Live! Radiance of the Seas - Panama Canal cruise - April 8, 2024

[RobInMN]

I captured the full transit from my balcony with my GoPro. And since I had no idea where else to put/share it, I uploaded my very first YouTube video! It's just the raw camera video, no music, no post production, no graphics.

 

[Teeara]

Just an FYI that we heard NO commentary on the Helipad.  It was also garbled and echoey on our balcony.  The only place that it came through loud and clear was inside the ship.

[Teeara]

Just now, RobInMN said:

I captured the full transit from my balcony with my GoPro. And since I had no idea where else to put/share it, I uploaded my very first YouTube video! It's just the raw camera video, no music, no post production, no graphics.

 

Yay!!!!  I’m so proud of you!  Welcome to YouTube!

[RobInMN]

13 hours ago, Teeara said:

Did they roll you onto the ship? 😉😁

 

If that had been me, I’d just be waking up now. 😉😁

This was an on-ship activity, in the pub. 🙂 

[Teeara]

38 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

This was an on-ship activity, in the pub. 🙂 

Lucky you!

[Teeara]

52 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

I captured the full transit from my balcony with my GoPro. And since I had no idea where else to put/share it, I uploaded my very first YouTube video! It's just the raw camera video, no music, no post production, no graphics.

 

BTW, loved your video!  Watched the entire thing whilst waiting for my Starbucks this morning 😉😁☕️

[ONECRUISER]

9 hours ago, Jimbo said:

After the first set of locks are done, go for the 2nd or 3rd sets where the crowds thin out significantly  because of  the heat etc. Plus you can sleep in somewhat.

Pitch Dark by time we got threw last 3 Locks on 2 of my 4 Panama Canal Sailings, made for nice night time shots. Though as said was coolest cloudiest I've seen so heat wasnt much issue this on this sailing. Passengers lining up before 6am waiting 5hrs get threw first set and total 14 total hrs made for long day for some. 

[BillB48]

First a thanks to Teeara for providing pictures for a virtual transit!  Also would like to add thanks to RobInMN for the GoPro video, excellent, I almost was for a few moments feeling humid sitting on that balcony!  Actually this whole thread just rekindled old professional curiosity from days gone by as I used to be involved with Canal operations.  The length of time the Radiance spent at Gatun Locks was not exactly what I would have considered the norm.  However the pictures along with the video and the various posts have provided a little insight on the time spent getting through Gatun Locks.  While I don't have any incident or failure to attribute to the length of time, maybe the following will offer some answers of sorts.

 

I discussed the lockage times of the Radiance via text with an old cohort who is still working for the Canal.  He took it upon himself to reach out to one of the Assistant Port Captains for Canal Operations to see if he could shed any light on the matter.  The short answer was there were no incidents or failures at the Gatun Locks that were officially noted.  Now that does not preclude something going wrong with the ship ahead of the Radiance which was a HAL passenger ship IIRC, if that were the case it would not reflect on any notations for the Radiance.

 

Hopefully I don't get too far down in the weeds, I will offer a few items that could have been contributing factors in that lengthy passage through Gatun Locks.

 

The pilots may have decided to get to Gatun Locks and hold on the north approach wall ASAP rather than timing their arrival for when the locomotives were available.  This would have had the affect of spending more time at the locks.

 

They were using a procedure at Gatun called a relay lockage.  This is where on set of "mules" (sorry, they were always locos or locomotives to us) bring the ship to the middle level or second chamber.  They will secure the ship very minimally with mooring lines, then the first set of locos cast off and return to pick up another ship.  Then the locos from the ship ahead will come and make fast and the mooring lines will be taken back aboard.  The lockage will be completed with the new set of locos.  Where a ship of the Radiance's size would normally be able to lock through Gatun Locks in a little over hour, the relay procedure does add time compared to a straight through lockage.  However this procedure will enable the locks to lock through more ships in a given time period.

