Zuiderdam and Panama Canal

[Cygneagile]

Can anyone give me additional information concerning the Locks. Do we go through one set of locks upon entering Gatun Lake.

Since we have a balcony, can we view the locks from our own cabin. I was told that the ship may hit the locks very early in the morning. This is not a problem. That is why the excursions take you back to the ship to the Colon location. I hope I am reading this correctly.

I find the itinerary somewhat confusing.

 

16 Apr 2011

Enter Panama Canal Cristobal CO 06:00 AM

16 Apr 2011 Gatun Lake, Panama SC 10:00 AM

16 Apr 2011 Exit Panama Canal Cristobal CO 02:00 PM

16 Apr 2011 Colon, Panama

 

I welcome your input.

[78232]

You will enter the canal very early in the AM. Most people get start watching about 5-6 am so they can see the approach. You will go through one set of locks and arrive at Gatum lake. The ships docks there and people going on excursions leave the ship at that time. The ship then turns around and goes through the same locks again and returns to Christobel/Colon. The excursions return their passengers to the ship at its new location.

Marcia

[Sir PMP]

Can anyone give me additional information concerning the Locks. Do we go through one set of locks upon entering Gatun Lake.

Since we have a balcony' date=' can we view the locks from our own cabin. I was told that the ship may hit the locks very early in the morning. This is not a problem. That is why the excursions take you back to the ship to the Colon location. I hope I am reading this correctly.[/font']

I find the itinerary somewhat confusing.

16 Apr 2011

Enter Panama Canal Cristobal CO 06:00 AM

16 Apr 2011 Gatun Lake, Panama SC 10:00 AM

16 Apr 2011 Exit Panama Canal Cristobal CO 02:00 PM

16 Apr 2011 Colon, Panama

 

I welcome your input.

 

The ship will enter the canal at 6:30am, the locks and mules(trains that keep the ship straight), will be in your face, you can almost touch them. You will be going up towards the lake in three stages, so you will see a ship above you and one below you, the whole ordeal will last until 11:00am. I watched it from the bow deck which will be open, and will make it more dramatic, so if you can go, watch it a bit from the front of the ship, they served bouillon, I don't if they still do that and that get ready for a very hot day...

[bamatravlr]

When we got to the front of the ship, it was pitch DARK!! They served coffee (& sweet rolls - I think); Being on the front, we could see both sides as we went through. It takes a long time so you could watch a while from your balcony & anywhere else on the ship. We moved around when the sun came up. We don't normally sign up for the excursions but we took the bus to Panama City - very good. Had lunch & saw a lot of the city. We usually get a taxi but felt it would be too complicated to leave from one port & return to another. This was one of the best cruises we've been on - especially for my husband! He was really fascinated w/the structures, etc.

[jtl513]

If you just stay on your balcony for viewing you will miss a lot. There are two parallel sets of locks, and there's no way to predict if you'll be in the left or right set. If your cabin is on the wrong side you'll only see a fraction of what's happening.

I suggest you get out on the forward area on decks on 5, 6, or 7, as the bow is usually so crowded that it's difficult to get good pictures if you're not one of the few who got there early enough to get a spot right on the railing. Even then the view will be more limited than if you are on one of the three higher levels.

When you get into upper-most lock, leave and walk along the promenade to the stern to get pictures looking back down at the ships following you.

[ken4556]

We did the same cruise in December. Due to the heavy rain, all shore excursions were cancelled and we never did dock in Colon. But we were happy to make the canal transit. Here is the picture link with pictures from the canal from different locations on the ship:

 

http://www.pbase.com/kenedmier/christmas_cruise_2010&page=all

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very true -- the ship starts to line up for the locks any time between 5 and 6 depending on the traffic.

 

People get up early for this -- and yes you only go through one set of locks.

 

Having done the partial canal a couple of times and the full transit many times we are content to sit on our verandah to watch everything. A couple of mornings DH has been on the treadmill in the gym when we started through -- great view from there.

 

Don't forget to try the Panama Buns -- they are only available on that day. They will be out everywhere.

[kazu]

definitely go out to the deck to see the locks. They open up a fair number of them so everyone is not crowded in one spot.

 

It is really quite incredible - and the panama rolls are good too.

 

Enjoy the view, it's worth getting up IMO :D:D

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We always view the locks from all three places - the bow, the stern, and the cabin. You actually see alot from the stern and there are usually less people there as everyone wants to be at the bow. It's a fun day of running around from place to place - and the Panama buns are wonderful.

[Himself]

If you go through the locks around 6:30, you will be anchored in Gatun Lake around 8:30 AM. The ship then is anchored there until they start letting ships go through the Gatun Locks toward the Atlantic side. This usually happens about 11:40 or so. The ship then proceeds to Christobal-Colon and docks there until about 6:30PM at night. I have been into the canal a number of times and I still love to go out and watch the ship go through.

It is awesome! It is nice to go in early in the morning before the sun comes up because Panama can get quite hot and humid.

[off2ctheworld]

You will have a wonderful time! We started out viewing at the front of the ship. A lot of people were already lined up before 5:30. We got caught in a torrential rainfall and it was wonderful to go back to the cabin, dry out, and then watch from the balcony before going back outside.

 

For an excursion we took the train. It was a long day due to a unexpected railroad delay.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[euro cruiser]

I went out on the deck in front of the health club around 5:30 AM and was the first person out there. It does fill up quickly, on all of the bow decks that they open. Three pilots from the canal board the ship and provide a pretty thorough explanation as things progress.

 

I stayed out there until we were in the first lock, then returned to our balcony to watch the rest from there.

 

We took the excursion that goes through the remaining locks to the Pacific on a ferry; it was interesting to see the locks from the perspective of a small boat immediately after experiencing it on a cruise ship.

