BillB48

Only cruise line tours as Turtles06 says, been that way for some time. The reason is more practical than anything. Where you land after being tendered ashore is what was called the Gatun Yacht(less) Club which was near the town of Gatun. Since the construction of the new locks there is no longer a town of Gatun, as a result there is nothing there. If they were to permit private tours the cruise line could have a potential problem if they took you ashore and your tour did not show up as scheduled. Of course I am sure the cruise lines don't mind having a monopoly for tours at this stop!

I have been reading those articles with interest, although the first time I tried to read the WSJ article it was behind a pay wall. Your link was not behind the pay wall... hooray! While not trying to minimize or discount the potential for a real problem later on down the road, I believe what is being reported is a lot of Henny Penny and the sky is falling. Seems like it always the worst and the never has been a situation like this in all of recorded history. If they would just take a look back to 2016 when the new locks were opened the Canal was going through an extremely dry period and Gatun Lake reached very low water levels, the accompanying Rainy Season was 20% less than normal but wasn't even the "driest" Rainy Season on record. There had been 4 drier Rainy Seasons previously. This Rainy Season will probably be sub par due to the El Nino setting up in the Pacific. The affect in Panama is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) tends to form a little more south of Panama durin the El Nino. The ITCZ is the rainmaker for Panama's Rainy Season, it doesn't mean no rain, just not normal rain that reaches over the watershed area of Gatun and Madden Lakes. Draft limits for ships using the new locks has been reduced to 44' (max draft is 50') and there has been no change to the draft limit for ships using the original locks at 39.5'. Rains have returned sufficient enough to suspend further draft limit cuts for the time being. That certainly doesn't mean mother nature will continue to cooperate, but the sky isn't quite ready to fall. A finite amount of water for Canal use and what to do about it has been on Canal authorities radar for a long time. All the way back in the 70s the Canal commissioned studies to build another dam in a part of Gatun Lake to increase the Canal's ability to store water for use in the dry periods. These studies were shelved for a number of reasons, but the need was for additional water was clearly understood. In 2003 the Authoridad de Canal de Panama (ACP) commissioned a study for an additional reservoir to the west of Gatun Lake and that study has been collecting dust like most of the other studies. I guess my point is, this is not a new or unique set of circumstances, these dry spells occur every 4 to 6 years along with El Nino, always sends the Canal into a tail spin, always the worst drought, rains return and nothing happens to address the problem. I'll step down off the soap box for now, good night all.

I haven't look at MSC's tour description and too often the cruise lines just have some customer service agent penned up in some cubicle parroting off a script. In most cases the trip from Colon to Panama City will be just a little more than an hour, so the balance of time will be what your tour will consist of. I would think the 4.5 hours is a rather conservative time estimate.

The drive by portion was in Panama Viejo, but there was a walking portion on a street in el Casco Antiguo which also included over Las Bovedas (prison area) and La Plaza Francia. It was more of an organized walk, not really time on your.

First, there are not too many sailings available for 2025 yet. Second, the 7/8 day cruises are a little hard to find at the present that transit the Canal, although there are some. This may improve when the cruise terminal on the Pacific side of the Canal becomes fully operational. Third, much easier to find 10/11 day partial Canal transit cruises. These cruises will generally sail from Florida and enter the Atlantic Locks and exit the same locks. Taking the shore excursion that offers a partial transit of the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut is a good way to see the major portions of the Canal.

I doubt that you would experience any exhaust issues. The Radiance class ships which the Serenade is one of are gas turbine vessels. They are very quiet and clean burning.

A minor point... don't recall making LA-MIA Canal cruises but I have done several LA-FLL as well as San Diego-FLL and the reverse from Florida to LA. Have made a transit on the Serenade and one time followed it all the way from California through the Canal to Cartagena where we went separate ways. Here is a pic from the time we followed her through the Canal. The Serenade is entering Gatun Locks.

