On this blog about luxury travel in Latin America, we talk a lot about hotels, tours, and real estate, but only occasionally touch on cruise ships. Part of that is because cruising is not as prevalent in the Americas once you get south of Mexico and the Caribbean. There are Central America cruises out there though, including ones going through Central America via the Panama Canal. So we thought it would be useful to lay out all the options in one place.

Central America cruises

Cruise ships tend to be a dividing line for many luxury travelers, with some hating the idea of being on a giant floating hotel, while others cheer the convenience, the “unpack once and done” aspect, and the ability to visit multiple places on one vacation.

If you live driving distance to a U.S. cruise port, there’s also the advantage of avoiding the unpleasant airlines we’re stuck with. You can cruise from Florida to Roatan, for example, or from Texas to Panama. There are even options from as far north as Vancouver. Some of these will include a cruise through the Panama Canal.

Use the info we’re proving here as a starting point, but remember there are plenty of cruise specialists out there who know these ships and routes inside-out. It’s best to consult with one of them to match your desires, your budget, and your timeline with the right company and ship. A good travel agent can save you time and probably get you some perks or discounts out of the booking too. Of if you hate large ships, they can point you to a luxury yacht option that might work instead, though understand you’ll probably need to fly to the destination for that, like we did once in Panama.

Also keep in mind that there’s a seasonality aspect of these Central America cruises. Most of them ply the waters from December through May, the dry season before the tropical rains start. You won’t find as many choices if you want to go during summer school vacation since that’s rainy season and companies definitely don’t want to attempt a trip through the Caribbean during hurricane season.

Where Are the Cruise Ports in Central America?

The countries of Central America are along the Caribbean Coast, the Pacific Coast, or in most cases, both. So they all have at least one place for cruise ships to dock. In many cases these docking fees bring a lot of cash into the local economy, not to mention all the passengers’ cash spent on excursions, so the governments are keen to present a welcoming environment and get you onto optional excursions that leave the port. Some are near beautiful beaches you can get to quickly, like Roatan Island, but others are industrial ports a long way from those. If you want some local culture, you’ll probably need to strike out on your own with a driver for the day.

Here’s where you could potentially stop on a Central America cruise:

Acajutla, El Salvador

Belize City, Belize

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica

Roatan, Honduras (2 ports)

Puerto Cortez, Honduras

Puerto Barrios, Guatemala

Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Limon, Panama

Colon, Panama (Caribbean side of the Panama Canal)

Keep in mind that most of these ports are mainly dedicated to imports and exports. They ship out bananas, sugar cane, rum, and pineapples and import electronics, fuel products, and consumer goods. The Port of Roatan by Coxen Hole is close to nice beaches, seafood restaurants, and bars. Carnival-affiliated brands dock at a different port, however, at self-contained Mahogany Bay.

Roatan Island, Honduras

A beach on Roatan Island

The ones in Guatemala and Panama, however, require getting in a bus or taxi and heading inland to really experience the country.

The cruise ship port in Belize City has some purpose-built attractions by the dock, but the city itself is the least attractive part of Belize. If there’s sufficient time, take an excursion to get into the countryside of this sparsely populated nation, to see Mayan ruins for example, or visit some remote islands dotted around the Caribbean Sea nearby. In Costa Rica, you’re a short hop from nature and the national parks no matter which port your ship is landing in. Or take a snorkeling trip: the Belize Barrier Reef is not far off the shore and you’ve got a good chance of seeing rays, sea turtles, and other marine life.

Which Companies Operate Cruises in Central America?

cruise ships in port

You have a variety of companies to choose from that run cruises to Central America. Most of the big ones depart from Florida, Texas, or California, though a few start in another country for longer trips and there are some less frequent options from other ports such as Baltimore or Seattle. It’s not easy finding the patch of land between Mexico and South America on the cruise websites though: almost none of them have “Central America” as a destination option, though some do have the Panama Canal listed.

Here are the cruise companies that have at least one landing in a Central American port, as well as their origination points. Keep in mind that some of these are focused on the mass market, some on luxury travelers, and some on expedition/adventure travelers. Choose accordingly for your travel style, keeping in mind that even on the most low-end cruise, you can upgrade your experience by choosing a large suite with a balcony and snagging the all-inclusive option. Some have special VIP areas for suite guests.

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival has Central American cruise stops on their list in Belize City, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama, though if you look for “Central America” on their destinations you won’t see that. Just the Panama Canal.

Carnival might just have the most Panama Canal choices of any cruise line though: they can take you through that waterway from Baltimore, Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Galveston, and Seattle. Some trips going through the canal will work in a way to visit Panama City as well.

If you dig around though on the listings from Galveston or New Orleans, you can find “Western Caribbean” cruises that head to that Carnival-only port on the island of Roatan, Honduras. Naturally the Panama Canal cruises stop at destinations on the way, for Carnival that’s Limon, Costa Rica and Colon, Panama, with sometimes Cartagena in South America as well.

Carnival also offers cruises to the region under different brand names including Holland America (scroll down for more) and Princess Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Central America Cruises

In as little as six days you can visit Belize and Honduras from Tampa Bay, cruising south to Cozumel in Mexico before hitting Central American ports. Their seven-day option adds another stop in Mexico between Tulum and Ambergris Caye. Set aside 10 nights to add Panama and Cartagena.

