Where should I park on the ship?

[lindatoo]

I am going on the Caribbean Princess in March. 10 day Panama Canal Cruise. Where is the best place to be when going thru the locks. ie: lounge? retreat area? Where on deck? or is your balcony stateroom the best? 

Also I cannot find an in cabin bar set-up cost or what's available. 

[JF - retired RRT]

1 minute ago, lindatoo said:

I am going on the Caribbean Princess in March. 10 day Panama Canal Cruise. Where is the best place to be when going thru the locks. ie: lounge? retreat area? Where on deck? or is your balcony stateroom the best? Where you "park" depends on a couple of factors: how heat/humidity tolerant are you?, what are you most interested in seeing?

Also I cannot find an in cabin bar set-up cost or what's available. 

We've wandered and most will tell you that's the way to go. That being said, it was HOT!! So most of our wandering was indoors, looking out through windows. We had an aft balcony on one of our Panama cruises (4 so far) and spent some time there. Easy to duck inside when we got too hot.

 

AKAIK: there aren't any "bar set-ups" (unless you're Elite, then you get a mini bar). Everything is á la carte.

[rjack22]

The passage takes many hours.   You should go to different places to get a different perspective.  Outside on the promenade deck while actually going through a lock is interesting.    I'd try different places throughout the passage.

[msmoger]

As the previous responses have said, move around.  Having said that, when we went (on Coral Princess through the old locks) we started the day, very early, on the bridge wing.  I believe you should be able to do that also on the Caribbean Princess.  This way you get a birds eye view as you enter the locks.  I'm not familiar with the new locks but I'm assuming it will be a similar experience.

[skynight]

You approach the first lock early in the morning, it varies but maybe as early as 6am. Lock transit takes about 45 minutes per lock with 3 locks. If you can walk around the best places to view the locks are the upper decks where you can walk around from side to side front to back. If you wish to remain in one location probably best to search around once on the ship for a location that fits what you like. If you plan do not plan to take an excursion once through the locks then you can catch what you may have missed when the ship exits. There are less people around for the exit, but it will most likely be very hot and humid with strong sun during the afternoon exit.

Regarding location of a balcony cabin. If you plan to remain in your cabin on your balcony then probably the best location is one of the aft facing balconies which allow you to view both sides of the ship. Side facing balconies provide limited views. 

 

[Potstech]

We did this cruise on the Island Princess before it was modified.  We got up and went to the bow and found a spot around 5:30 a.m. After going thru the first lock we then went to different areas of the ship for a different view. 

We will be on the Nov 28  cruise on the Caribbean Princess with friends on their first trip.  A balcony cabin is nice but staying in it will mean you might miss these different views. A travel cup of some sort will be a great benefit.

[paradiselivin1]

We stayed in our cabin all the way aft as it had an angled balcony. Depends on how hot it may be as to whether you'd prefer to be out forward on deck.

[sloopsailor]

As others have said, wander around. The full transit will take approximately 8 hours, so there is plenty of time to see things from different perspectives. 

 

(All photos taken on Celebrity Millennium, March 2009. Weather was warm but not too hot):

 

1st photo: From inside the forward lounge

2nd photo: From the helipad

3rd photo: On the top deck mid ships

4th photo: From our balcony

5th photo: People on the promenade deck - they actually could touch the walls of the lock

 

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by sloopsailor

[thinfool]

Unless this has changed, Princess does not allow pax on the bow.  HAL does.

If you stay in one place boredom will ensue.  There will be plenty of time and places to explore as you do the transit.

BTW, is this a full or partial transit?

Oh...take a big hat...and rain gear.  It was beastly hot the day we did the full transit.  But it can also be a torrential downpour.

[Kay S]

On the Coral, through the old locks, we spent part of the time in the Piazza Bar at the window.  We wanted to get a close up look at the "walls."  It was fascinating.

[Roberto256]

47 minutes ago, thinfool said:

Unless this has changed, Princess does not allow pax on the bow.  HAL does.

 

 

I have had it both ways on princess.

Where they open the bow, and other crew-only areas to passengers.

 

I don't know how or why they decide...

 

[skynight]

Some additional comments on your partial transit. 

You will transit the Aqua Clara (new) locks. There is plenty of space between the sides of the ship and the lock walls. There is also plenty of space from the bow and stern to the lock doors. Lock doors are sliding ones, not the butterfly ones like the old locks. The photos in post #8 are the old locks, not representative of what you will see. You will not be transiting those locks. The Caribbean Princess is too large. The method used to transit the new locks is different than the old ones. The old locks are to the west of the new locks, not really in view when you make the transit. If you wish to see more of the canal you have to book a Princess excursion. No private excursions and no just getting off to look around is permitted.

Tugs, not rail " rail mules" are used to keep the ship centered in the lock. Plenty of space.

We did the partial new lock transit on both the Caribbean Princess and the Emerald Princess. Both times the promenade deck bow section on deck 8 was open. There is narration in the morning when you transit the locks. There is no narration in the afternoon when exiting.

Fun fact. When transiting from the Atlantic to the Pacific a ship travels Northwest to Southeast.  

[Essiesmom]

As noted above, CB will transit through the new locks.  The works for the Agua Clara locks will be on the starboard side as you enter in the AM.  So if you plan to stay on your balcony, it should be on the starboard side.  I don’t believe you can see the gates opening and closing from a side balcony.  For me the best view would be from the wrap around promenade, all the way forward to see the gates, although you could also see them closing from aft.  I think an excellent overview would be from Skywalkers.  If you choose to do an excursion you will not be on the ship when it returns through the locks to pick you up in Cristobal.  EM

[waltd]

5 hours ago, Kay S said:

On the Coral, through the old locks, we spent part of the time in the Piazza Bar at the window.  We wanted to get a close up look at the "walls."  It was fascinating.

Yes that was one of our spots also.   Cooled off, had a drink and seeing the walls as you went down and up was a lot of fun. 

[txjim09]

On the Ruby, passengers were accommodated on top of the bridge.  Staff had chairs and water available throughout the day.  Very crowded for the entry locks but cleared out for the exit locks.  Nice 270 degree view

 

[pppatpc2]

When we went through the locks on the Caribbean, it was raining pretty hard.  We got up early and got a good seat in Skywalkers, from that lounge you can see all vantage points. You also have quick access to the top deck, if you want to go outside.