"Panama Canal" listed twice on 4/23/17 WBPC itinerary

[MickeyEarrings]

Any thoughts on this? Does it possibly mean the opportunity to tour in Panama instead of sailing straight through?

Edited to provide link:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...ounces-summer-2017-itineraries-may-september/

 

[simpleohio]

Bumping up....curious

 

[cruisehopeful]

The itinerary doesn't show any port times. https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...m-port-canaveral/april-23-2017-disney-wonder/
It makes me think that they are just planning on sticking around there for a while waiting their turn to cross with the other ships.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

Someone on our cruise meet group said they refuel at night after transiting the Canal, so perhaps that explains it.

 

[Huskiesrule]

It's just one day. The same thing happened when the confirmations for this years cruise went out. It should be the day after Cartagena then four days at sea after the canal. Yes we have done all the DCL westbounds. I don't know how but we have done it.

This is what they are saying on our cruise thread.

 

[simpleohio]

I emailed Disney and got told this:


I do not know for sure, but I think this may be due to the canal scheduling for the Disney Wonder. For example on day one you may enter the lock and may be staged waiting to exit until the next calendar day.

 

[BartmanLA]

Part of it has to do with the assignment position when locking through, the Locks currently can only lock so many ships through in a day. So if the Wonder arrives at the Eastern locks after leaving Columbia, and it is given a lock position of say 18, it will be the 18th ship locking through east to west that day. So the process takes time and if the Wonder doesn't get to lock through Gatun locks until say 3pm, they may not make across Gatun Lake and through the Calebra Cut until late in the evening so they might have to overnight in Gatun Lake until the locks can take them the next day, part of this is for the passengers to experience the process, doing it late at night can deprive the passengers, in addition the DCL photographers wouldn't be able to take all the pictures they want you to buy to commemorate the transit. Disney builds in an extra day just in case of any delays. Of course potentially by the 2017 WBPC trip, the new expansion locks will be open and it could speed up the process quite a bit making the elimination of that extra day easy for Disney, although the amount of sea days on the western side is always variable depending on porting and weather.

 

[dclpluto]

I emailed Disney and got told this:


I do not know for sure, but I think this may be due to the canal scheduling for the Disney Wonder. For example on day one you may enter the lock and may be staged waiting to exit until the next calendar day.

Disney paids extra so they done have to wait. In other words the guests paids extra so you don't have to wait. Probably all cruise ships does this. So whoever told you that is wrong.

 

[Quellman]

Disney paids extra so they done have to wait. In other words the guests paids extra so you don't have to wait. Probably all cruise ships does this. So whoever told you that is wrong.

Yea, the lake and canal is only so long, and can only hold so many ships, they won't hold you up to get out of the canal. The wait is getting INTO the canal, and probably refueling on the other side.

 

[Flossbolna]

Also, if I remember correctly, those four sea day from the Panama Canal to Puerto Vallarta we were constantly sailing with quite some speed. I don't really see how they would be able to cut out one of those sea days. However, as a PP mentioned, they refueled after the crossing and that took quite some time. It is possible that the refueling operation is scheduled to take place until 1am on the day after the crossing and the Dcl computer system causes this to produce an itinerary with two days showing Panama Canal. I guess someone has to go in and change it manually or so...

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I know when I did the eastbound PC in 2008 we arrived at the Pacific side of the canal sometime the night/ early morning before and spent the night refueling anchored off shore from it. We were then lone of the first ships through in the morning with maybe one or two cargo ships ahead of us in the locks. I think we started in the canal around 7 in the morning and got to the caribbean side around 5 in the evening.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know when I did the westbound PC in 2007 we arrived at the Pacific side of the canal sometime the night/ early morning before and spent the night refueling anchored off shore from it. We were then lone of the first ships through in the morning with maybe one or two cargo ships ahead of us in the locks. I think we started in the canal around 7 in the morning and got to the caribbean side around 5 in the evening.

Think you mean Atlantic.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Think you mean Atlantic.

Nope I goofed up on the direction. I was on the eastbound one

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Nope I goofed up on the direction. I was on the eastbound one

OK, that works. But it was the same on our westbound cruise in 2008. We arrived on the Atlantic side early, early (oh dark thirty) and met up with the refueling barge. Then actually started toward the locks as dawn broke. And exited out of the canal as the sun was going down.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

OK, that works. But it was the same on our westbound cruise in 2008. We arrived on the Atlantic side early, early (oh dark thirty) and met up with the refueling barge. Then actually started toward the locks as dawn broke. And exited out of the canal as the sun was going down.

Yeah same with me except the reverse and I realized I put the wrong date too it was in 2008 too

 

[Flossbolna]

OK, that works. But it was the same on our westbound cruise in 2008. We arrived on the Atlantic side early, early (oh dark thirty) and met up with the refueling barge. Then actually started toward the locks as dawn broke. And exited out of the canal as the sun was going down.

We refuelled after the Canal on our 2014 westbound. I think I remember reading trip reports from other cruises before who refuelled before the Canal, but they had a sea day before the Canal. We were the first itinerary that went directly from Cartagena to Panama Canal and it seems that this is what they have decided works best for the now since all the WBPC followed this since 2014.

 

[MunFam]

In 2015 WBPC we left Cartagena, sailed for a few hours, stopped to refuel overnight and then continued on to the locks; we arrived there early in the morning.

 

[Flossbolna]

In 2015 WBPC we left Cartagena, sailed for a few hours, stopped to refuel overnight and then continued on to the locks; we arrived there early in the morning.

Interesting! They told us that we would not arrive at the locks until 5am!

 

[aan1701]

Guys and gals it's really not that big of a issue. Just a Disney IT thing. The canal is just one day. I have done every single Disney WBPC so I can say this with some certainty, it will start early with a aproch to the Gatun lacks about 6 AM then transit, and finally pass under the bridge of Americas between 4-4:30. Then the last two years they have refuled then four days to Purerto Vallerta. Last year we refuled longer because I think DCL was sure we were not going to PV and we left the fueling position about 3-4 in the morning not midnight like they were telling us.