Pearl Panama Transit

[sb_enfrance]

Hello

I will be on the Pearl 16 days, on April 14th. Does NCL have prior information session about the Canal. Where on the ship is a good place to be during the Panama Canal transit.

Merci

Sylvain

[cmdchiefthom]

I've been through the canal several times aboard HAL, but never with NCL. It's been my experience that the sundeck on deck 14 would give you the best view during the transit although I've also enjoyed the trip on an aft balcony. Should you book the forward facing Penthouse suites on deck 9 or 10, you would certainly have your own balcony to enjoy that view for the entire duration of the passage. As for the question regarding any special informational session conducted by the ship, I can't help you. However, the book "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough is the best read you can get about the building of the canal. In any case, you will absolutely love the experience.;)

[RobTheGob]

However, the book "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough is the best read you can get about the building of the canal. In any case, you will absolutely love the experience.;)

 

We're on the same NCL cruise in April. I just finished chapter 2 in The Path Between the Seas - still about 750 pages to go...

[hawgwildterry]

The bow should be open to passengers during the canal transit, at least our Princess cruise was. If things run normal, be forewarned it will be hot and humid during the transit and you could have a sudden shower or to.

 

We will be doing another Panama Canal cruise in the fall of 2017. Our current plan is to take NCL Pearl or Jewel with the west to east route.

[casofilia]

The bow will be absolutely packed!! Get to the forward lounge very early to get good seats and then eat separately during the transit.!!

[Wavesprite]

We just got off the Jewel two weeks ago. They played an informational movie on the tv starting about 3 days before we got to the canal constantly. They had a informational guide on the overhead throughout the day of the transit.

 

We were scheduled to get to the first lock at 7:00 am. People were on the bow at 430 am. We were in a suite with a balcony. We spent a lot of time on the balcony, a lot of time on deck 7 (promenade wasn't crowded at all) and they invited suite guests up to the Haven also, which was nice.

 

 

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[roger001]

We've been through twice. Both times I was all over the ship throughout. You don't really want to be at any one location for the day. Wander all the outside decks to see the canal and gates from all angles. Deck 7 is great for looking close at the sides of the locks as you go through. Plan to be busy all day. And do use sun screen or you will get cooked. A floppy hat is nice too.

[Markanddonna]

We've been through twice. Both times I was all over the ship throughout. You don't really want to be at any one location for the day. Wander all the outside decks to see the canal and gates from all angles. Deck 7 is great for looking close at the sides of the locks as you go through. Plan to be busy all day. And do use sun screen or you will get cooked. A floppy hat is nice too.

 

We did the canal last April and it is HOT out there on the outside decks. I agree that going to different locations is best. You may miss out on the "best location" but you will get a very good overall view of the operations. I'm really short, so it is impossible for me to get a good view most anywhere if there are crowds...

[Barb Nahoumi]

I did the transit on the Pearl many years ago. My friend and I watched from the balcony of our mini-suite on deck 11, and had great views.

 

The day before the transit, we watched a movie about the building of the canal. There were books for sale in the gift shop. During the transit, a narrator was describing what we were seeing, on the TV. That was the beauty of viewing on our own balcony. We could sit there with the door cracked open to hear the narration.

 

We brought snacks to our room to eat while viewing, so we didn't need to go anywhere for lunch and miss anything.

 

I'm ready to repeat this cruise again.

[Lydia B.]

I returned from the Pearl this afternoon. The bow (normally blocked off and where the crew swimming pool is) was open to passengers. I didn't know that until I was on an upper floor and looked down. When I looked (about 7:30 AM) there were just a few passengers. NCL had even brought out some couches and covering to be in the shade....very very nice.

I then left on the Ferry to go the entire length so not sure after that. Lydia of Ohio

[rusky123]

The bow will be open but the side walls were a little too high for me at 5'4''. If you are in the Haven or have a suite just get to the sundeck at 15 and you can look all around.

It is a shame that they have expanded the canal from a cruise ships passengers view, great for business though. No monkeys leaping across the deck anymore, no closeness to the jungle, just empty industrial space. We did hear gunfire from the jungle, and a few screams and shouts, quite exciting. We were alongside a HAL ship who had staff cleaning on the top passenger deck, and we loved watching them take time to nap under the tables.

 

It is amazing to look at those little trains which pull you along the canal. One of our hawsers, wires, broke and we watched in awe as it was replaced. It was a trip of a lifetime for me, although I was disappointed I did not see any wildlife, just industrial machinery.

[ramdoggiesmom]

We just returned from the Pearl yesterday. We started out up on deck but there were way to many people and being short, i couldnt see much. So We watched everything from our balcony on deck 10. Going up through in the morning there wasa ship going up right next to us so we really got a great view of what happens. We did the same going back through that afternoon. Really something to see.

[Debbie1029]

Just returned from Jewel transit a couple of days ago. We had an aft balcony which provided a wonderful view. Combined with camera view of bow we had a great experience. Visited a friends starboard balcony which gave a great view of how little space there was at the sides. Bow was way too crowded to see much unless you were right a rail. Commentator was excellent !

 

 

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[Va. Plumber]

Just off Pearl this Thursday.

 

We got up at 5:00 to go up to sundeck above #13. It was already crowded.

The best part was the running narration explaining the operation

I did notice the people in the forward crew area. We stayed onboard to view the return passage that begins around 11. You get to the area by going forward on Deck 8

Don't know if there was narration but couldn't hear it from there. View was excellent.