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LittleMissMagic's 17-Day ~Pacific Princess~ Panama Canal **PHOTO REVIEW**

LittleMissMagic

By LittleMissMagic,
in Princess Cruises

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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I call this photo "Two Bridges" because, get it?, there's two bridges...

 

 

And speaking of the bridge being located right above our stateroom, at some point in the cruise, they made an announcement reminding guests that the crew in the bridge could see us on our forward balconies, so we might want to wear clothes while using them.

 

I'm pretty confident that they were talking to Rachel and me because we went out there wearing next to nothing quite frequently, not thinking about the crew above.

 

Edited by LittleMissMagic
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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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The last time we visited the canal, the Panama Canal Expansion, or Third Set of Locks, was set to open in 2015 (already pushed back for the original goal of opening with the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal in 2014). The expansion adds a third lane to the locks which can accommodate larger, Post-Panamax ships, increasing the capacity of the canal. However, due to delays, the larger canal was not yet completed when we passed through.

 

The Third Set of Locks has since opened in June 2016.

 

 

Just in case you've forgotten where we are...

 

 

Approaching the Miraflores Locks -

 

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ar1950

ar1950

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We were on the Coral a couple of months before you in Oct and I think I have all the same photos! :D

 

On the Coral in April and saw the same sights going the other direction. ;)

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Getting ready to secure the ship to the mules, or trains which run along the canals, which keep the ship away from the Canal walls as we enter and rise -

 

 

The forward balcony was really awesome because we had a great view of the crew securing lines.

 

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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The new locks (Pacific-Cocoli Locks, and Atlantic-Agua Clara Locks) will actually not use mules to navigate ships through the locks. Instead, it will rely on the ship's motor and four tug boats to enter the locks. Once inside, the ship will be secured in the lock using four of the ship's lines, and a two tugs at the aft and bow of the ship will assist during its elevation.

 

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ar1950

ar1950

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Fantastic perspective from the balcony location that you had. We went to the front of the Baja deck on the Coral, but, not nearly as cool of a location for photos that you had from you balcony. Thanks for posting the pictures.

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Cruzin-K

Cruzin-K

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Welcome back, Victoria.

 

I'm kind of glad it took this long for you to get to the Panama Canal pix, because it's that much closer to my Panama Canal cruise :D

 

I'll be on the Coral next year, and I know you've been on the Island so I have a few questions. I will go back and reread your review of the Island Princess trip later.

 

Were the forward and aft viewing areas EVER crowded on the Island? From your photos it didn't look like it. There was hardly anyone out there for my Alaska cruise either which I didn't quite understand. However, I wasn't going to running all over the ship screaming "better view from Baja forward" :p Did you like the view from forward or aft better, going through the locks? My cabin will be very close to the aft deck on Caribe, but I might make the trek forward for part of the trip. I suppose I'll have time to take photos from different places :confused:

 

My camera bag is now quite a bit heavier. I finally got a 17-50 f/2.8. Yay me! I bought the Sigma version. I also got a used Canon 70-300mm which isn't the best quality but does a nice job for what I paid. It was nice to have the longer lens in Alaska.

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ar1950

ar1950

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Welcome back, Victoria.

 

I'm kind of glad it took this long for you to get to the Panama Canal pix, because it's that much closer to my Panama Canal cruise :D

 

I'll be on the Coral next year, and I know you've been on the Island so I have a few questions. I will go back and reread your review of the Island Princess trip later.

 

Were the forward and aft viewing areas EVER crowded on the Island? From your photos it didn't look like it. There was hardly anyone out there for my Alaska cruise either which I didn't quite understand. However, I wasn't going to running all over the ship screaming "better view from Baja forward" :p Did you like the view from forward or aft better, going through the locks? My cabin will be very close to the aft deck on Caribe, but I might make the trek forward for part of the trip. I suppose I'll have time to take photos from different places :confused:

 

My camera bag is now quite a bit heavier. I finally got a 17-50 f/2.8. Yay me! I bought the Sigma version. I also got a used Canon 70-300mm which isn't the best quality but does a nice job for what I paid. It was nice to have the longer lens in Alaska.

 

Not Victoria obviously, however, a couple of points. She had a forward facing balcony cabin on the Pacific Princess this trip, a much different ship than the Coral or Island for sure (One cool thing, the Pacific Princess was just ahead of us through the canal and the locks. Would have loved to have been on it.). We did the "Ocean to Ocean" full transit on the Coral this spring. We were on the Caribe deck aft and went forward to the Baja level forward deck for the first set of locks. It got fairly crowded pretty early (BTW, the naturalist was doing his commentary from here). We did check the Caribe forward area, but, thought that the Baja had a better view. We also checked the aft Baja observation area later in the transit of the first locks and thought the forward view was more interesting. Be sure to take your whole camera bag (or at least all of your lenses) to the area that you watch from. Having more than one lens makes for a better chance to get the best shot (I didn't initially and had to go back to get the bag. Too early in the morning I guess.). Enjoy your cruise! The Coral is a really nice ship. :)

Edited by ar1950
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perfect match Holiday Sharing Rare

perfect match

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Love your canal transit pics, Victoria! We will be going through the new locks when we sail next year. While I am excited about the new locks, I'm a bit disappointed we will not be using the mules. I think it would have been interestng to watch, but I did know what we were getting when we booked.

