If You See It: Eat It! Via Panama to Disneyland - Completed and Link to New Trip Report 2/24

[Flossbolna]

Day 12, May 9

Panama Canal Day
Distance from Cartagena: 277 Nautical Miles
Average Speed: 19.5 knots
Distance so far: 1752 Nautical Miles
Distance Panama Canal Passage: 46 Nautical Miles
Average Speed through Panama Canal: 14 knots
Entering Breakwater: 6:45am
Entering Gatun Locks: 7:50am
Out of Gatun Locks: 9:41am
Entering Pedro Miguel Locks: 1:45pm
Out of Pedro Miguel Locks: 2:40pm
Entering Milaflores Locks: 3:04pm
Out of Milaflores Locks: 4:05pm
Let go Anchor: 5:58pm
Anchor Aweigh: 11:35pm
Dress Code: Cruise Casual
Dinner Menu: Panama Dinner
Show: Captain America The Winter Soldier
Weather: Partly Sunny, 81°F/27°C

You might wonder why this update suddenly has a title in German. Well, it is not just any sentence, it is actually a book title from a very well known children’s book. It is the story of the Little Bear and the Little Tiger who find a crate that smells of bananas and it says “Panama” on it. So they decide to set out to travel to Panama because the land must be so beautiful if it smells of bananas. The little tiger has a toy duck on wheels with stripes like a tiger – the Stripy Tiger Duck. Little Bear, Little Tiger and Stripy Tiger Duck are very popular (and there are other books with more adventures), you can get all kind of merchandise with them. So, from the moment we started planning this cruise I always had that title in the back of my mind. And I also made us a door magnet with a picture of Little Bear, Little Tiger and Stripy Tiger Duck heading out to Panama:

And today was the big day: we got to Panama!

The Navigator for the day had a tentative schedule of how things would work out (picture thanks to www.disneycruiselineblog.com):

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-...L-Panama-Canal-Transit-Schedule-WBPC-2014.png

As you can see from the actual times posted at the beginning of this update, we arrived a little late, but were through the locks quicker than anticipated. So, for any future PC cruisers: Keep an eye out for what is happening outside, the times you get beforehand are just tentative, and things can change!

When we got the times, we were very pleased as previous PC cruises were starting the transit much earlier in the morning. So for us, this seemed a great improvement!

We had no intention to camp out in the very early hours for a spot at the front of the ship, so we set the alarm for 7 am and just quickly got ready to head out.

This was the view out of our porthole when we got up:

And then up on deck:

We found a spot on the side on deck 10 and watched us approach the canal. Mickey wanted to see the canal as well and joined the masses on deck 10:

We saw the bit where there was the first attempted to build a canal:

And then we approached the first lock:

A little boat was keeping us company:

And then we were in the first lock:

We kind of kept planted at the spot that we had up there and did not move away for the whole time approaching and going through that first lock. It was already really warm and humid outside and we were standing in the full sun. Not the most pleasant way to start your day. Once we had been through the first lock of the first set (there are three sets, the first one has three locks, the second is only one lock and the third one is two locks) I started to move around a bit and found a coffee station. They had one at the front of deck 10 and I think along the sides of deck 10 and 4 as well. They had coffee (regular and decaf) as well as hot water for tea and ice water. During the morning hours they had breakfast pastries (rather soggy from being out in the humid weather) and then around lunch time they switched over to cookies:

This was a great touch and an easy fix for some breakfast!

I tried to get a picture above the heads of the people who had camped out very early to get the prime spots at the front of the ship:

Walking towards the back I realised that if you hang out in the pool, you get a great view as well:

Then we headed down to deck 4 and suddenly realised that this is where things were really interesting! You could see how the whole lock process worked and how close the ship really was to the walls of the locks:

untraditional funnel picture:

Rails for the “mules” – the little locomotives which ensure that the ship stays “on track” and does not move sideways:

and mule:

Down here we got some drinks and pastries:

Looking back towards the ship that follows us in the set of locks next to us:

Originally it was thought that the locks would operate in both directions with the two parallel sets, but today with the large ships (called Panamax because they have the maximal size to go through the canal) they prefer to operate the locks in the parallel direction. So during the morning both sides let the ships into the canal and then the long line of ships pass each other in the canal and once they get to the other side, both sides will be letting ships out in the afternoon.

