LA to Ft. Lauderdale via the Panama Canal on the QE

[Jack E Dawson]

On 8/22/2023 at 12:26 PM, Rothko1 said:

Friends of ours are onboard this trip (Princess Grill).  They've actually already been on it for a week or two (went up to Alaska and down), and are now taking it through the canal to Fort Lauderdale.

 

They've been having a blast.  If anyone onboard wants to stalk them and say hi for me, let me know, and I'll let you know how to find them (You'll wind up talking to the Mrs. for hours - so be warned!) 

 

😁

Would be happy to say hello. We are onboard and in Princess. In Cabo today. Did the Sail and Snorkeling excursion. So much fun. 
Jack

[Rothko1]

1 hour ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Would be happy to say hello. We are onboard and in Princess. In Cabo today. Did the Sail and Snorkeling excursion. So much fun. 
Jack

 

Yes, our friend was posting pictures from Cabo on Facebook today.

 

If you see Clara and Pat McCutcheon in Princess Grill, tell them that Ray in Palm Beach says hello, and that I hope Pat is enjoying his retirement!

 

Thanks!

[fourmile.ranch]

Thursday (?) night we watched what was presented as the final performance of Top Hat on a Cunard ship.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, fourmile.ranch said:

Thursday (?) night we watched what was presented as the final performance of Top Hat on a Cunard ship.

 

Sorry to hear that. I was impressed with the performers. Typically, cruise show cases have two or three featured singers who sing, but don't dance. The "chorus" performers do all the dancing as well as backup singing. But when I saw Top Hat, the leads were excellent singers AND dancers. 

 

Maybe they're taking a break from Top Hat to bring back Apassionata. 😱

Edited August 26, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[fourmile.ranch]

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief! Dressed in cargo shorts and a collared shirt in the Commodore Club, I lost track of the time visiting other passengers. The waiter discreetly told me I was now out of compliance. All is well on QE with dress code enforcement! 

[Rothko1]

On 8/25/2023 at 7:41 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

Would be happy to say hello. We are onboard and in Princess. In Cabo today. Did the Sail and Snorkeling excursion. So much fun. 
Jack

 

I heard you made contact and are going to meet for drinks!  That's wonderful!

 

They are really good friends of ours, and Clara is a hoot!  She's a trip!  

 

Have a great time!  I'm sure that they will spill all the dirt about me!

 

LOL

[misguy]

I question whether they will get to go through the Panama Canal, right now there is a 20 day wait to get through, and it will get worse because of the drought in Panama.

[sfred]

47 minutes ago, misguy said:

I question whether they will get to go through the Panama Canal, right now there is a 20 day wait to get through, and it will get worse because of the drought in Panama.

 

One of QE's second officers gave a "virtual bridge tour" talk yesterday, and one of the Q&A questions was whether we would have issues going through the canal.   The officer said there would be no problem, that passenger ships get priority and our booking slot will be okay. 

[sfred]

I forgot to mention...

 

The officer also said that we would be going through the older Panamax lock sets.

[misguy]

1 hour ago, sfred said:

I forgot to mention...

 

The officer also said that we would be going through the older Panamax lock sets.

That is interesting because a lot of the cruise lines are having to cancel at least their partial transitions.

[Jack E Dawson]

5 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

 

I heard you made contact and are going to meet for drinks!  That's wonderful!

 

They are really good friends of ours, and Clara is a hoot!  She's a trip!  

 

Have a great time!  I'm sure that they will spill all the dirt about me!

 

LOL

We have not yet settled on the time/place but very much looking forward to meeting them. So far the cruise has been fantastic. Love the ship, Princess Grills and snorkeling in Cabo. Could probably due without tendering in 93 degree heat. 
Jack

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, misguy said:

That is interesting because a lot of the cruise lines are having to cancel at least their partial transitions.