 

While I did not notice any cross spilling with the Raidiance as mentioned by a post by Essiesmom, this procedure does add a fair amount of time.  Just because I did not see it on the Radiance's lockage, it is quite possible it was being used on the HAL ship which ultimately would impact the Radiance .  This would add to the overall time the Radiance was homesteading at Gatun.  Canal authorities claim the cross spilling saves from 4-6 chambers of water per day.

 

I am afraid the 8-10 hour lockage is for the history books.  The increased size of the ships as introduced by the new locks as well as more stringent meeting restrictions for LNG ships, cross spilling at the locks have pushed transit times closer to 10-12 hour bracket. 

 

I suppose that the way things went for your transit, they just fell into place where it took the longest possible time.  There doesn't seem to be any one or two things that appear to the cause.  A case of ship happens!

 

Anyway, don't have a conclusive answer but hopefully it sheds some light on what happened.

 

Enjoy the remainder of the trip!

 

 

[Teeara]

8 minutes ago, BillB48 said:

First a thanks to Teeara for providing pictures for a virtual transit!  Also would like to add thanks to RobInMN for the GoPro video, excellent, I almost was for a few moments feeling humid sitting on that balcony!  Actually this whole thread just rekindled old professional curiosity from days gone by as I used to be involved with Canal operations.  The length of time the Radiance spent at Gatun Locks was not exactly what I would have considered the norm.  However the pictures along with the video and the various posts have provided a little insight on the time spent getting through Gatun Locks.  While I don't have any incident or failure to attribute to the length of time, maybe the following will offer some answers of sorts.

 

I discussed the lockage times of the Radiance via text with an old cohort who is still working for the Canal.  He took it upon himself to reach out to one of the Assistant Port Captains for Canal Operations to see if he could shed any light on the matter.  The short answer was there were no incidents or failures at the Gatun Locks that were officially noted.  Now that does not preclude something going wrong with the ship ahead of the Radiance which was a HAL passenger ship IIRC, if that were the case it would not reflect on any notations for the Radiance.

 

Hopefully I don't get too far down in the weeds, I will offer a few items that could have been contributing factors in that lengthy passage through Gatun Locks.

 

The pilots may have decided to get to Gatun Locks and hold on the north approach wall ASAP rather than timing their arrival for when the locomotives were available.  This would have had the affect of spending more time at the locks.

 

They were using a procedure at Gatun called a relay lockage.  This is where on set of "mules" (sorry, they were always locos or locomotives to us) bring the ship to the middle level or second chamber.  They will secure the ship very minimally with mooring lines, then the first set of locos cast off and return to pick up another ship.  Then the locos from the ship ahead will come and make fast and the mooring lines will be taken back aboard.  The lockage will be completed with the new set of locos.  Where a ship of the Radiance's size would normally be able to lock through Gatun Locks in a little over hour, the relay procedure does add time compared to a straight through lockage.  However this procedure will enable the locks to lock through more ships in a given time period.

 

While I did not notice any cross spilling with the Raidiance as mentioned by a post by Essiesmom, this procedure does add a fair amount of time.  Just because I did not see it on the Radiance's lockage, it is quite possible it was being used on the HAL ship which ultimately would impact the Radiance .  This would add to the overall time the Radiance was homesteading at Gatun.  Canal authorities claim the cross spilling saves from 4-6 chambers of water per day.

 

I am afraid the 8-10 hour lockage is for the history books.  The increased size of the ships as introduced by the new locks as well as more stringent meeting restrictions for LNG ships, cross spilling at the locks have pushed transit times closer to 10-12 hour bracket. 

 

I suppose that the way things went for your transit, they just fell into place where it took the longest possible time.  There doesn't seem to be any one or two things that appear to the cause.  A case of ship happens!

 

Anyway, don't have a conclusive answer but hopefully it sheds some light on what happened.

 

Enjoy the remainder of the trip!

