Enrichment, etc. on Panama Canal cruise?

[jasbo49]

Greetings:

 

We just booked our first Panama Canal cruise and have lots of questions. First thing I'm wondering is whether we can anticipate a fair number of "enrichment" activities. There are only five ports on the 15-night full transit, so that means a lot of sea days. I'm hoping there will be canal history lectures and maybe more. Anyone know what we can expect in the way of classes, lessons, lectures that are purely for our education?

 

Also, the November issue of the Captain's Circle magazine said Princess was going to start offering "destination-inspired cuisine." Some of the available food would relate to where you are sailing. That's a move that really makes sense to me. Has anyone heard any more about that? It would sure be nice to have some Latin dishes in Latin America.

 

If it matters, we're talking about the Island Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles sailing Dec. 5, 2015. Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

[partybarbie]

I took two Panama Canal cruises on the Island Princess last year. On both cruises, we had a Panamanian Luncheon Poolside Buffet, featuring local dishes.

 

I believe there were a couple of different lecturers on board. One was mainly focused on the history of the canal and our various ports.

 

I didn't save my patters, but there were lots of daily activities, so there was never an issue finding something to do.:)

[Kamloops50]

When we did the Panama Canal , there was a lecturer that gave a presentation on the history , building , operation and future of the Canal . He also gave a running commentary as we passed thru the locks and canal itself.

On our cruise he disembarked in Panama City .

[Thrak]

We're hoping they offer the stargazing during our PC cruise. If not, we plan to have a fantastic cruise anyway. I think the narration during the canal passage and the lectures about the canal are pretty standard things for all PC cruises. Any extras will be welcome.

[AKman2495]

On our cruise in 2012, we had two lecturers. One spoke of the ports and region and the history of the Canal. The other gave a series of lectures on stars. We also had several one time lectures, bridge lessons, and many other activities during the cruise.

 

You will find plenty to do.

[Jasperdo]

On the 15 Day Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise a few years ago, Bill Keene gave a very good series of lectures about the Panama Canal and the Ports of Call. There was one every sea day. Plus, he gave a running commentary for the entire Canal Day. Here are a few photos I took during his lectures. (There was also a Naturalist lecturer who gave talks about the sea life, birds, etc.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thrak]

Wow. Almost $395k for the ship to make the transit!

[caribill]

Wow. Almost $395k for the ship to make the transit!

 

That is why the "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses"for a cruise with a Panama Canal transit is around $310 compared with less than $200 on similar length cruises elsewhere.

[caribill]

On the 15 Day Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise a few years ago, Bill Keene gave a very good series of lectures about the Panama Canal and the Ports of Call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like nobody wanted to sit up front

[Kamloops50]

That is why the "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses"for a cruise with a Panama Canal transit is around $310 compared with less than $200 on similar length cruises elsewhere.

 

The biggest part of the fees is the cost per passenger. I think the fee is about $150 per passenger to do a full transit of the canal. The will probably go up when the new canal is finished.

 

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Forums mobile app

[Jasperdo]

Looks like nobody wanted to sit up front

The Theater was probably 20% full for the lecture. But most everyone was sitting in the back of the class :p

[Jasperdo]

The biggest part of the fees is the cost per passenger. I think the fee is about $150 per passenger to do a full transit of the canal. The will probably go up when the new canal is finished.

If I remember correctly from the lecture, cruise ships are charged by passenger berth, regardless of if the ship is full or half full. According to the slide Mr. Keene put up the fee was $134 per berth on our sailing.

[BillB48]

The $134 figure is correct as of now! After all they are going to need to pay for all the improvements!! The $134 is the toll and is based per passenger berth, that also includes all the 3rd and 4th bunks in the cabins as well, even if there is not a body occupying the bunk.

 

When the expansion is complete a cruise ship using the new locks will be charged $154 per passenger berth, while a cruise ship that can use the existing locks will come in at 144.

[jasbo49]

Thanks for the responses. I noticed in the most recent post in the "reviews" section that the buffet had a lot of Mexican items. That's good news to me. I could never figure out why they didn't offer some Mexican food on the Mexican cruises I've been on.

 

It'll be nice if Princess really develops this regional food idea, though I'm sure it's not practical to have six or eight different menus for the fleet depending on locale.

 

Jim

[shepp]

That is why the "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses"for a cruise with a Panama Canal transit is around $310 compared with less than $200 on similar length cruises elsewhere.

 

On our radically marked-down partial transit last year, the added fees were nearly as much as the base fare.

 

I guess I shouldn't complain, huh?

[downsmead]

The high tax for the cruise ships to transit the Panama Canal is partly because they pay the premium to do a daytime transit, as their passengers obviously want to see the passage through the canal. A night time transit is cheaper!!

