Crucero Express

The Crucero Express was the only company to provide ferry service between Panama and Colombia,^[1] enjoining the two unconnected segments of the Pan-American Highway (which is broken between North and South America by the Darién 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.^[2][3][4]

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.^[5] The ship could transport 125 vehicles^[6] and with 100 trailers, along with some 600 passengers divided into 240 cabins.^[7] For their entertainment during the twenty-hour voyage, the ship also housed jacuzzis, swimming pools, bars, casinos, conference rooms, and ballrooms, making it a cruiseferry. Roundtrip tickets ranged from US$200 to 400 per couple.^[8]