I will echo CruiserBruce's opinion as far as rain goes. Yes it can be a rainy time in Panama, but there is even a better chance it will be ideal weather. Late November/early December is a transitional time in so far as weather in Panama, going from wet to the dry season. So it is possible to get some of the best or worst weather at that time. Most of my full transits have been in the Oct to Dec period and have not been bothered by rain that it would have marred the transit. Choosing which side for a balcony is something you can overthink very easily, maybe the best selection criteria is where do you prefer the afternoon sun? The starboard side would give you more PM sun on the way to the Canal and then after that it really depends on your route back to the States. I would give a slight preference to a starboard side balcony the day of the transit, but when you defer to viewing the Canal from your balcony there is a lot you will miss. Which way your balcony will face in port? Who knows, location of the berth, which way the ship is docked and what port you are in will all influence your view while you are in port. Usually there are fewer children on the longer cruises, but there are normally some. Royal Caribbean has a good youth program, so I would think your daughter will do well.

In taking the shore excursion what you will miss is the return trip back through whichever of the Atlantic Locks you used to reach Gatun Lake. While the return trip through either the Gatun or Agua Clara Locks and the short sail to Colon, it basically is all grounds that you have already covered on your way into the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake. It is an excellent opportunity to see a large part of the Canal and to see it from a smaller vessel gives a completely different perspective to the operation. The primary reason for the short stop in Colon is to pick up passengers who have taken a shore excursion.

The way I read your schedule is... you will transit on Monday the 4th. Upon completion of the transit your ship will leave Canal waters and go far enough off shore to be in international waters in order to open the $hops and ca$ino. On Tuesday the 5th you will arrive back at Ft. Amador by 7AM. Since you won't have to leave the ship until Wednesday the 6th your ship will be your hotel for the day/evening of the 5th. Since the ship won't be very far from Ft. Amador when it clears the Canal, there should not be any issues delaying the 7AM arrival. You should be able to head off the ship shortly after that time and tour for the entire day.

IMO you can miss it very easily!😉 Seriously during my time there, there was not any widely renown entertainment that would have been considered a "must see." Don't think that has changed.

Here is an answer I posted a couple of months ago for a similar question. I don't know if the whole link is displayed above, but click on the title box and it will take you to the original post. While you can never predict what the traffic gods have in store to create something beyond gridlock, the excursion is over good road roads for the most part, a fair amount interstate quality. The legendary traffic jams are usually confined to metropolitan Panama City or the bridges that lead to the western part of the country during holiday periods. Those bridges would not be on your route. One other note, the tour could operate in reverse order, Agua Clara first then to Miraflores. They may do that to maximize the opportunity of seeing ships in the lock.

In the past the "ferry" through the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut is an excursion that would be offered by your ship. Now the same company that provides the "ferry" to the cruise ships also offers partial transits and occasionally full transits of the Canal for the local tourist industry. These transits have usually been on the weekends. Even if your overnight on the ship coincided with one of the weekend dates, quite often the excursion operator devotes the assets to the cruise line.

Since the cruise terminal at Ft. Amador has become a work in progress, it is hard to tell just how conveniently it will be to access any of the nearby local restaurants and shops located on the "Causeway." The cruise terminal is located on one of the islands just offshore of the mainland that is connected by a causeway. There are not any real attractions beyond some local eateries, a great view of Panama City on one side and a view of the ships and islands in the bay on the other side. Walking, jogging or biking are popular activities. The nearest real beach is probably over on Taboga Island which is the largest of the islands in the bay. There is a ferry that makes several trips a day that take a half hour or so, have a look at their website... https://tabogaexpress.com The Biomuseo designed by Frank Gehry located at the mainland start of the Causeway, just a few miles from the cruise terminal. Other things to do would be shore excursions that would visits one of the locks of the Canal to see the the operation from a shore side perspective. Tours into Panama City to old part of the city, Casco Antiguo may be something of interest. I'm sure your ship will offer a number of other shore excursions as well.

You are right about Colon not being the garden spot of the Caribbean, however there is nothing inherently dangerous about driving through Colon to get to the cruise terminal/mall/hotel. Colon is not the place for set out on your own and admire the "sights." I have only passed by the lobby of the hotel and imagine it would be fine for a night. The hotel is there primarily to serve people having business with the Colon Free Zone. Only the new expansion locks, Agua Clara are open to visitors on the Atlantic side. To see the original locks you need to visit Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side.

