Canal bucket list quesiotn

[clcmdse]

"We will be doing the full transit (LA to Miami) this coming year and I wondered whether the more experienced cruisers had any tips on "Day of" transit. Not sure what to expect, so the following questions may be naïve. But is there a time we should plan to get up? A place on the ship where we should plant ourselves? Or will our balcony be good? Or a particular time (or times) during the day where it matters most that we do not lunch, or work out, or participate in other activities indoors?"

Transit day is certainly not the day you get those 40 extra winks;)! I'm an early riser so whatever time I am up and about is not a problem. On my last transit in the direction you are going I was on deck at 4AM and I wasn't alone! While you really don't have to be on deck quite that early, but they will get more crowded as the transit begins. I think you may want to consider being up topside 5-5:30ish. For the first part of the transit that would take you up to and through Miraflores Locks, I would prefer an upper deck, forward and outside. That way you will get a good view of the start up the channel, Panama City skyline, the Bridge of Americas and ultimately Miraflores Locks. During the remainder of the transit, I really would not plant myself in any one spot. For example at some point at one of the locks go down on the lower outside decks and see the what a tight squeeze it really is. Your passage through the Gaillard Cut I would recommend being somewhere you can observe your passage and be able to go to where you see whatever that is of interest. There is usually some sort of equipment operating, passing under the Centennial Bridge, Gold Hill where you will cross the Continental Divide and even get a look a Noriega's current "home."

 

After clearing Gaillard Cut you will begin your crossing of Gatun Lake. This portion of the transit is more of the "scenic" part and not a lot of individual items to point out. That is not to say there is nothing to see as there are usually ships passing in the opposite direction and you will be able to see forestation that essentially unchanged even before the Canal was built. Please don't think that there won't be any chance to grab a bite to eat, you will just have to decide when, there will be some slack times during your transit.

 

In regards to your balcony... unless you have one of the aft facing balconies, I really would not spend a great deal of time on it. Save the balcony for other times of the cruise.

 

I am including a picture of what you could miss if you really homestead your balcony. Now if you happen to be on your balcony on the opposite side of ship, you would never get to enjoy this passing.....

This picture was taken during the Gatun Lake crossing...

 

 

Glad to answer any other questions....

 

 

BillB48

Many, many thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and thorough response to my question regarding Day of Transit. I really appreciate it. Not only have you answered my questions with wonderful detail, you have made us even more excited for this trip! And the best news of all is that we are very early risers so the 4:00 a.m. appearance is very doable! :)

 

Thank you again

Catherine

[BillB48]

BillB48

Many, many thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and thorough response to my question regarding Day of Transit. I really appreciate it. Not only have you answered my questions with wonderful detail, you have made us even more excited for this trip! And the best news of all is that we are very early risers so the 4:00 a.m. appearance is very doable! :)

 

Thank you again

Catherine

 

You are most welcome! The Canal is just like cruising... when you are not doing it, the next best thing is to talk about it:)! Have a great cruise and transit.

[Frogemax]

My husband and I are going on our first ever Cruise in 104 days (November 2015). Full transit Panama Canal on Coral Princess from Ft Lauderdale to LA - what a first cruise!

 

Reading all your advice about cruising the canal has just made me even more excited now. Thank you all for getting me all worked up and making the next 103 days unbearably long! How am I going to wait that long now?

 

Thanks also for the maps on this thread - really interesting to see.

[scapel]

My husband and I are going on our first ever Cruise in 104 days (November 2015). Full transit Panama Canal on Coral Princess from Ft Lauderdale to LA - what a first cruise!

 

Reading all your advice about cruising the canal has just made me even more excited now. Thank you all for getting me all worked up and making the next 103 days unbearably long! How am I going to wait that long now?

 

Thanks also for the maps on this thread - really interesting to see.

 

Be sure and read the "Path Between The Seas" by David McCollough. Below is a report from a 2006 trip. Maybe you will find something interesting.

Our 1995 trip was before the new bridge. Maybe the links will work. If given the chance I would do the Canal again.

2006 MILLENNIUM- VALPARAISO TO FLL VIA PANAMA MARCH 19, 2006- APRIL 4, 2006

REPORT ON THE MILLENNIUM CRUISE FROM VALPARAISO, CHILE TO FORT LAUDERDALE, FL VIA THE PANAMA CANAL.

