NCL Gem going through the Canal today (Feb. 5)

[Turtles06]

Greetings as we approach the new Atlantic Bridge. 😊

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

Got a problem with this first Gatun gate. You can see it stuck open, which is holding up the Windstar and of course us as well. We’ve been sitting here for quite some time. 
 

[Essiesmom]

Actually, the left gate is stuck closed.  Stuck for at least 40 minutes now…

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Finally open…

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Actually, the left gate is stuck closed.  Stuck for at least 40 minutes now…

Thanks. 😊 Brain fart on my end — obviously I was focused on the fact that the chamber was half open.  Finally got the gate going now, and the Windstar is being raised up in the first chamber. Gonna be a long day for us. 

[Essiesmom]

Finally moving from middle to third lock:

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Wind Star wasn’t the only one with lock gate troubles today.  Her sister, Star Legend got stuck for a time in Pedro Miguel…

 

 

[Turtles06]

A wonderful surprise — we just passed the NCL Jewel heading northbound in Gatun Lake!  She was going really fast, too.  I would have expected horn blowing by the sister ships, but there was none.  Wonder if that’s prohibited in the Canal.

 

 

[BillB48]

Hi  Turtles, had been wondering when exactly was your B2B.  I saw the Gem heading up this morning on the Pacific side, great you witnessed passing.  Have a great northbound trip as well!

 

Whistles would have been pilot discretion, no prohibition unless the whistles could have caused confusion.  In the middle of Gatun Lake, not much chance for confusion.

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by BillB48

[Turtles06]

Just now, BillB48 said:

Hi  Turtles, had been wondering when exactly was you B2B.  I saw the Gem heading up this morning on the Pacific side, great you witnessed passing.  Have a great northbound trip as well!

 

Thanks so much, Bill. (We were on the Atlantic side this morning. 😊)

 

Do you know if ships are prohibited from tooting their horns in the Canal (except I suppose in emergencies)?  It just seemed so strange that two sister ships didn’t acknowledge each other that way. 😊

[BillB48]

Does seem a little odd there was no recognition, particularly when you are in one of the more remote sections of the Canal.  Not that there was any way the whistle blasts would be confused with other ships.  They will sound ship's and locomotive whistles while in Locks for employees who are leaving for the last time, so definitely not a banned gesture.

 

[BillB48]

As near as I can tell from the picture you posted, you met the Gem either in Buena Vista or Tabernilla Reach.  Barro Colorado Island is the largest island in Gatun Lake ( on your starboard side) and has been the Smitsonian's Tropical Research Center for a long time.  You were traveling left to right (southbound)  and the Gem right to left on this map.  The red areas are "beaching" areas in case something goes uh oh. 

 

[njhorseman]

30 minutes ago, BillB48 said:

As near as I can tell from the picture you posted, you met the Gem

 @Turtles06 was on the Gem, which was the ship going southbound. The Jewel was going northbound.

[tundra1]

On 2/5/2023 at 6:35 AM, Turtles06 said:

Greetings as we approach the new Atlantic Bridge. 😊

 

 

We will be on the Gem in March of 2024.  Is the bow of the ship open to all guests, or just certain people?  Thank you for your reports!  They have been fantastic!

 

[Essiesmom]

All of the NCL ships we see in the canal allow people on the bow except NCL Sky.  And it looks like all are invited.  EM

[Turtles06]

 

On 3/4/2023 at 9:46 PM, tundra1 said:

We will be on the Gem in March of 2024.  Is the bow of the ship open to all guests, or just certain people?  Thank you for your reports!  They have been fantastic!

 

Thanks so much for your kind words!  We've transited the Canal three times now on the Gem, and once on the Jewel, and the bow has always been open, and open to ALL guests.  (Very interesting info that @Essiesmom posted above about the Sky; I wonder if she's too small to open the bow.)

 

FWIW:  I'm pretty short and it's tough for me to see anything from the bow, especially when it's crowded.  And even on the rare occasion when it's not (usually late in the day), it's still tough for me because the rail is so high and you can't get right up to it because there's a bar in front.  But I did go down there on the Gem's return northbound transit last month, as the crowds were oddly sparse when we approached the Pedro Miguel Locks and then the Culebra Cut, and did my best to get some photos.  Here are a couple.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Turtles06

[Essiesmom]

This is what we see from the bridgecam on Sky