Norwegian Jade - do they open the bow for Panama Canal Transits

[dmwnc1959]

Map received today! Time to lay out some Panama Canal tracks to keep me inspired, you know, just in case. 😁
 

As for the bow being open for the approach to the Panama Canal, does anyone remember when (or if) they announce how it’s accessed? I’ve seen some pictures of the bow that look like interior stairs coming down from the forward (enclosed portion) of the Promenade Deck at the bow? Appears they may open it at 6am-ish?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by dmwnc1959

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, dmwnc1959 said:

As for the bow being open for the approach to the Panama Canal, does anyone remember when (or if) they announce how it’s accessed? I’ve seen some pictures of the bow that look like interior stairs coming down from the forward (enclosed portion) of the Promenade Deck at the bow?

On the Gem and the Jewel, the access to the bow is directly from Deck 8 forward. (The Promenade Deck is Deck 7, which is lower.) I can’t make out what you are seeing in that photo that you believe to be stairs, but on the Gem and the Jewel there’s a very high step that you must climb over just before you get outside.  There are always crew members there to help. 
 

This is the Gem. 
 

P.S. I love The Lion King. 😊

 

Edited February 15 by Turtles06

[dmwnc1959]

3 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

On the Gem and the Jewel, the access to the bow is directly from Deck 8 forward. (The Promenade Deck is Deck 7, which is lower.) I can’t make out what you are seeing in that photo that you believe to be stairs, but on the Gem and the Jewel there’s a very high step that you must climb over just before you get outside.  There are always crew members there to help. 
 

This is the Gem. 
 

I used the same picture but cropped it tighter, and do see the large lip to step over a lot better in your picture. What I thought I was seeing in my attachment looks like a metal staircase going up. I had been looking at the deck plans and Deck 8 forward just appears to be passenger cabins, which is why I thought maybe it was from Deck 7. 
 

[yakcruiser]

Probably not relevant today but when I went through the canal in 2015 or was it 16 on the Star, our solos coordinator had us meet up in one of the lounges at the crack of dawn and then she led us out on the bow before the rest of the general public.

[dmwnc1959]

On 1/31/2024 at 4:44 PM, Turtles06 said:

You’ve definitely been doing your research! 😊 Yes, these were taken on B2B cruises. The NCL Gem sailed one-way from NY to Panama City, and then returned to NY. Quite a good-sized group doing the 23-day B2B. It was a great trip!  The second leg was our first northbound transit, and it turned out to be so much more than just seeing things in reverse order. We loved the whole experience. 

I was curious about your turn-around day at Fuerte Amador. I’m assuming that there’s an early gathering of the B2B passengers in one of the ship’s lounges, that will then disembark as a group then re-embark (all for security purposes).
 

Once this process has been completed,  are those passengers that do the B2B allowed to get off the ship and go into town, or maybe do a private tour? And on that turn-around day, what time that night did the ship leave Fuerte Amador? 
 

THANK YOU again for all of your pictures and tips! 🥰

[Turtles06]

46 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I was curious about your turn-around day at Fuerte Amador. I’m assuming that there’s an early gathering of the B2B passengers in one of the ship’s lounges, that will then disembark as a group then re-embark (all for security purposes).
 

Once this process has been completed,  are those passengers that do the B2B allowed to get off the ship and go into town, or maybe do a private tour? And on that turn-around day, what time that night did the ship leave Fuerte Amador? 

There was no meeting of B2B guests. On the final day of the first cruise, we were given our sea pass cards for the second cruise as well as “NCL Still on Vacation — in transit” stickers to put on our shirts when returning to the ship so that we would not have to go through check in (at the Convention Center, which was being used as a temporary cruise terminal).  On the turnaround day, we got off the ship whenever we wanted, went wherever we wanted, and returned whenever we wanted. (All aboard was listed as 11:30pm in the Freestyle Daily, but I suspect arriving guests had to check in much earlier.) This wasn’t the U.S., where the ship has to have a zero count before anyone can re-board. 
 

The only (truly minor) glitch was when we returned to the Convention Center with our “in transit” stickers on, and the untrained Panamanian staff were insisting we had to go through the whole check in process. We finally found someone who understood that we did not, and sent us off to a shuttle bus to the ship. 
 

I don’t know exactly when we pulled away from the dock.  The latest photo I have of us docked was taken at 10:20pm.  We turned in soon after, since we were getting up so early the next morning for the northbound transit. 
 

46 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

THANK YOU again for all of your pictures and tips! 🥰

My pleasure, you are very welcome. 

Edited February 28 by Turtles06

[dmwnc1959]

16 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

There was no meeting of B2B guests. On the final day of the first cruise, we were given our sea pass cards for the second cruise as well as “NCL Still on Vacation — in transit” stickers to put on our shirts when returning to the ship so that we would not have to go through check in (at the Convention Center, which was being used as a temporary cruise terminal).  On the turnaround day, we got off the ship whenever we wanted, went wherever we wanted, and returned whenever we wanted.

Just one more question, if I may, about turnaround day. Do you remember what time the ship docked that morning, early enough that might facilitate very early morning private tours? 

[dmwnc1959]

On 2/15/2024 at 5:06 PM, Turtles06 said:

P.S. I love The Lion King. 😊

During one of The Lion King performances that I attended purchased the most absolute perfect stuffed Musfasa. He sat at my desk at work for years, and one of my coworkers loved him. When I retired this past December I gifted it to her, along with a framed Playbill. She was moved to tears. 🥲

[Turtles06]

13 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Just one more question, if I may, about turnaround day. Do you remember what time the ship docked that morning, early enough that might facilitate very early morning private tours? 

 

I'm pretty sure we docked sometime during the night.  My earliest photo that day was taken at 6:30am, and we were already docked.  We had just transited the Canal the day before, so we'd just been hanging out nearby  🙂   

 

We had a private tour scheduled, and had no problem getting to the Convention Center fairly early.  (Our guide, however, was MIA for a very long time, claiming he'd been held up by a police checkpoint.)   Hopefully, by the time of your trip, the new cruise terminal at Fuerte Amador will be up and running.

[dmwnc1959]

BOOKED!!! 
 

315 days to go and the shore excursion I have been waiting on finally showed up in the app today. 
 

Soooooo excited. 🎉 

 

[PelicanBill]

I did a half-transit (in, turn around and out) on Carnival Legend late 2022 and people asked if we were going into the old locks and they could not tell us for sure until the night before it turns out.

 

If your ship is small enough, it usually applies for old canal transit and is placed in queue far ahead. But the day before the canal authority does final slotting of ships so it isn't a guarantee.  The officer I talked to said they get it 95% of the time - so maybe once every five years they get the new canal. which isn't nearly as interesting since you are tugboated through rather than the fun cable trains.

 

I watched for a while from the mid level promenade. Looking down, with others, I said "Wow that is a very small gap between the ship and the wa--"

 

and a horrendous crunching sound interrupted me. The ship steel ground against the cement walls, and a huge cloud of paint and cement dust rose up.

 

Yikes!  But apparently it happens.  Those cables aren't perfect and holding the ship between the walls when there is only 2 feet of gap on each side.