Panama Canal transit question

[brad0576]

I am on the NCL Joy for the Dec 4 cruise from Port Canaveral to LA - 

 

After a few itinerary changes the latest says:

Thurs - Transit Panama Canal 5:00am

Friday  - Panama City 12:00am-3:00pm

 

My question for those that have done this prior - at what time do we enter the canal - how long is the transit - and what points are the don't miss points....

 

I realize its a great site and a manmade wonder - but 5am?...

[Cruise5life]

Can’t answer your question but.  
Costa Rica has also been changed on my Jan 6th cruise.   to Acapulco as CR threat level has gone up I think.  
 

also I think its through the new locks.    I think.     

[turbulentwaters]

Typically, I think, the 5am time is when the ship has to be ready to queue up for the transit, but they don't actually have a definite time to enter the canal until the day of.  A lot of it depends on sizes of ships and the ability to combine different size ships within a lock. So you could go early or you could end up waiting a few hours.  Personally I think it is good to go through the first set of locks during the day but end up in the Pacific side in time for sunset or after dark and see a bit of the canal operations after dark and the city all it up.  It's also a bit cooler then.

[www3traveler]

It will take 10 to 12 hours to make the journey through the locks.  The Joy will use the " new locks".  Much different experience than going through the "original locks".  You will want to wonder all over the ship.  The Captain might open at least part of the bow for some part of the transit.

 

Enjoy
 

[2bc cruisers]

We went under the first bridge (Atlantic bridge I believe it’s called) pre dawn.  1st Locks were soon after.  
for me the highlights were the bridges we cruised under, watching locks open, close, fill empty, etc., and some marveling at the “cut” amount of work involved.  Gatun lake is pretty, not much “action” there, lots of other ships to wonder about.  We were on the Joy, Feb 2020.

[BillB48]

10 hours ago, brad0576 said:

My question for those that have done this prior - at what time do we enter the canal - how long is the transit - and what points are the don't miss points...

 

Yes it can start at that early bird hour as the ship may enter the breakwater on the Atlantic side at that time for about the 1 hours time it takes to get to the first lock.  Cruise ships generally pay extra for a day light transit, but the clock doesn't start ticking until sunrise at the first lock and sunset at the last lock.  In Panama it is generally around the 6 o'clock hour year round.  Now what could complicate the start and clearing times of your transit is the height of this class of ship usually requires passing under the Bridge of Americas on the Pacific side at low tide.  As a result the times entering the first lock and clearing the last lock will be dependent on the tide on the Pacific side.  In other words the 5AM may or may not be the actual time your transit starts, the ship won't know until the day before what time they will start.  Even then, that time is not cast in concrete.

 

The transit can easily take 10 hours.  You can break up the transit in several sections, the locks, Gatun Lake and Gaillard Cut.  As far as things to see, you sail under 3 neat bridges and the skyline of Panama City (port side) on exiting the Canal is impressive.  See it all😃!

[kdmbluerzr]

I concur with the other posts here. We did a partial transit on the Pearl several years ago, round trip out of Miami. So got to experience the original locks, turned around in Gatun Lake and went back. We did a full ocean to ocean transit on the Bliss this past Feb. - Miami to LA. New bigger locks. Both are amazing, and both operate quite differently as far as how they open and close and how they secure the ship as you move along.  Both times the ships began the appoach to the canal @ 5:30 to 6:00 am.  Both times the Captain did open the front bow area of the ship to allow guest to go out there. Both times there was a specialist/historian person on board that did a very informative and interesting narrative throughout the day over the ship speaker intercoms. It's the best shore excursion! Stay on the ship! The history, the views, everything is amazing. And, yes, it takes approximately 12 hours to make the full transit. But it also took about that long to do the partial transit as well by the time you exit back to the Atlantic near Colon. There is no doubt we will do this trip again a few years down the road. This is a fantastic journey. Wander about the ship all day, take it all in and Enjoy! 

[bonvoyagie]

I agree with all of the above after our transit in 2020 on the Gem (just pre COVID). We went from Pacific to Atlantic in about 12 hrs. We had a ship jump the line ahead of us on the first locks that delayed us a bit - we passed him in the lake passage and got our space back on the Atlantic side. I agree that the bridges are also neat as is the skyline of Panama City. We also had some programs about the canal prior to arrival and I also read The Pass Between the Seas prior to the trip. We also had someone narrate the passage over the PA system. It was a great experience.

[brad0576]

Thank you everyone for the information - much appreciated!