Review, Celebrity Century, Panama Canal 12/19/12 (VERY LONG!)

[Muushka]

I meant to mention that the Panama Canal transit was GREAT! "Do a complete transit" was on my bucket list and was the reason I booked this cruise. We got slips of paper in our cabin the night before with the estimated transit schedule. Ours started at 4.30 AM, and I set my alarm and was out there then, and was glad I had done that. A few other die-hards were there as well, and we had a great time, bonding in the pre-dawn and starting the transit, just beautiful. That first hour was very special - just the few of us, the entire front of the ship to ourselves, approaching the canal.

 

By 7 or so it was VERY crowded upfront, and I was glad I'd gotten there early. No one ever asked me to move, but a couple of the other early birds were asked if they'd mind switching places with some of the people in the back, and they politely said no, they'd set their alarms for 4 AM to be there!

 

I did Gatun Locks from up front (if you are doing any locks from the front, I recommend Gatun), then the others from the bow (which was opened around midday - VERY HOT on the bow, no shade), the stern, and, once, very memorably, the side - got some fantastic photos from that angle!

 

It was VERY HOT, and there was occasional brief warm rain. Wear sunscreen, take a hat, drink a lot. I stayed out on deck all day - fascinating. If you're an infrastructure geek like I am, you'll be in heaven.

 

How in the world did I miss this post about the PC passage? Thank you for the great information. To be sure, we would have been out there at crack:thirty too!

 

We have just booked a PC cruise (on DCL) for next May. I can't wait to do it!

[Tom47]

Thanks for your review. DW and I did this trip Jan '13 and enjoyed it.

My review is here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1787067

Tom:)