Carribbean Princess - Panama Canal question...

[sprint180]

Febr. 16th we will be taking the Caribbean Princess on a Panama Canal cruise. I am a bit confused and have a question. The schedule says 5:00 am to 3:30 pm Panama Canal (scenic Cruising) but offers excursions. This is when I thought we went through the canal, am I wrong? Later in the day it says 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm Cristobal Panama. But no excursions are offered.

I guess my question is at what point are we actually going through the Canal?

Thank You

Vicki

[C-LAD]

You will sail through the first set of canal locks in the early AM (exact time depends on Canal reps) and in the case of the CB it will be through the new locks. They will then anchor in Gatun Lake and transport passengers on excursions only via tenders to the shore. Ship will then sail back through the same locks and dock at Cristobal to pick up passengers returning from the excursions. Not much in Cristobal but they may have locals at the dock with some items for sale.

[skynight]

Febr. 16th we will be taking the Caribbean Princess on a Panama Canal cruise. I am a bit confused and have a question. The schedule says 5:00 am to 3:30 pm Panama Canal (scenic Cruising) but offers excursions. This is when I thought we went through the canal, am I wrong? Later in the day it says 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm Cristobal Panama. But no excursions are offered.

I guess my question is at what point are we actually going through the Canal?

Thank You

Vicki

You are doing a partial transit. Around 5am/6am the ship will enter the channel leading to the Atlantic locks. The transit through the locks will take about two hours. This is your scenic cruising. The ship then anchors in Gatun Lake. Sometime after noon the ship will weigh anchor and travel back through the locks. Although an arrival time at Cristobal is shown as 4pm the actual time will depend on when the Panama Canal authorities schedule the transit. The ship will then dock at Cristobal.

Passengers that book Princess tours will be tendered ashore to a yacht club dock where their tours will begin. When the tour is completed passengers are dropped off at the Cristobal dock. Passengers that book Princess tours are the ONLY ones that can tender ashore while the ship is in Gatun Lake. There are no private tours. Passengers that do not book Princess tours will remain on board and transit back through the locks to the pier mentioned above.

The pier has a warehouse with local vendors.

[CineGraphic]

Stay on the boat while others go on the overpriced excursions. You'll have a front row view when you go back through the locks.

Everyone who came back from the excursions were starving and looked exhausted. There are some nice small shops and a large grocery store in Cristobal, and they all took US dollars.

[curlybelle2]

Febr. 16th we will be taking the Caribbean Princess on a Panama Canal cruise. I am a bit confused and have a question. The schedule says 5:00 am to 3:30 pm Panama Canal (scenic Cruising) but offers excursions. This is when I thought we went through the canal, am I wrong? Later in the day it says 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm Cristobal Panama. But no excursions are offered.

I guess my question is at what point are we actually going through the Canal?

Thank You

Vicki

 

 

Thank You for asking this question. We are also doing a Panama Canal cruise, and confused as well. Thank you for the responses. I think we will stay on the ship to experience the locks.

If we want to get off the ship in Cristobal, we can visit some shops. Hopefully there are some local vendors.

[tailspintom]

Stay on the boat while others go on the overpriced excursions. You'll have a front row view when you go back through the locks.

Everyone who came back from the excursions were starving and looked exhausted. There are some nice small shops and a large grocery store in Cristobal, and they all took US dollars.

We rather enjoyed our excursion in Lake Gatun. And didn't find it particularly expensive. We came back not starved, but that was us. As far as taking US dollars, the US dollar is one of the two currencies that are used in Panama. The Balboa (one has to wonder how long a currency named after a Spanish explorer will be around in this PC world) is the other official currency.

[BillB48]

The references to shopping at the Cristobal pier were accurate in the past, however the last few years all the ships that were doing partial transits have been docking in Colon. The warehouse portion of the pier where the shops were located Cristobal's Pier 6 has been demolished. Since cruise ships have not been using the Cristobal piers, I am not aware of any shopping that might be available in the area. The Cristobal pier area is just a container port.

