The Disney Wonder Cruise became the first passenger ship to transit through the new Panama Canal locks
On April 29th, the cruise ship Disney Wonder, one of the cruises that will travel through the Panamanian waterway this season of cruises 2016-2017, passed through the new Panama Canal locks. With the payment of $ 400,000, the Disney Cruise Disney Cruise Lines became the first passenger ship to transit through the new locks. This milestone marks the diversification of traffic through the Expanded Channel.
The Disney Wonder cruise transited the expanded Canal southward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
The Disney Wonder cruise is part of a 14-night trip from Port Canaveral, Florida, to San Diego, where the boat will sail to Baja California, before a summer season from Vancouver to Alaska. The cruise ship of Disney Cruise Lines has a capacity of 2,713 passengers, and was restored at the end of 2016, extending its length to 299.92 meters.
“The original Panama Canal locks have been a cruise destination for many years. Today’s historic transit marks the beginning of possibilities for cruise lines to include new locks as part of their itineraries, offering additional options On their itineraries and allowing passengers to witness firsthand this great feat of modern engineering, “said Panama Canal Deputy Administrator Manuel Benítez.
The Disney Wonder is just one of the cruises that transited the Panama Canal during the 2016-2017 season that closes in May 2017. Renowned cruise lines like Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, among Others, completed their scheduled itineraries through the waterway. Reserves for the transit of passenger ships began on April 1, 2017. To date, 18 passenger ship reservations have been made to the enlarged Canal for the 2017-2018 season and this amount is expected to increase in the coming months .
On the other hand, smaller vessels such as the Safari Voyager and the National Geographic Sea Lion, also contributed to the segment’s traffic. These vessels land at ports located on the Caribbean islands and along the east and west coasts of the Central American isthmus.
