Live! Radiance of the Seas - Panama Canal cruise - April 8, 2024

[Teeara]

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

FYI, our ship tour won't make it back until about 6:05, 35 minutes after all aboard. So if you're curious who the ship is waiting for, that's us. 😁

Luckily, the ship only needs to leave the dock and go anchor.  But we'll miss early MDR seating

And here we thought we would be last.  We got in at 5:35, so you won the tardy boarders award today.  At least you weren’t a pier runner!

[RobInMN]

1 minute ago, Teeara said:

And here we thought we would be last.  We got in at 5:35, so you won the tardy boarders award today.  At least you weren’t a pier runner!

We were literally the last tour back. Getting to the ship,  there were only 2 other passengers to scan in behind our group of 4. As soon as the last person's seapass was scanned, the security officer proclaimed "zero zero", to which there were muffled Cheers from the crew🤣

[Teeara]

Today was a long day.  We did the Panama Treasures Just For You.  It was a 7 hour tour and it was jam packed.

 

But first, the ship maps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we disembarked the ship there were some dancers inside the terminal and these young indigenous people outside by the buses.

 

 

We has a 90 minute drive from Colon on the Atlantic side of Panama to Panama City on the Pacific side.

 

 

Our first stop was the Reprosa Factory where they take wax molds to make silver and gold jewelry.

 

 

 

We had a demonstration where they filled the mold with silver and I got to help in the process.  I was given a flawed silver piece that they were going to melt down and use in a new piece.  Here, I’m putting it in the kiln.

 

 

Then I was given a soda can filled with tiny balls of silver to fill up the holder they use to melt the silver.

 

 

Here’s the finished product right out of the kiln.

 

Here’s the same design.  The right one still needs work.  The one on the left has been polished.

 

And here’s the top piece in gold for sale.

 

 

They had so many beautiful things for sale and the prices were extremely reasonable, a lot of these pieces were under $100.

 

[Teeara]

Reprosa also had the beautiful Molas that I wanted to get.  Pam got one of the fish.

 

 

We next stopped at a big shopping mall for lunch and then went to the old town area to learn a bit more about the history of Panama.

 

 

We boarded a tram that took us to the museum.

 

 

Inside there were several dioramas and maps to explain the time frame and what had happened in the time before the Spanish came and the effect on the native people.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to head back to the ship. All aboard was 5:30.  We got there at 5:34, but because we were on a ship sponsored tour, we didn’t have to panic since we knew they wouldn’t leave without us.

 

Sailaway was at 6:30, so only 30 minutes late.

 

 

The dark building on the right is the cruise terminal.  We exited through this terminal when we arrived.  But when you return from a shore excursion, you have to go through the duty free shops in the bright building on the left then enter the terminal.  We wish we had more time.  The duty free building looked good and the duty free in the terminal looked good too.

 

We had dinner in the Windjammer tonight so no food porn.  Here’s some menu porn instead 😉😁

 

 

Lastly, here’s today’s Cruise Compass:

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we do the full Panama Canal transit.  Originally we were scheduled for 8:00 a.m., but now they are saying 9:45 a.m.  So a little more sleep tonight.

 

Edited April 13 by Teeara

[Coralc]

Trust me @Teeara everyone will be up very early tomorrow. ☺️ Canal crossings are so exciting, and the ship is literally buzzing very early in the morning. The approach to the canal with all the anchored ships waiting for their time is very interesting, too. And sometimes there are crocs, on the banks during the approach.

 

Bill went to Pacific HS. Which is now Marina Square. 😄

[ONECRUISER]

5 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Luckily, the ship only needs to leave the dock and go anchor.  But we'll miss early MDR seating

Last 2 Canal Cruises in 2023 and 2022 we went and parked. Looks like into the nite we are still moving miles away and not Parking. Still going to Northwest and already over 30km out, might putter along most the nite. But we went through canal at 6am previous, dont think supposed start as early tomorrow

Edited April 13 by ONECRUISER

[ONECRUISER]

22 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Last 2 Canal Cruises in 2023 and 2022 we went and parked. Looks like into the nite we are still moving miles away and not Parking. Still going to Northwest and already over 30km out, might putter along most the nite. But we went through canal at 6am previous, dont think supposed start as early tomorrow

...meant say we are still going away to the "Northeast" of Canal, over 40km out and still going at 10kts

[perfect match]

Have a great day going through the canal!

[RobInMN]

44 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Last 2 Canal Cruises in 2023 and 2022 we went and parked. Looks like into the nite we are still moving miles away and not Parking. Still going to Northwest and already over 30km out, might putter along most the nite. But we went through canal at 6am previous, dont think supposed start as early tomorrow

Yeah, I noticed that around 8:00 PM and came to the same conclusion. We never just anchored and appeared to be still moving. Any chance it's actually easier or more fuel efficient to just putter around slowly rather than try to anchor and maintain position?