The canal was celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and the main lock buildings were all decorated:

We headed inside to check out how long the line was at the port adventure desk where they had some Panamanian officials to stamp passports. Passing through I saw a CM watching us going up out of a lock:

It was really neat that throughout the day you would always run into CMs taking a few minutes to watch the whole proceedings. I got the impression that they were free to watch as much as they wanted as long as it did not interfere with their jobs. And use guest areas for that as well. I think that was really nice and added to the excitement on the ship that you could tell that this was not standard procedure for anyone!

I then decided that I wanted a picture of myself as well!

We were lucky that there was virtually no line for the passport stamps, so we got that done. I then went to buy some stamps from guest services for postcards to be sent from Panama. They were not expensive at all. You just had to return your post cards to guest services by a certain time in the afternoon, I think around 3:30pm.

Up Next: Austria in Panama Part 1

 

[jedijill]

How exciting! I love the German storybook. I find the whole canal/lock process fascinating! I have to get on a PC cruise some of these days.


Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

This is bringing back so many lovely memories. We love hanging out on deck 4 on the crossing day. We did this in 2011 and again this year. It feels so much more real from down there.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great pics! I loved our day crossing. It was incredible how close the ship got to the sides!

Your book magnet was adorable!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Work has been absolutely crazy lately, and then throw in Drew's final season of Cross Country and I have gotten way too far behind on everyone's TRs.

Trying to get all caught up while I can. I enjoyed all the updates I missed. So many dishes looked really good, but I have to say that the soufflés looked really yummy! I do think I am going to have to break down and try the eggs benedict sometime after seeing so many friends here on the DIS talk about how great they are!

I agree that Cartagena looks like a beautiful city! Too funny about the Heinz ketchup! Good thing that I know the difference between "," and "." when it comes to numbers! I really like Heinz ketchup, but four thousand nine hundred dollars would be a little too much to pay for some. Well, the way Pat loves french fries and ketchup she might, but that's a different story! Reading your update on departure day, and seeing the Pilot boat brings back a bad memory. The husband of one of my High School teachers was the harbor Pilot in my home town and one day after taking a ship out of the harbor he went to transfer to the Pilot boat, slipped on the ladder, hit his head and drowned after falling into the water between the boats.

You got some great pictures passing through the locks of the Panama Canal! One day I hope to mark that off of my bucket list too! Great job tying in the story about the children's book!

 

[dizneeat]

Great new update! Going through the locks must be so exciting - especially if you see how narrow they are.

I love the pics from deck 4 - it looks even more impressive.

Now I am wondering how Austria gets into the mix.

 

[mom4fun]

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this but when we go through the canal next May, I'm not real excited about it. I can't imagine being very entertained by it for more than 15 minutes. It looks very industrial. I know I must be missing something because everyone seems to love it. Did you have any of these feelings before you went?

 

[Flossbolna]

I've heard of this, mean to look and the forget. Which is really silly as we were on deck 7. Forward though. Not as fun with no chairs though.

The secret deck 7 does not exist anymore on the Magic. When they reconfigured the aft during the re-imgaineering, it was filled with crew areas. So, don't worry that you did not make it there!

that door would have made Jeff very cranky too. Luckily we couldn't really hear Natalie, our CD in our room, but then again we were not in there most of the time she was yammering away.

Luckily they repaired the door and it was not an issue again. And I am sure Jimmy would not have been a problem if Michael did not like to sleep in. I think normally the announcements are in such a volume that you might notice that there is an announcement outside, but you would not be able to understand it inside your room. We could hear every single word.

I did not know there was a cruise directors show on the TV, that's pretty pathetic.

I think you only got half of my story of the cruise director's morning show. It is something they add for the Panama Canal cruise (and maybe the Transatlantic). It was kind of breakfast TV and highlighted the entertainment of the coming days and told stories of what was going on at the ship. Since with the many sea days they did add a lot of special events, I found it informative. And I liked our cruise director Jimmy - he is really funny! During the morning show it was much more casual talk and less sales person like as those announcements.

So funny, we had the exact same meals. Wiht the exception of them never bringing the palate cleanser course and never asking about the souffle which surprised me. Worked out fine as I didn't want it anyway (last time they made us one even though we didn't order it) and we actually didn't want dessert at all. I agree completely with your reviews, down to the quality of the tomatoes and the lack of basil. For the extra $50 it is nice to have a quieter and more upscale experience but I do agree, we have just as lovely, or lovelier Italian here as well.