 

 

Thanks so much!  

[Jimbo]

10 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I captured the full transit from my balcony with my GoPro. And since I had no idea where else to put/share it, I uploaded my very first YouTube video! It's just the raw camera video, no music, no post production, no graphics.

 

Very impressive, I think a couple things amazed me, how much faster the clouds were going then the ship and how fast those mules were traveling back and forth. 🤣

 

The last 2 sets of locks went so much faster then your first set. Also amazing how many ships went by you in your first set of locks.

Edited April 15 by Jimbo

[RobInMN]

Look at the cute mini ducks my SIL and her husband found!

[Teeara]

Good evening folks.  It was a pretty busy day for me today.  I was awake at 4:57 this morning so thought I would go shoot some Deck 5 video.  
 

But first, here’s our location today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cafe Latte-Tudes is on Deck 5 and here are the current prices:

 

 

I also noticed that the conference center was open.  Here’s a view inside.

 

 

I went for a stroll outside the ship as the sun was rising.  The temps were great.  Not too hot or muggy.

 

 

I also hadn’t been to the back of the ship on deck 5.  This would’ve made a good place to be for the Panama Canal.

 

Today was the FB cabin crawl.  We had 2 junior suites, several balconies, an interior and a porthole ocean view.  One of the balconies was dubbed “quirky” (7652):

 

 

They also had a dinosaur! 🦕 

 

 

Dinner in the MDR was Asian night:

 

 

But we had Samba Grill tonight.

 

 

There was a salad/appetizer bar to choose from first.  The cup on the left had prosciutto and cantaloupe; the center bowl was a slaw with a light vinaigrette; and the cup on the right was shrimp cocktail.

 

Then they start bringing loads of food out.  Here’s my plate.

 

 

1:00 - Yucca fry

3:00 - Plain rice

5:00 - Filet Mignon

6:00 - Picanha (prime cut of top sirloin)

7:00 - Parmesan crusted pork loin

8:00 - Strip loin

9:00 - Linguica

10:00 - Chicken breast wrapped in bacon 

11:00 - Polenta

12:00 - Deep fried Plaintain

 

Everything was very delicious, but my favorites were the strip loin, Picanha and the polenta.  We did have the cinnamon pineapple, but I forgot to take a picture of it.  We waddled out. 😉😁😂

 

Tonight is the 70 s night.  Not sure if I’ll make it.  I feel like I’m coming down a cold.  Ugh.

 

Anyway, here is today’s Cruise Compass:

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we’re in Puerto Quetzal and I start my day with a hot stone massage.  See you then.

[patattack]

I cruised the Panama Canal last Oct on the Radiance.  I got up early and got a good view going through the first set.  I took a break for lunch and watched from other places for a while and then back up to the Helipad to watch most of the third set.  Right before we finished the last one, I went to the back of the ship and watched from there.  It was an amazing opportunity and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

 

Pat

[perfect match]

17 hours ago, Jimbo said:

After the first set of locks are done, go for the 2nd or 3rd sets where the crowds thin out significantly  because of  the heat etc. Plus you can sleep in somewhat.

I am so very much not a morning person. No matter how I try to be one it just doesn’t work for me. I love your suggestion! 😂

 

On the other hand I might stay up for the start of the transit, go have breakfast, then go in and take a nap during the heat of the day.  That strategy probably wouldn’t work for most “normal” people but has worked well for me before when very early mornings were necessary. 

[perfect match]

@Teeara, that quirky balcony looked interesting. I tend to like rooms that are a little quirky like that one. I’m going to check out the deck plan for that room.

 

@RobInMN, thank you for the transit video. It was very interesting to watch.

 

@BillB48, thank you for all of the information about how ships are moved through the canal during their transit. I found it very interesting. .

[Teeara]

Well today was our stop in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.  The Norwegian Encore beat us there so they got the pier next to the port area.  We got stuck at a different section outside of the area and had to take a Blue Bird bus to get us to the cute port area.

