Panama Canal

[bibliosandy]

I'm going on the Island Princess March 30 trip and was wondering at what time I

should be on deck to view the ship going through the locks and which deck

has the best view (I don't have a balcony), on the itinerary says 6 am. Any suggestions?

[Thrak]

Full transit or partial transit?

 

We did a full transit and it takes all day long. Plenty of time to see the locks. You are on Island so the aft viewing deck has been replaced with cabins. The front viewing decks will still be available. All the way forward on Baja and Caribe you just go through the doors at the end of the passageway and then there is another door and you are out on the forward viewing decks. Those are good places but can get quite crowded at times during the canal passage. One of them - probably the one on Caribe - will have the naturalist who is broadcasting interesting things about the passage. They are usually quite happy to answer any questions you may have. There will also probably be a photographer there from time to time. We was a number of passengers who had made canal transit signs and had pictures taken holding up their signs with the canal and locks behind them.

[DentoAlaska]

Full transit or partial transit?

 

The front viewing decks will still be available. All the way forward on Baja and Caribe you just go through the doors at the end of the passageway and then there is another door and you are out on the forward viewing decks. Those are good places but can get quite crowded at times during the canal passage. One of them - probably the one on Caribe - will have the naturalist who is broadcasting interesting things about the passage.

 

Thrak,

Do you know if these front viewing decks also available on the Coral? Just wondering since they are sister ships.

 

Thanks!

Debi

[RSF Cruiser]

Deck 8 on the Island also has an aft viewing deck. When we did a full transit in late December, there was a sign in the photography department with specific estimated times for entering the canal and the various locks. We ran an hour or two late, though.

 

 

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[Jase0581]

I'm going on the Island Princess March 30 trip and was wondering at what time I

should be on deck to view the ship going through the locks and which deck

has the best view (I don't have a balcony), on the itinerary says 6 am. Any suggestions?

 

I was on the Island Feb 28th sailing (Westbound full transit), we picked up the pilot at about 6:00 AM and entered the first of the Gatun Locks at 7:15 AM. You can go to the front of the Baja or Caribe decks, which would be my recommendation for the first locks. You can also try the Sun or Sports deck, but they get crowded and you are stuck looking through the blue glass. If yours is a Partial transit and you do not take an excursion while in Gatun Lake, then watch to return back from the Aft viewing deck on Emerald Deck.

[Thrak]

Thrak,

Do you know if these front viewing decks also available on the Coral? Just wondering since they are sister ships.

 

Thanks!

Debi

 

On Coral the front viewing areas are there but also the aft viewing areas on the same decks. Island had a huge refit and they replace the aft public venues with cabins. There is no full walk-around Promenade deck. There are no aft viewing areas on Caribe or Baja. We had an OV cabin on Coral all the way aft on Baja and the viewing deck (with loungers) was steps away from our cabin door. (The front viewing decks don't have loungers.) It was like having a huge balcony. Yes, we had to share it but it was never crowded or busy and often we were the only ones there. Given a choice I would pick Coral every time over Island.

[bibliosandy]

Thanks everyone for the tips, it's partial transit.

[Cras108er]

On Coral the front viewing areas are there but also the aft viewing areas on the same decks. Island had a huge refit and they replace the aft public venues with cabins. There is no full walk-around Promenade deck. There are no aft viewing areas on Caribe or Baja. We had an OV cabin on Coral all the way aft on Baja and the viewing deck (with loungers) was steps away from our cabin door. (The front viewing decks don't have loungers.) It was like having a huge balcony. Yes, we had to share it but it was never crowded or busy and often we were the only ones there. Given a choice I would pick Coral every time over Island.

 

So we are aft on the Dolphin deck. There is a viewing area just steps from on our cabin door (not to mention our balcony). Are you saying we can see all we need to see com there? Thx!

