Celebrity Summit Panama Canal Transit Sept 2024

[Bluewezzie]

Hi all we are doing this cruise hopefully after 2 cancellations due to Covid over the last few years, however with the Panama Canal locks water issue and reduced daily transits for commercial vessels I am hoping this cruise will still go a head without any issues. I can'yt find any news anywhere that covers the issue that mentions cruise ships only freight and bulk carriers. Has anyone got any news or thoughts or do we just hope for the best. Not sure if we will be going via the "old Locks" or the "new Locks" but any news will be good news for us travelling from the UK.

 

Thanks for any information from any of fellow sailors in advance.

 

Yours  Bluewezzie

[563toM]

We are also booked on this cruise I suggest anyone else booked to  do a price check to see if it's lower.  I have been checking the price a few times a week and I have twice had our room drop in price.  We have knocked off almost $1,000 since we booked this in November last year.

 

I am hoping that because the Summit is a smaller ship that we won't have any problems going thru the locks.

[cruisestitch]

As of now, only commercial shipping vessels have been affected.  By September, who knows. 

[Bluewezzie]

Thanks for that good news 👍👍

[Bluewezzie]

23 minutes ago, 563toM said:

We are also booked on this cruise I suggest anyone else booked to  do a price check to see if it's lower.  I have been checking the price a few times a week and I have twice had our room drop in price.  We have knocked off almost $1,000 since we booked this in November last year.

 

I am hoping that because the Summit is a smaller ship that we won't have any problems going thru the locks.

Didyou book direct with Celebrity or via an agent?

[mahdnc]

48 minutes ago, Bluewezzie said:

Hi all we are doing this cruise hopefully after 2 cancellations due to Covid over the last few years, however with the Panama Canal locks water issue and reduced daily transits for commercial vessels I am hoping this cruise will still go a head without any issues. I can'yt find any news anywhere that covers the issue that mentions cruise ships only freight and bulk carriers. Has anyone got any news or thoughts or do we just hope for the best. Not sure if we will be going via the "old Locks" or the "new Locks" but any news will be good news for us travelling from the UK.

 

Thanks for any information from any of fellow sailors in advance.

 

Yours  Bluewezzie

 

We are on the Summit canal sailing in April (westbound).  I am not expecting our sailing to be affected by the drought measures that the canal authorities have effected.  Right now it is affecting freight.

 

Summit will almost certainly go through the old locks which use less water than the new larger locks.

 

 

[Bluewezzie]

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

We are on the Summit canal sailing in April (westbound).  I am not expecting our sailing to be affected by the drought measures that the canal authorities have effected.  Right now it is affecting freight.

 

Summit will almost certainly go through the old locks which use less water than the new larger locks.

 

 

Seems to be good news for the cruise industry then up to now !!

[563toM]

@BluewezzieWe book all of our cruises thru the Big Box store.  Not allowed to name them directly but you need to have a membership to shop there.

 

I made the call this morning and they called Celebrity directly.  Process didn't take long and it knocked another $464 off the cruise.

[Essiesmom]

This is pretty well covered on the Ports of Call board here for Panama Canal.  EM

[RTShaker]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

We are on the Summit canal sailing in April (westbound).  I am not expecting our sailing to be affected by the drought measures that the canal authorities have effected.  Right now it is affecting freight.

 

Summit will almost certainly go through the old locks which use less water than the new larger locks.

 

 

The new locks actually use about 8% less water than the historic locks due to water recycling

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Panama-Canal/Locks

 

 

 

"The basins were completed in June 2016 and include 158 valves consisting of 20,000 tons of structural material. Officials say those water-saving basins are the largest in the world and facilitate a 60 percent reuse of water. Whereas the existing locks use 52 million gallons (197 million litres) with each use, the new locks use 48 million gallons (182 million litres)".

 

 

[mahdnc]

52 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

The new locks actually use about 8% less water than the historic locks due to water recycling

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Panama-Canal/Locks

 

 

 

"The basins were completed in June 2016 and include 158 valves consisting of 20,000 tons of structural material. Officials say those water-saving basins are the largest in the world and facilitate a 60 percent reuse of water. Whereas the existing locks use 52 million gallons (197 million litres) with each use, the new locks use 48 million gallons (182 million litres)".

 

 

 

Thanks for correcting my misunderstanding!

[Honolulu Blue]

I think cruise ships will be the last ones to get squeezed out of using the Canal. The cruise ship companies (and their passengers) would rather pay up rather than waste days waiting or, much worse, change the trip to go around the Horn. Freighters and other commercial shipping are more flexible about time and route, if they can save $$$.

[mahdnc]

8 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I think cruise ships will be the last ones to get squeezed out of using the Canal. The cruise ship companies (and their passengers) would rather pay up rather than waste days waiting or, much worse, change the trip to go around the Horn. Freighters and other commercial shipping are more flexible about time and route, if they can save $$$.

I believe the canal priority system also favors bookings done way in advance. I think it’s the additional later bookings that are getting affected by the lowered canal transit quota. 

[jamin jul]

Thinking of booking a Panama Canal cruise- which side of ship is better to book for best views if going from Pacific to Caribbean? 

[RTShaker]

23 minutes ago, jamin jul said:

Thinking of booking a Panama Canal cruise- which side of ship is better to book for best views if going from Pacific to Caribbean? 

It really doesn't matter. Other than the canal crossing you will be too far out at sea for it to make a difference. In the canal you will most likely be out on deck somewhere.

[Essiesmom]

The canal has been conserving water in the old locks, too.  If you watch the ships going through, you will notice that particularly at Gatun locks, one lane goes east, one west.  They line the ships up in neighboring locks and the water from the locks with the ship lowering flows into the neighboring lock to raise the other ship.  As a result it is taking a little longer for a ship to go through.  EM

[Pushkin]

17 hours ago, 563toM said:

We are also booked on this cruise I suggest anyone else booked to  do a price check to see if it's lower.  I have been checking the price a few times a week and I have twice had our room drop in price.  We have knocked off almost $1,000 since we booked this in November last year.

 

I am hoping that because the Summit is a smaller ship that we won't have any problems going thru the locks.

Our cruise had a drop of $1800 (net)!

[Essiesmom]

8 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

The canal has been conserving water in the old locks, too.  If you watch the ships going through, you will notice that particularly at Gatun locks, one lane goes east, one west.  They line the ships up in neighboring locks and the water from the locks with the ship lowering flows into the neighboring lock to raise the other ship.  As a result it is taking a little longer for a ship to go through.  EM

Just to illustrate the above, here is a pic of the Gatun Locks this morning 1/26.  Two ships in the first lock and two in the third.  The near lane is eastbound and the ships are lowering.  The green ship will move out, the ship with orange pipes move into the middle lock, the black ship in the third will move into the middle lock and they will raise/ lower each other.  The cruise ship Amadea (Phoenix Reisen) will eventually move into the first lock and be raised as the black ship lowers.

 

[Essiesmom]

Next progression, the red tanker (black ship) has moved into center lock opposite cargo ship.