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Zuiderdam-Panama Canal Locks?


Lyndonn
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During the partial transit of the Panama Canal does the Zuiderdam use the new or old lock at Gatun Lake?

 

Thank you for your replies.

 

Old locks. From my readings only one of the larger cruise ships is even scheduled for the new locks.

Edited by Crew News
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Since we're doing that itinerary later this year we've been following ms Zuiderdam on the partial-transit voyages. This week we watched her traverse the old locks.

 

Watched while she went thru using the Gatun Locks webcams. (there are 2 different cameras on the site below - one going in and the other coming out)

 

She goes thru again on Nov 5th, 16th and 26th ... also Dec 7th.

 

https://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Edited by summersigh
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Since we're doing that itinerary later this year we've been following ms Zuiderdam on the partial-transit voyages. This week we watched her traverse the old locks.

 

Watched while she went thru using the Gatun Locks webcams. (there are 2 different cameras on the site below - one going in and the other coming out)

 

She goes thru again on Nov 5th, 16th and 26th ... also Dec 7th.

 

https://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

 

We'll be on her the 26th:) Kind of fitting for my last cruise:)

 

Joanie

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Old locks. From my readings only one of the larger cruise ships is even scheduled for the new locks.

 

There are now two. In addition to Caribbean Princess in (I think) Oct. 2017, Carnival Splendor will transit the new locks westbound in Jan. 2018. EM

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As it stands now the now, the Disney Wonder will have the honors of being the first cruise ship to use the new locks. She will do a southbound transit at the end of April 2017. Her transit may come with an asterisk, since she also was able to use the old locks on her last transit. As a result of the addition of a "ducks tail" to the stern, she will be too long to use the old locks.

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As it stands now the now, the Disney Wonder will have the honors of being the first cruise ship to use the new locks. She will do a southbound transit at the end of April 2017. Her transit may come with an asterisk, since she also was able to use the old locks on her last transit. As a result of the addition of a "ducks tail" to the stern, she will be too long to use the old locks.

 

Thank you for this news.

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Click the link in my signature below for a video of Zuiderdam entering the Gatun locks. It was a fantastic experience that you should enjoy.

 

We chose to stay on the ship as passengers departed for their excursions. Zuiderdam held in the lake for about an hour and then turned around and headed back through the locks. We chose to be seated for lunch at the back of the ship, which was on deck two and wow was that a different experience. You are down in the locks as each one is drained as opposed to above it on the top deck. A very different perspective.

 

BTW, many passengers who chose excursions were grumpy when they got back. They spent way too much time sitting on busses than seeing the sights.

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Click the link in my signature below for a video of Zuiderdam entering the Gatun locks. It was a fantastic experience that you should enjoy.

 

 

 

We chose to stay on the ship as passengers departed for their excursions. Zuiderdam held in the lake for about an hour and then turned around and headed back through the locks. We chose to be seated for lunch at the back of the ship, which was on deck two and wow was that a different experience. You are down in the locks as each one is drained as opposed to above it on the top deck. A very different perspective.

 

 

 

BTW, many passengers who chose excursions were grumpy when they got back. They spent way too much time sitting on busses than seeing the sights.

 

 

 

We also stayed on the ship while others did their excursions. We actually were delayed leaving once we came back through the locks as the one excursion that took people through the locks on a smaller boat were delayed going through the locks. We didn't leave until well after 7 PM. It was a long hot day for the people who left the ship. And we thoroughly enjoyed being on the ship with not a lot of people. Very relaxing. I think we were in the lake for nearly 3 hours as and we sat on the deck and watched the other large vessels go through the locks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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During the partial transit of the Panama Canal does the Zuiderdam use the new or old lock at Gatun Lake?

 

Thank you for your replies.

 

We disembarked the Zeiderdam last Sunday..Our ship went through the old locks..

 

Click the link in my signature below for a video of Zuiderdam entering the Gatun locks. It was a fantastic experience that you should enjoy.

 

We chose to stay on the ship as passengers departed for their excursions. Zuiderdam held in the lake for about an hour and then turned around and headed back through the locks. We chose to be seated for lunch at the back of the ship, which was on deck two and wow was that a different experience. You are down in the locks as each one is drained as opposed to above it on the top deck. A very different perspective.