You skipped dessert at Palo!!!!

And I am not surprised that you agreed with my review and had the same choices!! I know that we kind of like the same type of food! I still need to make those parmesan bowls for salads which you once gave me a recipe for - many many years ago! I think from the original sisters' trip TR!

I agree with you that the upcharge for Palo is worth it to escape the craziness of the MDR for one evening for the wonderful atmosphere. You would think that on a cruise like ours where there were so few kids, the MDR would be quieter. We found that it was the opposite! If the room is filled with adults, there is more conversation going and it was really noisy!

We only made it there one day (Lumiere's in our case) for this very reason, I don't see what it has to stop service that early!

I had seen in old Navigators that on the longer cruises they would offer brunch at Triton's a few days, but we never had that. I think it would be nice to be able to go there later. However, I think the opening times listed do mean the times until when they accept people to be seated.

That is disappointing to read. We went to the members event and didn't feel like they pushed all that hard at all, and the mimosa's were flowing! I am glad we went, got some great sting bags and hats though I am sure we could have gotten them by swinging by the desk later too.

I agree on the members event, I never found those too pushy. However, I think this cruise was pushier than my last. Might have been the personalities of the guides?

LOVE the new room, that is a fabulous secret porthole window!!!!!!!!!!! Really changes the feel of the room.

I kept wondering whether my perception of the room was only due to the porthole, but then I constantly noticed how things in general were just in so much better shape in the new room.

It looked lovely, I would have loved to walk around there. Looks and feels a bit like Old San Juan

I guess both were Spanish colonies, so not surprising that they look similar! Old San Juan looks like a lovely city!

That would have been both frustrating and concerning. We had a similar experience in Barbados.

I think part of what I found so annoying about this was that we chose to go with a DCL excursion to have that added level of feeling more secure in an unknown place. But then we were suddenly a bit stranded and not by our own fault because we had followed the instructions.

Poor Michael is having a hard time with food options isn't he?

Yes, he struggled quite a bit. Partly this is because he is not very adventures in his meat choices (he mainly only eats beef and chicken) and not eating fish. But I also think that to a certain degree the menus were rather repetitive and after so and so many nights of eating the same over and over, it was getting a bit difficult. I love the atmosphere of the MDR, but I think on my next long cruise, I will skip it more often early in the cruise to avoid dining room fatigue as we got it a bit this time.

So pretty! We love sail aways and this was an especially pretty one

I really loved it! It was also always a great place to get to chat with the people around you.

What a fabulous reason for him to have gone missing.

I think so, too! I also remember how happy and relaxed he was when he came back with that story! Seemed to have done him very good!

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you, I will check out those posts!

I've gotten about halfway through your report so far and am really enjoying it!

Also, you have another German speaker here! Well, kind of. I majored in German in college but I'm a bit rusty. I do work for a German company, though, and visit once a year!

I am glad that you are enjoying the report! And since you are kind of a German speaker I better say it in German as well: Herzlich Willkommen nochmal!

Majoring in German I am sure you are better at it than you admit to! But I know how easily one becomes a bit rusty if one isn't practising a language all the time. However, it seems that with your employer you have at least a regular chance to get some practice in now and then!

Looks like you had a nice relaxed afternoon. I can't believe that they did an Indian buffet and we had no idea. We both love Indian food. What a shame that you never got to watch Frozen. We watched it for the first time on the Magic last December. I had every intention to watch it again on the Wonder, but never got around to it.

Corinna

I saw Frozen on DVD yesterday for 14 € yesterday and was very tempted to buy it. But then I thought that they for sure will be showing it on our Norway cruise next year, so why pay 14 € for it? The ability to see Disney movies on the ship kind of spoils you!

I had read on the DIS that having buffet nights on the longer cruises is kind of common. I am sure you could inquire at guest services at the beginning of the cruise to find out so that you don't miss it again!

 

[Flossbolna]

Great updates, Magdalene!
I am sorry for not commenting more, but work was a bit more stressful than usual.
Love all the photos, keep them coming!

