dmwnc1959

@smillerholmes I’ve taken a look at The Path Between Seas, even checked out the free Kindle sample, just haven’t committed myself yet to buying the book. The one book I have bought is this one. It’s 240 pages of black and white photographic plates with accompanying detailed description for each picture. It’s a really great history of the Panama Canal after it opened for traffic, and a lot of the notable (and even the least recognized) ships that went through in the first 32 years.

You’ve described my entire adult life - I blame the Navy. 🤣 Over the next 6-7 months I’ll occasionally glance at the Panama Canal live cam and see who’s going through. I do have some of the dates for Jewel-class ships earmarked, NCL has superb bridge cams. In the mean time it’s all about dieting and exercise to get ready for all of that food I’ll be devouring. 😳

The NCL version @ $200 from Colon is about that price now for an April 2025 transit. If I’m reading this correctly it is quite literally a full transit of all three lock systems as well as the Culebra Cut, then back to Gamboa and Colon. “You’ll travel by ship's tender to the Gatun Yacht Club to board your transportation for the narrated drive through the isthmus to the small village of Gamboa. Here, you’ll board your ferry for your canal transit through two sets of locks. You’ll cross the Gaillard Cut and enter the Pedro Miguel Locks, which will lower your vessel 28 feet on its way to the Pacific. Your boat will settle on Miraflores Lake and then you’ll sail over to the Miraflores Locks. Enjoy a light lunch during your scenic cruise of the lake and locks. Your canal experience ends at the port of Balboa where you'll board your transportation back to the ship.”

Actually, the same here regarding the name of the cut through the continental divide. Looked it up on Wikipedia to make sure I was spelling it (Gaillard) correctly and decided to use the ‘newer’ name. 😉 I started studying the Panama Canal as a little kid back in the late 60’s, and I’ve been completely an utterly fascinated ever since - it’s definitely been a Top 10 on my Bucket List for decades. Thank you for the input on your choice. The Norwegian Jade has soooooooo much more going for it over Coral Princess, I just wish the latter had more casual dining options. That’s sort of important when you’re doing a cruise that’s anywhere from 16-25 days.

Being the old Navy Salty-dog that I am (but with only 10 years of sea duty lol), I unfortunately never made it to the Panama Canal. I’ve spent a LOT of time researching maps, videos, books, maritime traffic apps, pictures, itineraries, and message boards. Narrowed it down to two ships am still having a hard time deciding. The idea of visiting the Panama Canal and Alaska in the same trip has me set on the Norwegian Jade itinerary, but the Fuerte Amador port stop pre-NB transit hitting the Culebra Cut before the heat of the day sets in has me fixated on the Coral Princess. Of the two ships, the latter has more forward facing observation decks and a superb promenade deck. I have a deposit on both and will need to make mind by summer so I can start booking flights and hotels. Decisions, decisions. 🥸

Yup, knew that, but didn’t want to ‘confuse’ anyone 😉 that wasn’t already aware of the canal’s geographic layout. I’ll have to use both I guess, but that’s even more confusing! 🤣 🥸

Thank you again for all of your great tips and pictures! I was hoping to avoid any type of glass barriers due to the possibility of reflections or built-up sea spray. Those barriers do look tint-free, where-as Princess Cruises ships all have the blue-tinted glass. I’ve spent nearly two hours this morning watching a single, unbroken, complete YouTube video of the Eurodam’s Gatun Lock transit (with the accompanying ship’s guide narration). At first I thought it was going to be boring, but it turned out to be absolutely and incredibly fascinating! I’m pretty sure that once I find a spot (pre-Puente Atlantico) to watch the transit I’m not going to be moving for probably +3 hours until maybe when entering the last lock, then move down to the promenade deck for a quick walk-around. 😁

Are there an alternative open-air forward-facing observation area(s) on the Norwegian Jade other than the bow? I know there are suites that have the best vantage points, but I’m in steerage 😉 and an inside cabin is the only way I’m able to do this cruise. 🤑 🥸

THAT was remarkable in every aspect. Thank you for posting the link!!!

