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Same thing last Friday on Rotterdam. Roy

Today's sunrise is from Amtrak's Texas Eagle stopping in San Antonio on the way home from a Crystal Symphony Panama Canal cruise shortened by Superstorm Sandy: Roy

Today's sunrise is from Amtrak's Texas Eagle stopping in San Antonio on the way home from a Crystal Symphony Panama Canal cruise shortened by Superstorm Sandy: Roy

Thank you Rich, Vanessa, Debbie, Ann, and Dixie. I'll give 2 of the 3 days a pass, no real opinion on Trans Gender because if I've met someone trans gendered I am not aware of it. Definitely a strange quote. I don't think I've ever been to Papua New Guinea. 2 great days in history. While I don't watch the Tour de France, I am amazed at the abilities of the people who do participate. It's been a pretty quiet day for me here in Puerto Limon. I was here a year ago on the Eurodam and didn't find much ashore then when I was more mobile and energetic so I won't even get off the ship. The meal sounds interesting. Since I didn't post to the Fleet Report and Daily, I'm going back 2 days for my alternative suggestions which means a quite related Classic Caesar Salad, Parmesan Crusted Veal Loin, and Ice Cream as served in MS Rotterdam Club Orange November 18, 2023. Roy

I wasn't really watching but on the transit to sea I spent a fair amount of time in my cabin and occasionally saw the webcam as we descended. I could not really tell the lake level but do know we had no rain while I was there and haven't heard anything about relief. Roy

Sunday, November 19, 2023, Visit Panama Canal, Panama I was up at 5 and went up to deck 14 forward when we were approaching the Atlantic Bridge. My game plan for the day was to move around the ship on the passage into Lake Gatun before the worst heat of the day and be on my balcony for the return to the Atlantic.. My approach collage shows, clockwise, a bit of the process of entering a lock, lining up for the approach, a tug waiting to guide us into the lock, the gate closing for the ship ahead of us in the middle chamber so they can lower the water level in our chamber, and finally the gate opening for us. I watched the entire process for the first chamber from deck 14 forward, and then moved to the aft lido deck for the middle chamber. The area between the old and new locks is an island and there are no traditional bridges nor tunnels. One of the gates at the Atlantic end of the lock serves as a defacto bridge when the gate is closed. It was also a good place to get a view of the water saving ponds which allow re-use of most of the water consumed in locking from one ship to the next. In my early walk to the forward decks I noticed that the door was open at the front of the ship and I went all the way forward on deck 6. There is just a narrow “porch” there but it was not very crowded and had great sight lines. A program feature of Holland America is that on scenic cruising days “the bow” is open for passenger viewing. I have always thought there were better places and sometimes access to the bow is a bit of an agility challenge, but once on the porch I discovered the bow was immediately below me, and would be quite easy to access. There were crew and refreshments on the bow. The original estimate was that we would reach Lake Gatun about 10AM. The passage through the locks was quite quick and the final gate opened about 8:45. The early completion of our lock passage left me time to get some writing and relaxing in before my online church service began at 10:30. At lunch in the lido I saw that we were not the only ship doing a partial transit. Viking Mars was on the other side of Lake Gatun after transiting the original locks. As we started back through the locks we first passed the visitor center for the Agua Clara Locks. I visited there in 2017 and the center has great views of the action in the locks. Next came the control tower where all the works of the Agua Clara Locks is controlled. The system is set up with interlocks so an operator cannot forget a step and do something in the wrong sequence, which could be catastrophic. While my intent had been to view the passage to sea from my balcony I quickly found there was nothing to see when the ship was dropping, so I waited back in my cool cabin while we were lowered, going out to the balcony just for the movement from chamber to chamber. I had planned, actually to go down to the Promenade Deck to the final drop so I could get a closeup view of the lock walls once we were back to sea level. Before leaving my balcony I had noticed an ambulance waiting near the ship, not a good sign. The pilots usually like to keep ships centered in the locks. From the Promenade deck I could see the ship gradually sliding sideways close enough to get a gangway across to the ship. A lot of luggage came across the gangway, and then an evacuation chair and the patient’s family, and the patient was transferred to the ambulance cot. A van pulled up for the luggage and the patient’s family, and the chair was returned to the ship. Once all this was completed the gangway was removed and we started our descent. Neither of Rotterdam’s sister ships can carry passengers through the Panama Canal. In order for this to be possible with Rotterdam the lifeboat fittings had to be modified so the boats would not hang over the side of the ship (The pilots require an unobstructed view of the entire side of the ship). I think the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam have a bit of space between the railing and the boats where the crew can easily access the boats. On Rotterdam, the boats come flush against the railing. I thought that change might reduce the overhang enough to allow the visibility the pilots require, but I was mistaken. It will need to be ZERO overhang. To accomplish this, the boats can slide in another foot or two, with the railing tilting towards the center of the ship. With the boats in this position, the deck is closed off for public use. We passed from the Atlantic to Lake Gatun in under 2 hours. With the medical evacuation the return took about 2:20, and once completed I immediately prepared for dinner, arriving about 15 minutes later than planned. I chose the Classic Caesar Salad, BBQ pork ribs, and rum raisin ice cream, and was still finished in time for the 6PM interdenominational worship. It was not one of the better ones and I had to leave early for an activity with my home church. We gained an hour going to Costa Rica time but we will lose it right back Monday night as we return to Fort Lauderdale time. I was only up about 15 minutes later than I would have been otherwise. Roy

