BillB48

Our daughter who lives in the Baton Rouge LA area used them when we went on a cruise in January. She was very pleased with them.

Add my yes to that as well. For the reasons EM stated, particularly more activity in and around the locks. There is visual interest not only in your lane at the locks but also you can view the operation in the other lane. Whereas the new locks is just a single lane.

Came across a much better video of what could have been a major catsasstrophe at the new Agua Clara Locks. The loud intermittent sound that is heard on the video is the warning for the gate operation. A friend told me the only "injuries" were a bent mast on the tug and some badly bruised egos.

I have not done that excursion with NCL, but have done a "Shape" excursion with another cruise line from Colon. From NCL's description the tour we took is the same with the only difference was a full lunch was included where the one you booked appears only to include a snack. It was a enjoyable excursion and the bus ride over and back is on mostly decent roads. We did not stop in Panama Viejo (Old Panama) where not so good ol' Morgan visited, just drove through on our way to the Casco Antiguo. The Casco Antiguo is where the city was rebuilt after Morgan, in NCL's description they refer to it as the old French Quarter. It is reminiscent of the Vieux Carre of New Orleans. I am sure you will notice the differences between Colon and Panama City.

You are right seems like a bit of a contradiction. Guess the port authority may have some hopes of rekindling a desire for NCL to add more arrivals/departures from Amador. I'm sure over time the Pier in Amador will prove beneficial for cruise lines to include a Pacific stop on Canal cruises. Using ship's tenders there was just a general PITA. Honestly, I just don't see Amador becoming much of a embark/disembark point for cruises.

Just by chance my contact from the Canal sent me the following that appeared in some local outlet and is a Google translation. He didn't have the source that I could attribute the article, but at this point it is better info than we have at this point! Below is the most pertinent portion... March 17, 2023 A delegation of the National Government, headed by the administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) Iván Eskildsen, and representatives of the shipping company Norwegian Cruise Line and the construction company China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) made this a tour of the facilities of the Amador Cruise Port. After the tour, the administrator of the ATP said that the entrepreneurs of the Norwegian Cruise Line shipping company were pleased with the progress of construction, while the contractor committed to deliver the Amador Cruise Port in November 2023.

My guess if there was any other sites that could provide info on the progress of the Ft. Amador Cruise Terminal it would have surfaced somewhere, there are a number of us Canal aficionados in this corner of Cruise Critic just looking for some news. To date most of the news that provided projections of the opening have been more like wishful thinking. IIRC the first projected opening was 2019. Think we can safely say that one was missed😉!

Also check with the shore excursion desk as soon as you can after boarding. Normally they hold back a portion of the shore excursions to sell on board.

I had just read the article from gCaptain last night (linked below) and that matches up with the scuttlebutt I first heard that there was a "problem" with the delta tug. A little background, four tugs are used to get these NeoPanamax ships into the new locks. From bow to stern they are identified as "Alpha", bow tug, "Beta", positioned on the beam of the ship forward, "Charlie", on the beam towards aft and "Delta" on the stern. The Beta and Charlie tugs are released as the ship enters the first chamber, while Alpha and Delta tugs normally stay lashed to the ship for the entire lockage. The overall tone of the report was reasonable except I think they were dumping on the pilot a little by saying there are no procedures or regulations and the pilot can do whatever they want. The article also pointed out that the pilots want to finish fast in order to get more assignments, ultimately make more money and any fault could not have been attributed to the ship. Not so sure how that is known with any certainty without acknowledging the possibility of communication problems or machinery failure. To be sure the pilot's name is pretty high on the blame list and in electing to proceed without the Delta tugs had some risks. What the article doesn't tell you is that in addition to the pilots wanting to finish so they can be in line for another assignment, the Canal does watch pilot performance very closely and does use assignments as a tool against pilots who they feel may be under performing in their times in their estimation. So there is always the pressure to get the job done. The reference that the Canal does not have the capability to lift the gates presently... they have never had that capability... ever. Their first two heavy lift cranes from 1914 only had a capacity of 250 tons. The crane purchased from Long Beach Shipyard in the 90s has a capacity of 350 tons. The original miter gates have weights from 400 to 700 tons and the gates at the new locks weigh about 3000 tons. The Canal has purchased a new heavy lift crane with a capacity of around 600 tons, however it is not in service yet the last I heard. https://gcaptain.com/close-call-in-panama-canal-locks-raises-safety-concerns/

