Coral Princess Panama Canal March 2008

[sandav]

Could you please advise on best way to view canal transit there and back on Coral Princess ie best viewpoints for entering/exiting Gatun Locks. We have a mini suite on the end of the bump section. Would we be better on deck or watching from our balcony? Also where on the ship would be a good position? We will not be taking any shore excursions.

[mii]

Could you please advise on best way to view canal transit there and back on Coral Princess ie best viewpoints for entering/exiting Gatun Locks. We have a mini suite on the end of the bump section. Would we be better on deck or watching from our balcony? Also where on the ship would be a good position? We will not be taking any shore excursions.

 

Sanday, you can view the workings of the lock just abut anywhere. On canal days you can go back to the Baja and Caribe decks way aft and where the crew door is they always open that up for the day so you can see it from there. You can view from your balcony, in front of the ship, although it gets crowded there. Some of the best views are from the promenade deck. If your cabin is on the starboard or port side it really does not matter as you do not know what gate the ship will go into as there are two lanes but that does not matter. They go so slow that you will have plenty of opportunites to see everything. Enjoy.

 

marilyn

[Druke I]

Yes - parallel locks, and you don't know which one will be assigned until just before arrival.

 

If you are out on deck, you can move back and forth, and take in the "mules" pulling the ship. If lucky, there will be a ship in the adjacent locks, and you can watch it go up (or down), while you remain stationary.

 

Be aware of the tropical sun - you can burn very quickly during the Canal transit. Lots of lotion, a hat, and long sleeves/trousers might be in order.

[shofer]

Having done this itinerary last February, it will be hot with the sun coming up in your faces. I got off our balcony and found an area aft and on the upper decks where it was shady. You are smart not to take any excursions, they is really nothing to see and you will have the ship to yourself. (almost) We did get off in Colon to go thru the tourist stuff only because I wanted a Christmas ornament from Panama. Other than that, Panama is a big nothing.

[Pevil4]

We just returned. Good view from your balcony if you can view the other lane. If not, go to the back of the ship on Baja deck. There is a large deck were you can view from both sides of the ship. Also, the back deck has shade from the upper deck. You can only get to this deck from the Baja deck cabin hallway so not too many people discover this deck so it is not crowded. The front decks are crowded and are glassed in so, in my opinion, not a great place to view the locks.

We had a Baja deck aft cabin so we spent a lot of time during our cruise on the aft Baja deck. This deck has approx. 25 loungers, usually partly shade, partly sun, and was never crowded - a lot of time we had the deck to ourselves. Great place to go to get away from the crowds. We would get a bucket of beer from one of the bars, take a couple out and put the rest in our room fridge. When we wanted another beer we were only 30 seconds from our room. :)

[msmeltz]

Just got off the Coral Princess. It was great watching from our balcony on the PORT SIDE. We orderd in breakfast to eat outside. Everyone was out on the balconies. We did this going into Gatun Lake, and then watched the return trip from the front of the Horizon court...sittng down and having lunch.

[Gibby]

We were on the Coral Nov 10-20, 07. We started the morning on deck 10 forward. If you go up to deck 10 or 11, go right to the front of the ship, you will see a door (one down each hallway) that looks like you should not go through, but go through it. You will then see a wooden door about 20 feet up, this leads to a wide open balcony on the front of the ship. Outstanding view, and no crowds.

 

Watch the approach, and going through the first set or so of the locks. Then go to your balcony to watch the rest of the transit.

 

But remember, deck 10 or 11 right at the front of the ship, keep it a secret!

[edinsf]

my cabin was baja 223 and I had a great view from there

 

have a trip journal if you like

 

blairsbox@yahoo

 

best excursion was in C. Rica down Sarapiqui River Safari and Lunch (save room it was great)

[larry_s_taco]

There is a small area on the back of deck 8. We did move around alot though to get different perspectives. Watching the ships following you through on the aft of the ship is very interesting and you can really see the different water levels as the locks fill and empty. Get ready for some pictures, the princess photographers are up in a helicopter taking pics and videos of the ship as it transits. They told us ours was the first cruise they did this on.

[Kirsten T]

The transit takes a couple of hours, so you'll have adequate time to watch from several vantage points. We start on the veranda (it's very early when the ship enters the canal - like 6AM) and then move around after it gets light. Depending on which set of locks the ship uses, you can get good views from the not-so-secret forward decks mentioned previously, both sides of the Promenade deck and also Emerald deck aft. If you're staying onboard, you'll also see the whole thing in reverse in the afternoon. Do go to the very aft end of Emerald at some point - you'll get a great view of the ships behind you, and of the massive gates and the rush of the water either filling or emptying the lock. You'll be at eye level with the electric locomotives, or "mules", on the Promenade deck, so that's worth a stroll as well. It's a fascinating trip - I'm sure you'll love it from wherever you go!

Cheers,

Kirsten