open deck -- Panama Canal (or anywhere else)

[tomculb]

One of the reasons I like cruising is I love to be at sea. The open deck space on these R ships seems somewhat limited, at least when I think of an Alaska cruise we did on HAL's Westerdam. I'm daydreaming about a cruise on a more upscale line, possible Panama Canal with a lot to look at while underway. I suspect the pool deck feels pretty enclosed, and the deck above goes only partially along each side. I saw a picture of Quest with people at the stern on deck 11, above the specialty restaurants -- is that deck open to passengers? The forward part of deck 11 clearly is, but not sure about aft. Also, passengers were allowed on the bow in Glacier Bay on our W'dam cruise; do they ever do that on A (like going through the Canal?). Thanks for any thoughts.

[excitedofharpenden]

No, the deck above the Specialty Restaurants is crew only. For the Panama Canal my pick would be the Promenade Deck, deck 10 along the sides and deck 11 forward, but you can't look directly forward except through Plexiglass. Sunset Bar aft is a good spot too. I've been through the Panama Canal on another ship and the aft deck is a good place to be.

 

I don't think the area at the bow of the ship is open to passengers. With the ship's machinery there isn't much room there.

 

Phil

[dln929]

One of the reasons I like cruising is I love to be at sea. The open deck space on these R ships seems somewhat limited, at least when I think of an Alaska cruise we did on HAL's Westerdam. I'm daydreaming about a cruise on a more upscale line, possible Panama Canal with a lot to look at while underway. I suspect the pool deck feels pretty enclosed, and the deck above goes only partially along each side. I saw a picture of Quest with people at the stern on deck 11, above the specialty restaurants -- is that deck open to passengers? The forward part of deck 11 clearly is, but not sure about aft. Also, passengers were allowed on the bow in Glacier Bay on our W'dam cruise; do they ever do that on A (like going through the Canal?). Thanks for any thoughts.

 

I've not been on any HAL ship but I never got the feeling on the Quest that I was not close to the sea. You can look through my trip report to see some photos of outdoor spaces on the Quest. We had good views from the walking deck above the pool, the aft sunset bar/dining area, promenade deck, upper deck....all sorts of places on the Quest to view all the lovely scenery. We never felt hemmed in or crowded, either, since the Quest--and her sister Journey--carry less than 700 passengers. It was very enjoyable!

[bobndee]

We returned Sunday from a Panama Canal cruise on the Quest. I found that deck 10 forward to be a good area for all around viewing, although, as previously mentioned, forward vision is through glass. I didn't try the aft bar area while in the canal. With the low passenger count, I never found any areas to be too crowded.

 

Another viewing area I liked is on deck 5. While forward/aft vision is limited to leaning over the rail, you are low enough to really feel part of the action.

[Redtravel]

Going through the canal is fascinating. Most people cluster on the upper decks. Nice views on both sides. I usually book veranda cabins on higher decks. When I booked the Panama canal cruise late, only oceanview cabins were available. I was hesitant. It turned out to be a bonus. Don't miss out on the low level views. There is a lot of interesting stuff on the walls that you can see looking out the windows as the ships goes through the locks. I was amazed as I looked out my cabin window. Those people who had cabins on the high decks missed out on lots of interesting stuff. It takes many hours to get through the canal. Relax and enjoy the experience.

[uktog]

I agree Deck 5 can give fabulous views. What we found with it being such a small ship (we did the Canal on Journey a few years back) was you could move around so easily even in a lock. We started each lock in a different location so we could experience everything, so at Mirafores, we were up front for the first chamber and at the back for the second at Pedro Miguel we did one of those chambers at the side and at Gatun we also changed location with chambers, I know we were up front for the last one

 

I know some people film their lock experiences so stay in the same place throughout but we found it fun to move around. I know at Pedro Miguel I did one minute lapse pictures from the side, it was great to snap the sky disappearing.

 

In another lock I concentrated my pictures on the work of the train mules

 

Our transit day was one of the most fascinating days ever, I am glad we got up early for the start and that we varied where we were around the ship and this is one area where I say size does matter and small is great

[English Tim]

We transited the canal on Island Princess, which is long and narrow, offering plenty of deckspace and deck 5 seems to be nearer the action.

 

If I wanted a premium experience, I'd choose Seabourn as there are fewer passengers to available space.

[Grandma Cruising]

One of the reasons I like cruising is I love to be at sea. The open deck space on these R ships seems somewhat limited, at least when I think of an Alaska cruise we did on HAL's Westerdam. I'm daydreaming about a cruise on a more upscale line, possible Panama Canal with a lot to look at while underway. I suspect the pool deck feels pretty enclosed, and the deck above goes only partially along each side. I saw a picture of Quest with people at the stern on deck 11, above the specialty restaurants -- is that deck open to passengers? The forward part of deck 11 clearly is, but not sure about aft. Also, passengers were allowed on the bow in Glacier Bay on our W'dam cruise; do they ever do that on A (like going through the Canal?). Thanks for any thoughts.

 

We found the pool deck a bit too enclosed, but loved to sit on the sun- deck at the front of deck11, especially on a hot sea day, when the breeze helped us to keep cool.

[azevedan]

I will echo the recommendation to move around. We went through the Canal on Quest in January. Spent time up top, on our balcony, on the Promenade Deck (5) and on the stern outside of Windows Cafe, which gives you the panoramic view (just backwards). I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Azamara had a great guest lecturer (Richard Wainio) who was head of the Canal Strategic Planning division).