Celebrity and Panama Canal

[Newbury newbie]

Are X sailings through the the Panama Canal always made on Millennium Class ships? I tend to see Celebrity Infinity doing this route but never any Solstice ships. I often thought that it was down to size but recently saw NCL Bliss going through on You-Tube. Bliss looks bigger than Solstice class ships. 

[Northern Aurora]

The Solstice class ships would need to use the new locks.  The M-class ships barely fit in the old locks.

[Denny01]

Yes, the M-Class ships are PanaMax sized (equal/less than 965ft length/106ft beam/39ft draft) and have been doing the Panama Canal run for an extended time, and Infinity is the one that makes it right now. The Infinity is 105ft beam so its fun watching how close the sides are to the lock! 

 

The S-Class are too large for the ‘standard’ locks, but can make use of the new locks which allow up to 1265-foot overall length, 160-foot beam and 50-foot draft. Those are called “new Panamax”. I did a Solstice Alaska cruise, but it’s been doing the Australian/Asian cruises and probably didn’t come through the Canal.

 

If the NCL Bliss did the Panama Canal, it did it through the new locks, which would be fun to do. Did a tour of the new locks and they look great. 

 

Den

 

[Alakegirl]

S class ships have not yet been authorized for the new locks

[Essiesmom]

I believe the 'air draft' (height above the water ) of the S class ships make them too tall to fit under the Bridge of the Americas on the Pacific side.  Solstice had her mast modified so that she could fir under the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver, so it's possible she could fit.  Bliss and Joy may have had similar arrangements made so they can fit.  EM

[BillB48]

As EM pointed out only the Solstice is the only ship of that class that has had the forward mast modified to clear the Lions Gate Bridge. The LGB has a clearance slightly less than the Bridge of Americas and her dimensions won't challenge the new locks permitted length and beam of 1200x167.   A friend of mine who was working on the Infinity had some time to speak with the Captain at length about when (if?) a Solstice class ship would transit the Canal.  The Captain said that one of Celebrity's concerns was the fendering at  the new locks.  There have been a number of issues with the fendering, and sometimes it seems that the only thing less forgiving  than the fendering, is the lock wall!  The Canal has been working to improve and increase the fendering, but it is a work in progress.

 

Passenger ships are handled differently than the other ships using the new locks.  All other ships make fast to the lock wall while filling or spilling the chamber, then move to the center of the chamber to move to the next chamber.  Passenger ships on the other hand are tied off to both walls and held in the center of the chamber during the filling/spilling.  While this method does minimize contact with lock wall it doesn't completely prevent it.

Edited July 23, 2019 by BillB48

[BillB48]

I was able to find a post by Hoopster95 who took a series of pics of the Solstice sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge.  In the series of shots there is one showing a close up of the top of the forward mast in the down position.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2315715-solstice-mast-modification-under-the-lions-gate-bridge-90902016/?tab=comments#comment-49762737

 

[TeeRick]

We did the Panama Canal crossing on Infinity just before the new locks opened.  So we went through the old locks.  I am so glad we did! That is a far better experience IMO if you are interested in the history and engineering of the old canal.  We did tour the new locks.  But it was really great to actually experience the old ones.  As mentioned by others, ships need to fit in either the new or old locks and also clear the Bridge of the Americas which is the main challenge now.