Curious_Cruiser8

On 2/11/2024 at 2:45 AM, BillB48 said:

To answer your question first, it is not regular practice to send a Panamax ship through the new locks instead of the original locks.  While it has been done in the past for non passenger ships for Canal convenience it is rarely done with a passenger ship.  In fact it has been done only once as far as I know and there was a laundry list of special considerations for that particular transit.

 

From looking at the sister ship Silver Nova I see nothing in her dimensions that would require the Nova or the Ray to use the new locks.  In fact the dimensions do not really push the limits of a Panamax ship.  There is one caveat to that statement however, in my search to find info on the Ray I came across a statement promoting their "asymmetrical design".  To be honest, I have no idea what that means.  From the pictures I ran across of the two ships it doesn't appear to involve the shape of the hull that would require some sort special handling that could be provided at the new locks.  Perhaps as I suspect it may have to do with the interior design,  but I really don't know.

 

The only other possibility is the vessel operators want the ship to use the new locks for some reason and have requested to use the new locks.  While the Ray would pay a premium to transit the new locks, the tolls still would not be as high as the Canal would be able to charge a neo Panamax ship which normally have deeper pockets.

 

Not knowing how authoritative the information you received I am a little suspicious as to the accuracy of which locks the Silver Ray will use.  Often times the people who are on the customer service end don't always have the most accurate info.  I completely understand your concerns and preferences to use the original locks.  

"Not knowing how authoritative the information you received I am a little suspicious as to the accuracy of which locks the Silver Ray will use. Often times the people who are on the customer service end don't always have the most accurate info. I completely understand your concerns and preferences to use the original locks."  

Thank you for the reply! I heard from two different sources at Silversea that said the canal authorities have designated them to transit via the new locks. I don't know any better so took that at face value. The Nova has transited a few times now and used the original locks each time. Thus, I know the Ray will be fine in the original locks. 

No one at Siversea will tell me whether the canal authorities have ever designated the new locks for any of their ships before and if so, the % of times they changed their minds. 

I'm now wondering if Silversea just hedges and says they use the new locks just in case they have to? 

By the way, the asymmetrical design means they put the common areas to the sides vs middle of the ship. So the pool is off to one side where everyone faces it and the sea vs sitting around a pool in the middle. The theater is also along one side and has two floors of windows. Same with many of the restaurants. 

Question for the initiated. I'm taking a full transit via the Silversea ship, Silver Ray. She's the sister ship to the Silver Nova. I've been told by Siversea that as of right now, the canal authorities have said we'll transit via the new locks. The Nova recently went through the original locks. 

My question is, is that normal for the canal authorities to send a Panamex sized ship through the new locks vs the original ones? Do they ever reverse that decision? I'm not sailing until Jan 2025 but I'll want to cancel and get a refund by July this year if in fact we're going through the new locks.