Monday October 7 Marks the Start of the Panama Cruise Season
The Brilliance of The Seas ship, operated by Royal Caribbean, crossed the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal on Monday morning, October 7, marking the start of the 2024-2025 cruise season. Cruise Season starts in conjunction with hurricane season as many cruisers look for the best deals as cruising is expensive. Many people won’t cruise in hurricane season as the waters in some areas can be rough. Occasionally there are people who are truly not healthy enough to be travelling on a ship and have to be medevacked to hospitals during the cruise. Have a look at the notice I received from some cruiser friends from Panama.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Two men were medevacked Saturday night from a cruise ship about 50 miles off of Cape Kumukahi. The United States Coast Guard conducted the back-to-back medevacs on Saturday. They had left Hawaii but had to return the cruise vessel to the Islands. According to reports, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center of Honolulu received the call at 6 p.m. on Friday, requesting medevacs. Personnel aboard the Crown Princess reported a “70-year-old man experiencing heart attack-like symptoms and an 86-year-old man experiencing internal bleeding.” After a recommendation from the duty flight surgeon, the Coast Guard headed toward the Crown Princess in an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Both men were hoisted and transported to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition. More information can be found on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Facebook, X and Instagram.
According to the Panama Canal Authority, some 225 cruise ships are expected to pass through the canal from October to May of next year. The Canal recalled that cruise ships schedule and reserve their transits through the interoceanic waterway up to a year in advance. Major shipping lines such as Holland America Group, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises, among others, offer – as in previous years – proposed itineraries for full and partial transits through the Canal.
