Top 10 Canals Navigable By A Cruise Ship
There is often a split between those who love to cruise at sea and those that love to cruise on rivers but what if you can enjoy a mix of the 2 and enjoy the size and facilities of a sea cruise ship combined with the fascinating aspects of cruising down a river or waterway, such as locks, sail past towns and bridges?
The great news for those looking for something difference and to combine the 2 is that you can do just that at a number of great locations around the world.
Our Top 10 Canals Navigable By A Cruise Ship
Panama Canal
If you were to ask anyone to name a sea canal, their would be 2 or 3 that instantly come to mind but one of the most iconic is also one of the most cruised.
The Panama Canal is just over 50 miles long and links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, with ships entering the canal on the Atlantic side near to Panama City in Panama.
The canal features a number of locks and a large artificial lake and it takes around 12 hours to traverse the full length of the canal due in part to just how busy it is but despite that, it is well worth it for holidaymakers.
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and therefore Europe to Africa and both the Middle and Far East, so it is no surprise that the canal is a key sea route for commercial ships but it is also a popular offering for cruise lines. Some cruises sail from the Med to Asia and some stay in the Middle East but no matter where you are sailing from or too, the chances are that sailing through the Suez Canal will be the highlight of your holiday.
Corinth Canal
If you were to look at the Corinth Canal and it steep sides and narrow width, you may think that a cruise ship could not sail down it and whilst only smaller vessel can do, it is now possible to traverse the canal on a cruise ship whilst been towed by a tug.
The canal cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth, separating the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, so as you would expect, the cruise can be enjoyed on a cruise of the Greek Islands or the Adriatic.
North Sea Canal
The North Sea Canal is not just a great waterway to cruise along but as you sail from the North Sea towards Amsterdam, you get to experience the best of the Netherlands as you sail from its beautiful coast, down past it beautiful countryside including its iconic windmills and then onto one of the world’s leading holiday destinations as you dock in the city centre of Amsterdam.
Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal, known in German as the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, links the North Sea (at Brunsbuttel) to the Baltic Sea (at Kiel-Holtenau) and whilst it is not the biggest canal on this list, been around 60 miles in length and taking boats of a maximum of 235 metres, it is that compact size that makes it so fascinating as you are never far from shore making for an interesting passage through the German countryside.
Great Lakes Waterway
The Great Lakes Waterway is a vast system of both natural channels and man-made canals which allow ships to traverse the North American Great Lakes and avoid such obstacles as the Niagara Falls and the huge rapids of St Marys River.
One of the highlights of navigating these great lakes is heading through the Soo Locks between Lake Superior and the St Marys River.
St Lawrence Seaway
The St Lawrence Seaway, known in French as the la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent, from a cruising point of view is best known for the St Lawrence river section that allows cruise ships to sail from the Atlantic Ocean, past Nova Scotia and into the centre of Quebec City and onto Montreal.
This allows some of the largest cruise ships in the world to sail inland before heading to New York, Europe, or the Caribbean.
The river also links to the Great Lakes thanks to a number of man-made canals and locks, such as the Welland Canal for those wanting to spend even more time cruising the region.
Nieuwe Maas (The Rhine-Main Danube Canal)
The Rhine-Main Danube Canal allows river boats to sail almost all of the way across the continent of Europe, from the Netherlands in the north, down through central Europe and into Eastern Europe.
Although only river cruise ships can sail under the low bridges and into the narrow locks for much of this stretch of water, sea cruise ships can sail the opening section, known as the Nieuwe Maas, from the North Sea down into the city centre of Rotterdam.
Stad Ship Canal (Tunnel)
The Stad Ship Canal, or the Stad Ship Tunnel, is a modern marvel of engineering and only features so low on this list as it is not set to open until around 2026.
The tunnel will allow ships, including the Hurtigruten coastal cruises, to avoid one of the roughest stretches of the Atlantic Ocean off of the coast of Norway near to the Stad Peninsula by simply sailing underneath the Peninsula instead of going around it.
Alexxx1979, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
White Sea – Baltic Canal
The White Sea – Baltic Canal links the Russian city of St Petersburg, at the far eastern end of the Baltic Sea with the White Sea, via a series of canals and both the Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega and whilst only smaller ships can sail along it, it makes for one of the most stunning canal cruise experiences.