Certainly not good news! I realize there are many nuances that I have not picked up on but it is not all that surprising. Really wished that something could have taken hold for the cruise industry in Panama. https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-not-planning-on-more-sailings-from-panama/96077

You can certainly view the Canal from a shore side vantage point, but IMO, that is all you are really doing... viewing. Experiencing the Canal is what you do when you are transiting the Canal. When you visit the Visitor's Centers either at Miraflores (original locks) or at Agua Clara (new locks on Atlantic side) you are only seeing just one little piece of the Canal. No doubt this part of the Canal has some of the most visible parts of the Canal and you can experience the operation of lifting ocean going ships up to Gatun Lake for the trip across the Isthmus. Transiting the Canal ties all the parts of the Canal together. You certainly could do a land trip to Panama and take in some of the highlights of the Canal in a shorter time period than it would take to do a cruise. However as far as the expense of a land tour vs a cruise, I think when you add air fares, hotels, excursions, other taxis and meals I really don't think a cruise will be that much more. If you do decide on a land tour, below is a link to a company that offers Canal transits on a smaller vessel. Just be aware that most of the transits, both partial and a limited number of full transits are only available certain days in the week. Even though they don't come right out and say it, they do cancel if they don't have enough passengers. My vote is for a cruise, but whichever you choose enjoy! https://www.pmatours.net/pacific-queen/panama-canal-tour-options.html

A short video of the incident. https://www.facebook.com/33613982/videos/591983229488299/

A northbound ship in the upper level of Agua Clara Locks had difficulty coming to a stop and narrowly missed striking the gate ahead of the ship. While tug assisting on the bow of the ship did contact the gate there have not been any reports of damage to the tug or the gate. The tug was able to let the ship's port bow slip by and avoid being caught between the ship's bulbous bow and the gate. No details yet on the cause of the incident.

I think it would be worth it, of course you may have to factor in that this is coming from a real Canal aficionado that loves all things Canal, particularly Panama Canal. Being perfectly honest you will retrace some of the same portions of the Canal that you just transited the day before. Gaillard Cut will be the largest portion of what you will be seeing again. IMO I think there is enough to see more than once. You will certainly get a another narration about what you are viewing, that too can be a plus. What will be different is you will be locking through the original locks as well as passing through the associated channels and additional artificial lake that you bypass on your transit the previous day. There are several vessels that can be used for these transits and one of them does look like a ferry although most of the other vessels look like those you would find on a harbor tour in any major port. Just be aware that the excursion can and does run in the opposite direction, either direction is equally rewarding. The original locks are somewhat different from the new locks. The original locks have twin sets of locks and use locomotives (mules) to assist the ship through the locks. Although your vessel will not use the "mules" since it is really too small. There is certainly much more visual interest and from your vantage point of a smaller vessel it gives you a better sense on just how big the locks really are. Reading the "Path" is a splendid idea. Even though I think you can appreciate the Canal without having done any reading or research prior to your transit, it will be more meaningful after reading McCullough's book.

Guessing this would be your first transit, if that is the case then I would give a bit more consideration for the Serenade since she will use the original locks. Even though the locks are only one part of the Canal, I think most people view the locks as the focal point of the Canal. After all the locks are the "works", where you can see machinery move and do work. The Canal transit is largely same regardless of which locks are use for the transit. The new locks are built in site of each other and the only difference in the transit route is the access channel to the new locks. Considering your ship choices, actually the Serenade and Ruby are probably closer to each other and have more in common than comparing the Ruby with the Bliss. The Serenade is longer than the Ruby, however the Ruby is 12' wider in beam than the Serenade, which is just wide enough that she can't use the original locks. Another thing is the Ruby is only 5 years newer than the Serenade, I really don't think you can derive a meaningful comparison in age between a 15 year old ship and a 20 year old ship. IMO the Bliss would be the ship that is the most different being the largest and the newest of the the three ships, no doubt with more amenities and dinning choices (and even more people).

