The Panama Canal cruise is over (December 5-20)

[Dayenu]

My 85-year-old father with limited English was on this cruise, just called from Ft Lauderdale, he said the cruise was very interesting (from Los Angeles) but a bit disappointed that it was raining on the transition day, so the photos may not be good. He loved Guatemala, Aruba and Costa Rica stops. He also went to shows and activities and they were entertaining.

When he tells me more, I'll come back to post.

[SwissMyst]

Thanks for the early report. Rain is such a critical part of all the massive water needs to make the whole Panama Canal work. So it was a bonus for him to see this part of the equation in action on the day he passed through. ;)

No rain, no lake spillover, no canal operations. No good.

Looking forward to hearing more because we took this trip last year too on the Statendam and loved the ports along the way almost even more than the canal itself.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home to your father.

I can hardly wait to hear all about his cruise.

Was he on the Amsterdam full transit canal cruise?

[Dayenu]

Yes, full transit from Los Angeles, first stop Puerto Vallarta, last stop Ft Lauderdale, they didn't say overnight anywhere, inside cabin. I think they bought tours on the ship, but I'll ask. They did MTD.

[Typhoon1]

Sounds like a a great trip. We look forward to doing a full transit someday.

[BillB48]

This comes under the heading of you could not have changed anything, but Panama again this year is suffering under another very rainy end to the rainy season. Dec. 22 is actually the official beginning of Dry Season and normally December is a very pleasant month with minimal rain. Just a year ago this time Panama and the Canal were hit by massive rains which resulted in the closing of the Canal for about 18 hours. Again this year they have had some rather heavy rains which has required Canal officials to release huge amount of water from Gatun Lake and Madden Dam. While not to the extent of last year, I'm sure if you had a soggy day at the Canal it would not have been what you were looking for. There is some talk that the weather conditions are compatible in making the up coming Dry Season a wet one, much the same as the 2011 Dry Season was on the wet side.

Well even in "normal" times, Dry Season doesn't mean no rain... just less rain;):)! There just will be a lot more of less this year!!

[KirkNC]

Its great that he has his health and is out and about at that age enjoying life.

[Himself]

This comes under the heading of you could not have changed anything, but Panama again this year is suffering under another very rainy end to the rainy season. Dec. 22 is actually the official beginning of Dry Season and normally December is a very pleasant month with minimal rain. Just a year ago this time Panama and the Canal were hit by massive rains which resulted in the closing of the Canal for about 18 hours. Again this year they have had some rather heavy rains which has required Canal officials to release huge amount of water from Gatun Lake and Madden Dam. While not to the extent of last year, I'm sure if you had a soggy day at the Canal it would not have been what you were looking for. There is some talk that the weather conditions are compatible in making the up coming Dry Season a wet one, much the same as the 2011 Dry Season was on the wet side.

Well even in "normal" times, Dry Season doesn't mean no rain... just less rain;):)! There just will be a lot more of less this year!!


As I understand it, the Canal needs a lot of rain. The worst thing that can happen is a dry rainy season. I went through the Canal in April of 1998 and the water levels were so low it was scary. It poured going through the Gatun Locks and into Gatun Lake and the locals were so pleased.

[BillB48]

As I understand it, the Canal needs a lot of rain. The worst thing that can happen is a dry rainy season. I went through the Canal in April of 1998 and the water levels were so low it was scary. It poured going through the Gatun Locks and into Gatun Lake and the locals were so pleased.


They did have a couple of rather dry Rainy Seasons back then. I guess considering the alternatives they would much rather deal with a wet Dry Season... much easier to deal with!

[Dayenu]

Dad called me from the airport on arrival, waiting for the train to go home - he said, the food was good, having MTD was no issue, but he was turned away twice from the MDR :rolleyes:

Once he didn't have his blazer on, didn't realize it was a formal night, so he had to go back to his cabin to dress, another night he was wearing shorts on a hot day, was not allowed in shorts into MDR :)

They mean business on HAL, don't they? ;)

He said, the service everywhere was superb, and it means a lot coming from my father who always finds faults in everybody and everything. :cool:

He said, he complained they didn't have the radio/clock like they have in hotels, and I don't know if he got one - his train came. I tried to convince him, they don't have them on any cruise line, it's not a hotel, but he argued with me they had it on Princes. Oh, well, for 85 his memory is not that bad! :eek: