Panama Canal Cruise - How Work?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We're going from the Caribbean side (Gatun Lake) to the Pacific. I'd love to get a quick summary of just how a Panama Canal journey by cruise ship works.  For example: 

 

Are cruise ships given a likely time to report to the Canal starting point for their journey?  I'm wondering if I'll need to get up early on our "daytime transit" day. And we're on what I would call a medium sized cruise ship (if that matters).  Are we likely to go through the new canal or old, or is that anyone's guess?  Are the 2 canals pretty close to each other?

Does a cruise line normally have someone on board who narrates what's being seen?

How long might passage take, and are some areas of the passage faster than others? We are scheduled to arrive Panama City by 8 PM, with the ship staying overnight.

Are any parts of the passage more scenic than others?

Does anyone know how many lighthouses there are on the passage, non-functional or not? And can anyone give me a link to good articles/blogs, or photos?

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, the cruise ships pay extra for scheduled times to be in the Canal. Yes, your transit will start between 6am and 7am, most likely.

 

There is a thread at the top of the board with the ships that fit each Canal. The two Canals only differ at the locks. The locks are fairly close to each other at times.

 

The Canal provides staff for narration.

 

Take a look around the board here. Tons more info. Almost every one of your questions has been discussed here frequently with many experiences, pictures, all sorts of valuable info.

[Essiesmom]

Go to the Celebrity board.  There is a long thread for the Summit transit which occurred Thursday.  Original locks.  EM

[BillB48]

18 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Does anyone know how many lighthouses there are on the passage, non-functional or not?

While these pictures are not that old, there are some instances where the function of the lighthouse has been replace by a Port Entry Light, sometimes called a sector light.  Having said that there are still plenty of lighthouses along various portions of the Canal.  They may not always be in plain sight.  These lighthouses differ slightly in their use as compared to a lighthouse that is placed to warn of a navigation hazard such as a reef or a shoal.  These lighthouses are positioned to enable the pilot to accurately place the ship near the center of the channel.

 

Here are a few...

 

Sea entrance Miraflores Locks, off center right, lower lighthouse just to the right of the structure near the bank.  There is also another further in the background and a little higher.

 

 

At the Chagres River at Gamboa.  Black paint indicates no longer an aid to navigation.

 

Upper and lower lighthouses near Barro Colorado Island

 

 

Another set of upper and lower lights, Gatun Lake

 

Probably the best example of Canal lighthouses.  This one is at Gatun Locks, sadly now a days it is painted black and is no longer an aid to navigation... Port entry light has taken over.

 

 

A close up

 

 

At the right edge of the picture you can see a lighthouse sticking up out of the trees

 

Same lighthouse on the right, a little closer.

 

Have fun looking for the lighthouses!!

 

Just an aside, there are two lighthouses that are still used for the Panama Canal approaches.  These lighthouses were designed by Gustave Eiffel (yes, the one in Paris) and constructed in the early 1890s.  These lighthouses are not easily seen.

 

 

 

[BillB48]

I did not think I could find a picture I took of one of Eiffel's Canal lighthouses, but I found it like I remembered where I had put it😁.  As I said previously these lights are not easily seen.  This one is located on the old US Military Base at Ft. Sherman.  The name of the light is Toro Point Light built in 1893 and was designed by Eiffel.  On entering through the Atlantic Breakwater it can be seen with binoculars on the starboard side of the ship where the breakwater connects to the shore.  However some ships do enter before dawn and the structure may be hard to pickout.

 

[Essiesmom]

If you go to the thread here Look Who’s in the Canal Today, and scroll back to post 155 you will see the bridgecam of NCL Gem, who was doing a partial transit.  You can see how early she was approaching the canal.  You have to subtract five hours from the time stamp on her cam as she was on GMT.  When she is moving into the middle lock, with the red cargo ship facing her, you can see the black lighthouse.  They have since moved that cam a bit.  But her bridgecam shows good pics of the lighthouse, too.  EM

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, BillB48 said:

Probably the best example of Canal lighthouses.  This one is at Gatun Locks, sadly now a days it is painted black and is no longer an aid to navigation... Port entry light has taken over.

 

Thanks for that info, Bill. I just went back to look through my photos from last year’s southbound transit on the Gem, and here’s one showing the lighthouse, now black:

 

[Turtles06]

And here’s the black lighthouse on our northbound transit last year on the Gem (with the new Atlantic Bridge in the background) 

 

[BillB48]

41 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

And here’s the black lighthouse on our northbound transit last year on the Gem (with the new Atlantic Bridge in the background) 

 

 

I am sure you noticed the lighthouse in the last picture of my first lighthouse post, there is no Atlantic Bridge.  Think the Bridge was completed sometime in 2018 IIRC, so all of those pictures are sometime before then.