[Cygneagile]

I guess we will have to get dress to view this event from all areas. The gym may be a great place to start. Just outside on the deck. It may have to be a quiet day on the ship. Can anyone tell me if there is anything to see where we dock? Most excursions are long. One of my sister is 81 so we need to enjoy at a slower pace. But nevertheless see the sites.Since we will be busy watching everything we may just stay put. I have taken the train ride to the Pacific Ocean and seen several lock on the way. How does the ship treat this day? Nothing special going on on board? Will we be on our own? We are looking forward to these Panama Buns. The buns are some kind of pastry with a filling of sorts.

[aliaschief]

We did the same cruise in December. Due to the heavy rain, all shore excursions were cancelled and we never did dock in Colon. But we were happy to make the canal transit. Here is the picture link with pictures from the canal from different locations on the ship:

 

http://www.pbase.com/kenedmier/christmas_cruise_2010&page=all

 

Ken great pictures. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to our cruise on the MS Zuiderdam in November.

[canehdn]

For sharing your wonderful photos of your Panama canal cruise. We too will be sailing this same itinerary on the Zuiderdam soon. Seeing a slideshow such as yours prior to sailing is so helpful. I feel like I really know what to expect now. Thanks again for sharing and thank you C'estsibon for posting your question.

 

Canehdn in KC

[sail7seas]

This is a fabulous cruise. We love the partial transit round trip FLL cruises HAL does and have taken that cruise probably 4-5 times. Each time we go, the experience is different.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I guess we will have to get dress to view this event from all areas. The gym may be a great place to start. Just outside on the deck. It may have to be a quiet day on the ship. Can anyone tell me if there is anything to see where we dock? Most excursions are long. One of my sister is 81 so we need to enjoy at a slower pace. But nevertheless see the sites.Since we will be busy watching everything we may just stay put. I have taken the train ride to the Pacific Ocean and seen several lock on the way. How does the ship treat this day? Nothing special going on on board? Will we be on our own? We are looking forward to these Panama Buns. The buns are some kind of pastry with a filling of sorts.

 

If you decide to stay on the ship once she gets to Gatun Lake -- you won't be alone. Only about 1/3 - 1/2 of the passengers take a tour. From the ship you can watch the tenders take the passengers to the little pier and their buses -- you can see the buses lined up waiting for everyone. You will also see passengers getting on the smaller boats to go on some of the tours. Once everyone is off and the tenders are secured -- the ship then waits for permission to get back in line to go back through the locks and go to Colon.

One time we did not have enough tenders transporting the passengers to shore and we lost our place in line and didn't go through the locks until nearly 3 PM. The other time we went through about 1 :15.

At Colon -- just a big warehouse with lots of vendors.

[pmcubed]

Thanks for posting those beautiful photos, Ken. We are on this cruise in April and really excited. Do you remember the name of that beautiful beach on Curaçao?

[erewhon]

We did the same cruise in December. Due to the heavy rain, all shore excursions were cancelled and we never did dock in Colon. But we were happy to make the canal transit. Here is the picture link with pictures from the canal from different locations on the ship:

 

http://www.pbase.com/kenedmier/christmas_cruise_2010&page=all

 

Thank you for posting this link to your great pictures.

Brought back lots of memories of our Panama Canal cruise.:)

[Cygneagile]

If you decide to stay on the ship once she gets to Gatun Lake -- you won't be alone. Only about 1/3 - 1/2 of the passengers take a tour. From the ship you can watch the tenders take the passengers to the little pier and their buses -- you can see the buses lined up waiting for everyone. You will also see passengers getting on the smaller boats to go on some of the tours. Once everyone is off and the tenders are secured -- the ship then waits for permission to get back in line to go back through the locks and go to Colon.

 

One time we did not have enough tenders transporting the passengers to shore and we lost our place in line and didn't go through the locks until nearly 3 PM. The other time we went through about 1 :15.

 

At Colon -- just a big warehouse with lots of vendors.

 

Then one of my sisters will be in her glory. LOL she loves to shop at every port.

[JessWright]

I took that cruise about 2 years ago, and was so fascinated with the trip, including going through the first 3 locks of the Panama Canal, that I have signed up to go again on the April 12 cruise. In addition to enjoying the popular Panama pastries that are served on deck in the morning, I found it exciting to watch the Zuiderdam and other ships entering and exiting the Canal. I am also looking forward to Costa Rica, mainly for its' great coffees. They can be found at the nearby flea market. The country grows some of the best coffee.

[Cygneagile]

Can anyone tell me about the excursions once we are in Gatun Lake? My sisters and I would like a better understanding of the Canal. Is it worth it or are all the locks the same.

[Linda&Vern]

Can anyone tell me about the excursions once we are in Gatun Lake? My sisters and I would like a better understanding of the Canal. Is it worth it or are all the locks the same.

Once in Gatun Lake we took the Canal Experience excursion. You take a large ferry boat thru the rest of the locks to the Pacific side. Then you are bussed back to meet the ship. The view of the Canal is amazing from this perspective!

[euro cruiser]

Can anyone tell me about the excursions once we are in Gatun Lake? My sisters and I would like a better understanding of the Canal. Is it worth it or are all the locks the same.

The locks are pretty much the same, but your perspective is different, seeing them from a small ferry boat vs. a huge cruise ship. I really enjoyed this excursion, in spite of some of my fellow passengers (some of the crankiest and rudest people I've had the displeasure to be with, unfortunately).

 

I think that some of their unhappiness may have been because their expectations were out of line. The excursion takes place on a ferry boat - and a not very luxurious one at that. It's perfectly sea worthy, but not fancy. If you are expecting more, as I am guessing some of my fellow passengers were, you will be disappointed.