Photo Trip Report – Panama Canal Cruise plus 3 days in DLR

[jegsnakkernorsk]

I know what you mean. I am not a fan of those show either. Sorry I just can't by into it. When he tried to hypnotize the whole audience I tried to follow his instructions but later realized it just is a crock. I wanted to yell that from the top of my lungs but that would have been inappropriate so I just stayed quiet and was laughing my butt off in my head.

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That reminds me, yes, DSis and I stayed with mom long enough to see him hypnotize the audience. I remember now Dad stayed in the room that evening and didn't come to the theater with us.

Anyway, the performer ask the audience to think of an odd two digit number below 50 and the two digits cannot be the same. And didn't he say if you were thinking of 37 that he could hypnotize you - or that you were on the same wave length as him? I'm trying to remember this now, more than a month later. Well, I had 15 so clearly wasn't on his wave length. DSis had 35 and was closer. We asked mom what she had and she said 22. That was why we had to leave - we were laughing so loudly about mom's odd two digit number with each digit a different number. Yeah, mom's clearly NOT on the same wave length.

Even funnier was the next day when I told dad about the hypnotist's little test of the audience. I told him we had to think of a two digit odd number less than 50, with the two digits not the same number. Right away dad says, did your mother have 44? At least dad knows what wave length his wife is on. They have been married for too long.

My husband was one of the people up on stage being hypnotized, and he was truly "put under." He is able to relax very easily and therefore can easily be hypnotized. It also helps if you believe, obviously.

How fun!

Thanks for the great report so far and especially for posting all the navigators. Do you have the other two pages for the day 6 navigator you just posted? The schedule insert pages?

Thanks!

We can't find it. We had it when we left the ship but neither of us can find it now. It's the only one missing and if it turns up I'll scan it and add it when I find it.

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

The night before, we anchored in Cristobal at 9:46pm. Weather was partly cloudy with NE winds and an average temp of 84'F. I know this because I found a souvenir document we got on the last day of the cruise with a photo of our ship going through the canal and the daily ship's log of our anchorages and speeds, etc on our cruise. It was 280 nautical miles from Cartagena to Cristobal and we traveled an average speed of 10 kts to get there - pretty slow compared to the 20.3kts we did from Cabo to LA.

I have 845 photos from the day we went through the Panama Canal and it was by far the highlight of the trip - the reason for us taking the cruise. So I'll try my best to weed through them for you.

 

[cmesq61]

Awesome trip report. We're going on the EBPC in Sept. wondering--The sports deck--when it's not being used for sports can you walk around on the deck?

 

[speedo]

We were told we would be going through the first lock by 6:30am and as a family we had agreed that we would get up at 5am. Well Mom and Dad were so excited about seeing the Panama Canal that they got up at 3am. Yes, 3am.

Getting up at 3am, Mom and Dad were the very first to arrive at the bow of the 10th deck. About a half hour after they arrived a few more people came and took places on either side of mom and dad who were dead center. By 5am when DSis and I arrived, the crew had begun to set up a coffee station by the basketball courts and there was no one standing behind the glass - where normally there were ping pong tables. By 5:30 though I would say that the entire front of the 10th deck was pretty full. I felt badly for all the people plastered against the glass behind me but I also knew there were a lot of people that wanted to be where these poor folks were. It's all relative. Stand in the dark for three hours, get a good view. I would say that it was worth it to get up in the middle of the night even though I wasn't the one who did - thanks mom and dad!

Here's what things looked like at 5am when I got there.




To the left is where they are working on the new canal. Didn't look like they had gotten too far along.









Here the other canal entrance is a little later





To the right is the old French attempt at the canal













According to the document we got on the last day - we pulled up anchor at 4:53am and entered Gatun Lock at 6:10am

Here's what it looked like by 6am

 

[speedo]

Awesome trip report. We're going on the EBPC in Sept. wondering--The sports deck--when it's not being used for sports can you walk around on the deck?

I don't think so. I never saw anyone on the basketball or soccer court that wasn't playing the sport. One evening they had "star gazing" as an activity at like 10:45pm and even then we weren't on the sports courts - we were where my family stood for the first lock of the canal - the very front of the 10th deck. Side note - The star gazing was really hard - the lights from the ship still bright, it was really crowded, there was just one officer with a star chart and it was hard to hear him.