 

BTW, many passengers who chose excursions were grumpy when they got back. They spent way too much time sitting on busses than seeing the sights.[/QUOTE]

 

I bolded & enlarged your last sentence as we were four of those grumpy Psgrs.. Since we had done the Canal several times we chose to do one of the tours.. As you say, it was a complete waste of time & money..We were on the busses much of the time...Once we were on the bus for one solid hour just to get to the old ruins..

 

If we ever do it again we will stay on the ship..

Edited by serendipity1499
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We're planning to do a tour that takes us to see the new locks. We've done the full transit twice, so I don't mind missing going out of the canal. My only concern is having to wait around for the ship if there's a delay. The tour we're taking is the shortest and the last one off the ship, so we'll have some time to relax in Lake Gatun and (hopefully) not too much time on a bus.

 

But I hear there are watering holes in Colon...

 

For anyone who has never done the full transit, I recommend a tour that goes through the Cut and the other locks, even if it's a long day. That's the most scenic part of the canal.

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We disembarked the Zeiderdam last Sunday..Our ship went through the old locks..

 

I bolded & enlarged your last sentence as we were four of those grumpy Psgrs.. Since we had done the Canal several times we chose to do one of the tours.. As you say, it was a complete waste of time & money..We were on the busses much of the time...Once we were on the bus for one solid hour just to get to the old ruins..

 

If we ever do it again we will stay on the ship..[/size]

 

Which tour did you do? How long is the tender ride to the dock?

Edited by 3rdGenCunarder
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Which tour did you do? How long is the tender ride to the dock?

 

 

 

Fort San Lorenzo (Unesco Site) & Locks $79.95 per person..I think it was Tour No. 5161264..that's what shows on our final statement..

 

We went to the old locks first & watched another ship go through, but we had already been out on the bow & it was nothing exciting..We could have walked up about 50 steps or so, but stayed down below instead..

 

Then we went to the Fort & then the ruins (one hour ride)..On the way back the van took us through to the new locks but we never stopped there..

 

Fortunately we found seats in the back of the van/bus & DH & I each had our own 2 seats.. Our Friends were cramped so badly up front & the guide actually gave up her seat for my Friends DH...My DH is over 6 feet & could not keep his legs in front of him..We were in a small van with seats for short people like me.. I'm sure if it was a large bus it would not have been so cramped..

 

It was supposed to be about 3 to 3 1/2 hours but ended up being longer..They dropped us off at the ships's terminal in Colon & we had to wait there about an hour for the ship to arrive.. We never got back on the ship until close to 6:p.m.

 

Since It was not the Drivers or the Guides fault, we did give them each a tip...

 

As mentioned it was definitely a waste of time & money for us.. Next time we would stay on the ship..

 

I actually don't remember how long the tender ride was, but my Friend believes it was not more than 10or 15 minutes..

Edited by serendipity1499
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Fort San Lorenzo (Unesco Site) & Locks $79.95 per person..I think it was Tour No. 5161264..that's what shows on our final statement..

 

We went to the old locks first & watched another ship go through, but we had already been out on the bow & it was nothing exciting..We could have walked up about 50 steps or so, but stayed down below instead..

 

Then we went to the Fort & then the ruins (one hour ride)..On the way back the van took us through to the new locks but we never stopped there..

 

Fortunately we found seats in the back of the van/bus & DH & I each had our own 2 seats.. Our Friends were cramped so badly up front & the guide actually gave up her seat for my Friends DH...My DH is over 6 feet & could not keep his legs in front of him..We were in a small van with seats for short people like me.. I'm sure if it was a large bus it would not have been so cramped..

 

It was supposed to be about 3 to 3 1/2 hours but ended up being longer..They dropped us off at the ships's terminal in Colon & we had to wait there about an hour for the ship to arrive.. We never got back on the ship until close to 6:p.m.

 

Since It was not the Drivers or the Guides fault, we did give them each a tip...

 

As mentioned it was definitely a waste of time & money for us.. Next time we would stay on the ship..

 

I actually don't remember how long the tender ride was, but my Friend believes it was not more than 10or 15 minutes..