 

Let me give a plug for the shore excursion that takes you through Gaillard Cut and the Pacific Locks. The trip back through Agua Clara Locks will be interesting, but it is ground you have already covered. Your trip up into Gatun Lake where the shore excursions tender off covers only about 8 miles of a 50 mile Canal. In comparison the Cut and the Pacific portion of the Canal are much more interesting I believe. The two sets of locks on the Pacific side will be different from the set of locks you used for your trip into Gatun Lake. So much historical significance in Gaillard Cut, the Pacific entrance to the Canal is quite scenic with the surrounding islands and the skyline of Panama City is probably not what you are expecting. Yes, it can be a long day, but then again you have come a long way to the Canal.

 

Below are a few pictures of Cristobal, the first is the way Cristobal looked when it was actively used for cruise ships, the one some of you remember. The demolition of the warehouse portion of the pier (thanks to Richard in Panama). Lastly, Cristobal piers of today. Pier 6 (the one with the warehouse) is the first pier going L-R.

 

[sprint180]

So we go through the locks to get to the lake. There we can get off and go on an excursion and then rejoin the cruise after it has come back through the locks?

[sprint180]

 

Let me give a plug for the shore excursion that takes you through Gaillard Cut and the Pacific Locks. The trip back through Agua Clara Locks will be interesting, but it is ground you have already covered. Your trip up into Gatun Lake where the shore excursions tender off covers only about 8 miles of a 50 mile Canal. In comparison the Cut and the Pacific portion of the Canal are much more interesting I believe. The two sets of locks on the Pacific side will be different from the set of locks you used for your trip into Gatun Lake. So much historical significance in Gaillard Cut, the Pacific entrance to the Canal is quite scenic with the surrounding islands and the skyline of Panama City is probably not what you are expecting. Yes, it can be a long day, but then again you have come a long way to the Canal

 

 

 

Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat

 

PC1-615| Panama Canal (Scenic Cruising) Panama

 

6hours

from $179.95

 

 

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Experience the full wonder of the Panama Canal with a crossing of the canal by tour boat on this daylong adventure. This is the only tour that enables you to experience the other two sets of locks that control ship traffic and cruise through "The Cut." Sail across Miraflores Lake to the Miraflores Locks and enjoy a light lunch during your scenic cruise.

 

Experience the full wonder of the Panama Canal with a crossing of the canal by tour boat on this daylong adventure. Travel by ship's tender to the Gatun Yacht Club, where you will board an air-conditioned transportation for the narrated drive through the isthmus to the small village of Gamboa. Located on the banks of the Chagres River and the Panama Canal, Gamboa lies in the heart of Panama's 55,000-acre Soberania National Park. Large tracts of lowland tropical rainforests that nourish thriving plants and harbor enchanting animal populations surround the village.

 

From Gamboa, embark on your ferry tour boat for a partial transit of the canal. Cruise through the Gaillard Cut along your journey. The Gaillard Cut is an artificial valley that cuts through the continental divide in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Gatun Lake, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Construction of the cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time; the immense effort required to complete it was justified by the great significance of the canal to shipping, and in particular the strategic interests of the United States of America.

 

After crossing the Gaillard Cut, enter the Pedro Miguel Locks, which lower your vessel 28 feet on its way to the Pacific. Your boat will settle on Miraflores Lake. Sail across Miraflores Lake to the Miraflores Locks. A light lunch is available during your scenic cruise of the lake and locks. The Miraflores Locks are part of the engineering marvel that makes up the Panama Canal. The locks will lower your tour boat the final 56 feet, matching the level of the Pacific Ocean.

 

The lock gates at Miraflores are the tallest of the three due to the extreme tidal variation that takes place in the Pacific Ocean; the tidal variation on the Atlantic coast is by far less. Miraflores Locks are slightly over one mile long, from beginning to end. Depending on the size of each vessel, one can see anywhere from 1 to 3 vessels make the transit simultaneously. From the minute the vessels enters the locks, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the process to be completed. The water enters and leaving the locks by means of gravity only, as there are no pumps or other man made devices that assist in this process.

 

Your cruise ends at La Playita in Panama City, where you board your air-conditioned ground transportation for the return trip to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Does this sound like the one you are talking about?

[idahospud]

So we go through the locks to get to the lake. There we can get off and go on an excursion and then rejoin the cruise after it has come back through the locks?

Yep!

[mates4life]

Thank You for asking this question. We are also doing a Panama Canal cruise, and confused as well. Thank you for the responses. I think we will stay on the ship to experience the locks.

