The Panama Canal announced that it expects to receive approximately 234 cruise ships through the panamax and neopanamax locks during the upcoming 2018-2019 cruise season.
The Panama Canal Authority said the first crossing will occur Friday with the 48,075-dwt Seven Seas Mariner (built 2001) on a northbound transit from the US West Coast to the US East Coast.
“As the second full cruise season with the Expanded Canal, we aim to build off our recent milestones and success,” said Panama Canal’s Senior international trade specialist Albano Aguilar.
“In the next year, we look forward to welcoming more than 237,000 passengers through the Panama Canal.”
The authority said 10 new cruise ships will cross either the canal's panamax or neopanamax locks for the first time this season.
Vessels will be owned by following lines Princess Cruise, Carnival Cruises, MSC, Norwegian Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruises, Hurtigruten, Iles Du Ponant and Blount Small Ship Adventure.
Norwegian Cruise's 168,028-dwt Norwegian Bliss (built 2018), the largest passengership ever to cross the waterway, will return to the neopanamax locks again this season with the 101,509-dwt Caribbean Princess (built 1999), 110,320-dwt Carnival Freedom (built 1999) and 83,208-dwt Disney Window (built 1999).
The Norwegian Bliss transited the canal for the first time in May 2018, and weighs more than 168,000 gross tons and can carry nearly 6,000 passengers.
In addition, the 101,509-dwt Carnival Triumph (1999), 11,924-dwt Carnival Valor (built 1994) and 113,564 Emerald Princess (built 2007) will transit the neopanamax locks for tjhe first time.
As in previous years, other shipping lines such as Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line will offer itineraries this season with complete and partial transits.
Smaller cruisesships, including the Wind Star and the expedition cruiser National Geographic Quest, will include itineraries of 7 and 8 days, respectively, with the west coast of Central America as their destination.