Ups, before I forget again. I had to at your comment on not having seen Frozen yet. Make that two of us. I have not seen it either and what is worse than that is that in 14 cruises we have not even made it into a cinema on the ships.

Don't worry about not commenting more, I totally understand that life sometimes happens and takes away DIS time!!

Had to laugh that you never made it to the cinema on the ship! We saw two movies this time and I really liked it! The cinema is actually really good with regard to sound and image. And I see it so that if I manage to see a film, I count it as a discount toward my cruise fare as I saved on the money for the cinema ticket.

What a wonderful report! Thank you for taking the time to write it.

My dad was in the US Army, and we lived in Germany for several years, first in Berlin and then Hanau and Heidelberg. I have also been to your lovely city.

I approve your choice of reading material! I'm on the fifth Game of Thrones book, and agree that they are very entertaining.

Looking forward to more. Going to read your last cruise report now.

I am glad you are enjoying my trip report!

I think the next Games of Thrones book will be reading material for my next vacation!

Sounds like you spent quite some time living in Germany! Last winter I visited the Allied Forces museum in Berlin which is in a building that used to be a cinema for the American forces in Berlin. It was all about the live of the Allies in Berlin and I found it very interesting!

I totally agree! They did this when we were on the Magic in the spring of 2013, but it was missing when we were on the Wonder in June of 2014. It was one of my complaints on the survey.

I really should have thought of putting it into my survey as well! I need to remember that on my next cruise if the information is missing again! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow, that must have been a really great massage!

He said it was the wonderful relaxing music that they played at the spa that made him drift away. But I am sure the massage did help, too!

I'm amazed you've been able to avoid it for so long. It's everywhere!

It really is not everywhere here. Really have not seen a lot of merchandise around it besides the DVDs.

Nice Sail away pictures. The story behind the sail away is wonderful and amazing.

I am so glad I made the effort to watch the sail away. I think I now know that this is something I truly enjoy doing on cruises and you will see more sail aways in coming updates!

Sorry you had to play Hide and Seek with Michael and he didn't even know he was playing. THAT is some massage that he can just nap in the spa.

As I mentioned in reply to Mark, it was the music they played more than the massage. But that shows that they made a good choice in music!

Looking forward to going through the canal with you!!!

More canal pictures will come shortly!

Sounds like a lovely relaxing afternoon for you both - but obviously more so for Michael

Yes, I think Michael found spa bliss on that day!

I didn't realise that BBB offered anything other than the regular dining room menus in the evenings - or was that a one off?

As far as I know, it is something that only happens on longer cruises (even though I have seen reports that during the Med cruises this year, they had a buffet there as well). So, if it is something that you would enjoy, I would suggest to enquire at guest services. All the dining is pre-planned for the whole cruise, so they must know or be able to find out for you.

I love magicians, so I hope there is one on our cruise. We saw a fabulous comedy magician, called Shawn Farquaar, on our last cruise. He was amazing.

I am pretty sure you will at least have one magician! They really had a very varied program so there really was something for everyone!

 

[Flossbolna]

I'm all caught up now and really enjoying your report! My husband and I ordered the same entrees as you and Michael at Palo, and now my mouth is watering and I'm dreaming of that Tuna!

You have convinced me that I need to do a longer cruise in the future. I like how you have so much flexibility to skip the main dining room or a show without feeling like you are missing anything, as well as the fact that you really get to know your fellow cruisers.

Seems like our choice at Palo is a popular one!! I agree, the tuna was wonderful!

I think longer cruises are really great as you get to feel at home on the ship. And if you book early they really are not that expensive, especially the transatlantic cruises (with the exception of next years westbound one as that goes to very unusual ports). We paid less for two weeks on the Wonder through the Panama canal than one week on the Fantasy in the same time frame.

Also, with so few kids on board the little ones got so much attention from the characters and CMs.

Enjoying your report. Great info

I am happy to hear that you enjoy reading it!

How exciting! I love the German storybook. I find the whole canal/lock process fascinating! I have to get on a PC cruise some of these days.

I really can recommend the PC cruises, for being longer and the added bonus of getting to see an engineering marvel that was built 100 years ago!

 

[Flossbolna]

This is bringing back so many lovely memories. We love hanging out on deck 4 on the crossing day. We did this in 2011 and again this year. It feels so much more real from down there.

