Crucera Express

The Crucero Express was the first and only company to provide ferry service between Panama and Colombia, enjoining the two unconnected segments of the Pan-American Highway (which is broken between North and South America by the impassible Darian Gap). In 1994 the Linea Crucero Express began charting a thrice-weekly course between Colón and Cartagena, but despite its initial popularity rising overhead costs and falling demand forced the company to cease operations in early 1997.^[1][2][3]

The company utilized a single vessel of approximately ten-thousand tons displacement. It had been constructed in the French shipyard Dubigeín in 1972 and retrofitted in Norway just prior to operations, rechristened with the name Crucera Express.^{[citation needed]} The ship could transport 125 vehicles^[4] and with 100 trailers, along with some 600 passengers divided into 240 cabins. For their entertainment during the twenty-hour voyage, the ship also housed jacuzzis, swimming pools, bars, casinos, conference rooms, and ballrooms, making it something of a cross between a cruise ship and a traditional ferry. Roundtrip tickets ranged from 200 to 400 USD per couple.^[5]

References

1. ^ http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/wt/brad_martin.html
2. ^ http://www.focuspublicationsint.com/New_Site/Visitor12-23/tourist_visitor.html
3. ^ http://www.1uptravel.com/travelwarnings/panama.html
4. ^ "Assessment of the risk of introducing foot-and-mouth disease into Panama via a ferry operating between Cartagena, Colombia and Colon, Panama.". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 791: 303–13. 1996-07-23. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb53537.x. PMID 8784511. 
5. ^ "Zarpa El Sueño Del Libertador" (in Spanish). eltiempo.com. 1994-12-01. Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eltiempo.com%2Farchivo%2Fdocumento%2FMAM-257536&date=2010-03-13. Retrieved 2010-03-13.