PANAMA CANAL CRUISE-LINE SEASON OFFICIALLY STARTS TODAY
News Release
Panama Canal Authority
October 7, 2011
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">200 Plus Transits
Expected</SPAN></I></P>
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<P class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">PANAMA CITY, Panama,
</SPAN>October 5, 2011</B> – The Panama Canal cruise-line season officially
starts today, Wednesday, October 5, and runs through the middle of next year.
More than 200 transits of these passenger vessels are expected. The
transit of Princess Cruises <I>Island Princess</I> will mark the beginning of
the season, traveling for 14 days from Los Angeles, California, to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>According to Jaime Castillo, international trade
specialist from the Panama Canal Research and Market Analysis office, at least
205 transits are expected this season. </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>Among the major companies that are considering Panama and
the Canal experience as a destination are Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>The arrival of smaller cruise ships, such as the Wind Star
and Le Levant, also are expected to transit the Canal. These cruises
typically travel between the Caribbean Islands and the East and West Coasts of
Central America.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>Two Carnival cruise ships, the <I>Carnival
Inspiration</I>, located in Tampa, Florida, and the <I>Carnival Paradise</I>,
,which operates from Long Beach, California, are scheduled to reposition to
their new homeport soon, offering very attractive 14-day trips that include the
experience of transiting the Panama Canal.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>The Carnival Paradise cruise will sail from Long Beach to
Tampa beginning on November 28, 2011, while the Carnival Inspiration will depart
on December 3, 2011, operating from Tampa to Long Beach.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>With regard to inaugural transits, Norwegian Jewel, with
its 2,376-passenger capacity, will sail from New York to Los Angeles in late
April 2012. This cruise has a reservation to transit the Panama Canal on May 5,
2012.</P>
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<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18904"></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">200 Plus Transits
Expected</SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Body1><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; COLOR: windowtext">
</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">PANAMA CITY, Panama,
</SPAN>October 5, 2011</B> – The Panama Canal cruise-line season officially
starts today, Wednesday, October 5, and runs through the middle of next year.
More than 200 transits of these passenger vessels are expected. The
transit of Princess Cruises <I>Island Princess</I> will mark the beginning of
the season, traveling for 14 days from Los Angeles, California, to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>According to Jaime Castillo, international trade
specialist from the Panama Canal Research and Market Analysis office, at least
205 transits are expected this season. </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>Among the major companies that are considering Panama and
the Canal experience as a destination are Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>The arrival of smaller cruise ships, such as the Wind Star
and Le Levant, also are expected to transit the Canal. These cruises
typically travel between the Caribbean Islands and the East and West Coasts of
Central America.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>Two Carnival cruise ships, the <I>Carnival
Inspiration</I>, located in Tampa, Florida, and the <I>Carnival Paradise</I>,
,which operates from Long Beach, California, are scheduled to reposition to
their new homeport soon, offering very attractive 14-day trips that include the
experience of transiting the Panama Canal.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText> </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>The Carnival Paradise cruise will sail from Long Beach to
Tampa beginning on November 28, 2011, while the Carnival Inspiration will depart
on December 3, 2011, operating from Tampa to Long Beach.</P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>With regard to inaugural transits, Norwegian Jewel, with
its 2,376-passenger capacity, will sail from New York to Los Angeles in late
April 2012. This cruise has a reservation to transit the Panama Canal on May 5,
2012.</P>
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