Corinna

I agree, it is great to read a trip report from a cruise that one did experience oneself! I really loved reading your report for exactly that reason!

I am happy that I got both perspectives and really loved moving around to different spots. But I think in total I spent a lot of time on deck 4 as well!

Great pics! I loved our day crossing. It was incredible how close the ship got to the sides!

Your book magnet was adorable!

I was very happy with my magnet as well! Even though I am sure nearly nobody had a clue what it was about!

I think I have a few more pictures of the ship getting close to the walls.

 

[Flossbolna]

Work has been absolutely crazy lately, and then throw in Drew's final season of Cross Country and I have gotten way too far behind on everyone's TRs.

I missed you! I was thinking of sending out a search party already! But I thought it would be work and other stuff that kept you away from the DIS. Oh - and preparing for a fun trip, I like your ticker!!

Why is Drew giving up Cross Country?

Trying to get all caught up while I can. I enjoyed all the updates I missed. So many dishes looked really good, but I have to say that the soufflés looked really yummy! I do think I am going to have to break down and try the eggs benedict sometime after seeing so many friends here on the DIS talk about how great they are!

Yes, you should try egg benedicts - unless you hate sauce hollandaise or runny egg yolks. And the soufflés were certainly some of the true food highlights!

I agree that Cartagena looks like a beautiful city! Too funny about the Heinz ketchup! Good thing that I know the difference between "," and "." when it comes to numbers! I really like Heinz ketchup, but four thousand nine hundred dollars would be a little too much to pay for some. Well, the way Pat loves french fries and ketchup she might, but that's a different story! Reading your update on departure day, and seeing the Pilot boat brings back a bad memory. The husband of one of my High School teachers was the harbor Pilot in my home town and one day after taking a ship out of the harbor he went to transfer to the Pilot boat, slipped on the ladder, hit his head and drowned after falling into the water between the boats.

That is a sad story - but when I watched the manoeuvre I was thinking that it did look a bit dangerous. No safety measure were visible, just a guy jumping out of a moving massive ship!

You got some great pictures passing through the locks of the Panama Canal! One day I hope to mark that off of my bucket list too! Great job tying in the story about the children's book!

For anyone interesting in engineering achievements this is definitely something worth to see! I am sure your eldest son has been through it a few times, but with a very different perspective than me!

 

[Flossbolna]

Great new update! Going through the locks must be so exciting - especially if you see how narrow they are.

I love the pics from deck 4 - it looks even more impressive.

Now I am wondering how Austria gets into the mix.

It was fascinating to see all the effort that goes into getting the ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And I agree that on deck 4 you got a much better view of how things worked.

And I thought the word Austria would catch your attention!

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this but when we go through the canal next May, I'm not real excited about it. I can't imagine being very entertained by it for more than 15 minutes. It looks very industrial. I know I must be missing something because everyone seems to love it. Did you have any of these feelings before you went?

I can understand your feelings very well! I am the daughter of an engineer, so I grew up with an interest in industrial engineering achievements. But even I was never that excited about the process of the locks. In the end I found it more interesting than I thought it would be. Also, the atmosphere on the ship really added a level of excitement that was easy to get caught up in.

However, even if you are not interested in the locks themselves, the scenery through the canal is quite amazing, you will see in the next update. I saw many people who obviously had been up very early to stake out spots on deck 10 and by mid-morning they just looked miserable, hot and tired. So, I would suggest to not bother with all the early morning stress, there are plenty of opportunities to watch the ship go through one of the locks, but spend some time enjoying the views of Gatun Lake (see next update) once you are through the first set of locks.

For me the canal was never a bucket list kind of thing for the canal itself, I was far more intrigued by travelling from one side of the US to the other by ship, kind of travelling like in the old times. That's also the reason why I want to do a transatlantic cruise. I never went to one of the talks of Captain Puckett which so many people found absolutely excellent. I watched some of his presentation on the stateroom TV and even once when I was exercising at the gym, but generally I found those a bit boring.

So, you are certainly not the only person who is not in love with the canal experience, don't be ashamed of it! Just make the best out of the day, there is still plenty to do all around the ship and use it as a sea day with a bit more scenery!

 

[Flossbolna]

We were back in the cabin and Michael was the first to get a shower while I wrote my postcards. We switched on the TV to see the bridge camera:

And it was really nice to have a view outside the window.

