We awoke to cloudy skies again today, though the sun made an appearance a little in the afternoon. At this latitude, a cloudy day is far more comfortable than one with bright sun. We also awoke to the Terrace Deck and pool being closed off as the teak floors are refinished. We were told by HGM that the workers to do this did not get their visas in time to perform the work while the Emerald Princess was out of service. He is going to try to have the area finished or at least open for Panama Canal Day. The work is going on at night, and perhaps eventually, even if the job is not complete, we’ll be able to use the area.
We were joined in Sabatini’s for breakfast by our doppelgänger friends. Breakfast has become quite a social event for us. I also made a point this morning of studying the Princess Patter, which I have NOT been doing, to my detriment last night. It was a good day to start; the first lecture by the cruise’s Destination Expert was being held at 10:30am in the Princess Theater. The four of us decamped to the presentation, and it was an excellent one. Destination Expert Chris Roberts is highly entertaining and interesting, and still completed his presentation in 30 minutes.
All slides by Chris Roberts
Chris suggested this book for the definitive history of the canal.
I read it in 2002 before we sailed through the canal for the first time.
Chris said that the Emerald Princess, if sailing full, would pay $518.000 to transit the canal, but because we have only 25% of the normal passenger load, we’ll be paying $118,000. Each passenger pays $148. I know that when I said our many FCCs were allowing us to cruise for free, we are still paying nearly $400pp in taxes and fees. Like Alaska, the Panama Canal is an expensive cruise for taxes.
A photo of the Agua Clara locks and water saving basins on the Atlantic side of the canal
The new Panama Canal locks opened to traffic in 2016, and were designed to allow the largest ships, called neo Panamax ships to transit the canal. Instead of the three sets of locks in the original canal, the canal expansion project has only one lock on each side, 180 feet wide (the Emerald Princess is 118 feet wide) and features a single channel. That’s a bit sad; it is always fun to be right next to a freighter in the old locks. Instead of locomotives, tugs are used to position ships in the locks.
The new lock gates slide open and closed, instead of functioning like a French door.
A Princess ship sails under the Centennial Bridge connecting the Americas
The Panama Canal expansion construction project
While we have done two full and three partial transits of the canal, this is our first time through the new locks. Chris said that, unlike in the old locks, where one could reach out and touch the side of the lock because the clearance is so narrow, the Emerald Princess will seem a bit lost in the new locks.
We went to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, then I finally felt able to climb the steps to the Sanctuary, carefully and slowly (yes, I know there’s a small elevator also). I first swam in the Lotus Pool to work my knee a bit, and then enjoyed the hot tub for awhile. The Sancutary is a most spoiling experience, and one can do nothing for oneself (including sliding the small tables to a slightly different position or raising or lowering the lounger back). We didn’t order from the menu (yet) but when afternoon tea was served, I partook simply for the photo op. I put in my Air Pods, streamed the classical piano station in Amazon Prime Music and was in heaven.
About 4pm, I walked back to the cabin (and, again, that feels like a long walk at times) and got ready for the evening. We went up to the PES Lounge, but I didn’t eat or drink anything. I’m still in food overload. Then we went to dinner for the first time in the Michelangelo Dining Room. We have a very nice table with the same waitstaff (Anil and Verna) we had before. It just much, much quieter in there than in Botticelli.
Speaking of Botticelli, Hotel General Manager Helmit said that a diver is going to check out the hull situation while we are in Curaçao. He also said it’s very possible that the issue can be resolved during port days and not require a wet or dry dock. Which is a good thing, because we’ve heard so many rumors about the ship having a wet dock for six days after this cruise. No, it isn’t. The extra time is a result of needing to schedule a slot to transit the Panama Canal at a late date, and having to match up with previously scheduled cruises out of Fort Lauderdale.
We were both tired tonight, though I don’t know why. We left dinner and returned to the cabin where we were entertained by the moon rising and a simultaneous lighting show. I had been awake very late last night enjoying the spectacle of a huge storm from our balcony (until it got a little too scary) and then even longer from bed. We do that at home, too, and it’s entertainment of the highest order.
The moon shining on the water
Lightning show behind the clouds
Day 6 Princess Patter
