Just as we walked in the Panorama Buffet around sunrise, a torrential rain moved in and we couldn't see anything outside the windows. Luckily, it was not a harbinger of things to come, and we were gifted with a full, vivid rainbow as soon as the rain stopped and the sun returned. Aside from a couple very light, very brief showers in the morning, the day alternated between sunny and partly cloudy. It was actually cool by Panamanian standards, which means it was pleasant for us unless we were in the sun for an extended period of time. In fact, it was the best and most comfortable weather we've enjoyed on any of our transits.
We started the day significantly behind schedule. It seemed we were approaching the first Gatun Lock at glacial speed for nearly two hours. We got quite a kick out of the number of pilot boats that dropped off- and picked up- people, most of whom we suspected were line workers. We were standing on the Promenade Deck and couldn't hear the commentary that lecturer Bill Fall was making from the bridge (today was his 50th Panama Canal transit on a cruise ship!) but didn't want to give up the peace and space we had...and the ability to easily cross from one side of the ship to the other through the forward elevator lobby. We watched as the ship's photographer and videographer climbed down the Jacob's ladder onto a waiting pilot boat and eventually saw them standing along the locks, recording the ship's transit and taking passenger photos.
The early morning downpour left us with a beautiful full rainbow
While we were still in the staging basin, workers kept boarding the Pacific Princess...
...and boarding...
...and boarding...
...and boarding (and waving to his peeps).
Here the ship's photographer is getting off the Pacific Princess to take photos from the sides of the locks
Handing back the lifevest for the videographer
He videographer disembarks the Pacific Princess
Both of them standing on the pilot boat waiting to be taken to the locks.
The Panama Canal workers are part PR people. Most of them waved and smiled for photos, and it caused me to recall that my very favorite photo of our first transit on the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas in 2002 was of a mule driver bending down to look up out of his window and give me a big smile and wave. We saw who we call 'the rowboat guys' who attach a line from the ship to the line from the mules (the 55000 ton locomotive-type vehicles that hold the ship centered, forward and aft, in the locks). They are especially friendly and photogenic, and know that they are a novelty in the increasingly modernized Canal.
Speaking of that, we clearly saw the entrance to the new Panama Canal, and even saw a NeoPanamax freighter transiting the Gatun Locks. The canal is on the east side of the original canal near the Gatun Locks but on the west side after the Culebra Cut through the Continental Divide. We saw the same freighter making its way out of the last set of locks at the end of our day as we passed under the Bridge of the Americas.
The Atlantic side bridge (still unnamed) that is being constructed to cross both the original and new Panama Canal
The bridge is massive to allow NeoPanamax ships to pass underneath; you can judge its size relative to the workers standing on it
A NeoPanamax ship entering the new canal
Retracting the over the side lights
Tug keeping us lined up before we enter the first Gatun Lock and the Regent Seven Seas Navigator following us through the canal.
The 'rowboat guys' coming to collect the lines to connect the Pacific Princess to the mules
A mule turntable
We alternated between the Promenade Deck (Deck 5), the walking track on Deck 10 and the Panorama Terrace at the ship's aft on Deck 9 while we transited the three Gatun Locks, and grabbed a quick, light breakfast while we were near the buffet. On our first transit, the Radiance OTS was the largest ship that had ever transited the Panama Canal and we were on only its second transit. We have a photo of me standing on the Promenade Deck reaching out over the side and touching the lock wall. There was only 2 feet of gap on either side of that ship. On the Pacific Princess we probably had 12 feet. It's the smallest ship on which we've ever transited the canal.
There was a large gap between the sides of the Pacific Princess and the canal walls
One of four makes holding the Pacific Princess in place in the locks
The bridge that crosses the original canal retracted when the lock is in use
Ladder in the lock wall. You can see where the lock height has been increased since 1914.