 

 

Since we didn’t have any shore excursion planned for today we had decided to wait for everyone else to get off the ship.  This worked out since I had a hot rock massage at 8 a.m. and Pam woke up with a migraine.  We finally left the ship around 11:30.

 

So if you’re wondering where Puerto Quetzal is located, they have a great map on the floor of the visitor center.

 

 

There were very helpful signs inside to let you know where things were located.

 

 

There’s also a fun Guatemala sign next to the entrance.

 

 

Since our main interest was shopping, we hit the Jade Museum first.

 

 

They had some fantastic samples of items found with explanations of what they were. 

 

 

They had all kinds of jewelry (earrings, bracelets, necklaces) at very reasonable prices under $100, not to mention plenty above $100 😉😁

 

We saw a couple of women weaving as well.

 

 

One of the things you should bring home with you is a worry doll.  
 

 

The textiles here were so vibrantly colored and decorated.  It was hard to choose.  I really wanted this piece, but it was really tall.  I was offered it for $75, but it was still too tall.

 

 

Pam bought a pillow case with this design.

 

 

These bags were beautiful.

 

 

There was so much to see in each booth.

 

 

We got all the way to Guatemala and still found a bit of home 😉😁😂

 

 

Found a bit of Texas here, too.

 

 

These were interesting.

 

We found a nice place to sit in front of a stage with music piped over some speakers.  This is very close to the visitor’s center.

 

 

A nice couple took our picture since I took theirs for them.  Love my hairdo?  That was courtesy of the spa this morning during my massage. 😉😁. It was 91 today but felt like 104.

 

 

As you go to leave, you have to go to the right of the visitor center and show your ID and they want to look inside your bags before going through a metal detector.

 

 

You will also have to get off the bus at the Guatemala checkpoint, go in the building and show your ID again and go through another metal detector before reboarding the bus past the checkpoint.  It was a PITA.  Then the bus takes you to the ship.

 

We had dinner in the WJ tonight.  I didn’t make it downstairs in time to get the regular MDR menu so you’ll have to settle for this one:

 

 

And today’s Cruise Compass:

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll post the daily ship location after this post.  We’re in the Centrum tonight.  They just had karaoke and are about to start country nightt.  I don’t want to lose my seat.  😉😁

Edited April 17 by Teeara

[Coralc]

We went to the wildlife park/zoo when we were there. Long bus ride, but it was awesome. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1047016-d5893927-Reviews-Auto_Safari_Chapin-Escuintla_Escuintla_Department.html Ship excursion. 

[Teeara]

Here are the daily maps:

 

 

 

 

 

[island lady]

Great photos again Teeara.  Looks like you had fun!  We took a tour up into the mountain town near the volcanos, that included a visit to the factory, museum, and store of that Jade outlet while there on Serenade. It was really fascinating!  We were Amazed how large that shopping area is!  Really did not need a tour at that port with that being there, and we never had enough time to really spend there due to our long tour day.  

 

We did however have to walk all the way through there to get to our tour bus.  That is when I was pick pocketed.  😮   Fortunately I only put a few dollars in my back pocket (12 bucks that time) with the bigger bills, my passport card, credit card, sea pass card in my front button down pockets.  I never felt the pickpocket...they were that good.  

 

I have that habit of doing it that way, assuming the pick pocket will think that is all I had and leave.  It worked...still out 12 bucks...but could have been worse.  

[Teeara]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

Great photos again Teeara.  Looks like you had fun!  We took a tour up into the mountain town near the volcanos, that included a visit to the factory, museum, and store of that Jade outlet while there on Serenade. It was really fascinating!  We were Amazed how large that shopping area is!  Really did not need a tour at that port with that being there, and we never had enough time to really spend there due to our long tour day.  

