Received this e-mail from
DCL this morning concerning the Panama crossing.
Thank you for booking a vacation with
Disney cruise line, we have some important information concerning the Panama crossing 15 night cruise on August 17th, 2008.
Since your last vacation and our last transit of Panama, we have added a number of new features to the Disney Magic, including the Dumbarton an on deck LED videoscreen wall at the Goofy pool to show late night movies and an enhanced Vista Spa and salon area.
When adding these features to the cruise ship for everyones extra enjoyment, it also added weight to the overall ship. This has affected our buoyancy ratio, it is not any problem in normal sea operations, however in freshwater we have identified a problem, as the buoyancy is far less than in sea water.
The Panama crossing is in freshwater and therefore there is a small possibility if the ship is fully occupied and with the additional features as mentioned above the Panama authorities have told us the ship might not rise in the locks.
I am sure you would not wish the ship to travel in any circumstance where safety is compromised, Maritime law dictates we must make provision, so we will have to make some additional conditions of carriage on the Panama crossings, as follows:-
Luggage. Must be restricted to one bag per person.
Any souvenirs purchased in Acapulco should be shipped home, not taken onboard.
Food, the ship will be loaded in Los Angeles with sufficient food upto the Panama Canal and reloaded in Cartagena food will be restricted on the day of the crossing, to add extra buoyancy, and will consist of Salads and light snacks only all day.
We further ask all cruisers who are over 12 stone to either diet before the cruise or work out in the gym each day before the crossing to ensure the safety of the ship. Servers will restrict desserts to one per person until after the crossing.
The Captain reserves the right to ask large cruisers at the first lock of the panama canal to either get off and catch the train to the other end, or when the ship is in the lock to jump upwards when the bridge makes an announcement, ship to assist its levitation.
We hope these restrictions do not effect your enjoyment of this cruise and look forward to sailing with you! Have a Magical Day!
loril Faop
Health and safety.
April 1st 2007.
Good Morning Crew
