BillB48

22 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Until I can get more info later, should I assume we'll start the transit around 6 AM? Is there any way to anticipate which canal (new or old) we'll go through?

Let me second njhorseman's 99.99% chance of using the original Panamax Locks, in fact I could raise that bet a decimal to 99.999% just for good measure.  Since 2016 when the new locks opened there has only been 1 passenger ship that could use the original locks been diverted to the new locks.  There were so many extenuating circumstances involved there isn't any way you could infer that occasion would have any influence in the future transits.

The 5AM-6AM is certainly a good guesstimate, just realize that time frame is very fluid, it could occur earlier or even later.  Since you are not due at Fort Amador until 8PM the later estimate would not be out of consideration.  Please don't use that as a reason to catch an extra 40 winks.  I am always up before those times just to claim a good vantage point.

Can't help with the website for Canal transits, the best one was one that EM was very active in, but that one has gone dark and now it is just hit and miss when I see ships.

You will not disembark the ship for your shore excursion until after the ship locks up Agua Clara Locks and reaches Gatun Lake.  During the time you are on your excursion the ship will lock back down Agua Clara Locks and proceed to Colon which is where you will rejoin the ship.

Perhaps the weather gods are beginning to shed some of their bounty, at least the Canal's weather forecasters are counting on it!  Last Thursday, May 16 the Canal increased transit slots at the Panamax Locks from 24 to 31.  On June 1st they will also increase transits using the new locks by 1 slot for a total of 32 transits per day.  On June 15th the draft limit at the new locks will be increased from 44' to 45'.  The draft limit at the Panamax Locks had remained unchanged at 39'6" during this period.

Officially the Dry Season ended on May 7,2024.

1. There are some upscale hotels on the smaller side sprinkled around the Casco Antiguo as well as some like restaurants.  This is not a recommendation as I have not stayed there as it was still under re-construction when I was last there.  That is the very upscale Sofitel Legend in the Casco Viejo which has quite a history to it dating all the way back to before the Canal even was opened.  Back then it was known as the Union Club and was a big hangout for the luminaries during that time.  However it may be something of interest to you.

As far as wandering around, during the daytime in the Casco I think it is reasonably safe, however at night I don't think I would do any wandering outside of areas specifically that were not recommended by whatever hotel you are staying at.  I would use a cab or shuttle from/to the hotel wherever I could.  Even though the area is inhabited by some very influential people, the Casco is not a particularly large area and the flavor of the neighborhood can change quickly.

Regarding some early Salsa or Bachata...  no recommendations for early or late!  Sorry, had to look up Bachata which apparently originated in the Dominican Republic.  Even though I was just in the Dominican Republic, I did not encounter any Bachata... lol.

Note:  I use Casco Antiguo (or just the Casco) to describe the area of Casco Viejo.  Either term any local will know what you are speaking about.  I differentiate mainly because often times I am also speaking about Panama Viejo which are the ruins of the first settlement.  Casco Antiguo came after Henry Morgan "visted" back in 1671.  Think multiple Viejos add to the confusion.

I just wrote about the bus ride across the Isthmus in a response to another thread here on the PC board...

The Princess tour description specifically mentions going to the ruins of Old Panama.  I don't think there are that many things for you to conveniently see if you were to wander around the Casco on your own.  While there are some historically significant sites in the Casco, they are a little spread out and I really don't know how easy it would be to try and see them on foot.  The area now is largely residential with some smaller hotels and some boutique restaurants.  Most of the shopping that you would encounter would be around Las Bovedas and Plaza Francia which is where they generally give you the free time. 

My two cents, who knows maybe I will even get some change!😉  I am writing this as though you would visit Agua Clara Locks first, although they may reverse the order to provide the best opportunity to view ships in the Locks.  Honestly I don't think the bus ride is all that torturous with a decent road for the most part and nice scenery.  From Agua Clara Locks across the Isthmus will run you a little over an hour and from the Pacific side back to Colon closer to an hour.  In Celebrity's overview of the tour they mention that you drive through the ruins.  While they don't specifically mention the "ruins" of Old Panama, I am pretty sure they are referring to the ruins of the original Panama settlement established in 1519.  From there it is on to Casco Antiguo which was founded after Henry Morgan destroyed Old Panama in 1671.

In the past they would return to Colon a slightly different route from the trip over.  In part this route will take you by the two Pacific Locks and through a portion of one of the national parks which is primarily old growth forest.  Then you will reconnect with the major highway back to Colon.

You are right... don't stay on the ship all day!

On 5/10/2024 at 9:18 AM, wolfcathorse said:

I lied, I found out from friends currently on board Anthem that Capt Ban signed off today. NOW, I won't be posting anymore updates until June. Leave in an hour for the airport!

 

Adventure (10 weeks) - Capt Jaret Barry (started 5-4-24)

