Transit Day - Zoo or Theatre?

[djr7879]

Reading through many threads on CC, I'm wondering what the transit is really like? My impression is that some people may be crowding into "prime" viewing areas (are there really any?) well before dawn, while others may scramble hastily around the ship all day long, searching for the perfect photo op.

For any who have experienced a full transit, what was the day like for you? Any tips?

Thanks!

[2552phxcrzr]

We did our transit on Celebrity's Infinity in mid December 2002. I'll give you our experience with the caveat that it could be different on another cruiseline, or even on another ship (especially one that has fewer balcony cabins). We also had a great day, with plenty of sunshine, enough clouds to provide shade at times, relatively low humidity, and just a light sprinkle of rain in the late afternoon that was actually quite refreshing.

 

We went up to the topmost bow deck for the initial transit through Miraflores. We went up early because we wanted to see our approach to Panama and the Canal, as well as the sunrise; there were very few people up and around at the time. Most of the early-birds were trying to get front row seats in one of the bow-facing lounges (I guess they wanted the comfort of A/C; for us, being outside was nicer - especially to take pictures). It did get a bit crowded on our deck once the ship was in the first lock (it was a half-deck), but there was no pushing or shoving that we saw; we even shared our spot with others so they too could get some photos. Later on, we wandered around the ship to get a good perspective of the canal from different vantage points - aft, sides, lower decks, etc. We spent most of the Culebra Cut transit on our own balcony, and went to the helipad (not always open to the public because of the flimsier railings) for the Gatun Lock transit before wandering around the ship again. We were on the aft deck of the Grill, enjoying late afternoon snacks and a cool drink as we exited the last lock out of Gatun.

 

Yes, the decks were crowded throughout the day, but I never saw any fracas over prime viewing points. The decks never felt jam-packed. Nor was anyone scrambling around the ship for photo ops. People were strolling around, stopping here and there to take pictures, and moving about at a generally relaxed pace. The transit through the locks takes a while, and there are three sets of locks to go through, which gives everyone an opportunity to see the process at some point during the day. The decks did get less crowded while we were in the Culebra Cut - I think that's when most people went in search of breakfast, etc., or returned to their balconies as we did.

 

The TV showed documentaries all day long by the way, and there was a rep from the Canal who provided ongoing commentary.

 

Enjoy your transit; we had a terrific time and found the Canal even more interesting than we had anticipated it would be.

[djr7879]

Thanks so much. That's very helpful. We're going to do the cruise on Oceania in 2009 I hope, so your Celebrity experience is probably similar. I'm a bit concerned with the cabanas blocking some of the bow view, but probably not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.

[2552phxcrzr]

I'm not familiar with the Oceania ships, but on other lines they will sometimes open the helipad or the crew area in the bow for the transit. (Sometimes it depends on the number of kids on the ship. In our case, our December 10 sailing had less than 10 kids, so they opened the helipad. The next cruise had over 500 kids and they did not open the helipad - too dangerous.) You'll find the stern is usually less crowded because people want to see the view going into the locks. In reality, the view from the stern is no different, except that you are seeing what happens in the lock that you just left. Perhaps you can start out in the stern if you find the spaces at the bow too crowded and go to the bow later in the day for the last locks.

 

You might post a message on the Oceania board asking about "secret" areas of the ship. For example, Dawn Princess and its sisters (and I hear this is true for Coral and Island) have small bow-facing decks on some of the cabins-only decks that can be accessed through the "emergency exit" doors. They're not publicized, but it is quite alright to go out on them if you know they exist. Usually, very few people are on these balconies. We did this on the Dawn and had this area to ourselves to enjoy Glacier Bay in Alaska.

[djr7879]

Good suggestions, especially about working forward rather than backwards! Had to laugh about that.:)

[mauiedin87]

We did the full transit in late December 2002, also on Celebrity's Infinity. We were the cruise with the 500 (totally uncontrolled) kids on board:mad: .

 

The transit takes almost all day. It depends on how many ships are lined up to go through, especially very large ships. We wandered pretty much all over the ship with our cameras, spending a lot of time at the stern. There were some pushy people but not many. One of the best shots I got was from one of the low decks (the library I think), when those windows sank well below the "mule" tracks (little locomotives along the sides that pull the ships through), as the water level in that lock was being lowered! The ship was no more than 2 ft from the lock's walls on either side. I think balconies may be too high up to fully experience that. We had an oceanview cabin, no balcony. Fascinating trip, so we're doing it again!

[FreewayFortune]

We only did a partial transit but we got up at 5 to get out onto the helipad. It actually wasn't as crowded there as I thought it would be. I was glued to my spot by the rail on the left side for the entire time it took us to get through the Gatun locks. My mom got a great view from our balcony too. It was amazing to see. We were on the Brilliance.