Daytime vs. nighttime Canal transit

[sej67]

In Dec. I will be on an NCL PanCan cruise.  Normally it departs at midnight but this one departs at 5 PM.  For both this one and the other cruise they say it transits the Canal during daylight hours.  So I guess that means they just loop around in the Pacific for several hours until 7 or 8 the next morning?

 

And is there any advantage to a nighttime transit?  I'm sure both the ship and the Canal itself is heavily lit up.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, sej67 said:

In Dec. I will be on an NCL PanCan cruise.  Normally it departs at midnight but this one departs at 5 PM.  For both this one and the other cruise they say it transits the Canal during daylight hours.  So I guess that means they just loop around in the Pacific for several hours until 7 or 8 the next morning?

 

And is there any advantage to a nighttime transit?  I'm sure both the ship and the Canal itself is heavily lit up.

Are you on the Norwegian Jewel departing from Panama City (Fuerte Amador ) on Dec. 3 ? Your cruise does  a daylight transit of the canal. 5 pm is your embarkation time, not the departure time. Presumably you just stay on board for the evening with the ship remaining docked at Fuerte Amador and your actual canal transit begins the next morning.  Here's the itinerary:

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/9-day-panama-canal-round-trip-from-panama-city-curacao-aruba-and-cartagena-JEWEL9FAMLIOWILORJKRACTGCLP?destinations=4294961383&sailMonths=4294940493&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=JEWEL9FAMLIOWILORJKRACTGCLP

 

Each of the six Panama Canal transits I've done has been in the daylight as are the four I have booked for the future. There is normally a canal employee on board who does a running commentary about your transit that is broadcast throughout the ship and that couldn't occur at night as passengers would be sleeping.

[sej67]

Yes, it is NCL Jewel 12/3.  It just seems odd that the ship would just sit there for 14 or so hours.

[CruiserBruce]

Even odder would be a night time cruise ship transit. That would totally defeat the purpose of a Canal transit. Never heard of a cruise ship doing one, except when empty during Covid.

[njhorseman]

19 minutes ago, sej67 said:

Yes, it is NCL Jewel 12/3.  It just seems odd that the ship would just sit there for 14 or so hours.

I've been on cruises embarking elsewhere with the embarkation being the day before actual departure. I'm not sure  but you may be able to get off the ship and explore the Fuerte Amador area until sometime later in the evening but they set the embarkation time at 5 because they don't want to keep shoreside check in staff there any later than that. 

As @CruiserBrucesaid, a night time transit would be even odder and totally defeat the purpose of the transit.

[BillB48]

I feel sure NCL has just planned the departure to occur the day before so as not to conflict with coordination of a departure AND transit in the same day.  A lot of variables can crop up with arriving flights, passengers getting to the ship etc.  The other advantage in leaving the departure port would be to open the casino and shops.

 

If NCL is advertising a daylight transit in all probability they have paid the additional $30K fee for the ship to make the transit during daylight hours.  A daylight transit for the Canal's purposes means arriving at the first lock after sunrise and clearing the last before sunset.  In Panama sunrise/sunset is pretty close to being evenly split occurring right around 6 year round. 

 

The locks and Gaillard Cut are lit for night operations, while the portion of the Canal that crosses the 23 miles of Gatun Lake is only lit by the buoys that mark the channel.  The Canal is very attractive at night, but it would not be my first choice to see the Canal at night.

[Essiesmom]

A. Outlet years ago, Windstar did night transits on their former Seabourn yachts.  I think there were some disgruntled guests who didn’t realize this would happen.  EM

[Turtles06]

5 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

A. Outlet years ago, Windstar did night transits on their former Seabourn yachts.  I think there were some disgruntled guests who didn’t realize this would happen.  EM

 

Don't know if they are currently doing this, but Lindblad/Nat Geo advertised a bunch of Panama Canal/Costa Rica trips a few years ago that had a nighttime transit of the Canal.  (That would not be my first choice for a first transit either.)

[Essiesmom]

Yes, National Geographic are still doing this.  I think they are more like expedition trips, stopping at one or more islands in Gatun Lake.  I believe National Geographic has a research station on Barro Colorado.  EM

[BillB48]

EM, it is the Smithsonian that has a research center on Barro Colorado Island.  The Smithsonian has been involved on the Island and else where in Panama through the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).  In the past they did not really encourage casual visits and were really only open to scientific visits.  However after looking at their website they do accept day visitors with reservations.  These visits are on temporary hold due to Covid.

 

https://stri.si.edu/visit/barro-colorado

[chengkp75]

On 1/2/2022 at 7:12 PM, CruiserBruce said:

Even odder would be a night time cruise ship transit. That would totally defeat the purpose of a Canal transit. Never heard of a cruise ship doing one, except when empty during Covid.

Well, actually the purpose of a canal transit is to get from one ocean to another.  😉

[Mavrick_RN]

On 1/6/2022 at 6:32 AM, chengkp75 said:

Well, actually the purpose of a canal transit is to get from one ocean to another.  😉

For cargo the time of day doesn't matter.  Cruise ship passengers wanna see stuff.

[CruiserBruce]

4 hours ago, Mavrick_RN said:

For cargo the time of day doesn't matter.  Cruise ship passengers wanna see stuff.

@chengkp75 was kidding.

[feelingnauti]

RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas does a one way transit in 2024. I’m trying to decide which transit would be better, 4am-4pm or 10am-10pm. Any advice?

[BillB48]

I am puzzled by the choices of times... are these two different times and transits for the same ship? Or is one of the times for a port call in either Colon or Ft. Amador on the the Pacific side?

[Essiesmom]

From mid-February thru March the ship is doing 7 day cruises Puntarenas to Colon and back.  So I guess it depends on how early you want to get up, or which direction you want to go.  EM

[BillB48]

Good catch EM, I never drilled that far down in the two itineraries.  I would imagine in the long run those transit times are more most "ideal" times for the each particular itinerary.  As a practical matter the ship will have had to pay the additional daylight guarantee transit fee in order to accommodate the transit within either of those times.  What the daylight guarantee means is the ship will enter the first lock by sunrise and clear the last lock by sunset.  So the bulk of either transit should occur between those two times.

 

I suppose the bottom line will be there may be a slightly better chance of a later start on the 10A to 10P itinerary than you would on the 4A to 4P.  But knowing Canal scheduling I sure would not count on it😁.

Edited July 12, 2023 by BillB48