I’m hoping you also have a link to this same style of map for the Norwegian Jade. I keep finding standard deck plans, but I like these layered deck plans better. Any help is much appreciated! 😁

Was hoping that maybe someone had updated specific information on what Coral Princess is having done during her drydock later this year? Any chances they’ll add a new eatery or expand some of the casual dining options? I know @chengkp75 is always on top of things with technical data, etc. Any insiders among our forum members? Looking forward to any news! 😁

I did a TON of research and of all the Princess Cruises shore excursions from Fuerte Amador this is the one I wanted to do most. Even though you transit the canal on Coral Princess, I personally thought seeing the Miraflores Locks and Culebra Cut from a small boat at water level would significantly augment my canal experience. Maybe we can also get @BillB48 to chime in with his favorite.

The marine wildlife is always a huge plus. Same here, being an introverted cruiser. And I’m not really dedicated to any particular cruise line, I book a ship based on what is most important to me so I tend to bounce around a lot. In this case what’s important is split between dining options and number of locations on the ship where the transit is best observable. For the former option Norwegian Jade wins, for the latter Coral Princess wins. It really is a difficult decision. First-world problems, right? I am booked in an inside cabin, so prime viewing deck space (not looking through tinted glass ) where I can move around a lot not hampered by unmovable crowds is important. I’m leaning heavily toward Norwegian Jade simply because of the length of cruise where I can revisit favorites, check off Bucket List items, and hit some new places all in a single trip. 😁

See, THAT is approach I was looking forward to on Coral Princess. Stunning. There is nothing to compare it to coming in from the other side - the elegant arc of the iconic Bridge of the Americas silhouetted against the bright industrial lights. Breathtaking. That picture is incredible. I think in most cases coming in towards the Gatun Locks you’re already at the Atlantic Bridge by first light. Not the same. 😢

Those pictures are just wonderful. Do they announce the day before what time the bow will be open for passengers? I have no problem being awake at 3am the day of the transit - probably too nervous to sleep - and would want to be as close to the front as possible, at least through the first lock or two then head aft before entering Gatun Lake for a look back at the stair-cased locks. I know these ships have a 24/7 place to eat (O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill). I’m wondering if going there for a light breakfast at 4am is an option? I’ve estimated about an hour elapsed time between the breakwater to the lock pierhead, so grabbing a bite before heading out to the bow would be nice.

THANK YOU for the posts. Norwegian Jade stops in Colon and Coral Princess stops in Fuerte Amador (both pre-transit). It is still mind-boggling that I’m considering a 25-night cruise. I haven’t been away from my apartment for that long in over 20 years. Heck, I wouldn’t even know how to pack. Guess that’s more research. The one thing I did like about Coral Princess is that there was a laundromat on every passenger cabin deck, and one was just feet from my cabin. Looking at the NCL excursions from Colon it appears they do offer a trip over to the Miraflores Locks to Gamboa (or visa versa), which I wanted, to be able to see the locks and Culebra Cut from water level.

@CruiserBruce @njhorseman I normally go mall-walking 3x a week. Yesterday all I kept saying there - and all day as a matter of fact - was “TWENTY-FIVE NIGHTS”. Repeatedly. I know many others have cruised that and even longer. I’ve never cruised that long on a single unbroken trip and just can’t wrap my head around that. I have done 14-nights but that was two 7-nighters doing a B2B. But just how crazy in my head is it to do TWENTY-FIVE NIGHTS! 🤯

Also for @BillB48 Just to give you an idea of the two ships I’ve narrowed it down to: Coral Princess 16-nights EB (San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale) and the Norwegian Jade 25-nights WB (Tampa to Whittier, AK). Both use the original locks. Both come out to be nearly the exact same price. Coral Princess is transiting the Panama Canal on February 1st: Norwegian Jade transiting April 8th. I guess the biggest thing I’m concerned about on the latter is that it’s happening during the same time as Spring Break AND Easter, so a ship filled with chaos doesn’t sound like much fun. Knowing what you know about these two ships, which one would you pick?

