Panama Canal

January 30, 2023

Since I've been retired, there have been very few mornings that I have set an alarm for 5:30 am, but today was one of those days. And I wasn't even dreading getting up that early because I didn't want to miss any part of our trip through the Panama Canal!

Ryan, the CD, was scheduled to start his commentary on our transit of the canal at 6 am, but he began earlier. The commentary could be heard on any of the outside decks of the ship, the Crow's Nest or in the staterooms on the bow cam TV channel. The ship was ready to go under the Bridge of Americas on the Pacific side and it was still dark. Later in the week (at the Captain's talk) he mentioned that HAL had to pay $35,000 just for a "daytime" reservation plus $375/passenger. That amounted to over $440,000! No wonder the port fees are so high for a Panama Canal cruise!

The Bridge of Americas across the Panama Canal. This bridge is part of the Pan-American Highway.

Bob and I went to the bow which was open for the transit. Coffee and Panama Rolls (jelly filled buns) were being served and the temperature was very pleasant with a little wind. If only those conditions would last for the rest of the day! The rolls, coffee and orange juice were also being served in the Crow's Nest, the Atrium, and by the Sea View pool.

Even before sunrise there was a crowd on the bow of the Zaandam.

The bow was crowded and it was hard to get much of a view through all of the heads so after checking our back deck (too hot) we eventually we moved down to the Promenade Deck (deck 3). While we were on the bow I had a flashback to being there in Antarctica and tripping and falling flat on my face. Only my dignity was injured but it made me extra careful with my footing this time!

Entering the first of the Miraflores locks as the sun comes up. The green and gold arrow indicates which lane the ship should enter. The two men in the rowboat were waiting to catch the lines from our ship that would then be attached to the mules (locomotives) on shore. Mules on either side would help keep the ship centered as it went through the locks.

Getting a little help from a tug.

A mule tied to the Zaandam goes uphill as the ship is raised in the lock.

The bow of the Zaandam. The brown building is the visitor's center at the Miraflores Locks. Normally each level would be filled with onlookers, but it wasn't yet open at the early hour we went through.

Taken from our aft deck. The sun made us decide to look elsewhere for a place to view the canal.

We were fortunate to find two of the padded loungers on the shaded side of the promenade deck and stayed there until 11:30. On our first transit of the canal I was all over the place taking photos and video so this time I didn't feel the need to take"quite as many" pictures. During the time we were there we made it through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks and a good part of Gatun Lake.

A tight fit! The Zaandam is 106.5 feet wide and the canal is 110 feet wide. 

Approaching the Centennial Bridge

Centennial Bridge

Culebra Cut...where the Panama Canal crosses the continental divide.

Sailing through Gatun Lake

We passed by Le Bellot, a Ponant Cruise Ship that holds up to 184 passengers.

As soon as the buffet opened at 11:30, we were eating lunch. I wanted to be finished and back outside for when the Zaandam passed through the Gatun Locks. We first went to the bow, but it was still quite crowded and had gotten uncomfortably hot. OUR private deck seemed the best place to experience the last set of three locks. Our lounge chairs were now in the shade, but the ship was going slow and there was not even a hint of a breeze.

Gatun Locks

The mules were turned around by using a turn table built into the wall of the locks.

While the Zaandam was being lowered 85 feet to sea level, we watched as other ships going in the opposite direction in the adjacent lane were being raised the same 85 feet to sail into Gatun Lake.

Bob left before we were completely out of the canal to go play pickleball. (He wanted to say he played in the Panama Canal!) I stuck it out till the end and the heat was just about more than I could handle. One saving factor...two crew members were nearby with cold, wet towels! 

Cold towels being offered as I sat in my lounge chair on MY deck!

I went up to the sports deck to get some photos of Bob. Its not every day that you can say you played pickleball in the Panama Canal! On my way back down, Ryan announced that an alligator was sunning himself on shore!

I was having trouble seeing the alligator through my camera lens. 

But I zoomed in all of the way and got this photo!

Atlantic Bridge

In 2018, the Atlantic Bridge was not yet complete as we began our transit of the Panama Canal in the opposite direction.

Three canals. 1) On the left is the new, wider Panama Canal. 2) The middle is the original canal and 3) on the far right is the canal started by the French but never completed.

A better view of the canal that the French began but never completed.

My sister was able to get this shot from the webcam as the Zaandam sailed through the canal!