 

HAL seems to be in the process of doing that. People on the HAL board said they had excursions in the canal, Cartegena, and Costa Rica cancelled "due to itinerary change." But they have not had a notification of itinerary change and their cruises (and excursions) are still on the website. HAL isn't exactly great at communication about changes, so they're probably working their way through it. I imagine that a lot of cruise lines will be scrambling for alternative ports/itineraries.

[fourmile.ranch]

After the end of Top Hat, a new show is making its debut on QE this evening...

[Bearlythere1]

I am booked to do part of Victoria’s world cruise in January. Southampton to San Francisco. My travel agent spoke to Cunard today and was told they have not heard of any problems with the Panama Canal which I find hard to believe. Wondering wether to cancel now before final payment is due. 

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Bearlythere1 said:

I am booked to do part of Victoria’s world cruise in January. Southampton to San Francisco. My travel agent spoke to Cunard today and was told they have not heard of any problems with the Panama Canal which I find hard to believe. Wondering wether to cancel now before final payment is due. 

What would be the benefit of that?

[Bearlythere1]

I have not yet booked flights home from San Francisco and the only reason we were doing this was to go through the canal and visit San Francisco. If the itinerary is altered we are not interested in this particular sailing. Once we have made the final payment I believed we are stuck with whatever itinerary they choose?

[Jack E Dawson]

We are scheduled to pass through the Panama Canal on Thursday. I will post on our progress. 
Jack

[D&N]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:59 PM, misguy said:

That is interesting because a lot of the cruise lines are having to cancel at least their partial transitions.

Doesn't that make perfect sense?

One would hope that totally unnecessary excursions in and out of the canal at the same end would be cancelled before anything else. They are only going in for tourism purposes and wasting a huge amount of water so that a few thousand folk can take pictures.

Taking people or other perishable cargoes across the isthmus would hopefully get priority.

[paulco]

Full transit pax ships can and do make reservations, the partial transits maybe are being cancelled because they are just a pain for the canal authority.

[Essiesmom]

Good morning…but it doesn’t look much like sunshine.  But I’ll bet some will still get sunburned…

Here is a progression of QE into the Miraflores second lock.  From the gates opening and closing, to the exit open to move on toward the Pedro Miguel locks across Miraflores lake.  Unfortunately just after I got the last capture, the canal cams went down.  I hope it’s not all day.  In the shot from the Cocoli cam you can pick up the red funnel in the other locks.  She was still in the first lock then.

 

Anyone on bow or balcony recognize themselves?

[exlondoner]

On 8/27/2023 at 8:29 PM, misguy said:

I question whether they will get to go through the Panama Canal, right now there is a 20 day wait to get through, and it will get worse because of the drought in Panama.

They seem to be doing so. 

[Jack E Dawson]

We had a beautiful and wonderful transit of the Panama Canal today. There were no delays and we both entered and exited the Canal right on time. We had overcast skies and a good breeze all day. This was very nice as we spent the entire day on the Terrace deck. Didn’t want to miss anything. We had one short shower but the awnings provided perfect protection. Fruit kabobs in the morning and Tee on the Terrace in the afternoon allowed us to literally stay out all day. I must say the experience exceeded all expectations. A real bonus was having Canal expert Richard Wainio provide expert narration throughout most of the day. 
The old locks are operating without any backlog or delays. There are delays for the very large ships that can only fit through the new locks. Upon exiting the Canal I counted 37 ships waiting to enter. Some were the super large container ships and some tanker ships. I spotted no other cruise ships either in the Canal or waiting to enter. 
All in all, almost memorable day. 
Jack

[sfred]

24 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

All in all, a most memorable day. 

 

Agreed!!!

[Essiesmom]

Actually, if you had been looking to starboard shortly after passing under the Bridge of the Americas, you would have seen Vigante Elegant, formerly Voyager and Alexander v Humboldt in drydock at Balboa.  She is now in the Balboa anchorage.  EM

[tv24]

Happy (and relieved!) that you all made it through the Canal.  Continued happy sailing!