Panama Canal Cruises and Information.

The Construction of the Panama Canal

Canal construction began in 1904, directed by an Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission. Most of the excavation and construction was done by private contractors. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supplied the technical guidance, and Colonel George W. Goethals served as chief engineer from 1907 to 1916. After initial plans for a sea-level canal, the commission decided on a canal with locks. The canal commission recruited more than 50,000 laborers, mostly from nearby Caribbean islands, to work on the canal. In all, another 100,000 people migrated to Panama during the construction era, adding to the diversity of Panama’s population.

An important breakthrough during construction was the successful effort to control mosquito-borne diseases. Malaria and yellow fever had killed thousands of workers during the French canal attempt. But a U.S. campaign, directed by Army medical officer William Gorgas, drained or sprayed mosquito breeding grounds and built sewage and water systems. Within two years the diseases were brought under control.

The overall cost of the canal was about $350 million, the largest and costliest work ever undertaken by the U.S. government. It became one of the world’s premier feats of engineering. The concrete lock chambers and mechanical lock gates were the largest ever built. At the time, Gatún Dam was the largest earthen dam ever built, forming the world’s largest artificial lake. More than 190 million cubic meters (250 million cubic yards) of earth and rock were excavated from the canal route. Frequent landslides caused problems and delays as workers dug through the ridge of the Continental Divide to form Gaillard Cut.

Despite the challenges and difficulties, the Panama Canal was completed sooner than expected. The first ship traveled through it from the Atlantic to the Pacific on August 15, 1914. However, further landslides caused closures in 1915, and the canal’s formal opening was postponed until 1920 because of World War I (1914-1918).

Cruise Agency Specializing in Cruises through the Panama Canal.

Panama Canal cruises have become one of the most popular ways to visit the Panama Canal. Cruises feature great food, entertainment, interesting ports of call and fascinating tours of canal and history leading up to its completion. There are a number of different cruises and itineraries for the Panama Canal offered by most of the major lines.

• Carnival Cruises

• Princess Cruises

• Norwegian Cruises

  Panama Canal Cruises