 

We arrived in SANTIAGO and stayed again at the Santiago Sheraton hotel. Had nice lunch in the top of the San Christobal tower section of the hotel. What a beautiful view of the city which is 571 meters above sea level.

 

We went to the LOS DOMINICOS market again and looked around and then walked through the local downtown section eating at a nice sidewalk café.

 

We had arrived on Friday March 17 and Saturday night we went to a local dinner show at LOS DE ADOBES ARGOMEDO and after the show had great fun dancing. The next day Sunday March 19, we had luggage picked up outside the room and we went on a private pre-arranged tour to VINA DEL MAR AND VALPARAISO being dropped off at the ship by 5:00 PM. This is about an 80 mile drive. We sailed just after 9:00 PM for Arica, Chile which is close to the border with Peru in the North of Chile. The shipboard atmosphere was jolly and we had a nice cruisecritic meeting with a very good attendance. Our captain Apostolos Bouzakis was a charming Greek fellow. Simon Weir was our cruise director and we had previously had him on another cruise when the Millennium sailed the Baltic Sea, her second voyage. He is the best. His brother Nick was the C.D on the South American Horn Cruise in February 2004, and is also very good. For a detailed report on the Millennium see: http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=167

Wednesday March 22, after two wonderful sea days, we arrive in ARICA, CHILE at 7:00 AM. We had previously booked a short local ships tour of the city and the Geoglyphs in the area. It only lasted about 4 hours but did go up the El Morro mountain around some very winding curves on roads without guard rails. In Arica, they still talk very much about the Pacific War which was between Chile and Peru. We did not take the trip to the Lauca National Park which seemed to be a very long ride. We returned to the ship, had lunch and then walked back into the city and to the Main Street, which is kind of a hang out and pedestrian walkway. We returned to the ship and were scheduled to depart at 6:00 PM. We noticed that we were not departing but went to early main seating dinner. We went to the Celebrity Showroom after dinner to watch the Pampas Devils Argentina Tango show. While sitting in the showroom we were advised that around 4:30 PM a fatal accident occurred and 12 of our fellow PASSENGERS WERE KILLED while returning from a tour. We were delayed in Arica for 15 hours while the captain assisted those in need and the chief concierge left the ship to fly to the states and bring families of the deceased to Arica. A doctor and nurse from the ship were sent into town to the hospital to assist with the two injured passengers who had each lost their wives in the accident. For a video see: http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&pmmsid=1481730

 

We arrived in CALLAO, PERU at 11:00 AM Friday March 24, 2006 after two days at sea, four hours behind schedule, where I was to take a Nazca Lines tour. Due to the delay, the Nazca Lines tour that I had booked was cancelled and Celebrity credited my account ($535) for this one tour and in addition gave myself and my wife a free tour of Lima, Peru. (10 Kilometers from Callao). Celebrity was under no obligation to do this and had not had anything to do with booking the fatal tours. Everyone on board was proud of the way Celebrity handled the incident. We had a very nice tour of a very ancient city. We departed Callao, Peru at 8:00 PM.

 

On Sunday March 26th 8:00 AM after two days at sea, we arrived in MANTA, ECUADOR. We were aware of the high incidence of Malaria in this area, but the Plasmodium is transmitted by the Anopheles Mosquito which is really a night biter. We took no medication since we spent only the day there. Manta is the center for the Ecuadorian Tuna industry and is the home of Charlie Tuna. Manta has been a major port since the pre- Inca era. The road from Manta to Montecristi has many warehouses and factories related to the tuna fish industry. We visited a factory that processed the TAqua nut into the Ecuador marble and bought several of the small figurines. Montecristi is the home of the Panama Hats and we visited a market with many handicrafts including the famous Panama hats. A lot of the small children are trying to sell goods, but they are very polite and not pushy or aggressive. They are very beautiful people.