If we want to get off the ship in Cristobal, we can visit some shops. Hopefully there are some local vendors.

Noticed your question as we are scheduled for a cruise on the Caribbean Princess soon. We did the partial transit a few years ago before the new canal was completed. We did an excursion to Panama City that we did enjoy as we had never been in that area.

[BillB48]

Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat

 

PC1-615| Panama Canal (Scenic Cruising) Panama

 

6hours

from $179.95

 

 

Share

You will visit:

 

 

 

Experience the full wonder of the Panama Canal with a crossing of the canal by tour boat on this daylong adventure. This is the only tour that enables you to experience the other two sets of locks that control ship traffic and cruise through "The Cut........."

 

Does this sound like the one you are talking about?

 

Yes, that would be the excursion. All the cruise lines have their own names for it, but that is it! The only thing I would add to the description is the tour can operate in the opposite direction, in other words from the Pacific to Gamboa. It really makes no difference... equally rewarding, it really just depends on the ship traffic in the Canal that day.

Edited September 14, 2017 by BillB48

[BillB48]

Sprint180, I read the tour description a little more closely and the purist in me needs to clarify this portion " From the minute the vessels enters the locks, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the process to be completed. The water enters and leaving the locks by means of gravity only, as there are no pumps or other man made devices that assist in this process." The gravity part is fine, however the 10 minutes they are referring to is how long it takes to empty or fill the chamber and not how long it takes to traverse the lock. At Miraflores the process will take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on if you are locking with another vessel.

[pshaze]

Does anyone know if the ferry in the above excursion is air conditioned?

[joeyancho]

So we go through the locks to get to the lake. There we can get off and go on an excursion and then rejoin the cruise after it has come back through the locks?

Yes, but you can only get off if you have a ships excursion. Otherwise you have to wait until they exit and dock to get off.

[geoherb]

We were on a Holland America partial Panama Canal cruise this past February. I enjoyed going through the locks on the way back more than going in. I'm not sure if it's because of the early hour going into Gatun Lake or if it's because we wandered around the ship more to take in different views on the way back out and did not have crowds of passengers getting in our way. Plus we had a container ship going in the opposite direction and the folks on shore on excursions watching us.

[caribill]

Sprint180, I read the tour description a little more closely and the purist in me needs to clarify this portion " From the minute the vessels enters the locks, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the process to be completed. The water enters and leaving the locks by means of gravity only, as there are no pumps or other man made devices that assist in this process." The gravity part is fine, however the 10 minutes they are referring to is how long it takes to empty or fill the chamber and not how long it takes to traverse the lock. At Miraflores the process will take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on if you are locking with another vessel.

 

That is true for the original locks.

 

As I understand it, the new locks do require reusing the water.

[caribill]

Does anyone know if the ferry in the above excursion is air conditioned?

 

Based on posts I have read, the excursion can be done by using any of several vendors and there is no way to know which one(s) will be contracted for your voyage.

 

Some of the vendors have air conditioned boats and some do not.

[BillB48]

That is true for the original locks.

 

As I understand it, the new locks do require reusing the water.

 

Even with the water savings basins all the water transfers from chamber to chamber or from chamber to basin to chamber is accomplished by gravity. No pumps are used, just many more valves to direct the water. Presently the water savings basins are not being used as they are experiencing a higher than expected salt water intrusion into Gatun Lake. The highest intrusion was occurring at the south end of Gaillard Cut near Pedro Miguel and the new Cocoli Locks which is also a major intake point for potable water.

[BillB48]

Does anyone know if the ferry in the above excursion is air conditioned?

 

I can only add, if the "ferry" that is used is the Pacific Queen, then there is an air conditioned area. As pointed out earlier other vessels may be used and I don't know if they have an air conditioned areas. I doubt that there is any sure way to find out beforehand.

[sprint180]

Sprint180, I read the tour description a little more closely and the purist in me needs to clarify this portion " From the minute the vessels enters the locks, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the process to be completed. The water enters and leaving the locks by means of gravity only, as there are no pumps or other man made devices that assist in this process." The gravity part is fine, however the 10 minutes they are referring to is how long it takes to empty or fill the chamber and not how long it takes to traverse the lock. At Miraflores the process will take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on if you are locking with another vessel.

 

LOL I was questioning the 10 thing. I was thinking that sounded awful fast and it must be a typo.