familycruises Posted August 20, 2006 #1 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We are going on the 10 day Brilliance Of The Seas Panama canal Cruise The itinerary states: Wenesday Panama Canal (Cruising Canal) 7:00 AM 3:00 PM Tendered Wednesday Cristobal Pier, Panama 3:00 PM 7:00 PM Docked My questions: Will we go through the locks on this cruise? Can we watch everything from our balcony? Is there any information/history being announced on loudspeaker as you travel into Panama? I am wondering if we can just enjoy the view from our balcony instead of spending a lot of $ on an excursion? Any info is greatly appreciated! Yvonne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXASMUNK Posted August 20, 2006 #2 Share Posted August 20, 2006 You will start into the locks at around 7a. The ship will have a tour guide annoucing throughout your passage. I URGE you to not stay in your cabin/balcony. Be on deck either forward or aft. You will miss half of the experience and much of the lock operation by sitting on your balcony. We have done the partial Canal several times and ALWAYS those that stayed in the Cabin regret missing much of the passage. You will anchor in Gatun lake where people who have booked excursions will be tendered to the Yacht club to depart on their excursions. Those that remain onboard will then passage back out the Gatun Locks to the pier. The pier area has lots of shops. Urge you to not leave the pier area. Not a safe part of Panana. The affulent section on Panama is Panama City on the west coast. If you do not have a ship's tour booked you will not be tendered to the yacht club since this area is reserved exclusively for those on tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumbaamd Posted August 20, 2006 #3 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We did this same cruise in January. We had a larger D1 hump balcony and spent very little time on it during the canal passage and return. We took no Panama excursions. Jim is correct in all he says above. We remained in the lake for a couple of hours or so. The trip back thru the locks was just as interesting as was the early morning entrance. It's an excursion in itself. The time spent in the lake was very pleasant, with very few people at the pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue L Posted August 20, 2006 #4 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I am going on the 11 day version of this cruise in March. We have an aft balcony and we plan to get up early run up to the front of the ship and see all the activities from that vantage point, then walk back getting different views. We will finally arrive back at our room, turn on the Bow camera on the TV and then eat our breakfast on the balcony while watching the lock gates close behind us. If anyone knows ABOUT how long it actually takes to pull into the lock, before they start filling it with water I would love to know for our planning. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted August 20, 2006 #5 Share Posted August 20, 2006 One of the best spots as you go through the Canal is outside on Deck 5, Promendade Deck. Wide open space, few people, lots of chairs, sit right up next to the railing and see the sights. We loved it! Spent the entire day there. DH even ran up to the 'Jammer and brought down food so we wouldn't miss anything. You're in the shade, but outside at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrp96 Posted August 20, 2006 #6 Share Posted August 20, 2006 The helicopter pad is a great place to be for the entrance into the locks, but, despite what the Captain says, you do need to be up there very early to get a spot to be able to see. The only problem is you can't hear the narration being made about the canal. It took about 2 hours total for us to go through all 3 locks at Gatun Lake. I started on the helicopter pad until we were in the 2nd lock, and then went out on the promenade deck, where you could see how little clearance the ship actually has in the locks - it's amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rixnsd Posted August 20, 2006 #7 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We have taken both the full version (Mira Flores through Gutan) and the partial (Gutan locks) and they are not to be missed. We didn't take the train tour since we had done the Pacific to Atlantic on the ship (Celebrity Mercury 2000), but my parents did and they said it is not to be missed. My advice is to be comfortable since it is a long process - even the 3 Gutan locks. Our first trip out, we started on the helio pad but they cleared us out 10 minutes prior to entering the first lock. Your best view will be from somewhere in the front. You won't notice anything other than hitting the walls on the sides. (All of the ships scrape...). On both of our canal cruises, they also closed off the sides of the lower decks (such as Deck 5). If there is a nightclub in the front (I don't know what ship you are on) or something than use that as a resting point and then go out on the top deck for the views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFT_LOVER Posted August 20, 2006 #8 Share Posted August 20, 2006 was just great to watch the mules hooking up to pull the ship through, the water racing in to fill up the lock & then open to let us out, etc. Was great to have breakfast & lunch as we watched the amazing locks & all the folks working hard to earn the $250,000 for the ship to pass. I couldn't believe when the Captain announced the price to sail through. The TV has a station that shows from the front of the ship with narration that we turned all the way up to hear out on the balcony. But be ready for 98 degrees & very humid. We have towels filled with ice around our necks. We did LA-Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isujim Posted August 20, 2006 #9 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Your balcony is the most private, less crowded place...........but a word of warning......... There are two lanes to the canal..........you won't know until around 6am which lane you are assigned............ As a result, one side, port or starboard will be better to view the canal depending on the lane you are assigned. If you are assigned the left lane going in..........starboard balcony is better..........if you are assigned the right lane.........port side is better. We have a full transit in 15 days........we have a port side balcony and our friends are on the starboard........plus other friends are aft.........we should have it covered based on lane assignement and best view. Hook up with somebody if you can that is opposite your cabin.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMurph Posted August 20, 2006 #10 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We have done the partial Canal several times and ALWAYS those that stayed in the Cabin regret missing much of the passage. I must comment that this is not always true. We stayed on our balcony during the transit. We were lucky that as our ship went through the canal, there was another ship right beside us also going through. Our cabin was on the side facing the inside of the canal, so we were able to watch the entire process of the other ship. It was fascinating. Coming back through the canal we experienced the same thing. However, if our ships had switched places, or our cabin was on the other side of the ship, we would not have seen any of this and would have needed to find a good spot on deck. Unfortunately, you won't know ahead of time side of the locks your ship will take or if there will be another ship going through at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted August 20, 2006 #11 Share Posted August 20, 2006 You can watch from your balcony--but you will miss so much! (The partial transit takes alot of time, by the way) Your best bet, is to roam the ship, checking things out from all different sides of the ship, and different deck levels! We didn't do any excursions, either--but we did roam around alot (We were in a JS, as well) Didn't find the limited view from our balcony to be "all that". Once you go through the locks into the lake, you will sit there for a couple of hours, before returning through the locks and docking at Cristobel Pier. You can then get off the ship and wander through a "flea market" type thing--lots and lots of junk for sale. You are NOT allowed into town, unless you are on an excursion--and then, you will be on a bus, train, or boat--no wandering about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike & Sue Posted August 20, 2006 #12 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Great thread, fascinating reading everyone's experiences. We are on the 10 day in Feb. Will have to check which side our friends' cabin is on, hopefully opposite to us. Just a ?, do most people get off the ship in the lake for excursions, or stay on? Wondering if the crowds would be much lighter going back through? I understand all the excursions take you back to the pier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negc Posted August 20, 2006 #13 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We did a full transit when we were on the Dawn Princess in 2002 and had the good fortune to be directly behind her sister ship the Sun Princess. It was fascinating to watch the Sun Princess as it entered the locks and be raised and lowered just before we did the same. I have some great video of it. We watched the entrance into the locks and into Gatun Lake from a forward viewing area on Aloha Deck. It is a day long trip through the canal so after we had passed through the first two sets of locks we spent the rest of the time :)up on deck where we could view both sides of the passage. At one point while we were in the locks I went down to Deck 5 and all you could see out the big windows were the walls of the locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packedandready Posted August 20, 2006 #14 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We did the partial transit in April. Got up early and found a spot forward. DH brough coffee and it was wonderful watching the sun come up and the locks appear. Watched from there until through the first lock then went to our balcony (we were on the good side), ordered room service and had a great time. We decided to go the rest of the transit on the ferry excursion. Since we were that close could not miss going all the way through. It's a different perspective in a smaller boat. We loved the cruise and would really like to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maguzi123 Posted August 20, 2006 #15 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We did this trip in April of this year. We were so excited and got up early and headed for the bow but by 5 am is was already crowede. We got close but the heat was terrible and no sitting room for older people. We didn't think ahead and also did not have anything to eat or drink. I almost passed out