For the Canal authorities, this milestone marks the additional diversification of traffic through the Expanded Canal and new opportunities for the passenger ship segment (Panama Canal Photo)

The "Disney Wonder" cruise assisted by a tug has been the first cruise to use the new locks of the Panama Canal expansion, doing so in the south direction of the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. During the navigation the characters of Disney, Mickey and Minnie, went out to greet the visitors who were at that time in the locks of Agua Clara. The Disney Cruise Lines cruise has a capacity of 2,713 passengers and was restored in late 2016, extending its length to 299.92 meters.

The Panama Canal, began to register cruise reserves since 1 April and to date have received 18 of passenger ships by the Expanded Canal for the 2017- 2018 season and it is expected that this amount will increase in the coming months Albano Aguilar, a specialist in international trade of the Panama Canal, noted that a total of 233 passenger ships are expected through the inter-ocean road at the close of fiscal year 2017 (1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017), with a total of 237,298 passengers on board. "The original locks of the Panama Canal have been a cruise destination for many years. The historic transit of today marks the beginning of possibilities for the cruise lines to include the new locks as part of their itineraries, offering additional options on their itineraries and allowing passengers to be first-hand witnesses to this great feat of modern engineering," according to Manuel Benitez, one of the most responsible of the Panama Canal.