 

[speedo]

Here we go!!!!



Dad is so excited about this. If he were sitting he'd be on the edge of his seat.







The lighted arrow swings side to side to tell the ship which lane to take. We're to go to the left.



Front row view to the action







Guys row out to us to attach ropes to either side of our ship. The ropes are attached to these GE locomotives called "mules" that will escort us through the canal. While all this is happening there is an official Panama Canal narrator on board that is telling us things like the cost of the mules over the loud speaker. We also have been boarded earlier by a Panama Canal pilot that his on the bridge during the crossing - at least that's what I think the lady in the loud speaker said.









See the truck and the school bus? There is a road that goes over the canal when a ship isn't passing through.

 

[speedo]

One of the neat things that are hard to explain in photos is how great it was to be so close to the rain forest of Panama at dawn. You could hear all the birds from the bow of the ship. Some even flew overhead.





The lush rain forest is just right there. Wedged between the current canal and the future canal's construction.











The crew deck was busy too, but not nearly like the 10th deck.



Amazing how close to the sides the ship came.

 

[speedo]

open sesame!





water rushing out of the right lock as the cargo ship a head of us passes through another lock











hello down there!

 

[KyCruisinSusan]

This really bothered me. The four in the background are cast members working during our cruise on the stage - I saw some as Princes and others as Lion King dancers, etc. Anyway I didn't like that they were talking loudly, complaining about their jobs. One was reading a text from his wavephone that said that he had to escort Cinderella and he was pissed about it. They were kissing (I didn't think I should take a photo while they were kissing - I have some class ). Anyway, my point is I don't think that cast members (whether it is Snow White and Prince Charming or Petter Pan and Belle or Snow White and Belle or Prince Charming and Prince Philip) should be kissing in public and I don't think they should be complaining about their jobs in public. This happened several times on the 9th deck pool area as well. I got an earful hearing one of the actresses/singers telling another all about her boyfriend Ivan, who is married with kids, but his wife is CRAZY and he's going to leave her etc. Not that another guest could have been just annoying to sit by at the pool, but why did working cast members have to be at the guest pool and guest sundeck anyway? If they are on vacation that is one thing, but they were working this cruise. Don't they have their own pool and their own beach? I know I'm going to get flack for this but it's my opinion that this is inappropriate. I thought cast members had to be "on" in public? I do in my job.

Did you say anything about this at guest services? I think I would have had to complain because, yes, they do have their own areas that they should be spending down time in, not with the paying cruisers. I would have been furious having to listen to CMs gripe about their jobs.

 

[lilpooh108]

Your description and photos of the locks are fascinating! My parents (whom I cruise with) would also be up at 3am to get a spot Can't wait to see more!

 

[aan1701]

I saw you mention how close the ship gets. So I took this photo.

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[Flossbolna]

I just wanted to say that I still love your TR! So many interesting pictures!

It seems that you had a lot of cloudy weather - but I guess it was still warm?

 

[aan1701]

I just wanted to say that I still love your TR! So many interesting pictures!

It seems that you had a lot of cloudy weather - but I guess it was still warm?

Cloudy yes. It was warm. Then look. I took this from the Outlook Cafe.

As we are going under the Centennial Bridge the heavens opened.

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[KyCruisinSusan]

I think you should do the tasting. The tastings on our cruise that were done by the wine team were very good. I think it depends on the cruise staff running it to some extent. The other factor is the quality/uniqueness of what you are being served. I wasn't interested in the beer tastings since they were all beers I drink all the time, for example. This tasting, on our cruise, was very good. One of my favorite.

What is the cost of tastings running these days? Trying to make sure I plan and budget appropriately for our EBPC in Sept. 14

I just found your TR today and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and look forward to the rest. I can hardly wait to do your cruise in reverse in 439 days.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Cloudy yes. It was warm. Then look. I took this from the Outlook Cafe.

As we are going under the Centennial Bridge the heavens opened.

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I was watching the canal webcam when you guys went through. The one squall made it almost impossible to see the Wonder, I can't imagine being up on deck then.

 

[aan1701]

I knew we were going to get wet when I saw these really dark clouds.

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[Happy 2 B Me]

I am still amazed how the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are not the same height.