While I have not been on Celebrity's version of the tour, from what I can gather from their tour description you will be transported across the Isthmus to the Visitor's Center at Miraflores Locks which is one of the original locks. From there it is back to the Atlantic side to the Expansion Observatory Platform at the new Agua Clara Locks. After viewing the operations there it is back to the ship in Colon. Allow about an hour and half for the ride each way. Actually the drive is closer to an hour over mostly good roads. Gives a good chance to see some of the countryside.

I don't think there are mistakes on a cruise... maybe just another choice! Although I do recommend a shore excursion when you are on a partial transit cruise, it still is a pleasant day if you stay on the ship for the return out of the Canal. If your intent is to see the Canal on a partial transit cruise, one of the best excursions for that is the excursion that takes you through the two original Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut. Each cruise line has their own name for this excursion, so you may have to sift through the tour description a bit. This is the excursion that often is criticized for running long and being warm. While that is the case at times, not every one of these tours runs amuck, just being aware that it can happen often is the best precaution. As they say ... ship happens. Tours that involve Panama City or the train generally don't run into the delays that can happen on the partial transit of the Pacific Locks/Gaillard Cut excursion. However it is always possible to "enjoy" the warmth and humidity when you outside the comforts of air conditioning.

The biggest difference in those seasons is the chance of rain. The Rainy season runs from May through mid December. Canal cruises that occur at the end of the Alaskan season (Sep-Oct) probably have the greatest chance of rain. When it does rain it usually is more of a local event and won't be an all day deluge. IMO the absolute best time for a Canal cruise based on weather alone would be January and February. Just use that as a tie breaker if you have more than one particular date under consideration. The differences are slight and the chances of drier weather are still pretty good.

Presently the Canal can only handle about 12 ships that cannot use the original locks per day. Since there is normally a backlog of the larger ships they won't use one of those slots on a vessel that can use the original locks. Since the new locks opened in 2016 there has only been one instance where a passenger ship that could use the original locks end up using the new locks. That was an extraordinary situation and hopefully a "one of" occurrence.

Radiance and any of her sisters are an excellent choice for a Canal transit. Not only does it have ample open deck spaces both upper and lower, but it also has passenger access to the bow. Another plus it will do the original locks which would be my choice particularly if it is your first transit.

There is a shopping mall adjacent to where the ship docks, can't say if you will be able to find a real Panama hat or not. But I would think there would be a good chance to get a genuine knock off! There are two berths for ships calling at Colon, one of the berths is attached to the shopping mall and the other berth is a short distance away. When I was last there they were building duty free shopping near the second berth. I can't tell you what to expect for the duty free shopping area as I don't know if it has been completed or not.

This is a little dated because when I stayed at the hotel on Ft. Amador it was a Country Inn and Suites, it now is a Radisson. The hotel is located about 4 miles from the cruise terminal. The convention center on Ft. Amador which is temporarily being used for check in for the cruise is even closer. The hotel was good and had great views of the Pacific entrance to the Canal and the Bridge of Americas. I don't know if they offer transportation to the check in location.

They used to get a lot of mention on this board, but I have not seen or heard anything of them since the restart. Actually I don't recall hearing much of them even before the shutdown. In the past they seemed to have good reviews.

The last "event" of Carnival will be the burial of the fish at dawn Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent. Aside from church services for Ash Wednesday it really should be a fairly subdued day with some people wishing they had not been over served the previous night.

You might have to go with a van or something similar. I just replied on another thread in this forum noting that many of the regular taxis run on LPG and the fuel tank really cuts into the luggage carrying capabilities of the trunk. I don't think you would have any issue getting a larger vehicle at the airport.