Introduction – Today it was announced that Panama is opening a new cruise ship port and terminal in Colon on the Atlantic side. The port will open in Dec. 2008. At the present time there is a cruise terminal in Colon to receive ships for a day stop only. Ships generally not passing through the canal will stop at Colon disembarking passengers for tours, shopping trips etc. The ships will generally pull in during the morning and leave at dinnertime. Colon is the second largest duty free zone in the world second to Hong Kong. It is simple for one to take a tour from Colon to the Panama Canal.
Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas – Royal Caribbean has announced that it will be deploying one of its modern ships by the name of Enchantment of the Seas. This cruise ship is 80,000 tons and was built in 1997 and refurbished in 1999 and again in 2005. It is not a flag ship of the line, yet still quite a respectable cruise liner. The boat was stretched out when refurbished in 2005 and is now 990 feet long, roughly as long as an aircraft carrier. The ship carries 2446 passengers and has a crew of 760. There are 6 hot tubs, three swimming pools, a rock climbing wall,...