I felt a little proud knowing I help support the canal. We hold Panama Canal Bonds. Now I just need to take the trip to watch how my investments are "working".

I am enjoying your review. Was so nice of you and sister to give up concierge to dad. You and sis get good kid award for being unselfish.

Here we go!!!!



Dad is so excited about this. If he were sitting he'd be on the edge of his seat.







The lighted arrow swings side to side to tell the ship which lane to take. We're to go to the left.



Front row view to the action







Guys row out to us to attach ropes to either side of our ship. The ropes are attached to these GE locomotives called "mules" that will escort us through the canal. While all this is happening there is an official Panama Canal narrator on board that is telling us things like the cost of the mules over the loud speaker. We also have been boarded earlier by a Panama Canal pilot that his on the bridge during the crossing - at least that's what I think the lady in the loud speaker said.









See the truck and the school bus? There is a road that goes over the canal when a ship isn't passing through.

 

[AmyBiff]

I knew we were going to get wet when I saw these really dark clouds.

My husband said the same thing when he saw those clouds and then abandoned me! I was heck-bent on staying up front to get a picture of our approach to the locks; I figured I was already in my bathing suit and cover-up and had my waterproof camera with me, so who cares about a little water? (ha, a "little"!)

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Your description and photos of the locks are fascinating! My parents (whom I cruise with) would also be up at 3am to get a spot Can't wait to see more!

Was worth it to get up early to see! More - much more - to come! Thanks for reading and for posting!

Did you say anything about this at guest services? I think I would have had to complain because, yes, they do have their own areas that they should be spending down time in, not with the paying cruisers. I would have been furious having to listen to CMs gripe about their jobs.

Thanks for posting!

I just wanted to say that I still love your TR! So many interesting pictures!

It seems that you had a lot of cloudy weather - but I guess it was still warm?

Thanks! It's important to note that this cruise was the beginning of the rainy or wet season from Florida through the Caribbean so it's not really fair to expect it not to rain off and on. Mostly the rain was at night and most days were partly cloudy or mostly sunny and in the low 80s.

When we were going through the Panama Canal we did have a tropical deluge - but it is a rain forest and it only lasted a little while - during the lunch hour. It's also important to remember that it is the rains that keep the canal working - can't remember how many thousands of galloons of fresh water were used by each lock but it was a lot.

Cloudy yes. It was warm. Then look. As we are going under the Centennial Bridge the heavens opened.

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You are getting ahead of us! It's only 7am right now - we haven't even had breakfast or gotten through the Gatun Lock yet!

What is the cost of tastings running these days? Trying to make sure I plan and budget appropriately for our EBPC in Sept. 14

I just found your TR today and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and look forward to the rest. I can hardly wait to do your cruise in reverse in 439 days.

That sounds so fun. Hope this trip report is helpful to your planning/day dreaming! The tastings ranged from $15 a person to $30 a person and I thought they were worth it. Go early if you want a good seat.

I was watching the canal webcam when you guys went through. The one squall made it almost impossible to see the Wonder, I can't imagine being up on deck then.

That's so cool!

I am still amazed how the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are not the same height.

I felt a little proud knowing I help support the canal. We hold Panama Canal Bonds. Now I just need to take the trip to watch how my investments are "working".

I am enjoying your review. Was so nice of you and sister to give up concierge to dad. You and sis get good kid award for being unselfish.

Thanks! Neat you own a piece of the canal. I hope you can see in the photos how we are going up to the level of the lake in these first locks.

My husband said the same thing when he saw those clouds and then abandoned me! I was heck-bent on staying up front to get a picture of our approach to the locks; I figured I was already in my bathing suit and cover-up and had my waterproof camera with me, so who cares about a little water? (ha, a "little"!)

Good plan! I also adorned a bathing suit and maxi dress cover-up for the day. I was told to expect to be rained on that morning - we were lucky the rain held off for so long!

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Honestly, from this view it really doesn't look like we could possibly fit in the canal!





Dad really enjoyed this!





Mule going up with us









After we got 2/3 through the Gatun Lock our tummy's were rumbling and we decided to leave the bow and let everyone fight amongst themselves for our spots. It was a little scary trying to leave the bow - so jammed with people but we made it out without a scratch.