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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Victoria, I know there are positives and negatives to the forward balconies. Can you tell me based on your experience would you recommend a forward facing balcony vs a side balcony for the PC? We always get a balcony so that's not the issue, just wondering your thoughts on the location.

 

Thanks for another amazing review!

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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Victoria, I know there are positives and negatives to the forward balconies. Can you tell me based on your experience would you recommend a forward facing balcony vs a side balcony for the PC? We always get a balcony so that's not the issue, just wondering your thoughts on the location.

 

Thanks for another amazing review!

 

Great review!

 

We would like more info on the forward balconies as well, as we have one on the Pacific Princess next year. Ours is a mini suite on 8. It is for a TA so I am really interested in how much the ship moves.

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Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

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Welcome back, Victoria.

 

I'm kind of glad it took this long for you to get to the Panama Canal pix, because it's that much closer to my Panama Canal cruise :D

 

I'll be on the Coral next year, and I know you've been on the Island so I have a few questions. I will go back and reread your review of the Island Princess trip later.

 

Were the forward and aft viewing areas EVER crowded on the Island? From your photos it didn't look like it. There was hardly anyone out there for my Alaska cruise either which I didn't quite understand. However, I wasn't going to running all over the ship screaming "better view from Baja forward" :p Did you like the view from forward or aft better, going through the locks? My cabin will be very close to the aft deck on Caribe, but I might make the trek forward for part of the trip. I suppose I'll have time to take photos from different places :confused:

 

My camera bag is now quite a bit heavier. I finally got a 17-50 f/2.8. Yay me! I bought the Sigma version. I also got a used Canon 70-300mm which isn't the best quality but does a nice job for what I paid. It was nice to have the longer lens in Alaska.

 

Did the Coral transit last Oct, and several other times.

We found the forward and aft viewing areas are pretty crowded at times, especially forward.

Need to get out there pretty early (6:00am) to stake your spot.

It gets very hot too.

It is a good idea to move around during the transit. Promenade Deck is great too.

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Yehootu

Yehootu

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Welcome back, Victoria.

 

I'm kind of glad it took this long for you to get to the Panama Canal pix, because it's that much closer to my Panama Canal cruise :D

 

I'll be on the Coral next year, and I know you've been on the Island so I have a few questions. I will go back and reread your review of the Island Princess trip later.

 

Were the forward and aft viewing areas EVER crowded on the Island? From your photos it didn't look like it. There was hardly anyone out there for my Alaska cruise either which I didn't quite understand. However, I wasn't going to running all over the ship screaming "better view from Baja forward" :p Did you like the view from forward or aft better, going through the locks? My cabin will be very close to the aft deck on Caribe, but I might make the trek forward for part of the trip. I suppose I'll have time to take photos from different places :confused:

 

 

My camera bag is now quite a bit heavier. I finally got a 17-50 f/2.8. Yay me! I bought the Sigma version. I also got a used Canon 70-300mm which isn't the best quality but does a nice job for what I paid. It was nice to have the longer lens in Alaska.

We did the Island canal transit, LAX-FLL in April 2014. I think people camped out in the Horizon buffet, full forward on Coral and Island, and on the observation deck forward. I live in Hawaii and am used to the heat and humidity but knew this was going to be brutal. As we were going under the Bridge of the Americas even all the stairways were packed with people. They start dropping like flies in the heat as the day progresses. Don't forget on the Coral you still have the aft viewing areas that don't get packed. The only Princess ship that will be using the "new" locks will be the Carb. Princess. All others will be using the old lock system and the mules.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Welcome back, Victoria.

 

I'm kind of glad it took this long for you to get to the Panama Canal pix, because it's that much closer to my Panama Canal cruise :D

 

I'll be on the Coral next year, and I know you've been on the Island so I have a few questions. I will go back and reread your review of the Island Princess trip later.

 

Were the forward and aft viewing areas EVER crowded on the Island? From your photos it didn't look like it. There was hardly anyone out there for my Alaska cruise either which I didn't quite understand. However, I wasn't going to running all over the ship screaming "better view from Baja forward" :p Did you like the view from forward or aft better, going through the locks? My cabin will be very close to the aft deck on Caribe, but I might make the trek forward for part of the trip. I suppose I'll have time to take photos from different places :confused:

 

My camera bag is now quite a bit heavier. I finally got a 17-50 f/2.8. Yay me! I bought the Sigma version. I also got a used Canon 70-300mm which isn't the best quality but does a nice job for what I paid. It was nice to have the longer lens in Alaska.

