January 28, 2022 Panama Canal Full Transit - Live From Emerald Princess

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, gardenbunny said:

Good job Ken the Cruiser!   Actually I remember reading about that on Enchanted in early January that a ship could not stop because of 7 cases.

We had just booked on board our March 13 Canal cruise.  I said well maybe it will be open again by March.

Guess they decided now it was too much economic impact since ships stopped coming.

Thanks! We’re booked on a Panama Canal cruise on the Caribbean leaving SFO Apr 26 and hope Cartagena is open then as well. We always love going to the “free” zoo near where we will hopefully be docking. 😎

 

[gardenbunny]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! We’re booked on a Panama Canal cruise on the Caribbean leaving SFO Apr 26 and hope Cartagena is open then as well. We always love going to the “free” zoo near where we will hopefully be docking. 😎

 

We have never been to Cartegena or Limon - hope they will all still be open !

[VibeGuy]

The reopening today wasn’t a surprise - the Colombian authorities said effective 01FEB like a week ago.  Just unfortunate timing. 

[coo359a2]

2 hours ago, Robbie555 said:

I hate to add insult to injury, but checking out other threads....sailings from other cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, and Regent Seven Seas all successfully stopped in Cartagena, Colombia today and passengers were able to get off and engage in their excursions.

 

How come these other cruise lines could make proper arrangements to anchor in Cartagena, but Princess could not! 😤😡

Boy you sure have added these  comments about the Emerald missing Cartagena to a lot of other threads. Not upset about missing that port as it will open back up when their requirements change

[caribill]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:52 PM, Robbie555 said:

For the half-transite round trip from FLL on 1/18/22, Cartagena was replaced by a day at Princess Cays in the Bahamas. Too bad that neither Cartagena and Nicaragua have been replaced by sea days. 🤬

 

9 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

They needed a distant foreign port to satisfy the PVSA. Aruba, Bonaire and Dominica are too far and the rest of Central America and the Caribbean islands do not satisfy that requirement. Santa Marta, another Colombian port has been called at before but they've probably got the same restrictions as Cartagena.

 

The half-transit does not require a distant foreign port as it returns to the same port it started from. Any foreign port will do.

[waterbabyfish]

Glad Cartagena has opened back up. I hope san juan del ser opens up before my coast to coast cruise in march!

[bejw]

Great information and love the canal pictures. Hoping to be on the partial canal cruise in March. 
Curious about $3.00, for pizza. I thought room service was free, (except tip).  Thanks!

[capriccio]

6 minutes ago, bejw said:

Curious about $3.00, for pizza. I thought room service was free, (except tip).  Thanks!

Historically (well, as far back as I can remember and we started cruising Princess in 2008) Princess has always charged for an entire pizza delivered by room service. 

[beg3yrs]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

The half-transit does not require a distant foreign port as it returns to the same port it started from. Any foreign port will do.

Yes but the topic of this thread is the FLL to LA trip, a full-transit journey. While Robbie555 mentioned a half-transit, the loss of Nicaragua without a replacement was also mentioned. My point was to illustrate the problems cruise ships face trying to substitute the far distant ports on the FLL to LA itineraries.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, bejw said:

 
Curious about $3.00, for pizza. I thought room service was free, (except tip).  Thanks!

 

Originally there was no charge.

 

But then Princess found that there were many orders for multiple Pizzas which much of them going to waste. So they instituted the charge to stop the ordering of multiple pizzas just because they were free.

 

However, I see no reason that ordering one pizza to a cabin could be free, but multiple orders at about the same time would not be.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, beg3yrs said:

Yes but the topic of this thread is the FLL to LA trip, a full-transit journey. While Robbie555 mentioned a half-transit, the loss of Nicaragua without a replacement was also mentioned. My point was to illustrate the problems cruise ships face trying to substitute the far distant ports on the FLL to LA itineraries.

 

Right. I was just responding to the Robbie555 post you quoted.

[huneymoonerz]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:31 AM, whitecap said:

Can someone aboard advise about the KN95 mask being provided by Princess.  Is there any indication on the mask where it was manufactured?  From what I am reading, the vast majority of the KN95's are manufactured in China.  I'm not usually the paranoid type, but I'm not crazy about getting or using anything regarding COVID that has been made in China.  Apparently from reports, taken with a grain of salt, many of the home test kits being mailed out to homes were also manufactured in China.  Thanks for any information.

Bring your own. I recommended South Korean masks. They are really good quality.