even before we got to the locks so I went down to my cabin and freshened up and went on deck 6 - moved from port to starboard, then went aft to see and then back to the bow. The ice in towels - wish I had thought of that as it might have saved me some discomfort.Seeing the land fall away as the ship rises from the lower deck was awesome. Only about 3 of us were there. It is not to be missed but what I hadn't counted on is the return. Most people had seen the passage and didn't show much interest in going back through. I went to the bow and stood right in the middle for all of it. It was incredible. There are hordes of shops at the pier and they bring in entertainment as well. Have a wonderful cruise. Thanks for bringing back the memories. JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lszu Posted August 20, 2006 #16 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We watched the transit on the Atlantic side from our balcony. I think we were on Deck 7. We took the Locks By Ferry excursion and it was fascinating. We got to go through the locks on the Pacific side and saw them up close and personal. Got a ton of interesting information about the country and the Canal from our guide. This way we got to see both sets of locks from two entirely different vantage points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catnip Posted August 20, 2006 #17 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I did the 10-day on Brilliance this past March and liked it so much, we booked the 11-day on Brilliance for 3/26 next year!! :) We did spend some time on our balcony, but also spent some time up on the pool deck. We did not go on any excursions and has a grand time just staying on the ship. We did get off at the pier and had a good time looking at all the vendors/shops there. Most are t-shirts, souveniers and hand-made leather goods. I enjoyed it a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue L Posted August 20, 2006 #18 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I did the 10-day on Brilliance this past March and liked it so much, we booked the 11-day on Brilliance for 3/26 next year!! :) We did spend some time on our balcony, but also spent some time up on the pool deck. We did not go on any excursions and has a grand time just staying on the ship. We did get off at the pier and had a good time looking at all the vendors/shops there. Most are t-shirts, souveniers and hand-made leather goods. I enjoyed it a lot! \ Have you joined our roll call, I am also on the 3/26 click below for the link Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2croose Posted August 20, 2006 #19 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We were on the Brilliance in March. I missed the morning show because I had a little too much fun the night before. One of my favorite bar waiters brought me a free double white russian and I had a very good time that night. However, I will tell you that unless you go on an excursion, you can see the ship go back through the locks in the afternoon on its way to Cristobal Pier. Same show....a lot less people. We were on the helicopter pad and the tour guide will still be on the speaker letting you know what you are looking at. That is a great cruise...we loved it. Costa Rica is great! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike & Sue Posted August 20, 2006 #20 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Luv2croose - "free double white russian and I had a very good time that night". That will do it everytime. Good thing they had the afternoon show (LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katiel53 Posted August 20, 2006 #21 Share Posted August 20, 2006 We did the 10 day Brilliance cruise last April. We had a cabin on deck 9 and quite forward. On our way thru the canal we were in the left lane and a freighter was just ahead of us in the right lane so we were able to see everything that was going to happen from our balcony. We didn't do any excursion, so on the way back thru the locks, we went up to the Seaview Cafe for lunch and then went outside to watch as the locks closed behind us. Both spots were great for the trip. I don't feel we missed anything by staying on our balcony in the morning. We were able to hear what was going on too. Enjoy the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catnip Posted August 21, 2006 #22 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Mike&Sue, I love your avatar!!!! What a beautiful picture!!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising forever Posted August 21, 2006 #23 Share Posted August 21, 2006 This was our first RCCL cruise a couple of years ago; had 1102 (aft) and watched the bow camera for the view from the front and looked out the balcony for the rear view; since it was pouring rain (common in this rainforest area ~ DO take raingear) this vantage point turned out to be perfect for us! And since it goes both ways, you can do the up on deck one way and from the cabin the other direction if aft is where u are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike & Sue Posted August 21, 2006 #24 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Mike&Sue,I love your avatar!!!! What a beautiful picture!!! :) Hey thanks Catnip, but I can't take credit for taking the shot. I think it came preloaded on my laptop when I purchased it, part of some sample photos or something. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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