Teeara

Here’s mine after we went under. I’m currently on Deck 7 overlooking the Centrum listening to the band with Pam.

I was up at 5:00 this morning and at the front of the ship around 5:45. We were originally supposed to hit the locks at 8:00, but got bumped to 9:45. We finally started moving towards the canal at 8:55. We were approaching the bridge by 9:10. We started approaching the locks at 10:10. It was slow going this morning. People were 8 deep by now and tempers were running a bit high at this point. And yet as you guys have been posting, we weren’t moving. Since I had a front row seat I can show you exactly what the hold up was. The left side locks were working fine. We had two ships go through the locks before we were even in our first lock. As they were waiting for the water to drain this is what it looked like. Notice the massive amount of water being released on the left side. Now, here’s how our lock looked like as it was draining. Note the small amount of water coming from the gates and that no water was being released on our side the way the left side was. As a matter of fact, there was a group of workers under the right arch. So obviously they were having issues with the pumps to get the water out of the lock in order for us to enter. The lock finally opened at 11:00, a full 3 hours after our original time slot or 1.25 hours after our second time slot. It was now 11:30 and I had been standing at the front for 6 hours. I was hot, tired and hungry so I left. But here’s me just before I left to give you an idea where I was, front and center. Here’s how the people looked during my walk back to the cabin. More to come.

6:27 a.m. crowd. We don’t enter the locks for another 3.25 hours.

Please feel free to add!!!

We were supposed to go through at 8:00. Our entrance has been pushed back to 9:45.

Reprosa also had the beautiful Molas that I wanted to get. Pam got one of the fish. We next stopped at a big shopping mall for lunch and then went to the old town area to learn a bit more about the history of Panama. We boarded a tram that took us to the museum. Inside there were several dioramas and maps to explain the time frame and what had happened in the time before the Spanish came and the effect on the native people. Then it was time to head back to the ship. All aboard was 5:30. We got there at 5:34, but because we were on a ship sponsored tour, we didn’t have to panic since we knew they wouldn’t leave without us. Sailaway was at 6:30, so only 30 minutes late. The dark building on the right is the cruise terminal. We exited through this terminal when we arrived. But when you return from a shore excursion, you have to go through the duty free shops in the bright building on the left then enter the terminal. We wish we had more time. The duty free building looked good and the duty free in the terminal looked good too. We had dinner in the Windjammer tonight so no food porn. Here’s some menu porn instead 😉😁 Lastly, here’s today’s Cruise Compass: Tomorrow we do the full Panama Canal transit. Originally we were scheduled for 8:00 a.m., but now they are saying 9:45 a.m. So a little more sleep tonight.

Today was a long day. We did the Panama Treasures Just For You. It was a 7 hour tour and it was jam packed. But first, the ship maps: When we disembarked the ship there were some dancers inside the terminal and these young indigenous people outside by the buses. We has a 90 minute drive from Colon on the Atlantic side of Panama to Panama City on the Pacific side. Our first stop was the Reprosa Factory where they take wax molds to make silver and gold jewelry. We had a demonstration where they filled the mold with silver and I got to help in the process. I was given a flawed silver piece that they were going to melt down and use in a new piece. Here, I’m putting it in the kiln. Then I was given a soda can filled with tiny balls of silver to fill up the holder they use to melt the silver. Here’s the finished product right out of the kiln. Here’s the same design. The right one still needs work. The one on the left has been polished. And here’s the top piece in gold for sale. They had so many beautiful things for sale and the prices were extremely reasonable, a lot of these pieces were under $100.

And here we thought we would be last. We got in at 5:35, so you won the tardy boarders award today. At least you weren’t a pier runner!

When do you leave to rejoin the world cruise, Pat?

Wait until the video series I’m working on for my YouTube channel. Should be similar to what I did with Wonder, but more videos and less photos.

From your mouth to God’s ears!

She was talking to me. We were on the Wonder WB TA in 2022. I earned my first crystal block on that sailing.

So we finally made it to Cartagena! The captain had the pedal to the metal all night long trying to get us here on time. But we did with no problems. For an older ship, Radiance runs smoothly and fast! Here I am in Cartagena! It was very hot (91 degrees) and humid. Today we have the Amazing Cartagena Bay and Walled City tour. We did the walking tour first and saw several churches and beautiful balconies. There were several metal sculptures like this around the old town. We stopped at an emerald jewelry store to use the bathrooms and buy jewelry (we did not buy any). They also had these cool displays in the back of the store. We then had 25 minutes of shopping before heading to the boat tour. We almost got boarded by a bunch of pirates! Our boat had two levels. We sat on the bottom since most people were heading for the 2nd deck. We were given either a rum & Coke, a regular Coke (no Diet Coke) or water. Then the had a local dance display. The tour was a bit disappointing. I thought they were going to show us the massive stone walls from the water. But all they did was take us to the port area to see the cruise ships. Then we boarded our bus to go back to the ship. In order to get to the ship you need to go through Port Oasis. I’ll let the photos tell the story. We boarded the shuttle bus to take us to the ship. This is where you catch it outside of the store. Back onboard we grabbed a quick snack at Park Cafe. Here’s your food porn for today! 😉😁 I also bought some orange wafer cookies at the Port Oasis store and they were delicious. We had dinner at the Windjammer tonight, but here’s the MDR menu. We were an hour late leaving tonight, but it was worth the wait. Had some incredible views while waiting for sailaway. Adios Cartagena! Lastly, today’s Cruise Compass. That’s it for today. Tomorrow is Colon, Panama and we have a 7 hour shopping tour in Panama City. See you then!

I think because I earned it on our last night on Wonder.

No cheese since Pam is currently dairy free under doctor’s orders.

We stopped the bread last night. Thanks!

I really wanted it on Wonder.

It looks like something from a 60s drug trip 😉😁😂

We were left 2 plates of fruit the last few days so we had that.

Everything seems smaller. I’m actually starting to feel hungry again.

Hahaha! They’re playing “Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer in the Centrum! These guys are great.

Last night we gained an hour, but our clocks and phones didn’t make the change so we were up at 6:00 rather than 7:00. Not that big of a deal and I was able to catch the sunrise. Here is our morning update on the TV: Here is the Cruise Compass for Day 3: This morning was the enrichment lecture on Cartagena (where we will be tomorrow). Then we were off to the Colony Club for the Champagne Art Auction. Pam and I both liked this piece from Daniel Wall so we bid and won it for under $500 including the frame and shipping costs. We did lunch in the Windjammer and we had dinner in the MDR. They moved us from our original table (3rd row from the window) to one next to the window on the opposite side of the ship. And now for some food porn! Tonight’s menu: First up is our cheesy bread. Then our Vegetable Tempura which wasn’t that great. 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 onion ring and 1 asparagus served with a soy ginger glaze. It was rather lackluster. We both had the Chicken Schnitzel with Mustard Cream Sauce, Cabbage Slaw and Roasted Potatoes. The Schnitzel and Potatoes were fine. The slaw had fennel which we both dislike. Finally, dessert was a delicious Coconut Layer Cake with a little raspberry sauce. Yummy! Now we’re sitting in the Centrum listening to the house band. We’re really enjoying them on this cruise. We plan on an early turn in tonight so we’re ready for our shore excursion tomorrow - Amazing Cartagena Bay and Walled City tour.

We also were moved from our assigned table on one side of the ship to the other side and a table next to the window.

They still have clear crystal blocks and that’s what I requested and got about 15 minutes ago. Woo hoo!