 

One of the problems with tours is time on the bus vs time on tour. We had an awful tour to Lunenberg this fall. Almost four hours out of a 7-hour trip was on the bus. HAL's description lied about the length of the drivetime--what they said would take an hour was nearly 1 hour 45 minutes!

 

There are no reviews yet for the tour we want to take, but I'm hoping that between now and Feb, someone will report back. Our tour is supposed to get to Colon around the time the ship is supposed to get to Colon. Of course, it's the Tropics and time seems to be defined differently there...

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We're sailing in 59 days. Could you tell me which nights were formal nights? We like to book specialty restaurants for those nights as my husband won't ". Dress up".

We were on the Zuiderdam 10 years ago doing the same trip. Wondering what was great and what to avoid. Thanks.

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What tour are you considering? We did the ships tour in 2006. In that year if you didn't take a ships tour you could not get off in the lake. We did an old city/ new city tour and loved seeing the differences.

We are considering staying on board or taking another tour.

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We're sailing in 59 days. Could you tell me which nights were formal nights? We like to book specialty restaurants for those nights as my husband won't ". Dress up".

We were on the Zuiderdam 10 years ago doing the same trip. Wondering what was great and what to avoid. Thanks.

 

Formal nights are now gala nights and dress code has been changed. Minimum dress code for men is collared shirt and slacks (not jeans). That applies to specialty restaurants, too.

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What tour are you considering? We did the ships tour in 2006. In that year if you didn't take a ships tour you could not get off in the lake. We did an old city/ new city tour and loved seeing the differences.

We are considering staying on board or taking another tour.

 

Not sure who you're asking, but our tour is the one to the new locks observation park. It's a HAL tour. I believe the rule is still that the only way to go off the ship in the lake is on a HAL tour.

Edited by 3rdGenCunarder
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We're sailing in 59 days. Could you tell me which nights were formal nights? We like to book specialty restaurants for those nights as my husband won't ". Dress up".

We were on the Zuiderdam 10 years ago doing the same trip. Wondering what was great and what to avoid. Thanks.

 

No Formal nights on HAL..They are called Gala Nights..We were on the 11 day not the 10 day..

 

Our first Gala night was the third night out on a sea day, Friday Oct 21 Sailing toward Aruba & the second was the also a sea day next to the last night sailing toward Ft. Lauderdale on Oct 28..

 

We embarked Oct 19 & disembarked on Oct. 30..

 

The dress code is the same for all the alternative restaurants too, with the exception of the Lido (Buffet) ..Ties & jackets are no longer required..

Only required: Long pants & a collared shirt..There were very few Tuxes & Suits on this cruise, but of course one can dress if they want to..DH wore his jacket & slacks..He tried to put on a tie but his shirt was actually too tight for him to button it so he went tieless..His neck grew, even with the larger shirts..LOL

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Had anyone done the train tour? We've been through the Canal before (full transit, both directions) and I was looking for something different to do.

 

Your thoughts on the train tour are appreciated....thank you.

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We're sailing in 59 days. Could you tell me which nights were formal nights? We like to book specialty restaurants for those nights as my husband won't ". Dress up".

We were on the Zuiderdam 10 years ago doing the same trip. Wondering what was great and what to avoid. Thanks.

 

 

 

I don't think you have to worry about dressing up. Anything short of jeans and tee shirts are acceptable for "formal" nights. I don't think the lido does justice to the menu on these nights

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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A little different perspective regarding a HAL tour. We chose to take the ships tour to the Authentic Embera Native Village which drops you off in Colon. It was a 6 1/2 hour tour and cost $109.95 per person. We found it fascinating. We took the bus to an area where we boarded motorized, dug out canoes. We traveled thru the rain forest (45 minutes) until we reached the village. It is truly a native village and hard to believe that people still live this way. There were native dances, the opportunity to mingle with the natives, crafts for sale and a lovely lunch. Then we came back via canoe and took the bus back to Colon. A couple of caveats - first - you need to be pretty mobile for this tour. It is no easy task getting in and out of those canoes. I was wearing Skechers so I had a fairly easy time. Secondly - if you have children with you please note that all of the women are topless and the men in loin cloths. Works for some - not for others. I was very pleased with the tour and thought it was worth the cost.

 

Helen

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