Panama Canal, Panama

 Panama Canal, Panama       Fri, February 20, 2026

Cruising through the Panama Canal is an unforgettable to experience. Larry and I were fortunate to do this from the east to the west in 2012.

Going from West to East is just as exciting. It takes 8 hours to navigate the 50 miles of it from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The Island Princess left the Pacific Ocean and passed under the Bridge of the Americas around 6:00am.

  

We passed through three locks heading east.

Passing through the Continental Divide in the Gailard Cut area. Cutting through this hillside must have been tremendous work.

We passed through three locks lowering us 

The 6 mules (the grey looking tank near the bottom of the picture) and two tug boats help to guide our ship through the canal.

Over the tree tops, we can see a container ship passing on the new canal. A lighthouse stands tall.

Larry spotted an alligator. EEEEk!

Approaching the Atlantic Bridge, then…

entering the Atlantic Ocean.

Unfortunately, the wind picked up quite a lot when we entered the Atlantic Ocean causing our trip to Aruba to be canceled. Shucks! Guess we’ll have to try going there another time. After four days at sea we landed in Fort Lauderdale.