It takes approximately eight hours to navigate the 50-mile waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing you to experience firsthand one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century. Completed in 1914, the canal marks the culmination of a dream born in 1513, when Balboa became the first European to cross the Isthmus of Panama and sight the Pacific. In 1880 Ferdinand de Lesseps and the French Canal company, builders of the Suez Canal, began construction in Panama, only to be defeated by disease, staggering cost overruns, and massive engineering problems. The French sold their claim and properties to the United States for $40 million, a staggering loss of $247 million on their investment. The United States began construction in 1904, completing the project in 10 years at a cost of $387 million. Building the canal meant solving three problems: engineering, sanitation, and organization. The project, for example, required carving a channel through the Continental Divide and creating the then-largest man-made lake ever built, as well as defeating yellow fever and other tropical maladies. The United States oversaw the operation of the Panama Canal until December 31, 1999, when the Republic of Panama assumed responsibility for the canal’s administration. The Panamanian government controls the canal through the Panama Canal Authority, an independent government agency created for the purpose of managing the canal.

Panama City, the capital of Panama, is a modern city framed by the Pacific Ocean and man-made Panama Canal. Casco Viejo, its cobblestoned historic center, is famed for colonial-era landmarks like the neoclassical Palacio Presidencial and bougainvillea-filled plazas lined with cafes and bars. The Miraflores Locks offers views of ships traversing the canal, an essential shipping route linking the Atlantic and Pacific.

Lying just below the Tropic of Cancer, Mazatlan boasts a superb year-round climate. Mazatlan, a name that means “Place of the Deer,” sits on a peninsula at the feet of the rugged Sierra Madre, and the Cerro de Neveria – “Ice Box Hill” – divides the area’s rocky Pacific beaches from the broad, white-sand beaches beloved by visitors. The climate, the beaches, and the world-class sportfishing have turned this commercial fishing port into one of the world’s top resort destinations. Yet while visitors flock to the markets, bathe in the sun, or marvel at the airborne ballet of the famed Papantla dancers, Mazatlan remains one of Mexico’s major Pacific ports – the city exports over 40 million pounds of shrimp every year.

Millennia ago, Cabo San Lucas was part of the Mexican mainland. Then a massive rupture of the San Andreas Fault sent the waters of the Pacific crashing into the newly formed depression, creating the Sea of Cortez and the Baja Peninsula. Lying at the very tip of Baja, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, Cabo San Lucas – or “Cabo” – is one of the premier resort destinations in the Western Hemisphere. Swim in the transparent waters, marvel at the wealth of marine life, relax on one of the white-sand beaches or try your hand at some of the finest sportfishing in the world.

Note: Your ship will anchor in Cabo San Lucas and use launches to transport all passengers ashore.

The City of Angels always hovers between dream and reality. Once a near-forgotten colonial outpost, the pueblo metamorphosed into an agrarian paradise before reinventing itself as a movie colony. Perhaps no other city owes so much to the technological innovations of the 20th century, from the automobile to the airplane. Little wonder that LA is oft described as the “dream machine.” In LA, reinvention is a way of life. Yet this talent for change has created a city with a rich ethnic diversity and a sizzling culture. LA is the source for trends that migrate across the country and then the world. Where else can you enjoy a Thai taco or munch on a kosher burrito? Or travel from downtown’s high rises to the beaches of Malibu, shopping in Beverly Hills along the way?

Following your departure from the Star Princess, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight home to Ireland.