Panama Canal, Nov 2007 - Port or Starboard

[arlenez]

Hi:

 

Does anyone have any suggestion as to which side of the ship is the best side for the Panama Canal partial cruise on the Maasdam in November 2007?

 

Thanks & regards,

[Druke I]

There are parallel locks at both ends of the Canal, and it is not known which set of locks will be used, until the Canal Authorities turn the "position arrow".

 

Either side of the ship for viewing is fascinating, and many find themselves going back and forth during the passage.

 

Beware the tropical sun - it can be brutal!

[lougee1043]

exactly as druke i has posted --you wont know til the last minute-if you are in the left lane then you want to be starboard and if you are in the right lane then you want to be port --- we we lucky on our passage and we watched a cargo container ship right next to us from the comfort of our verandah

 

did you know there is a "pecking" order on which ships go thru the canal?????-- first are warships then are cruise ships and last are cargo ships which is why you will see a bunch of then lying at anchor waiting for a slot to go thru the canal

[serendipity1499]

Agree both sides are just as fascinating..Our ship anchored overnight at the Locks so we could be one of the first to transit the canal..My friend & I were out on deck at 5:a.m in order to have front row seats! (standing at the rail on the bow..LOL)..It was pouring rain & when our DH's finally decided to come out we were in the front row with wall to wall people behind us...Our DH' s passed rain gear through the crowd to us..But we would not leave our positions as it was so very fascinating..;) If you don't have a Balcony, get out on deack early!;)

[sail7seas]

Everything everyone above has written is true and I agree but want to add that we have transited the Panama Canal 4 or 5 times and we were port every time (with a verandah). We never were sorry to be port. If you get the right lane, then you often can see a ship beside you in the left lane.

 

 

If you get left lane, you can see the other side and still the sides of the locks, the shortside........both sides are fine.

 

If ever you were to get a cabin with a verandah, this cruise is a great time to do so.

 

 

[CruisinNana]

We were port and in the right lane. The ship in the left lane beside us was a submarine, painted black, with soldiers standing guard on top with guns. There was a coast guard ship with guns mounted and pointed behind the sub and another small ship of some kind with soldiers in front of the sub. I assumed it might be a nuclear sub since it need so much protection. Anyway, it was a VERY interesting bonus to the already fascinating transit of the canal. We spent most of our time on the balcony with binoculars.

 

You will LOVE the canal transit and will learn so much from the commentary that is piped through the public address system. (I was sorry I didn't read David McCullough's book about the building of the canal before the trip.)

[arlenez]

Thanks for all of your comments. I will check the availability of cabins, but we always book a verandah so it sounds like either side will be great.

 

Regards,