Those bow shots are just fantastic! 😳

@BillB48 amazingly detailed reply, THANK YOU. It’s going to be a tough choice, and I have deposits on both cruises which gives me plenty of time to think on this. I only get to do this once, so I want to do it right. 😁

This is me: Fear Of Missing Out. 🤣 I’d be on deck, somewhere, all day. I’ve used thr Marine Traffic app while on cruises to see what other ships are passing by, so I’m sure I’ll use it a couple of times (internet package permitting LOL) to see what ships are coming my way in the canal. How exciting it would be to pass another cruise ship, all of the yelling and hollering back and forth would be insane! I did take a look at some of the Norwegian Jade’s B2B cruises in Jan/Feb 2025 and they are way too port intensive for my liking. Which is a shame, since the double-dipping on the Panama Canal would be soooo amazing. Over the next couple of months I’ll have to keep an eye on the NCL bridge cams to see how crowded the bow gets, and on the Panama Canal Miraflores Lock live cams to see where everyone is standing. But it would be amazing to be right there at the very front as the ship approaches the Gatun Locks and looking up at that amazing three-tiered water elevator. Wow.

Just in case you may not have already guessed 😉 my other ship option is the Coral Princes, and the fact that they have amazing padded steamer chairs all along the promenade is a huge, HUGE draw. Particularly for sea days. I do wish Norwegian would put some of those on the Gem-class ships, most especially where the promenade is wide enough to accommodate them. I saw on a few YouTube videos that the Norwegian Jade’s promenade narrows in quite a few places, but there is still ample locations to accommodate seating. I do love the fact that they open the bow on Panama Canal transits, I just hope it’s not too hot to enjoy it. Are there other prime locations around the ship for picture taking during that day? My plans are to be ALL over the ship that day so that I can experience the locks and canal from every angle. I’m likely only to get this one shot.

I would LOVE to have done a B2B like that. I’ve seen the one-way cruises that ends/begins in Panama City, but didn’t think to add them together. Darn it!!! More research! LOL Your pictures are inspirational. I can’t imagine what our passenger load/demograpjic is going to be for an April 25-night cruise, that’s right at Spring Break AND Easter, so that makes me very, very nervous. The one thing I do like about the repositioning cruises from California to Florida and visa versa are the number of sea days. Really don’t like an itinerary that’s port intensive. I really do like the Norwegian Jade. I watched one YouTube tour video that was 75 minutes long and covered pretty much everything.

@BillB48 I was wondering on how different the weather - especially the temperature range - is going to be from doing a full transit of the canal on February 1st than that of April 8th? I have two cruises (one is a 16-night EB and the other a 25-night WB) on deposit and need to do a deep dive on the pros and cons of each trip. Thank you! 🥸

At first I liked the idea of hitting the Bridge of the Americas at sunrise, with the morning being ‘cooler’ (comparatively) for the transit through the Pacific side locks and Guillard Cut to Gamboa. The light of day is at your back when coming from the Pacific side, so photography is more or less at its best. Once you hit Gatun Lake and that last set of locks you're at the mercy of the heat of the day. Booking a ship with a completely sheltered and wrap-around promenade deck was key, to be able to enjoy the transit without always being exposed to the sun. Forward and aft viewing decks are a huge plus. Since Norwegian Jade will most likely open up the bow for the transit that’s a huge plus. And the promenade deck, although greatly lacking in steamer chairs, serves as a benefit to be able to get under some ‘shade’. The biggest problem I am having is the fact that both ships couldn’t be more opposite from each other in regards to onboard amenities. One cruise is EB and the other WB.