BillB48

Ditto on what Turtles06 said about the necessity to be on a ship sponsored tour. While the cruise line certainly doesn't object to having a monopoly on shore excursions at this stop, the need is for a good reason. Where you are tendered ashore is in the middle of nowhere and if your contracted tour did not show up for any reason you would have a great deal of difficulty in getting transportation. The excursions are operated by local providers just as they are in other ports and Princess is just the middle man. Yes it can be warm and humid, in all honesty you will find similar weather in any other Caribbean stop. Also the type of excursion you choose can impact your comfort, many of the excursions are primarily sightseeing on a bus with a few stops at selected sights. While others may involve more outdoor activity and therefore exposed to the elements more. Post what excursions you are considering and I am sure a number of people may offer some input.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

The traffic control for the Canal always has a plan for the movement of ships through the locks and it is extremely fluid. What is the plan 8 hours ahead can be changed multiple before it actual is cast in stone. Sometimes the scheduling probably is closer to a wish list, just too many variables.

While ships that could have passed through the legacy locks have been re routed through the new larger Neo-Panamax Locks. This is done solely for Canal convenience. To date there has been only one cruise ship shifted from the Panamax Locks (the Canal's terminology to differentiate between the two) and this is one of the smaller HAL ships was sent through the new locks. Lots of extenuating circumstances, mainly during the beginning of the pandemic and there were several active cases on board. As a result they sent the ship through the new locks with a single pilot (who was quarantined after the transit) used no line handlers, and put no lines out while in the new locks. Absolute minimal contact with Canal personnel. The bottom line is they are only locking through about 8 ships per day at the new locks because of the water restrictions. These ships will pay more in tolls than a ship such as the Summit. They would much prefer to save those slots for the ships that are going to pay more in tolls. While a ship such as the Summit would pay a little more if they used the Neo Panamax Locks as compared to the original Panamax Locks it would not equal what they could charge the larger ship.

Arriving Miraflores... In the upper level of Miraflores from the Cocoli cam... Almost back in salt water!

Gatun... Pass in Centennial Bridge headed for Pedro Miguel... Pedro Miguel... I am not sure how may pics I can upload in one post. I'll send the Miraflores pics in another post.

I have several of the Summit at each of the locks plus a few of the Summit as seen from other locks. I sent them to your narrator so he could make a few extra slides of your transit. I will post them to this thread if you like.

Airport, hotel, dinner, bed and to the port is just fine for Panama City. However, dinner close depending on the location of the hotel could be bit more of a challenge. You could choose a hotel that has a restaurant, but so often they are only ho-hum and a wee overpriced. One hotel that is handy for the port is the Radisson in Ft. Amador. Several years ago when I stayed there (it was a Country Inn Suites then), a T.G.I. Fridays was attached to the hotel. Now I am not necessarily recommending to travel all the way to Panama and go dine at TGI Fridays, there are some local eateries a short cab ride away that are located towards the end of the Causeway and near the cruise terminal, about 5 miles away. The hotel could easily help with the cab and there are some great views of the City. Over all Panama City is fairly safe, but just as any other big city the areas can change flavor rapidly often times with out any visual clues. Any of the major hotel brands would be fine.

Thanks for referencing the Bridge's original name, Thatcher Ferry Bridge. Maurice Thatcher was the last surviving member of the Isthmian Canal Commission which oversaw the construction of the Canal. Thatcher also served as governor of the Canal Zone during the construction era. In the picture of the catamaran sailing under the Bridge, the pilings for the ferry landing are still visible. Enjoyed your pictures and videos of the transit!

IMO the side preference stems from the "preferred" side for the Canal views. The only time you would see land for an extended time is while the ship is in the Pacific. Even then often times the land is so far away it is barely visible and if you factor in haze there really is not much to see. Now at the Canal there more to see on the port side for a southbound transit (your westbound), like wise it would be the starboard side for a Pacific to Atlantic transit. There are just more developed areas such as the cities of Colon and Panama City. While transiting the Canal after clearing the locks there are just a few more things that can be pointed out and may have some historical or significance to the Canal. Also if you are located on the "preferred" while crossing Gatun Lake is the best time to see oncoming ships. However I am still in the camp that believes that the best side of the ship is outside or topside, that way you can take in whatever interests you. This doesn't mean the "non preferred" side of the ship is a wasteland, plenty to see over there as well it just there are fewer things to actually point out. 9

My opinion won't be much different from the others... for the non Canal portion of the trip an aft balcony is great. Even if you only use the aft balcony sparingly at the Canal, it is not my favorite place to be mainly because most of the narration provided during the transit has a forward perspective. By the time you get to see what is being described the narration has long passed. If you opt for the aft balcony for the Canal cruise and you want to enjoy the balcony for a bit, the best time would be after the ship clears Gatun Locks (the first locks you will encounter) and heads across Gatun Lake to Gamboa. This part of the transit is about 23 miles over the open waters of the Lake. Depending on Canal traffic it takes a little over 2 hours and there usually is minimal narration. The rest of the transit, be out and about to be able to take in whatever may be of interest.