 

Tuesday, March 28 after two days at sea we arrived for the PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT. My old map from 1995 did not have the new Centennial Bridge on it that was built in 2003, but otherwise was very helpful in letting us realize exactly where we were. I had previously made notes on the “Path between the Seas” which made the sacrifices of the people who built the “Big Ditch” much more impressive. It makes one realize that this is indeed a “Wonder of the World”. It takes about 8 hours to undergo the approximate 50 miles of the canal which runs from southeast (Pacific) to northwest (Atlantic). One can get confused at times if you see the sun setting in the East. Since 1999, the canal now totally belongs to Panama, but the U.S still has Howard Air Force Base close by for security. Apparently Japan and the United States are the biggest users of the Panama Canal. We entered the Miraflores locks (two locks) about 7:00 AM and then into Miraflores lake. We locked through the Pedro Miguel locks (one lock) to reach 85 feet above sea level in to the Culebra (meaning snake) Cut a 9 mile section crossing the continental divide and now named the Galliard cut after a Major Galliard. At the end of the Galliard cut is Gamboa and the portion of the Chagres River that feeds the Gatun Lake. There is another dam higher up on the Chagres River (Madden Dam) to help control this river that can had been known to rise 14 feet in 24 hours. While cruising the canal I took a picture of a tourist boat that I considered to be very overloaded with people and it was just about the time the ferry out of Bahrain had capsized because of being overloaded. What I saw in the Panama Canal was an accident looking for a place to happen.

 

Thursday, March 30 after another 2 days at sea, we arrived at ARUBA at 7:00 AM. This is a long skinny island, but has some beautiful beaches. We elected to spend the day at MoomBa Beach located between the Holiday Inn and the Marriott Ocean club. This turned out to be a very comfortable beach with natural trees for shade. Lounges were free with purchase of drinks and food.

 

April 2, 2006 we arrived in FORT LAUDERDALE and after a nice breakfast on the balcony finally walked off the ship and flew home without any mishaps. It was a great cruise only marred by the terrible accident outside of Arica.

 

Joe Reynolds

Added: April 15th 2006

Reviewer: Joe Reynolds

Score:

Related Link: Related Pictures

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=2782

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=f6fe23a6e5a9ec3f#cid=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F&id=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F%211905

 

 

Hits: 42

Language: english

[Frogemax]

Wow! Thank you Joe. We have so much to look forward to x

[scapel]

Wow! Thank you Joe. We have so much to look forward to x

 

Go to the “address bar” in your browser and type “cruisediva” without the quotes. Hold down the “CTRL” key and hit “ENTER”. Then click the “Articles & Advice” drop down menu and click on “Hints for New Cruisers”.

 

Also find New Cruisers on Cruise Critic-- http://www.cruisecritic.com/ftc/

[Frogemax]

Will do, thanks

[scapel]

Will do, thanks

 

WHAT TO TAKE ON A CRUISE.

This varies according to the individual

 

Electric extension cords or power strip

Bug or mosquito repellent

Small flashlight- to get up at night or use in an emergency

Travel alarm clock

Women—probably take your own hair dryer even though the ship may furnish one

Duct tape to do repairs on possible torn up things

Duct tape can be used to tape up notes or door signs etc

Bathroom deodorant spray

Clorox wipes—wipe everything down in room-Telephone, door handles bathroom fixtures etc

Clips to keep curtain closed on Alaska cruise because of so much daylight

Door stop to keep door open if needed.

Overdoor shoe hanger to put things in other than shoes—It is a good organizer

Small multi tool that has a pliers, scissors, screw driver knife etc so you can fix small jobs

You don't need all this stuff, but the electric extension cords are convenient.

[socmft]

Is it better to book one side of the ship over the other for the Panama Canal cruise?

!

[thinfool]

Is it better to book one side of the ship over the other for the Panama Canal cruise?

!

 

Not really. You will find the majority of fellow passengers will be 'all over' the ship, watching the various activities and scenery that is passing by.

 

Sooo...the best side is topside!

 

Take a hat, it will be hot and likely sunny.

[BillB48]

Is it better to book one side of the ship over the other for the Panama Canal cruise?

!

 

IMO it is better to be in the public areas of the ship so you can see whatever is of interest, you will miss a lot if you spend much of the transit on a balcony. Now if you are looking for morning or afternoon sun on your balcony during the rest of the cruise, that is another topic for discussion.