I did not stay in the cabin for long, I needed to be back outside to explore a bit more!

I wanted to get a view from the back of the ship looking down into the locks:

And then I realised that now we were entering the most beautiful part of the passage: Gatun Lake! I always thought that the Panama Canal is a canal, meaning a small trench of water. But it isn’t, at least not at the end closer to the Atlantic. It is actually a large reservoir that is fed from rivers. So they did not have to dig down, you just follow the old river bed, just the water level is much higher. Once you get to the Pacific end, it is more how I imagined a canal to be like.

I absolutely loved Gatun Lake, so there are quite a few pictures:

On the sports deck there was some children’s program running which was like an exercise class with Goofy. I thought it was so funny to see Goofy doing all those exercises (and felt sorry for his “friend” to do that in the heat and sunshine!) and took some pictures. I even got some video and then suddenly I had the most unfriendly CM in front of me shouting at me from inside that I need to stop immediately. This was secure programming and I was not allowed to take pictures of the kids. Well, all the kids were with their back to me and I wanted a picture of Goofy! Of course, I stopped, but I really did not appreciate the tone. What do they expect if they do something like that out in the open air? They could at least put some signs on the fence telling people not to take pictures.

Here is a picture of Goofy and since there is no kid that is within the fence on the picture, I don’t see any reason to not post it:

Another fun activity they had going on was in the Goofy pool where you could “swim through the Panama Canal”. They had gotten a glass of Panama Canal water and put it into the pool to make it a honorary Panama Canal. People could swim the length of the pool and got a certificate afterwards. The last person to swim through was David, the Club Host (which means kind of the person responsible for the adult entertainment). He was a great guy and very funny. He was making quite a procedure out of swimming through the pool

For whatever reason I also took a picture of the pastries on offer at the Cove Café:

Then our path got a little narrower because there were islands in the lake:

And I ran into Jimmy and Ashleigh and chatted with them a little bit and got my picture taken with them:

We passed interesting ships:

I think here they are building something in relation to the expansion of the canal:

The whole expansion project calls for a new set of locks (only one, not another two parallel ones like there are now). These new locks will be larger, so bigger ships can go through. But they will also be so designed that less water needs to be used to let the ships go through. Now everytime a ship goes through the water from the lake goes out into the sea. This causes a huge loss of fresh water.

I finally went back in to get a shower myself and continue writing my post cards. It was really lovely to hang out in the cool room and enjoy the scenery outside.

We then headed to Triton’s for Lunch. My trip notes say that I was impressed that we had yet another new menu!

I had the sushi appetizer:

It was nice, but was typical pre-fabricated sushi like you would buy at a supermarket. But it was a nice change!

Michael had the Pear and Pecan Nut Salad:

For my main course I knew that I had to have the “Wiener Schnitzel” with Capers, Lemon and a warm Potato Salad. So, I had an Austrian speciality while in the middle of the Panama Canal.

After I had ordered it, the server came back from the kitchen to tell me that this was made with veal and whether I still wanted it. I was very pleased. If they advertise it as a Wiener Schnitzel, I was expecting veal, nothing less! The next thing that happened was that after our appetizers were done, I got new cutlery:

a steak knife!!! For a schnitzel! I thought that was very funny as a Wiener Schnitzel is supposed to be really tender.

Continued in Part 2

 

[Flossbolna]

And then I got my Wiener Schnitzel:

It was really very good! It looked pan fried to me and the meat was melt in your mouth tender. It was a bit on the greasy side, but that was the only fault I could find. The potato salad was delicious as well, even though I would have expected one that was without sour cream. This was by far one of my favourite dishes on the cruise.

Michael was not as lucky as me, he somehow did not really find something on the menu that appealed to him. But he saw that on the children’s menu there was spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. So he asked to get a portion of that. For whatever reason he ended up getting spaghetti with plain tomato sauce:

Dessert failed me however. I had the Banana- Macadamia Nut Pudding and it was very dry:

It was more cake like than what I think of when I hear pudding.

Michael had the Raspberry Millie Feuille:

I don’t think it was very convincing.

After lunch we headed upstairs to the pool and alternated between hanging out in the water and jumping out to have a look at the scenery.

This was a special seating area on deck 9, all the way forward. Certainly a great view! I think there was a sign that this area was reserved for wheelchairs.