Cartagena- The only thing real near the port is the little shops and a decent collection of birds. The area around the port while it doesn't look too bad... you never know. Architecturally speaking your best bet would be the walled city. Too far to conveniently walk. Ft. Amador for Panama City- Maybe they will have things sorted out by then and there are some eating spots on Perico Island where the cruise terminal is located. Might be a walk as the last time I was there the eateries were on the opposite side of the island from the terminal. Casco Antiguo, Panama City's old walled section is also a cab ride. Puerto Quetzal- See Essiesmom's comment. Puerto Vallarta- Some things available in the port area, probably a better selection if you go down to the Malecon. It is real easy to get your Wal Mart fix if you feel culturally deprived. Cabo- Lots of places to grab a bite in the port area and I am sure you can get to the beach without jumping through hoops.

Really the only thing in Colon for you to do or see is the cruise terminal. There is really nothing for the average tourist to do and other than use the cruise terminal, Colon is really not a place for a tourist. Embarking or disembarking your ship should be the extent of your visit to Colon. Visiting attractions on the Atlantic side such as the new expansion locks or Portobelo can be done from the Pacific side (Panama City area) well enough. I would recommend looking at your sailings Roll Call here on Cruise Critic for hotels some of your fellow cruisers are staying. Don't know if it is feasible for you to arrange a transfer to Colon with the cruise line or not. In any event the hotel you wind up staying at could assist in making arrangements to the cruise terminal in Colon. I know Uber is available in Panama, but I am not familiar with it down there.

Twangster, I think they may have lumped Celebrity's Millennium Class ships in for a total of 8. The Millenium, Infinity, Summit and Constellation are essentially the same sized ships as the Radiance Class and are powered by GE gas turbines. The X ships were built by Chantier's Atlantque and the Radiance class were built by Meyer Werft. The Millennium ships used Rolls Royce's Mermaid Azmuthing pods and the Radiance ships went with ABB Azipods. While there were growing pains with both systems, IIRC the RR Mermaid system was far more troublesome.

They did not close for an immediate inspection, but they could have carried out an inspection some other time when it would not disrupt transits. They of course could go ahead and operate with only the one gate at that end of the chamber if they had concerns. They do configure the chamber using only one gate ahead of the ship and one gate astern. This is usually done when the ship is at max length(1215') to give a little more room for the bow and stern tugs. My contact at the Canal said the damage was limited to a bruised ego and a bent mast on the tug! No doubt about some extra laundry expenses. Your photo mystery about the staircases has now sent me on a fool's errand. I have been on all 4 Radiance class ships to include the Serenade in January and I would have sworn they all had centrum stairs. I am often reminded not to swear. I now have dug up two previous cruises on those ships and of course, I don't have centrum pics in those batches!

Those sunrise shots look like a perfect way to start another rigorous day at sea. Thought I would send this along before the Canal get too far astern of you. The video was taken at Agua Clara Locks recently at just about the same vantage point of your pictures which is the Gatun Lake entrance (south end) of the Lock. The incident could have resulted in significant damage, not only to the ship and tug but more importantly the lock gate. The loud alternating sound is the signal that the gate is moving.

hThe Radiance and the Serenade in Huatulco back in 2009

Great example on why Magellan came up with the name.

There was a major difference in the equipment used to excavate the new locks. I think you would be underwhelmed, for one they did not need nearly as much equipment or as large equipment for the excavation, they did not use spoil trains as was done when the Gaillard Cut was excavated. Also you have to consider a great deal of the excavation of the third locks started in 1939 and continued until 1942 when the project was suspended on account of WW2. On the Atlantic side the Agua Clara Locks sit on exactly the same excavation that was completed at that time with the Water Saving Basins being new excavations. Meanwhile on the Pacific side's Cocoli Locks the original excavation footprint is where the Water Saving Basins are located and further excavations for the lock chambers were dug just to the west of the WSBs. A large part of the excavation had been completed before Panama made the decision to complete the third set of locks in 2007. Essiesmom has provided a nice collection of the construction of the new locks. By comparison the new locks envisioned in 1939 were to be 1200'x135' while the new locks as constructed are 1400'x180'. The original locks can accommodate vessels 965'x106' and the new locks can take vessels 1215'x167'. There are plans underway to increase the beam limit to 173'.

Thank you twangster, great job documenting your transit. The only thing that could have been better would have been if I was there taking the pictures. Think you have proved how much there is to see when you move around the ship. Well done.

Only 54' more to go... down that is!