Currently on Caribbean Princes 12/8-12/18 Panama Canal sailing

[Yehootu]

23 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I wonder if a piece of blue masking tape over the sensor on those lights would eliminate the middle of the night disruptions?

 

Which genius whiz kid dreamed this one up?  Eliminate perks but spend money on gizmos?

Used the Blue Painters tape on the Royal and it worked great. Easy on, Easy off. My wife liked the lights till we went to bed, then I'd slide the cap back over the sensor.

[irisheileen]

On 12/10/2022 at 7:44 AM, Kopy said:

We will doing the same cruise Jan 7, if it not too much trouble could you please post the patters so we can see what we can expect on our cruise. Thank you

Our party of six will be traveling on January 7th ceiling as well! It would be great to have very clear patters for us as well.

 

[bhawks9]

We finished same cruise on 12/8 and had a great time!!   To the OP (Atlanta

Cruiser 72) go to Crooners for cocktails!   Suat (pronounced Swat) and Alberto are outstanding!!   If you have a chance please tell Suat and Alberto that Bill and Vicki from the last cruise miss them!!   

[AtlantaCruiser72]

12 minutes ago, bhawks9 said:

We finished same cruise on 12/8 and had a great time!!   To the OP (Atlanta

Cruiser 72) go to Crooners for cocktails!   Suat (pronounced Swat) and Alberto are outstanding!!   If you have a chance please tell Suat and Alberto that Bill and Vicki from the last cruise miss them!!   

Yes they are and yes we will!  There are several HUNDRED new staff onboard this cruise in almost all departments. Ship

is now “fully” staffed in preparation for holiday sailings. The training for them has been woefully inadequate.  I had to spell the words Dos Equis for one poor chap from Jamaica by the pool yesterday. He was apologetic as he also did not know how to use the medallion reader he was issued to place an order. In the end he got it right with a cheerful smile and laugh. He’s trying to learn and provide good service, as are many others and I cannot fault them for that. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Day 4&5 patters and Panama Canal info

Edited December 12, 2022 by AtlantaCruiser72

[AtlantaCruiser72]

[irisheileen]

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Day 4&5 patters and Panama Canal info

Thank you thank you so much for these patters! 👍

[Cathygh]

I am also on 7th January cruise, thank you for posting these.

 

[Essiesmom]

Canal transit day.  Approaching Aqua Clara Locks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Views from the PanCanal cam:  Approaching first lock

 

 

Gate opening

 

 

 

In first lock, gate closing behind, all the way down

 

 

All the way up, ready for second lock

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Looking at Viking Star who is just outside the Gatun Locks

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Heading back out

 

 

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Very nice shots...I take it those are screen grabs from the bridge cam?  How were you able to catch them "live" like that? Laptop?

[Essiesmom]

I do screen shots on my iPad.  Edit/crop in photos.  I take the pics for another forum that focuses on the Panama Canal, and I have to use my laptop to post there, so I upload to Shutterfly.  I post here is there is a Live From or if there is a roll call that is active while sailing.  EM

[Essiesmom]

CB in Colon, from NCL Jewel who will do a full transit tomorrow.

 

 

[Presbycruiser67]

Atlanta, this may strike you as a strange question, but ...

 

does your stateroom have actual furniture aside from the bed?  I cruised on the Carnival Elation in October, and while my stateroom was nicely maintained, it had NOTHING to sit on other than the bed and a little stool in front of the desk/dresser.  There was a large empty space where an easy chair or sofa should have been.  And that was the case for almost everyone!

[Essiesmom]

19 minutes ago, Presbycruiser67 said:

Atlanta, this may strike you as a strange question, but ...

 

does your stateroom have actual furniture aside from the bed?  I cruised on the Carnival Elation in October, and while my stateroom was nicely maintained, it had NOTHING to sit on other than the bed and a little stool in front of the desk/dresser.  There was a large empty space where an easy chair or sofa should have been.  And that was the case for almost everyone!

Carnival Elation, and all of the Fantasy class never had a couch other than in the suites.  There used to be a straight chair as well as the stool.  Princess used to have a barrel chair in each cabin, but they went away.  EM

[AtlantaCruiser72]

On 12/11/2022 at 9:53 PM, bhawks9 said:

We finished same cruise on 12/8 and had a great time!!   To the OP (Atlanta

Cruiser 72) go to Crooners for cocktails!   Suat (pronounced Swat) and Alberto are outstanding!!   If you have a chance please tell Suat and Alberto that Bill and Vicki from the last cruise miss them!!   

I gave her your greeting and she says hello back to you!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I had a busy few days in Cartagena, The Panama Canal and Limon. All three enjoyable in their own right. Yesterday I was a human vegetable and spent all day lounging by the pool. 
 

In Panama we did the Canal by ferry boat tour. Was it a long day yep?  Was it hot, actually not too bad. We got lucky and wasn’t too humid, there was a steady breeze and no rain!!!!  It was worth every penny and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the historic lock system from a different angle. You really get the chance to appreciate the construction and workings of one of the greatest engineering marvels of the early twentieth century. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

New locks From Caribbean Princess 

[HBCcruiser]

49 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I had a busy few days in Cartagena, The Panama Canal and Limon. All three enjoyable in their own right. Yesterday I was a human vegetable and spent all day lounging by the pool. 
 

In Panama we did the Canal by ferry boat tour. Was it a long day yep?  Was it hot, actually not too bad. We got lucky and wasn’t too humid, there was a steady breeze and no rain!!!!  It was worth every penny and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the historic lock system from a different angle. You really get the chance to appreciate the construction and workings of one of the greatest engineering marvels of the early twentieth century. 

We signed up for that same excursion (we are onboard this Sunday). I am glad to hear it was worth it. Let's hope we have good weather too, although it looks like sone rain. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Historic Locks from ferry boat

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We signed up for that same excursion (we are onboard this Sunday). I am glad to hear it was worth it. Let's hope we have good weather too, although it looks like sone rain. 

Yep...we are doing that one in February, also.  Looking forward to it!

[Raze]

9 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I had a busy few days in Cartagena, The Panama Canal and Limon. All three enjoyable in their own right. Yesterday I was a human vegetable and spent all day lounging by the pool. 
 

In Panama we did the Canal by ferry boat tour. Was it a long day yep?  Was it hot, actually not too bad. We got lucky and wasn’t too humid, there was a steady breeze and no rain!!!!  It was worth every penny and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the historic lock system from a different angle. You really get the chance to appreciate the construction and workings of one of the greatest engineering marvels of the early twentieth century. 

 

How exciting!  We are going in a couple of weeks and just planned this excursion.  How long did you have to wait in Colon for the ship to arrive?

[Raze]

For anyone who recently went on the 10 day Panama, I do have a few questions if you have the time to answer them.  

 

Any evening dinners you recommend skipping for specialty dining?

 

Do you have any excursion/port recommendations?  In particular, we are thinking of jumping on the bus to 7 mile beach in Grand Caymen but it looks like there are some parts of the beach that aren’t pleasant. 

 

We have the plus drink package.  Any experience using that onboard? 

 

Thanks in advance!!