[Jasperdo]

The high tax for the cruise ships to transit the Panama Canal is partly because they pay the premium to do a daytime transit, as their passengers obviously want to see the passage through the canal. A night time transit is cheaper!!

The transit reservation fee on my sailing was $35,000. And another $30,000 was added on for a guaranteed daytime transit. So, the premium added a total of $65,000 to the bill.

[BillB48]

A ship the size of say the Island Princess will always traverse the Gaillard Cut during the daylight hours under present Canal regulations. However there are times when things don't go as planned. Here is a web cam pic of the most recent transit of the Island Princess, as you probably make out the time stamp is 7:50PM (1950). That is a bit late for being in the upper level of Miraflores Locks, allowing she is at least an hour away from the Bridge of Americas and another 30 minutes beyond that for actually completing the transit. So a fair part of this transit was complete after sunset which is just a little after 6PM in Panama this time of year. Haven't heard if there were any adjustments to the fees/tolls particularly the daylight guarantee;). This is from a thread on the Panama Canal forum... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2173896

 

Edited March 7, 2015 by BillB48

[SeaMystique]

Just back from the Island Princess transit that ended March 6. On our cruise, the general opinion was that Bill Keene was a bore and a disastrous presenter. Spent all his time talking about the "new" canal and hardly any about what we were seeing while we were actually there. Inarticulate, no idea about how to communicate. Not a word on history. Only disappointment on what was otherwise a perfect trip.

[caribill]

Just back from the Island Princess transit that ended March 6. On our cruise, the general opinion was that Bill Keene was a bore and a disastrous presenter. Spent all his time talking about the "new" canal and hardly any about what we were seeing while we were actually there.

 

Better than any history lecture on board is to read before the cruise the book "The Path Between the Seas." by David McCullough.

 

It is about 600 pages and very, very informative.

[Jasperdo]

Just back from the Island Princess transit that ended March 6. On our cruise, the general opinion was that Bill Keene was a bore and a disastrous presenter. Spent all his time talking about the "new" canal and hardly any about what we were seeing while we were actually there. Inarticulate, no idea about how to communicate. Not a word on history. Only disappointment on what was otherwise a perfect trip.

I had the exact opposite opinion of Bill Keene. I thought he gave excellent lectures. "Not a word on history"? On our sailing he gave an entire lecture on the history of the Panama Canal entitled "Uncle Sam Builds A Canal". And his port talks all included a history of that port, along with practical information on independent sightseeing at each port. I found him to be a very good lecturer.

[SeaMystique]

Wow, I wish I'd been on your cruise. On ours, his topic was "A Panama Canal for the 21st Century," and boy, did he stick to it. Others felt as we did -- why talk about what's going to be, instead of what has been and is?

I'm working on a full-length review of our cruise and I'll go into more detail there.

Keene has a difficult job, but he really should give more thought to pepping up his explanations. One can only hear so many numbers before permanent eye-glaze sets in. Also, why on earth focus on trivia such as "That tugboat over on the port side now -- it's called The Whatever and was built by Whozit and Sons in 19blahblahblah -- it has a stern draft of xyz feet --" etc. I'm not exaggerating -- this is really the kind of stuff he talked about. More coffee, please!

At any rate, I found it easy to ignore his specious drone and concentrate on what was happening.

I've of course read the McCullough book -- read it as soon as we booked the cruise. Never heard the names "Gorgas", "Goethals," or "Bunau-Varilla" from Keene. Maybe heard the name Roosevelt. Once.

Princess needs to hire presenters who can present.

Just a small quibble, actually, in the great scheme of things. We loved our cruise.

[Jasperdo]

Wow, I wish I'd been on your cruise. On ours, his topic was "A Panama Canal for the 21st Century," and boy, did he stick to it. Others felt as we did -- why talk about what's going to be, instead of what has been and is?

He gave that lecture as well. He gave a different one every sea day, at least on our cruise. I'm surprised he didn't give the history of the Canal lecture on your cruise. It was an excellent slide show presentation, from the early French Canal up to the American involvement, with plenty of historic photos. Here are a few photos I took during his history lecture:

 

 

[ComputerTravelGuy]

... .

 

I've of course read the McCullough book -- read it as soon as we booked the cruise. Never heard the names "Gorgas", "Goethals," or "Bunau-Varilla" from Keene. Maybe heard the name Roosevelt. Once.

 

Princess needs to hire presenters who can present. ...... We loved our cruise.

 

 

McCullough's book "Pathway between the Seas" is the definitive history on the Panama Canal with a great deal on the engineering challenges along the way. Kindle, Book or Audiobook options will help you understand and the most out of your canal experience. Enjoy!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002FK3U4Q?ie=UTF8&redirectFromSS=1&pc_redir=T1&noEncodingTag=1&fp=1