it sails the Pacific Ocean waters all the way to the Panama Canal in a seven-day voyage. The itinerary takes tourists to discover the most singular and historic places of Panama due to the privileged position of the country between two seas and the existence of the Canal.