[katisdale]

No, in my opinion you cannot see everything from your balcony and the rear viewing areas. You need to go forward as you enter the first lock as two men in a rowboat come out to get lines from the ship to attach to the electric "mules". At some time you need to go to the rear to see the gates close behind the ship. You need to go up to see the land on both sides of the canal. You need to go down to the lower decks to see what it feels like to be below the level of the top of the canal. The promenade deck can be ok for this as it really lets you feel how the the ship rises in the canal and how close you are to the side. After all of that, I would then relax on the balcony.

[dreaminofcruisin]

They will tell you on announcements (or sometimes at the shows) the night before, the time you are scheduled to go thru the locks. Make sure you hear this! In February (partial, on the Coral), it was 6:45 AM. It was very close to correct. The Pilots came on board at 5:28 AM! We started entering the locks at 6:43 (per the Log of the Cruise at the end). We were on Deck 10 at the front of the ship at 5:45 and did get a spot at the rail, but we weren't the first ones there. Also, we did the ferry excursion to the Pacific and I believe our tickets said we should meet in the theater about 8:45. We were grabbing a quick bite in the Horizon Court and fortunately listening to the announcements. They called us down at 8:15!!!! Mad dash to our cabins and then to the theater. :eek:

It's a great cruise! Have a wonderful time!

[TLCOhio]

No, in my opinion you cannot see everything from your balcony and the rear viewing areas. You need to go forward as you enter the first lock as two men in a rowboat come out to get lines from the ship to attach to the electric "mules". At some time you need to go to the rear to see the gates close behind the ship. You need to go up to see the land on both sides of the canal. You need to go down to the lower decks to see what it feels like to be below the level of the top of the canal. The promenade deck can be ok for this as it really lets you feel how the the ship rises in the canal and how close you are to the side. After all of that, I would then relax on the balcony.

 

Agree with part of above and certain other comments about "moving around" and experiencing a wide variety of the different views, angles, action, etc. Per my live/blog connected below with lots and lots of pictures starting on page two, post #33 you can see much more as to why location and different levels can be very important. Plus earlier in these posts is much more of the history and background as to why this project was so historic and important.

Feel free to post any and all added questions on this live/blog. Below are a few photo examples/samples. I will be happy to respond with more info, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

 

Did not want to miss anything at the Panama Canal, so I was up way before sunrise. In the first picture, it is still dark and you can see one of the three pilots boats approaching with their local experts to guide our Island Princess through these locks. In the background, you can see some of the nearby city of Colon and various port operations.:

 

Second is the view as we enter Limon Bay and you can see some of the lights of Colon in the background. There are many different shipping and tanker ships awaiting their time and turn to go through these locks. There are also visible many cranes and other equipment for this large and active port. There was some early morning rain and clouds, but that passed over and the weather worked well for the day in going through the Panama Canal.:

(Open viewer wide to see the pictures larger, etc.)

 

Here are elements of the third major bridge now being built to cross the canal. This will be called the Atlantic Bridge. Lots of poured concrete! And all high enough to allow large ships with tall masts to pass under this suspension bridge. Seeing this completed bridge will be another good reason visit back again in the future:

 

These two pictures show as we approach the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side. First shows some of the “mules” or the electric tractors that will pull our ship through these narrow locks. Our ship is 106’ wide. The canal locks are only 110’ wide. That allows only a two-foot margin for each side. That makes it very important for keeping things very precise and straight. None of the ship power and/or navigation controls are used to guide our ship through locks. The canal has 55 of these “mules” and they now cost about one million dollars each. We started at sea level and these three Gatun Locks took us up, UP, UP to a height of 86’ to cross Gatun Lake and through the Culebra Cut. That means each of these three locks must be filled with enough water to raise up our ship nearly 30’ for each of these three chambers on this side of the canal.:

 

 

For most of the early part of canal transit, we were on the ship’s front/forward 10th deck that was right near our C227 balcony room. Right above us and shown in this picture were passengers on the 11th level focusing intently on the activities in front of the ship as we are going through the first set of locks.:

[Cras108er]

Thanks for the great pics. We are in FLL as I write this waiting to board the Coral in amanither 24 hours or so. Can't wait. Your pics helped whet our appetite!