[whitecap]

47 minutes ago, huneymoonerz said:

Bring your own. I recommended South Korean masks. They are really good quality.

We found this company, I believe out of Texas that has certifications from the FDA and HHS.  Made in USA with USA material.  On Amazon, $24 for a box of 10 and they are the N95 not a K number.

BNX N95 Mask Black NIOSH Certified MADE IN USA Particulate Respirator Protective Face Mask (10-Pack, Approval Number TC-84A-9315 / Model H95B)

[Shelly97060]

Room service menu was changed today and now you can purchase Crown Grill and Sabatini items between 5:30pm and 9:30 pm.

Crown Grill Soups and sides are $7 -$8.Mains $19, desserts $5.

Sabatini Soups and salads $7-8,  Pasta & Mains  $15, desserts $5

 

[Shelly97060]

6 hours ago, bejw said:

Great information and love the canal pictures. Hoping to be on the partial canal cruise in March. 
Curious about $3.00, for pizza. I thought room service was free, (except tip).  Thanks!

Pizza has had a $3 charge for many years.  The other items they charge for are Cheese Plate ($4), Humus & Vegetable Plate ($4), Steak Frites ($19) and now today on Emerald they have added Sabatini and Crown Grill items available for purchase with prices ranging from $7 to $19 per item. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Shelly97060

[cvpends]

6 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

Pizza has had a $3 charge for many years.  The other items they charge for are Cheese Plate ($4), Humus & Vegetable Plate ($4), Steak Frites ($19) and now today on Emerald they have added Sabatini and Crown Grill items available for purchase with prices ranging from $7 to $19 per item. 

If the room service pizza is as good as it was on Majestic last month, it is worth every penny and more!

[coo359a2]

We each got back $10 for port fees -didn’t specify if only for Cartagena.  That’s really the only port we have missed on this itinerary since San  Juan was dropped  before  we even started the cruise. 

[huneymoonerz]

22 hours ago, whitecap said:

We found this company, I believe out of Texas that has certifications from the FDA and HHS.  Made in USA with USA material.  On Amazon, $24 for a box of 10 and they are the N95 not a K number.

BNX N95 Mask Black NIOSH Certified MADE IN USA Particulate Respirator Protective Face Mask (10-Pack, Approval Number TC-84A-9315 / Model H95B)

Thank you!

[NSWP]

Enjoying the blog, having done the Canal twice on Coral and Island Princesses.  The wider canal was opened when we went through the older one, about  6 years ago.

 

I have a couple of old cruise friends on this one.

 

Above all enjoy the cruise !!

Edited February 3, 2022 by NSWP

[SAKay]

Hi, I'm enjoying hearing about your cruise !  

 

Have you stopped at any ports yet?  If so, when and where?  We are on a Panama Canal cruise in March and are scheduled to stop at Fuerte Amador the day after going through the Canal, for Panama City.  Were you scheduled for that port?  Did you stop there?  When and where is your next port? 

 

Also how has the entertainment been at night?  Have you had any shows?  

 

Thanks very much for the info !  Hope you're enjoying the cruise !!  

[coo359a2]

3 minutes ago, SAKay said:

Hi, I'm enjoying hearing about your cruise !  

 

Have you stopped at any ports yet?  If so, when and where?  We are on a Panama Canal cruise in March and are scheduled to stop at Fuerte Amador the day after going through the Canal, for Panama City.  Were you scheduled for that port?  Did you stop there?  When and where is your next port? 

 

Also how has the entertainment been at night?  Have you had any shows?  

 

Thanks very much for the info !  Hope you're enjoying the cruise !!  

So far only missed Cartagena on our itinerary. We stopped at Fuerte Amador (on itinerary) on the 2nd. Now stopped at Puntarenas.  We

have our second production show tonight - Blame It On The Boogie.  Should be one more before getting to San Pedro. Great weather so far 

[coo359a2]

Crew got  approved for shore leave today at Puntarenas. They are so happy. Our steward has his leave in Puerto Vallarta and is heading to Walmart for chips

[casandbliz]

What's the weather been like? Humid much?

[roking2000]

On 2/1/2022 at 8:50 AM, Essiesmom said:

Transit time.  Unfortunately, the cam at Agua Clara locks has been stuck since 1/27.  But here is the view from the bridge:

 

 

 

 

[roking2000]

Just now, roking2000 said:

Thanks for the photos. I used to live there 1975-1978 and I am so happy to see current photos of the canal. Booked for 2023