BillB48

Back in the old days the cash had to be deposited in the Canal Treasury's before the transit. Feel sure nowadays some sort of electronic transfer to the Canal's account would be the method. Rest assured the ship would not get anywhere near the first lock until the payment cleared! Got me to think what a physical task it would be to haul $4 million or so up the the Treasurer's office. Way back when the ships were "only" paying 5, 10 or even 15K... not such a huge task. But now when regular tolls at the new locks can exceed $1 million! I can remember when the QE 2 made her inaugural transit in 1975, she paid a record $42,000! Today that amount won't even let you get a reservation, a ship that size the reservation alone is $50,000.

Are you just calling at Colon or are you on a partial transit? As far as independent tours, I am sure they can be found, but I don't have any that I have experience with. At this time I think you are better off dealing with the ship as there have been a lot of demonstrations closing roads etc. Carnival just cancelled a port call in Colon this week. The issues may all be forgotten when you arrive and you can enjoy a tour, but dealing with refunds and cancellations are much easier with the ship.

I am sure the cruise lines and the passengers who are involved wished that was the case. The pier is completed enough for vessels to moor, however the terminal building has not been completed. The latest mark on the wall for completion was this December, but with all the recent trouble in Panama I am sure that mark on the wall is moving... again!

In case you ever wondered what a ship would look like after it has forked out $4.5 million for a transit... presenting the Sunny Bright.

The Encore sort of tip toed through Cocoli before daylight and she was almost out of the Cut by dawn. Just don't understand that, just about every other ship does a true daylight transit. I would think that the passengers would like to see things in daylight. I thought at first it was because they may have wanted to clear the BoA at low tide, but she went under the bridge almost at high tide. That theory shot to hello and back! Who knows, maybe NCL cheaped out and skipped the $30K daylight fee??

Asked all the regular health questions and asked about Covid shots/boosters. This was on the Mariner, first week of October at Port Canaveral.

Arrgh! I can never catch my errors until I leave the page and return later. It is supposed to read ...partially filled with water...

The last shot of the Serenade entering the west chamber is a perfect example of the locks holding the fill of the east chamber so that it could be partially with water from the west chamber.

Miraflores...

Bon appetite and thanks... enjoyed.

Just darn, Another Critic let the cat out of the bag😉

At Pedro Miguel...

At Gatun...

Think the hope for a December completion will turn out to be another completion date missed. With all the demonstrations that have going on lately I don't think there is any hope of completion next month.

I saw or heard something in my travels that the vessel will actually transit in ballast. Suppose they need the ship at some other port ASAP and not languishing off the coast of Panama.

You echo my feelings down to the T. I have sailed on all 4 remaining Vision class ships, all of the Radiance class ships, 3 of the Voyager class, all Freedom class and 3 cruises on various Oasis class. Without a doubt the only ships I have no desire in sailing again are the Urban Sprawl of the Seas class. In case there is any doubt, I am referring to the Oasis class 😉. I am not saying I won't sail on those ships, but it is not the ship that will attract me to the cruise. I guess if and when an Oasis class ship and I cruise again, it will be in spite of the ship!

Definitely a major CHA-CHING! 😀

Another record for payment to go to the head of the line has been reached for passage through the Panama Canal! Only $4 million!!!! Alright, you can say that is a little exaggeration... but it was $3.975 million. Ah, what is $25K among friends... a rounding error?? The unidentified ship will transit Nov. 15. https://gcaptain.com/lpg-tanker-pays-record-4-million-for-panama-canal-slot/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-ccba124568-169919501&mc_cid=ccba124568&mc_eid=58518afd65

As far as I am aware most of the cancellations of Canal transits have come from cruise lines that did not have these itineraries scheduled years in advance. Such is the case what Royal Caribbean did with their ship the Rhapsody, where they substituted Colon as a port call instead of a Canal transit. That particular itinerary had only been announced a few months earlier. Cruise ships can book transits up to two years out, I feel these long held reservations are secure. The cuts in transits next year will come first by not making new reservations. I suppose there is always some risk there could be a major itinerary change after final payment, however with such a major change as no transit, i believe significant allowances would be offered.

Not really, the Lake would have been lower sooner. Glass half full, not half empty!

By limiting the number of ships "should" balance out the amount of water lost from Gatun Lake as a result of transits with the amount of water that flow into the Lake, at least that is the plan (hope). If this balance is reached then the draft limits for vessels transiting will not have to be further reduced. Maximum draft for vessels using the new locks is 50', which has been reduced to 44' presently. The max draft for vessels transiting the original locks is 39.5'. Canal authorities are trying not to make further draft reductions, so maintaining Gatun Lake at or near its current level is necessary.

You have got the essentials EM!😀 The water saving basins for new locks are supposed to lower the amount of water spilled to sea to less than the water spilled to sea at the original locks. In other words the new locks will use less water even though they are bigger than the original locks. The original locks are trying to duplicate the use of the water saving basins by cross spilling into the adjacent chamber. Of course the position of the ship in adjacent lane impacts when you can cross spill, so it can't be used every time water needs to be spilled/filled.

That was my experience as well.

That looks like a pretty good pea souper. Guess they can't catch a break... fog has always been the down side of the Rainy Season, they are getting the fog, just not enough rain to go with it!

While I don't have "proof" a Radiance class ship can call on Baltimore, I don't think the bridges would be the stumbling block. The info I have is the air draft on those ships is 173'. The Radiance class clear the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa which has a clearance of 181. The Bay Bridge and the Key Bridge are 182' and 185' respectively.