Panama West - East

[astrocat]

Greetings everyone - we have just reserved a port side Millie cabin for a west - east crossing (LA - FLL). 
 

Is this a good choice for the canal itself? There are still plenty of cabins on our itinerary so I could look at swopping. 

 

Apologies for a FAQ but I’m struggling with the search function (currently on phone on Connie)

 

This is our 2nd attempt to do a traverse. Fingers crossed it all works out this time! 
 

Thank you! Astrocat 
 

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Honestly for a crossing you are going to want to be out on deck to see both sides.

 

My parents did a westbound crossing on another line earlier this year, and because of overly rich food (just not everyday eating) and the heat in Cartegeña my dad got sick and though the medical staff was 99% sure it was food and heat they had to quarantine him for 24 hours - which was most of the day of the crossing. He was stuck on the balcony seeing only one side while my mom was on deck able to see things on both sides.

Edited November 25, 2019 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[wrk2cruise]

In my personal opinion west to east transit is the best direction.  Entry to the canal is much nicer on the west coast.  You have 2 sets of locks then travel through the cut and into the lake by early afternoon.  Exiting the canal on the east coast is very industrial.

 

As far as which side of the ship is better, like others I don't think it matters.  What you can see from your room will depend somewhat on which side of the locks you enter.  As others have said you will probably want to spend time all around the ship to take in the views.  With some time indoors as it is very hot and humid.

[phoenix_dream]

I also don't think it really matters.  You definitely need to get out on the deck to view it from all angles. They should have wonderful guest speakers onboard who will narrate your transit (and give other talks in the theater of related topics).   Be prepared for weather possibly hotter than anything you have experienced before.  Make sure to dress cool, bring sun protection, and stay hydrated.  I brought some electrolyte flavored water drops to put in my bottled water when on deck, and in very hot ports like Cartagena.  You can find them at any grocery store.

 

We did this cruise (east to west) when DH retired, as it was his top bucket list item.  I thought I would hate it, and at the end of the day it turned out to be one of my very favorite cruises.  Very interesting.

[Northern Aurora]

We have done six full PC transits and have done both directions.  I don't think the direction of the transit matters.  Folks need to be prepared to spend time on the upper open decks as interesting sights are on both sides.  

[cruisestitch]

Keep in mind that as you go from the Pacific to the Atlantic, you are actually traveling east to west, more or less.  This seems counterintuitive I know, but look at a map. There is such a severe twist in the Isthmus of Panama that as you go from the Pacific to the Atlantic you are going northwest.  From Colon, on the Atlantic side, to Balboa on the Pacific side, you travel southeast.  

[astrocat]

Thank you all .. so much to look forward to! 

[TeeRick]

You are probably going through the old locks and we did this on Infinity.  The Millennium is the same size and it just barely fits.  This is really cool to see from the above decks looking down.  Quite historical too.  But it will be very hot and muggy outside so prepare for that.  

[emelle]

Just got back from crossing, on Infinity, pacific to Atlantic. It does not matter which side your cabin is.....because which side of the locks you enter can change at the "last moment," depending on the traffic that day and time (ours did....the pilots and canal control changed us to one side because of traffic that day) so you can't plan on that unless you have the penthouse, which will afford you greater cabin views, but only aft. 

 

As others have said, plan to be outside, plan to move around the ship, take sun protection (A loose Coolibar shirt and a sun hat work wonders for me and I don't need as much sunscreen). Take good binoculars (we did not and regretted it). Take good sunglasses and stay hydrated.Take closed toed, sturdy  shoes if you want to view from the helipad (they opened the helipad to all for viewing during our transit, but you have to have the appropriate shoes and the helipad has to be dry).  Also be prepared for torrential rain.....you never know, especially during the rainy season. Read David McCoullagh's (hope I spelled that correctly) book before or during your transit---I did and it was a great accessory, though teadious in some portions---and go to the lectures about the canal, panama and the history etc.....especially if you are at all interested in that sort of thing. The lectures re-run on board on a TV channel, on the hour, but only on the day after the lecture----so we were not guaranteed we could catch a lecture if we did not attend. Also on the TV replay you do not get the benefit of the use of the pointer by the instructor as in the theatre...so as they point to "....as at this point of the lock...." or whatever, on the TV replay you only see the overall picture, not the "point!"  

 

On Youtube, you can also find a repeat of an old PBS NOVA show from 1987 where essentially McCoullagh narrates a summary of the book (search Panama Canal, NOVA etc on YOUtube and its about an hour long). Celebrity replayed this show one night in the theatre, but it was at 10:00 and we were too tired to go, but found the show online. I would suggest watching before you go, since internet may not be powerful enough onboard to watch it when you like.

 

Let me know if you have additional questions. Good luck....it was more fascinating than I even thought it would be.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

David McCullough's book, The Path Between the Seas, is very informative.  You will be in awe of what those folks achieved.  People really took pride in their work in those days.

 

And it does not matter which side of the ship you are on.  Get out and about to see everything.  If you are fortunate enough to have an aft cabin or have a friend who does, it is fun to watch the lock doors close once.  It's a fabulous cruise.

[BarbinMich]

Not to be too picky, but if your ship is coming from the Caribbean you travel NNW (Colon) to SSE (Panama City) and the reverse if you go the other direction (Panama City to Colon).  We've done 3 Canal canals:  2 were complete and 1 was a partial (ocean to Gatun Lake and back out).

[Mr. Click]

Ok Astrocat and TeeRick, I am passing the hat to raise some some money to help pay for this trip. Just booked it. after talking about it for two years.  

[astrocat]

8 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Ok Astrocat and TeeRick, I am passing the hat to raise some some money to help pay for this trip. Just booked it. after talking about it for two years.  

Ha ha yes us too but nothing ventured!! See you guys on board!! 

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Ok Astrocat and TeeRick, I am passing the hat to raise some some money to help pay for this trip. Just booked it. after talking about it for two years.  

Congrats!  You will love it.  And definitely take the advice of Happy Cruiser 6143 and read David McCullough's book before you board.

[Mr. Click]

Thanks guys.  We are really looking forward to this one. It is a long way off but our other attempts at booking a full transit cruise never worked because they sold out so quickly so this time I was ready on day one.  The pricing was a whole lot better than the one for Oct 2020 and the 2021 dates work better for us so it was a no brainer once I saw the offerings.  

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Mr. Click said:

Thanks guys.  We are really looking forward to this one. It is a long way off but our other attempts at booking a full transit cruise never worked because they sold out so quickly so this time I was ready on day one.  The pricing was a whole lot better than the one for Oct 2020 and the 2021 dates work better for us so it was a no brainer once I saw the offerings.  

 

Enjoy!  It's a wonderful cruise.  And now you have lots of time to read McCullough's book.  It will really enhance your experience of the canal transit.

[bigbenboys]

I picked the north side as the south side will have to much sun on the balcony. It gets hot in Panama.