 

[RobInMN]

Hope @Teeara doesn't mind piggybacking her thread.

We did the Expansion of the Panama Canal "The Present & The Future" tour. Saw the new Agua Clara locks on the Caribbean side...

...and the original Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side, where we saw Carnival Spirit.

The museum at Miraflores was closed, but the IMAX movie was pretty good. Not sure I would have had time to see a museum anyway.

 

Good thing there's handrails on the inside of the ramp. Safety first! 

[Teeara]

7 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Last 2 Canal Cruises in 2023 and 2022 we went and parked. Looks like into the nite we are still moving miles away and not Parking. Still going to Northwest and already over 30km out, might putter along most the nite. But we went through canal at 6am previous, dont think supposed start as early tomorrow

We were supposed to go through at 8:00.  Our entrance has been pushed back to 9:45.

[Teeara]

6 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Hope @Teeara doesn't mind piggybacking her thread.

We did the Expansion of the Panama Canal "The Present & The Future" tour. Saw the new Agua Clara locks on the Caribbean side...

...and the original Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side, where we saw Carnival Spirit.

The museum at Miraflores was closed, but the IMAX movie was pretty good. Not sure I would have had time to see a museum anyway.

 

Good thing there's handrails on the inside of the ramp. Safety first! 

Please feel free to add!!!

[Teeara]

6:27 a.m. crowd.  We don’t enter the locks for another 3.25 hours.

 

 

 

[Teeara]

[island lady]

24 minutes ago, Teeara said:

 

Beautiful!  🙂   Enjoy your passage today!   Lots of really big Alligators in the canal.  

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, Teeara said:

We were supposed to go through at 8:00.  Our entrance has been pushed back to 9:45.

Weird leaving Colon then Cruising over 100 Kt Miles to the Canal

[Jimbo]

13 hours ago, Teeara said:

Reprosa also had the beautiful Molas that I wanted to get.  Pam got one of the fish.

 

 

We next stopped at a big shopping mall for lunch and then went to the old town area to learn a bit more about the history of Panama.

 

 

We boarded a tram that took us to the museum.

 

 

Inside there were several dioramas and maps to explain the time frame and what had happened in the time before the Spanish came and the effect on the native people.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to head back to the ship. All aboard was 5:30.  We got there at 5:34, but because we were on a ship sponsored tour, we didn’t have to panic since we knew they wouldn’t leave without us.

 

Sailaway was at 6:30, so only 30 minutes late.

 

 

The dark building on the right is the cruise terminal.  We exited through this terminal when we arrived.  But when you return from a shore excursion, you have to go through the duty free shops in the bright building on the left then enter the terminal.  We wish we had more time.  The duty free building looked good and the duty free in the terminal looked good too.

 

We had dinner in the Windjammer tonight so no food porn.  Here’s some menu porn instead 😉😁

 

 

Lastly, here’s today’s Cruise Compass:

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we do the full Panama Canal transit.  Originally we were scheduled for 8:00 a.m., but now they are saying 9:45 a.m.  So a little more sleep tonight.

 

If you get a chance, in the Windjammer, can you get a few pictures of the stir fry setup they have? Should have both meat and veggies. See if each passenger gets to put on their own raw meat on a plate with the veggies and then hand it over to the chef to cook. Just wondering how Radiance currently is doing it.

[RobInMN]

Queued up!

[Jimbo]

http://webcams.delcanal.com/gatun00009.jpg?9975370

Copy and paste the link above to get the picture.

 

 

I think that is Radiance coming through next, once it gets closer. We will know for sure.

 

https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/gatun.html

Edited April 13 by Jimbo

[Jimbo]

I have never seen  a ship stay that long in a lock without moving.? Wonder if there is an issue?

 

That Holland America ship looks huge sitting in that lock.

 

Edit: Finally it moved out !!!

Edited April 13 by Jimbo

[RobInMN]

"30m delay getting lines attached", but no idea why. I think we should have entered the bottom when Neau Amsterdam entered the top?

[RobInMN]

This might be the reason. They all came out of the building at the same time and the some garbage out. Lunch break? 

[Jimbo]

22 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

"30m delay getting lines attached", but no idea why. I think we should have entered the bottom when Neau Amsterdam entered the top?

Lunch Break ?  🤣🤣

 

Wow Rob we are thinking alike...... Union break !! Must not work until I eat !!

 

What's the humidity like? Can't have a Panama Canal crossing without a thunder storm and a down pour and watch the people on the bow scatter !!

Edited April 13 by Jimbo

[Jimbo]

We are going to get a good look at Radiance, She is in the inside lane  close to the camera.

 

*Picture is so deceiving, you are on the outside lane

 

Hope everyone onboard smiles !!

Edited April 13 by Jimbo

[Jimbo]

@RobInMN Make sure after you go through the last lock, run to the back of the ship and try to get  a shot of the sea level you left behind after getting dumped into the Pacific.

 

It should be a real cool picture if you get just the right angle from the right deck.