 

We did however have to walk all the way through there to get to our tour bus.  That is when I was pick pocketed.  😮   Fortunately I only put a few dollars in my back pocket (12 bucks that time) with the bigger bills, my passport card, credit card, sea pass card in my front button down pockets.  I never felt the pickpocket...they were that good.  

 

I have that habit of doing it that way, assuming the pick pocket will think that is all I had and leave.  It worked...still out 12 bucks...but could have been worse.  

I heard it was a 2 hour drive to get to Antigua and 2 hours back.  That doesn’t leave much time for a tour and some shopping time.  The Jade Museum at the port was very informative and the selection was extensive.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

 

Sorry to hear you were pickpocketed!  But better the $12 than your passport!

[island lady]

55 minutes ago, Teeara said:

I heard it was a 2 hour drive to get to Antigua and 2 hours back.  That doesn’t leave much time for a tour and some shopping time.  The Jade Museum at the port was very informative and the selection was extensive.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

 

Sorry to hear you were pickpocketed!  But better the $12 than your passport!

 

Yes, long drive up to Antiqua....but very interesting along the way.  Worst part was the first 20 minutes on the "kidney buster highway".   

 

After that...some very interesting views, especially the huge coffee plantations.  We did a food tour, popping along on the way up there for various foodie samples.  I picked up some yummy coffee!

 

Then we had about 2 hours on our own in unique Antiqua.  Volcano very close by was kind to us and did not get upset and lose it's top while we were there.  😄 

 

Except for the pickpocket...we would have been happy just doing what you did.  🙂 

 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, Teeara said:

I heard it was a 2 hour drive to get to Antigua and 2 hours back.  That doesn’t leave much time for a tour and some shopping time.  The Jade Museum at the port was very informative and the selection was extensive.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

 

Sorry to hear you were pickpocketed!  But better the $12 than your passport!

 

LOL....I never carry my passport anyway.   But we both carry our passport cards as government issued photo ID.  Fits snuggly with my sea pass card and RCI credit card inside my front button down pocket.  

[Teeara]

Today is a sea day.  Hard to believe we’re getting close to the end of this cruise.  Here’s our current position:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning was another enrichment lecture.  Today’s topic was on the Aztecs and how Hernan Cortes conquered them in 2 years with only 300 men.

 

We had lunch in the WJ again and then camped out in the Centrum for a couple of hours.  We like it there since there are chairs next to our cabin.

 

I left a couple of times to take some pictures and videos for a future vlog on door decorating.  Here’s a few of my favorites:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had dinner at Izumi.  If you are planning on doing Izumi on Radiance, bring a sweater!  It was freaking freezing in there.  I had to go back to our cabin for our sweaters.

 

We had the salad as our starter, then the teriyaki chicken with the vegetable rice ( too many peppers).

 

 

We finished our meal off with the assorted mochi ice cream.  We didn’t like the green tea one.  Wish we had the chocolate one instead.  Pam liked the strawberry the best and I liked the mango.

 

 

We’re now in the Colony Club listening to karaoke and then there’s a game show before the orchestra comes in for Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power (what we’re here for).  Glad we came when we did.  Seats are going fast.

 

Here’s today’s Cruise Compass:

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, here’s tonight’s MDR menu.  We went to the podium to let them know we aren’t going to be dining inside for the rest of the cruise.  It had to do with the people they seated us next to and not our waiter or assistant waiter (Jun and Paul) who were fantastic.
 

 

That’s it for tonight.  Have a great day everyone.

[RobInMN]

1 hour ago, Teeara said:

 

 

This one is right next door to us, and we are "Rob and Karen". 🤣

 

[ONECRUISER]

On 4/15/2024 at 8:06 PM, RobInMN said:

Look at the cute mini ducks my SIL and her husband found!

Was on last Fall's Radiance PC and Ducks were overkill, one Passenger alone said she brought 200 to spread around. They are Kinda rare on this sailing...