The mule system is essentially a cig railaway ans the miles xant slip but it must be one heckuva ride anyway
Stairs to walk the length of the Gatun Locks
The Pacific Princess leaving the first Gatun lock and the Regent Seven Seas Navigator waiting its turn to enter
Mules pass as one mule returns to the first lock to assist the Regent Seven Seas Navigator
A lock wall as seen from our cabin on Deck 4
Here we are exiting the second Gatun lock
Panama Canal workers cross from one side of a lock to the other when the gates are closed
The NeoPanamax ship making progress
The Pacific Princess exiting the second Gatun lock
The Gatun Northbound Rear lighthouse
The Regent Seven Seas Navigator in the first Gatun lock
The Pacific Princess exiting the Gatun Locks
A mule turntable in operation
When the Pacific Princess entered Gatun Lake, we settled on the shady side of the Promenade Deck in loungers and watched as we passed by the 'islands' (actually the tops of the mountains that were covered with water when the Chagres River was dammed to form Gatun Lake and provide the water to operate the Panama Canal). We also kept an eye out for new NeoPanamax freighters, which are absolutely massive.
Not islands...mountain tops
At noon we went to the Club Restaurant for a serious lunch and then returned to the Promenade Deck as we passed through the Culebra Cut (the hardest part of the canal to construct as it involved cutting through the rock of the Continental Divide) and under the Centenario Bridge. We had left the Gatun Locks nearly 2 hours behind schedule but time was continually made up as we transited the rest of the canal. We went through the single Pedro Miguel Lock about 40 minutes behind schedule. There was much to see between the Pedro Miguel Lock and the first Miraflores Lock as we crossed Miraflores Lake and made up even more time. We could see mule and tug boat maintenance warehouses and storage, and various canal offices off the port side.
The Culebra Cut (the American Continental Divide)
The Centenario (Centennial) Bridge
The 'rowboat guys' coming out to catch thenlimes attaching the Pacific Princess to the mules in the Pedro Miguel lock
The large arrows used to direct ships to the correct side of the canal for their transit but now they are mostly
for the tourists as the Panama Canal pilot is in constant communication with canal operations
The walkway on top of a canal gate retracted when the gate is open...
...and in place when the gate is closed
The infrastructure is showing its age in places
The Regent Seven Seas Navigator transiting the other lane of the Pedro Miguel lock
After that, it seemed like no time at all before we were entering the first of two Miraflores locks. There is a large visitors center located on the Miraflores Locks, and there was a crowd of people standing on several viewing decks watching us. The bridge gave a quick toot on the ship's whistle and the crowd went wild. It was quite fun to see, and the Pacific Princess eventually repeated it and the crowd went wild again. They were taking pictures of us and we were taking pictures of them and waving and it was the best part of the transit. We passed under the Bridge of the Americas exactly on time, and the Regent Seven Seas Navigator that had been following us all day was shortly behind us.
The visitors center on the Miraflores Locks crowded with spectators who enjoyed our ship's horn
The Pacific Princess videographer recording our transit of the Miraflores Locks
The NeoPanamax ship finishing its transit of the Panama Canal
After a last look at the new canal, we turned to the east to view the huge metropolis that is Panama City. We had last been through the Panama Canal in 2007 and were shocked at how the city has grown. It's called the Dubai of South America for a reason. There are probably over a hundred stunning new skyscrapers, some with very unique architecture (a twisted green glass skyscraper...I'll upload a photo). We sailed past the freighters at anchorage on the Pacific side awaiting their turn to tranist the canal. While cruise ships reserve specific daylight times to transit, freighters may wait a few days at anchorage and then transit the canal at night. It operates 24/7/365.
The Brudge of the Americas
Freighters on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal awaiting their turn to transit the canal
We just couldn't do a big dinner in the Club Restaurant tonight and went to the Bistro Trattoria that is the Panorama Buffet on World Cruise sea days. We ordered from a more limited menu and had just lasagna and dessert, and watched from the Panorama Terrace as the last light of the day faded and the lights of the Regent Seven Seas Navigator came on. After a quick nap, we'll be up partying in a couple of hours.
While we have done full and partial Panama Canal transits, I am partial to full, westbound transits from Fort Lauderdale to California, probably because that how we did our first one. G likes the partial transits too, because, frankly, the Gatun Locks, three in succession, are probably the most impressive. But I think seeing the carved rock ledges of the Culebra Cut provides the best reminder of just what the builders went through over 100 years ago. Given the heat and rains and crocodiles and mosquitoes, it must have been horrendous work.
Bill Fall told us that it costs $134 per passenger to transit the canal, plus the cost of the ship itself (based on displacement). Both G and I think it's the best excursion anywhere. :-)
