Panama Canal Getting Bigger!

[FinelyCruising]

Read today that the Panama government is focused on widening the canal to keep in time with the larger ships that are being built.

The need for a bigger canal passage is based on the cargo ships that are being built and now many are scraping their way through. Naturally this will pave the way for larger cruise ships too. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

It is estimated the entire process will take 25 years to complete!

[gkrebs]

I read about this awhile ago. They were adding new locks on each side

[img]http://www.gifs.net/animate/ag00612_.gif[/img]


Gary


Explorer of the Seas 10/24/04
Dawn Princess 10/12/03
Voyager of the Seas 12/01/02
Adventurer of the Seas 4/21/02
Sea Breeze 06/98
Atlantis 06/70

Time to Set Sail

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2004;10;24;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0400[/img]

[FinelyCruising]

...and a new lake, dredging and moving the dirt. Sounds like quite the project.

[smoothdancer]

Last year I went through the Panama Canal on a Princess cruise, and I understood that this ship was the largest to go through.(The Dawn, which is one of the smaller Princess ships) We had an aft cabin, and you could see that had a time getting us thru, and yes the sides were scraped.

I just cant help but wonder however if by making the canal wider, will it ruin the beauty and wonder of the canal??