 

In your last lighthouse picture (post #8) that tubular tower with the black stripe in the center top is what replaced the Gatun Lighthouse.  Maybe it is a 10 when the pilots are using it, as for esthetics it is pretty much a zero.

[chengkp75]

The sets of upper and lower lights are called "range lights", and if the pilot keeps one directly above the other, he is on course and in the middle of the channel, or "on the range".  The position of the lower light in relation to the upper, if not precisely above each other, tells the pilot which way he has to steer the ship to get back on track.

[BillB48]

The Chief is absolutely correct and all the lighthouse in the pictures I posted are indeed range lights.  I did not want to add to making the response more complicated as the OP was looking for lighthouses.  I have been asked a number of times what the black and white markers were for and the picture below shows other types of ranges used in the Canal.  The ranges with the black "cross" indicate the center line of the channel.  The ranges with the vertical black stripe indicate the center of the "lane" when there is two way traffic.  These ranges are illuminated just as the ranges that are lighthouses.

 

The Canal is sectioned off in named reaches which basically are straight sections of the Canal.  The picture below is in Gaillard Cut where the reaches in general are about 1 mile long.  If memory serves correctly (Big if) we are looking at the south end of Las Cascades Reach with Bas Opispo Reach in the background.

 

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, BillB48 said:

I did not want to add to making the response more complicated as the OP was looking for lighthouses.

I can't help it.

[dmwnc1959]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The sets of upper and lower lights are called "range lights", and if the pilot keeps one directly above the other, he is on course and in the middle of the channel, or "on the range".  The position of the lower light in relation to the upper, if not precisely above each other, tells the pilot which way he has to steer the ship to get back on track.

Me, an old Quartermaster Navy veteran who smiled at this, brought back a lot of old memories. 🥰

[MacMadame]

I had no idea there there lighthouses on the Panama Canal!

[Turtles06]

6 hours ago, BillB48 said:

I am sure you noticed the lighthouse in the last picture of my first lighthouse post, there is no Atlantic Bridge.  Think the Bridge was completed sometime in 2018 IIRC, so all of those pictures are sometime before then.

Yes, it’s strange (for me at least) to see the Canal without that Bridge, since our first transit was in January 2017.  The Bridge was just under construction.  (I just checked, it opened in 2019.)

 

 

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

Here’s a closeup of the lighthouse in the last two photos of @BillB48’s comment #4 above. On a northbound transit, this will be on the starboard side as you leave the Gatun Locks and approach the Atlantic Bridge. 
 

I have to say, this has been a fascinating discussion.  It made me go back and look through my photos from our four transits, as I’d forgotten about these lighthouses. Thanks everyone!
 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

19 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I can't help it.

It's ok.  I've seen over 600 lighthouses, so I've already figured out what range lights are.  And we have a few pairs in the Chesapeake Bay, too. So you can get technical if you like!

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Thank you everyone.  I never expected to get so much response to my questions about the lighthouses.  But I'm determined to see every one I can on my next cruise.  

 

I saw a color coded (black, red, green) diagram of lighthouses on a nautical site, but didn't save it, so now I'll have to go back and search for it.  And I found the webcam on the canal yesterday and watched as a container ship went through one of the (I think) locks near the Caribbean side.

 

And now I'm going back to see if that now-black lighthouse was white in my pictures from my previous trip through the canal.  I'm pretty sure it was....

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

2005 white lighthouse......

[BillB48]

After clicking through a countless number of pictures looking for lighthouses and the Canal (actually ranges😉) I ran across this one.  I did not include it since you really could not really see any of the structures.  The three green lights are the southbound range lights for Gatun Locks approach and the middle light is the one in Turtles06 post.  On a side note I lived just above and just to the right of the upper light for about 3 years.  The house is long gone, but the lighthouse is still there.  You will probably never guess the name of the road where the upper light is located... wait for it... Lighthouse Road!

 

[alwalaska]

On 4/29/2024 at 12:19 PM, Turtles06 said:

And here’s the black lighthouse on our northbound transit last year on the Gem (with the new Atlantic Bridge in the background) 

 

I was just looking at my 2017 photos and saw the pillars for that bridge and was thinking that the full bridge should be there by now. Kind of cool.