The best option if you want to see a lot of Central America on a cruise is to go for the 14-night option. That one heads down to Panama, goes through the canal, stops in Costa Rica and Guatemala, then stops in Puerto Vallarta before docking for good in Los Angeles. So in the end you get to cross the USA without getting in a car or a plane.

From Galveston, Texas a six- or seven-night cruise will make it to Roatan, Honduras after two stops in Caribbean Mexico. The nine-night one makes it to Belize instead and the ten-night cruise from Galveston stops in Panama then Cartagena in South America. As with the long Tampa one, their 15-night Panama Canal cruise ends up in Los Angeles but is the only one stopping in Nicaragua.

Norwegian Cruise Line to Most of Central America

Norwegian sails to all of the countries in Central America except El Salvador on their various trips from the USA. You might not want to surf their NCL site while you’re abroad though: they force you to view it in the local language and there’s no option to switch it back to English.

Norwegian offers cruises through the Panama Canal that visit other ports in Central America before and/or after. The longest option is a 15-day trip between Miami and Los Angeles (both directions offered). That one only stops in Cartagena, Guatemala, and Mexico though while the 12-day option from San Diego has five total stops in Central America counting Panama. An 11-day one from Miami that stays on the Atlantic side includes stops in Belize and Costa Rica as well as Cartagena in South America.

One option that includes Central America starts in Peru, stopping in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador before heading to Mexico and ending up in Seattle. A one-way cruise from San Diego to Panama stops in three other Central American countries on the way.

This company also has its own island playground in Belize that’s just off the coast of Placencia. It’s called Harvest Caye and there are 10 Caribbean cruises that have this part of Belize in their itineraries. It’s possible to hop a boat from there to nearby Placencia Village so you’re not just sitting on the beach all day drinking Tiburon rum from Belize (not that there’s anything wrong with that…)

Harvest Caye Belize near Placencia

Holland America Cruises in Central American

If you are dreaming of experiencing a passage through the Panama Canal, Holland America is the best cruise line for Central America. They are going to give you the most options: they have 45 different itineraries that involve the waterway between the oceans. All of them depart from or end in Fort Lauderdale though, so check flight prices here to see if that makes sense for you and remember that FLL is a big Southwest market as well, which won’t show up on Kayak or Skyscanner.

Some of the cruises stay in the Atlantic and return to Florida after visiting countries such as Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, or Guatemala. Other cruises to Central America go through the canal and up the Pacific Coast, sometimes stopping in other Central American spots and ending up in San Diego, Seattle, or Vancouver. Or you start in one of those and go the other direction. The longest one, at 32 days, hits a number of Caribbean islands as well.

Holland America is a Carnival brand so some of its Caribbean cruises stop in the Carnival port in Honduras and those usually also stop in Belize.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity has a fair number of Central America cruises that include stops from an array of six ports in the region. They also offer two cruises that go through the Panama Canal: one departing from Tampa and one from Ft. Lauderdale. Oddly, one of these doesn’t traverse the canal and then sail the Pacific though: it returns to the same Florida port. Another from Ft. Lauderdale does go through the canal though (after a stop in Cartagena) and then stops in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico before ending in L.A.

Some of their Caribbean cruises departing from Florida include Roatan Island, Honduras in the itinerary. The 11-day Ultimate Caribbean & The Americas cruise from Tampa makes it to Cartagena and also Panama and Costa Rica.

Uncruise in Latin America

Uncruise in Central America including Panama

If you hate the idea of sharing your trip with thousands of other people that are stuffing their faces and shuffling around ports most of the time, then Uncruise is the company for you. They run adventure-focused small ships that visit smaller bays the big ships can’t enter. They can launch kayaks, zodiacs, and paddleboards right off the back of the boat, so there’s no need to head to a port to have some fun.

The Uncruise ships are destination vessels, so you have to get to where you’re leaving from first. The upside of that is you don’t have days of doing nothing but motoring between ports. Every day is a day of adventure. See our story here on an Uncruise adventure in Panama and Costa Rica. They also do trips in Baja and Belize.

Hurtigruten

The Norwegian expedition cruise company Hurtigruten has been expanding more into the Americas and runs a variety of cruises that stop somewhere in the countries of Central America. One that starts in San Diego heads to three destinations in Mexico and then visits El Salvador, two ports in Nicaragua, and finishes in Costa Rica.

One starts in Panama, makes a few stops in Colombia, then heads to the Caribbean. Another requires a flight to Costa Rica for boarding but then you stop in two ports in Nicaragua, one in El Salvador, Huatulco in Mexico (not a very common stop), and then you end up in Puerto Vallarta for vacation, round two. This trip is on a more stylish ship than most and one that uses hybrid technology to reduce CO2 emissions.

The trip that makes the most stops in the region is actually their longest cruise, which goes on for months. See more info about that below.

Search trips on sale at CruiseDirect.com.

The Ultimate Latin American Cruise

Got $100,000 or so to spend on an epic vacation for two? Then spend 41 days with Hurtigruten on a pole-to-pole adventure that includes stops in Mexico, Central America, South America, and Antarctica.

The trip starts in Iceland, heads across the Northwest Passage, then makes stops in Alaska and Pacific Coast ports along the way all the way down to the other side of the planet.

pole to pole cruise including Central America ports