BillB48

I was just going to reply that my contact in Panama told me that things had quieted down to a large degree. There were far fewer roadblocks and demonstrations particularly around the cities and the when there were roadblocks they generally were not long lasting. There was mostly a wait and see attitude while the Panama Supreme Court pontificates on the matter of the mining agreement being constitutional. This morning he wrote and said the Court had ruled that the agreement was unconstitutional. I feel sure in the short term things may settle down to "normal", how long that will last is an open question, it will be totally dependent on whether there is a complete shutdown, nationalization or even a renegotiation of the agreement. I am sure the cruise lines will just have to be flexible and make last minute decisions on port calls.

I think the two Bruces have given perfect advice and I have no quarrel with all the other advice. but I will suggest my preferred side. If you have a choice, choose the port side while transiting from Atlantic to Pacific. This does not mean the starboard side is a wasteland and there is nothing worth viewing, it is all great and scenery is all around. Here are a few of my reasons... most of the built up areas you will pass such as the harbor of Cristobal with Colon in the backdrop, Gamboa where the Dredging Division has much of their fleet moored, Gold Hill which was a very prominent and difficult section of the Gaillard Cut to dig and the skyline of Panama City as you exit the Canal can all be viewed from the port side. One other plug for the port side, when you are crossing Gatun Lake, that is the best time to view on coming ship traffic and you may get a glimpse at the first transcontinental railroad in the background speeding across the continent! Nice to see if you are taking a break on your balcony.

There certainly is an element of that, but what kicked the current furor is the government renegotiated the agreement that allowed expansion and a much healthier payment to the government. For the healthier payment the government granted some privileges to the mining company that are extremely reminiscent of the authority the US had when it administered the Canal Zone. The authority the US had was a irritant to many Panamanians even though the treaty which turned over the Canal to Panama went in effect more than 40 years ago. The company has been operating the mine since 2013.

Not really but they do occur. The present is about a Canadian copper mine and seems to have much of the country roiled. Things have settled a bit but not enough for the cruise lines. How long it will continue anyone's guess.

Celebrity has not had a huge presence at the Canal in general and probably even less in Colon, so I don't think there will be too many posters who may have taken that tour as cosntructed by Celbrity. If there is anything you want to know about Agua Clara Locks or Portobello perhaps someone here can answer that.

I was curious, the fee for daylight transit for the larger cruise ships is $30K, I did not know if there was a lower fee for small ships such as the Hamburg. Well, there is just one fee only... $30K! If a smaller ship were to opt for a daylight transit, the daylight fee would be a much higher portion of the total transit cost. Possibly that is the reason they transit whenever the transit gods permits?

I have noticed some of the smaller ships will sometimes wind up completing at least part of transit at night. While it would not be my first choice, the Canal is attractive at night, particularly the Cut.

Perhaps the best way without any direct recommendations is to work through your hotel. While the price may not be the cheapest, it still is negotiable.

And a great gift for retirement it is! Congratulations! Figure on around a 6AM sunrise, normally I don't think be at the bridge by then, you may have started up the channel towards the bridge. When you enter the channel on the Pacific side it normally takes about 30 minutes to get to the Bridge and then another 30 minutes to get to Miraflores. The cruise director or other staff will normally put out a guesstimate on the arrival times at the Locks and the beginning of the transit the day before the transit. Hopefully there will be no surprises, however earller this week the NCL Encore went under the bridge and through Cocoli Locks before dawn. That was unusual.

Good to see he is not participating in the on going demonstrations😁.

Back in the old days the cash had to be deposited in the Canal Treasury's before the transit. Feel sure nowadays some sort of electronic transfer to the Canal's account would be the method. Rest assured the ship would not get anywhere near the first lock until the payment cleared! Got me to think what a physical task it would be to haul $4 million or so up the the Treasurer's office. Way back when the ships were "only" paying 5, 10 or even 15K... not such a huge task. But now when regular tolls at the new locks can exceed $1 million! I can remember when the QE 2 made her inaugural transit in 1975, she paid a record $42,000! Today that amount won't even let you get a reservation, a ship that size the reservation alone is $50,000.

Are you just calling at Colon or are you on a partial transit? As far as independent tours, I am sure they can be found, but I don't have any that I have experience with. At this time I think you are better off dealing with the ship as there have been a lot of demonstrations closing roads etc. Carnival just cancelled a port call in Colon this week. The issues may all be forgotten when you arrive and you can enjoy a tour, but dealing with refunds and cancellations are much easier with the ship.

I am sure the cruise lines and the passengers who are involved wished that was the case. The pier is completed enough for vessels to moor, however the terminal building has not been completed. The latest mark on the wall for completion was this December, but with all the recent trouble in Panama I am sure that mark on the wall is moving... again!

In case you ever wondered what a ship would look like after it has forked out $4.5 million for a transit... presenting the Sunny Bright.

The Encore sort of tip toed through Cocoli before daylight and she was almost out of the Cut by dawn. Just don't understand that, just about every other ship does a true daylight transit. I would think that the passengers would like to see things in daylight. I thought at first it was because they may have wanted to clear the BoA at low tide, but she went under the bridge almost at high tide. That theory shot to hello and back! Who knows, maybe NCL cheaped out and skipped the $30K daylight fee??

Asked all the regular health questions and asked about Covid shots/boosters. This was on the Mariner, first week of October at Port Canaveral.

Arrgh! I can never catch my errors until I leave the page and return later. It is supposed to read ...partially filled with water...

The last shot of the Serenade entering the west chamber is a perfect example of the locks holding the fill of the east chamber so that it could be partially with water from the west chamber.

Miraflores...

Bon appetite and thanks... enjoyed.

Just darn, Another Critic let the cat out of the bag😉

At Pedro Miguel...

At Gatun...

Think the hope for a December completion will turn out to be another completion date missed. With all the demonstrations that have going on lately I don't think there is any hope of completion next month.