I headed into the gym to check out the view:

And then I got a drink of the day:

It was really nice at the pool and the upper decks, not only did they come around with frozen wash clothes, they also brought boxes of popsicles out and the servers distributing them. I met Josip our headserver distributing them and we chatted a bit. It seemed that he had great fun having a very different day than usual.

We crossed under a bridge:

And while I was hanging out on deck 4 to look at the locks a bit more (this must have been the Pedro Miguel Locks) I met Donald:

Here you can see the spot where they practice throwing the lines to the ship. They need to be very precise and that is what the bulls eye is for!

Flag of Panama:

The Pluto came around and posed for a picture with me:

There were also official photographers coming around and I got a picture taken:

Me trying to get some perspective into how close the ship was to the wall:

Ship next to us:

Pedro Miguel locks tower:

Here you can see the water flowing out of the other lock:

Up Next: Welcome to the Pacific!!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

I missed you! I was thinking of sending out a search party already! But I thought it would be work and other stuff that kept you away from the DIS. Oh - and preparing for a fun trip, I like your ticker!!

With things so crazy at work right now, taking time off is a little risky at times. So yes, preparing for a fun trip, but that also means working extra hours to try and get ahead to limit the impact of time off. That and the last time I tried to find a little time to catch up, the DIS servers were making bad........

Why is Drew giving up Cross Country?

As hard as this is to believe, especially for me, he is a High School Senior, so his HS Cross Country career is coming to an end when graduation rolls around!


Yes, you should try egg benedicts - unless you hate sauce hollandaise or runny egg yolks. And the soufflés were certainly some of the true food highlights!

Okay, runny egg yolks put a little damper on that idea.......


That is a sad story - but when I watched the manoeuvre I was thinking that it did look a bit dangerous. No safety measure were visible, just a guy jumping out of a moving massive ship!

I'm sure that has to have happened before. All it takes is one ill-timed wave and that ship's deck you're trying to land on........isn't there anymore!

For anyone interesting in engineering achievements this is definitely something worth to see! I am sure your eldest son has been through it a few times, but with a very different perspective than me!

I remember as a young boy in school reading about the "mules" and the other things that go into making the locks work, and always thought that was so cool! I never knew they had changed the direction they moved the ships though, with going the same direction through both sides, but that does make sense.

As far as I know, the eldest hasn't had that opportunity yet, but I will confirm that with him.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

I guess at least for a short amount of time I get to remain caught up on your TR!!!

I totally agree........Lake Gatun looks like a beautiful part of the Panama Canal crossing!

I think this is an interesting picture in that it shows the trail of your ship going off into the background. Of course, I guess it is debatable whether that is a good thing, or a bad one........

Here is a picture of Goofy and since there is no kid that is within the fence on the picture, I don’t see any reason to not post it:

Sorry you got fussed at for taking pictures, but I'm happy you were able to post this great shot!

Another fun activity they had going on was in the Goofy pool where you could “swim through the Panama Canal”.

I imagine the Goofy pool is always got the coolest things going on. So did you make the swim and earn the certificate?

Then our path got a little narrower because there were islands in the lake:

I guess with all the buoys, they don't want to leave anything to chance!

After I had ordered it, the server came back from the kitchen to tell me that this was made with veal and whether I still wanted it. I was very pleased. If they advertise it as a Wiener Schnitzel, I was expecting veal, nothing less!Part 2[/URL]

Well of course! Not like you haven't told us as much on other TRs about Biergarten in World Showcase. Do these people not read the DIS like the rest of the world???

And then I got my Wiener Schnitzel:

That does look yummy! Too bad Michael didn't do as well.

And then I got a drink of the day:

I guess the No Drinking day is behind you! That does look pretty good, but you didn't tell us what it was.

There were also official photographers coming around and I got a picture taken:

Me trying to get some perspective into how close the ship was to the wall:

What a great souvenir! And WOW, that is close!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah! Austria in the form of a nice "Wiener Schnitzel" and made with veal as it should be. Glad you enjoyed it.

You got some great photos that day and I am learning a lot about the Panama Canal.

I just love that you ran into all those characters, even though I find it pretty rude to shout at someone for taking a photo of a character, even if they are surrounded by kids. You could take a lot more pics of kids looking down onto the kiddy pool.