Panama Canal Cabin Location?

[sternfanla]

Hello all,

I will be on the Freedom for the April 2023 Panama Cruise. 
I would like to enjoy the view from my balcony during the Canal transit. 
Will deck 6 be too low for the view or should I try to get a higher deck?

Someone told me on their cruise that they had a low balcony and all they could see was the wall of the canal. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

[Djptcp]

We did the Panama Canal on Holland America and had a suite with a balcony on the 7th deck starboard. It was a great view and definitely high enough. The ship was the Zuiderdam and the ship is 936 feet long, 82,000 tons, with 11 decks and 1964 passengers if you want to compare the size to the Carnival ship you are interested in. Just a suggestion. We haven't done the Canal on a Carnival ship.

[tallnthensome]

You'll want a higher balcony and to be honest you're better off being on the top deck for the best viewing. Sitting on your balcony facing one way will get boring real quick because it's a long slow process through the canal. 

[Bostwick girl]

When we did the Panama Canal on Miracle, we were on deck 4 aft, starboard side. Our balcony was just right in my opinion. High enough to see everything! It was neat to see crew members come out on deck 3 below us to watch too. They acted like they were as excited as we were! All thru the transit, there was a lady narrating the whole thing, lots of history and general information. That was broadcast on the tv in the cabin, so if you wanted to see what was ahead you could go in and look. We even saw some monkeys in the trees! At one point we could see one of the mega ships going thru the new canal. Was interesting to watch another ship going in and out of the set of locks next to us!  I personally loved being close enough to see all the workings of the gates in and out of the locks. The ship is so close to the wall, it’s like you could almost reach out and touch it when the lock was emptying.. After going out into the lake for a couple hours, we turned around and went back. The return wasn’t nearly as interesting, not a lot of action on that side. All in all, it’s a fantastic cruise, my favorite out of 35 cruises! I’d love to do it again, and hope you enjoy your cruise as much as I did!

 

[Essiesmom]

Freedom will be going through the new locks, so side of ship makes no difference.  In fact, much of the activity takes place ahead of the ship as you enter the locks, so being out on deck gives a much better viewing experience.  The ‘workings’ of the locks are on the starboard side as you enter the Agra Clara locks on the Atlantic side.  For the Cocoli locks on the Pacific side, they are port side.  To see activity at the old locks at Pedro Miguel you will need to be port side.  EM

[ilovesparky13]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:52 PM, tallnthensome said:

You'll want a higher balcony and to be honest you're better off being on the top deck for the best viewing. Sitting on your balcony facing one way will get boring real quick because it's a long slow process through the canal. 

This is why I always go with an inside cabin—the best views are on the top deck anyway.