 

[Teeara]

On 4/28/2024 at 1:13 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

We're going from the Caribbean side (Gatun Lake) to the Pacific. I'd love to get a quick summary of just how a Panama Canal journey by cruise ship works.  For example: 

 

Are cruise ships given a likely time to report to the Canal starting point for their journey?  I'm wondering if I'll need to get up early on our "daytime transit" day. And we're on what I would call a medium sized cruise ship (if that matters).  Are we likely to go through the new canal or old, or is that anyone's guess?  Are the 2 canals pretty close to each other?

Does a cruise line normally have someone on board who narrates what's being seen?

How long might passage take, and are some areas of the passage faster than others? We are scheduled to arrive Panama City by 8 PM, with the ship staying overnight.

Are any parts of the passage more scenic than others?

Does anyone know how many lighthouses there are on the passage, non-functional or not? And can anyone give me a link to good articles/blogs, or photos?

I just got off Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas Panama Canal cruise two weeks ago.  Radiance is a medium size ship and went through the old (original) locks.

 

Yes, you will need to be up early if you want a spot in the front of the ship, however don't stand exactly in the middle!  Our ship kicked several people away in order to set up a photo opportunity for cruisers, so try to stand about 6 feet to the left or right of the front.  You'll still have an excellent view.  

 

The captain will tell you when you should be going through the locks, but that can change.  We originally had an 8 a.m. time to start our transit from the Atlantic side.  Onboard we learned it had been changed to 10 ish.  We didn't actually enter the first lock until after 11 a.m. due to some issues with the locks.  Folks were at the front of the ship starting at 5:30 a.m.  If you're going to be out there early make sure you have water, a hat (especially one that you can tie on since one guy next to me lost his baseball cap when the captain decided to take us in a big circle away from the entrance when we were delayed entering and the wind suddenly popped up) and maybe some snacks.  You won't be able to leave your spot and get it back later on.  I had people 8 deep behind me and some were mad that we weren't moving so they could be in front. Um, riiiiiiight.  You slept in, had breakfast and expect to be at the very front of the ship whenever you leisurely show up?  No, I don't think so.

 

Passage times depend on whether there are issues.  We were told that it would take 8 hours to do the full transit.  It ended up taking nearly 12 hours due to our first locks issue.  You will also want to see the passage through the 3 sets of locks at different places around the ship, too, so don't plan on being at the front the entire time.  If you're on one of the outer decks that are level with the mules you'll be able to wave to the drivers and they'll wave back ;o)

 

There are lots of scenic places, but my favorite was approaching the Culebra Cut and going under each of the 3 bridges.

 

We did have people who spoke about the canal as we were going through it, but we could not hear them at the front of the ship.  We only heard them later on when we were inside the ship.

 

I just started to post videos of my Panama Canal cruise on my YT channel.  Last week was my first video and was on pre-cruise packing.  This week's video will be on flying to Tampa and our hotel (I post Wednesdays at 6 p.m. EST).  I don't expect to get to the canal portion for probably 6-8 weeks (I post videos in order of what happens on the trip and the Canal was a week into our cruise), but if you want to check it out, here's the link to the playlist where I will be posting my videos:  

 

 

In any event, have a wonderful time!  The Panama Canal is a true wonder to behold and it was a fantastic cruise for us.  Make sure you're active on your Roll Call.  I met so many great people on the Roll Call and then when we finally met up pre-cruise and on the cruise it was so much fun.

 

 

Edited May 7 by Teeara

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

23 hours ago, Teeara said:

I just got off Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas Panama Canal cruise two weeks ago.  Radiance is a medium size ship and went through the old (original) locks.

 

Yes, you will need to be up early if you want a spot in the front of the ship, however don't stand exactly in the middle!  Our ship kicked several people away in order to set up a photo opportunity for cruisers, so try to stand about 6 feet to the left or right of the front.  You'll still have an excellent view.  

In any event, have a wonderful time!  The Panama Canal is a true wonder to behold and it was a fantastic cruise for us.  Make sure you're active on your Roll Call.  I met so many great people on the Roll Call and then when we finally met up pre-cruise and on the cruise it was so much fun.

 

 

Thank you for the information!  Now I see why we aren't scheduled to be in Panama City for our overnight until (I think) 8 PM.  And from what I've read, the last part of the journey, as you implied, is the latter portion.  It sounds like I'll be quite awake by then, although possibly eating dinner.  But if so, dinner on the Terrace sounds perfect.