The Maitre'd is now a woman named Nancy. Roy

Slowly losing sight of the bow as we get deeper into the chamber. Roy

Sure is. Roy

Saturday, November 18, 2023, Cartagena, Colombia I was up about 5:30. I went up to the sky deck (14 forward) at what I thought should be sunrise but there was nothing in evidence. I did get what I thought was a nice view of the top of the ship. We pulled up to a very short dock in Cartagena about 7, across from National Geographic Quest which was just finishing a voyage and disembarking guests. After breakfast in Club Orange I headed ashore about 9. It would not be a long foray and the heat was already starting to get to me. There is a shuttle to the cruise terminal and one was waiting. There is a wildlife display on the terminal grounds and I caught a couple of interesting birds on the way into the building. The building was a range of shops and I did buy a pair of sandals which I do not normally wear but they seem well fitted to my trips to the hot tub. I returned on the shuttle about 9:30. On the way back to my room I detoured up the elevator to deck 7 where I found the 3rd model of Rotterdam 5. I headed up to the hot tub about 10. About the time I left my cabin a call was made for the weekly crew drill. This one was quite a production, billed as a fire and mass casualty incident at the Main Stage. It was quite elaborate including a call for certified emergency medical personnel to make themselves known to guest services. The situation continued to worsen with a simulated call to abandon ship by 11. All Aboard was 1:30. Captain von Dreumel came on the PA indicating we were ready to leave and the First Officer would be at the controls. Not sure what he was thinking but he must not have looked out the window. A double line was backed up all the way from the gangway to the bow of the ship waiting to board. He came back with an update about 20 minutes later and there was a tour still out. After that group one final couple came flying in on a shuttle 5 minutes after the bulk of the tour arrived. While there was much fanfare on the horn I saw the first signs of actual movement about 2:20. A few minutes later I could actually see water between us and the dock and we were on our way. I was at Club Orange shortly after 5. My choices for the evening were Classic Caesar Salad, Parmesan Crusted Veal Loin, and Ice Cream. I had a very low key evening and was in bed promptly by 9 with an early start planned for the canal on Sunday. Roy

Here's the webcam link: https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/aguaclara.html It looks mostly at the last chamber we will pass through at the Atlantic end. Roy

We will start our return to the Atlantic very soon. Somehow internet is down for both laptops (working on iPad) so I can’t pull up a link to the webcam. Roy

We should pull up anchor very soon to go back to the Atlantic. Roy

Good morning from Lake Gatun, arriving an hour ahead of the predicted time. Our return through the locks is planned for 1:30 to 4:00, subject to change by the canal authorities. I moved around the ship for the ascent while it is still relatively cool, but will mostly do the descent from my balcony. Roy

When you get back I have a question. Does your key card have a hole to attach to a lanyard? Roy

Back from dinner. Apparently I just missed the end. Roy

Sounded like a toot from Apex. If she has the pokey pilot I'll need to leave for dinner even before she clears. Roy

And us. All aboard was 1:30 and there was still a long line to board and a couple of tours still out. A good thing for a couple of lucky people as they arrived about 1:50. It was 2:20 when we finally got under way. Roy

I wonder what's delaying Nieuw Amsterdam. Roy

And what's up with water being white and land blue? Roy

Just under $11.00 Roy

Are you sure she's moving. I can't see it. Rot

I think it's only the Pinnacle ships that have the tap type locks. I expect the cards come from the factory with a hole already there and the wire pattern is in the template to work around that spot. It seems strange that Koningsdam does not seem to be offering this yet. Roy

Today's sunrise is from yesterday morning on MS Rotterdam midway between Aruba and Cartagena. Roy

Today's sunrise is from yesterday morning on MS Rotterdam midway between Aruba and Cartagena. Roy