 

Compared to the Pacific Princess, the public viewing areas on the Island Princess were definitely more crowded. I think it had a lot to do with the demographic of the passengers of the ships (younger, more active crowd on Island), as well as there just being less passengers on the Pacific Princess. However, I only remember running into crowds on the upper decks. The lower decks were much less crowded.

 

I remember accessing the Island's "secret balconies" which were forward-facing. Decks 8,9, and 10 have these balconies, and because you have to walk through what looks like a crew-only area to get to them, they were not crowded at all since most guests did not know about them.

 

Here's a link that will take you directly to the Panama Canal crossing from my Island Princess TR - http://www.victoriaonvacation.com/2015/12/island-princess-christmas-cruise-day-6.html

 

You'll notice from the photos that the aft of the ship was not crowded at all in the afternoon. I believe it was more crowded in the morning (when everyone was still on the ship - during the partial transit, many passengers disembarked for excursions), but we got down there early to stake out a spot.

 

On the Island Princess, I much preferred the aft because the views were not obstructed by the bow. Also, because Island is Panamax size, you're really close to the back gate which is cool.

 

However, comparing both journeys, I don't think that anything can beat the forward-facing view on Pacific Princess. Pacific's forward view is cooler because you can see the crew tossing and securing lines, while Island's bow is covered.

 

Definitely walk around during the passage, though. Another one of my favorite locations is outside on the promenade deck (especially when descending) because you are eye-level with the lock walls.

 

 

Another note - if (when) I do another Alaska cruise, I'm definitely going to invest in a greater focal length for my 7100!

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Victoria, I know there are positives and negatives to the forward balconies. Can you tell me based on your experience would you recommend a forward facing balcony vs a side balcony for the PC? We always get a balcony so that's not the issue, just wondering your thoughts on the location.

 

Thanks for another amazing review!

 

For the Panama Canal passage, the forward-facing balcony is amazing. It's the best view, and you get your own personal space. Deck 6's view is slightly more obstructed by the bow of the ship than Deck 7, but it's still a really great view.

 

The forward balcony is very accessible throughout the cruise, even on sea days. It can be windy out there, but so close to the Equator, the wind is what makes the balcony usable, in my opinion. We were able to open the balcony door with ease, even on the windiest of days.

 

Now, the downside to the forward balcony (or being forward on the ship in general) is that as soon as we crossed the canal into the Atlantic, we had huge 13' swells, and our room position received all of the movement. If you get seasick easily, I recommend choosing a stateroom in the very middle of the ship. And if you don't get seasick easily and choose to go with the forward balcony (because it is the most awesome view), I suggest buying seasickness bands and putting them on as you go through the last set of locks. Because with Pacific Princess being so small, you really get bounced around at the front of the ship.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Great review!

 

We would like more info on the forward balconies as well, as we have one on the Pacific Princess next year. Ours is a mini suite on 8. It is for a TA so I am really interested in how much the ship moves.

 

I've been reading and responding one post at a time, so check out my post above for more info on the forward balcony.

 

Sailing was very smooth through the Pacific, but very rough once we crossed into the Atlantic. I actually became airborne in my bed a few times at night! Definitely invest in seasickness bands, even if you are not one to typically get motion sick. And if you do struggle with motion sickness, I'd recommend going to the doctor before your sailing and getting prescription seasickness patches.

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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For the Panama Canal passage, the forward-facing balcony is amazing. It's the best view, and you get your own personal space. Deck 6's view is slightly more obstructed by the bow of the ship than Deck 7, but it's still a really great view.

 

 

 

The forward balcony is very accessible throughout the cruise, even on sea days. It can be windy out there, but so close to the Equator, the wind is what makes the balcony usable, in my opinion. We were able to open the balcony door with ease, even on the windiest of days.

 

 

 

Now, the downside to the forward balcony (or being forward on the ship in general) is that as soon as we crossed the canal into the Atlantic, we had huge 13' swells, and our room position received all of the movement. If you get seasick easily, I recommend choosing a stateroom in the very middle of the ship. And if you don't get seasick easily and choose to go with the forward balcony (because it is the most awesome view), I suggest buying seasickness bands and putting them on as you go through the last set of locks. Because with Pacific Princess being so small, you really get bounced around at the front of the ship.

 

 

 

Thanks for the great response and insight. Looking forward to the conclusion of your trip.

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soccergang

soccergang

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Enjoying your photos and commentary very much. (as always) We were doing the PC cruise on the Island around the same time. I agree with the motion sickness. Not sure if it is always that way, but we were really rocking and rolling on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They had to move the party from the deck to the atrium. There were many people suffering on New Year's Day--not due to being hungover, but motion sickness. All in all, a wonderful cruise, and I would do it again.

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