Zuiderdam Panama Canal April 19 to May 7

[IRL_Joanie]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue][B]I will carry on after Lisa's Live From for my 2nd week on board our ship:)

I plan on doing another almost live from thread from Vancouver pre and post cruise, our US Ports and then once I get home on the 28th a final thoughts.

I think this is neat that we are able to do B2B2B reviews of the Zuiderdam and our experiences not only with the ship, but also excursions and experiences. This is going ot be one ship with extensive info and ..........

I'll definitely say hey to all in the Lido from "The Kiss Lady":D

Joanie[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[nutensteve]

Thanks for the great review Pepsigirl. We definitely have a Panama cruise on our wish list.
I see you are from Whittier. I graduated from Whittier High....many years ago.
Welcome Back !!

[Vict0riann]

I am enjoying your reports, Pepsigirl (BTW do you take your own Pepsis on board with you?). I have a technical question for you - were you able to see all the changes that are being made to the Canal? My DH is extremely interested in all that mechanical stuff, and I know he would be all for another cruise through if the on-going work were visible. We went through some years ago on the QE2, and just scraped through - talk about Panamax! I didn't much enjoy all the heat, but he was fascinated with the whole thing. He has also been through Suez, but I haven't, so not quite sure which one to start making little suggestions about. Thanks. Ann

[startwin]

Thanks for all your reports Pepsigirl, it was so good to follow you along on the same cruise we did last year, and are doing again next year.:) I will now continue on where you left off with Lisa's reports from SD to Vancouver to Alaska (also a replay from last year, LOL).

[pepsigirl64]

[quote name='Vict0riann']I am enjoying your reports, Pepsigirl (BTW do you take your own Pepsis on board with you?). I have a technical question for you - were you able to see all the changes that are being made to the Canal? My DH is extremely interested in all that mechanical stuff, and I know he would be all for another cruise through if the on-going work were visible. We went through some years ago on the QE2, and just scraped through - talk about Panamax! I didn't much enjoy all the heat, but he was fascinated with the whole thing. He has also been through Suez, but I haven't, so not quite sure which one to start making little suggestions about. Thanks. Ann[/quote]

:D[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=purple] Yes, I take my Pepsi on board, I had a 12 pack for our cruise and also took a 12 pack of root beer for the DH. Off the Port side you can see the new canal being built in certain areas, but if you ask me, it won't be done by next year. There is alot of dirt moving going on!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[BillB48]

[quote name='pepsigirl64']:D[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=purple] Yes, I take my Pepsi on board, I had a 12 pack for our cruise and also took a 12 pack of root beer for the DH. Off the Port side you can see the new canal being built in certain areas, but [I]if you ask me, it won't be done by next year. There is alot of dirt moving going on!![/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

Glad you had a wonderful trip and too bad it's over. You are definitely correct, the new locks and such won't be complete until April 2015, the latest estimate. Not only is there a lot of dirt to push around, there is a lot of concrete to pour as well. They expect it to be fully functional sometime mid 2015.