Capt. Erik Standahl was still master on the 5-4 sailing.  Don't know about the 5-10 sailing
Adventure - Capt Erik Standahl
Allure (10 weeks) - Capt Shawn McDuff (started 4-28-24)
Allure - Capt Tobias Oster
Anthem (10 weeks) - Capt Toni Calne (started rotation 5-10-24)
Anthem - Capt Srecko Ban
Brilliance (10 weeks) - Capt Pero Sutalo (started rotation 4-17-24)
Brilliance - Capt Juan Luis Caranti
Enchantment (10 weeks) - Capt Daniel Budzelewski (started rotation 4-14-24)
Enchantment - Capt Kenneth Moeller
Explorer (10 weeks) - Capt Frank Martinsen (started rotation 3-16-24)
Explorer - Capt Toni Tomljanovic
Freedom (10 weeks) - Capt Ivo Paskvalin (started rotation 3-18-24)
Freedom - Capt tbd
Grandeur (10 weeks) - Capt Antun Regjo (started rotation 4-5-24)
Grandeur - Capt Pehr Pehrsson
Harmony (10 weeks) - Capt James McDonald (started rotation 4-21-24)
Harmony - Capt Marshall Bartlett
Icon (10 weeks) - Capt Teo Strazicic (started rotation 4-6-24)
Icon - Capt Henrik Loy
Independence (10 weeks) - Capt tbd (started rotation 3-24-24)
Independence - Capt Gus Andersson
Jewel (10 weeks) - Capt Michael Lindberg (started rotation 3-30-24)
Jewel - Capt Trond Holm
Liberty (10 weeks) - Capt Dustin Catelsky (started rotation 3-31-24)
Liberty - Capt Malvin Bardnes
Mariner (10 weeks) - Capt Tor Isak Olsen (started rotation 4-27-24)
Mariner - Capt Panos Panagopoulos 
Navigator (10 weeks) - Capt James Nazar (started rotation 4-19-24)
Navigator - Capt Johan Hill
Oasis (10 weeks) - Capt Ante Cavala (started rotation 3-3-24)
Oasis - Capt Göran Peterson
Odyssey (10 weeks) - Capt Per Kristopherson (started rotation 5-5-24)
Odyssey - Capt Marek Slaby
Ovation (10 weeks) - Capt Sverre Ryan (started rotation 3-31-24)
Ovation - Capt Espen Been
Quantum (10 weeks) - Capt Arild Hansen (started rotation 4-14-24)
Quantum - Capt Krzyszthof Szymkarczuk
Radiance (10 weeks) - Capt Rumen Yovchev (started rotation 5-3-24)
Radiance - Capt Marek Slaby
Rhapsody (10 weeks) - Capt tbd (started rotation 4-27-24)
Rhapsody - Capt Filip Norberg
Serenade (10 weeks) - Capt Stig Nilsen (started rotation 4-18-24)
Serenade - Capt Kjell Nordmo
Spectrum (10 weeks) - Capt Huimin Wu (started rotation 3-30-24)
Spectrum - Capt Flemming Nielsen
Star (10 weeks) - Capt Inaugural3 (started rotation 6-1-25)
Star - Capt Yard Captain 3
Symphony (10 weeks) - Capt Angel Oviol Ruiz (started rotation 4-6-24)
Symphony - Capt Rick Sullivan
Utopia (10 weeks) - Capt Gus Andersson (started rotation 7-22-24)
Utopia - Capt Yard Captain 2
Vision (10 weeks) - Capt Mise Tevsic (started rotation 3-16-24)
Vision - Capt Ole-Johan Gronhaug
Voyager (10 weeks) - Capt Ervin Pajic (started rotation 3-17-24)
Voyager - Capt Carl Graucob
Wonder (10 weeks) - Capt Trym Selvag (started rotation 5-5-24)
Wonder - Capt Rob Hempstead
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

21 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I will ask our Panama Canal expert on Summit, but my feeling is that the M class ships are always sailing through the legacy locks. Our narrator never mentioned that we were lucky for getting assigned to the legacy locks.  

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.

7 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Thank you for posting screenshots of Summit crossing the canal as I wanted to do that, too, but simply didn't have time.

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.

30 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Built in 1962, the bridge was originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge.  The bridge was named after the Thatcher Ferry which operated at that location and the ferry was named after Maurice Thatcher who was associated with the Canal Zone commission. 

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!

3 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

Hey I just wanted to clarify something, you mentioned that I should be port for westbound and starboard for eastbound.  Why is that?  If I'm port for eastbound, I'd be facing land once we get out of the canal, wouldn't that be preferable?

 

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.

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!

That is the Crane barge Titan moored at the Canal's Dredging Division headquarters.  It has a rather interesting history, it started its career in 1941 as Schwimmkran No. 1 for Germany's Kriegsmarine.  After WW2 in 1946 it was partially disassembled and brought to Long Beach Navy Shipyard in California via the Panama Canal.  While in Long Beach it was widely known as Herman the German (YD-171) and remained there until the mid 90s when it was transferred to the Canal as a replacement for the Canal's original heavy lift crane, the Hercules which had also been built built in Germany  in 1914.

The future of the Titan is not certain as the Canal has just acquired to new heavy lift crane barge with a greater lifting capacity.  Even though the Titan can lift 350 tons, that is not enough capacity to completely lift any of the miter gates at the Locks.  The "lightest" miter gate weighs over 400 tons and the heaviest (tallest) comes in at over 700 tons. 

I think going through the new locks is worth the experience particularly if you want the bragging rights in being able to say you have experienced the original and the new locks.  The transit is essentially the same, the only difference is which locks are used and the access channel used to enter and exit the lock.  The other significant difference is you lock through three locks with the original locks and only two locks with the new.  Other than that the transit is the same, both the new and original locks are within one mile of each other.  You will be seeing the same scenery, just from a slightly different perspective. 

Now the BUT!  IMO there is considerably less visual attraction to the new locks... missing are the locks locomotives (mules) that assist in your passage through the locks, your ship is tightly packed into the lock chamber with only inches to spare on each side, to me the lock gates opening and closing seems more dramatic.  By that I mean the way the gate halfs open and close at the original locks compared to the rolling gates at the new locks.  You also have the opposite lane to watch and see and compare their progress.  The fill and spill operations at the new locks take a little more time and are slightly less apparent.

None of the above is meant to minimize the new locks, only to point out there are fewer things to focus on.  I am sure your engineer partner would still find it interesting whichever locks you decide on.