At 2:30, anyone that wanted could go to the aft pool for an activity being billed as "Swim Across the Panama Canal." All they were doing was swimming across the pool and I didn't stick around to see if there were many that participated or not.

I showered and snuck in a little nap before Bob got back to the cabin. I have no idea how he was able to endure the heat AND play an aggressive game of pickleball (because he NEVER doesn't play to win.)

Nothing really stood out to us on the MDR menu, but we ate there anyway. Sometimes it is just nice to be served. We were able to get seated at our favorite table with our favorite waiter, Garis, and were in and out in plenty of time to get to the early show. 

Nestor Santurio was the headliner on the World Stage and his write up in the Daily Program (which USED to be called the When & Where) said he was a Latin guitar player, vocal artist and comedian. He was probably my least favorite of all of the entertainers we saw on the cruise. Not bad, just not the best.

Nestor Santurio

Normally we sat in the balcony at the theater, but the lady in the row ahead of us was constantly blowing her nose and just gave me vibes that she wasn't well. I made Bob switch seats and since there were no other seats in the balcony we moved down to the lower level. I felt more comfortable and we had a better view as well!

I could just copy and paste from previous posts to describe the rest of our evening...we were defintely into a routine. Leave the theater, listen to a set or two from Clara, the piano bar entertainer in the Mix Bar or maybe the classical duo performing in the Explorer's Lounge. Then we moved up to the lido and got a cup of tea which we drank under the stars and moon (a full moon even!) sitting next to the pool.

Tomorrow we had the best of both worlds...a sea day and a port day. Our arrival in Cartagena, Columbia wasn't until noon so we could sleep late but yet still have the afternoon to get off the ship and explore!

Panama Canal Transit

Thursday, April 19

Our day started early…even earlier than we had planned. According to the captain, the ship was scheduled to line up to enter the canal around 5 am and then start through the first locks around 6:30 am. I set my travel alarm clock for 5:40 and then decided it would be a good idea to set a backup alarm at 5:50 on my phone. Only problem…my phone was in airplane mode and the time zone was not correct (which I didn’t realize). It went off at 4:50 instead. Ugh.

At that point we were both totally awake so we just got up and got dressed. We knew the bow of the ship was going to be open during the transit (which it normally isn’t) but we didn’t quite know how to get out there. It didn’t take long to figure this out. We saw a couple of crew members wheeling a cart with a coffee urn and lots of Panama Rolls…so we followed them! They set up a little tent where they served the coffee and rolls…a popular place first thing in the morning.

Instead of sticking with the gathering crowd at the very front of the ship, we climbed a flight of stairs to get one deck higher…right under the bridge. This was a great spot with a great view.

It was just barely getting light as the ship sailed under the not-yet-finished Atlantic Bridge.  

The Zaandam entered the right hand lane and about the same time a large ship transporting yachts entered the left lane. 

There were three sailboats who shared the locks with the other ship. To transit the canal, these three were lashed together as they went through. This was exciting for us to see because we have been avidly following two different couples who post sailing vlogs on YouTube. Each of them had recently gone through the canal in the same matter.  RAN Sailing and Gone with the Wynns are the vlogs if you are interested in checking them out. Seeing their videos prior to our cruise gave us a greater appreciation for how the process works!

I set up my flexible tripod and attached it to the railing of the deck where we were standing and started recording a time-lapse video on my phone. I kept it running as the ship entered the lock and was raised to the level of the next lock. A brief rain shower came through at one point, but Bob just held his hat over my cell phone to protect it. I repeated the process from the back of the promenade deck as we went out of the third and final lock and into Gatun Lake.

Here is the one-minute version of our trip through the Gatun Locks!

Bob showing off his Panama Roll. You can see the tripod with my iPhone attached to the railing. 

I checked my watch and it was right at 7 am when we entered the first of the three Gatun Locks. Just prior to entering the first chamber of each lock there were men in a boat rowing out to the cruise ship. These men took the heaving lines from the bow ashore. This allowed the wire ropes from the mules  to be pulled over onto the ship. At one point in history, the rowboats had outboard motors attached, but the ropes got tangled in the propellers. Many other methods have been tried including shooting the lines, but it was decided to revert to the old method that had been used from the beginning.

The photo in the upper right is a practice target for the linehandlers. A heaving line is a lightweight line with a weight at the end, usually a piece of lead wrapped in a knot called a monkey’s fist. The line is tied to a heavier mooring rope or wire, and then the weighted end is thrown between a ship and the shore, or from one ship to another, and used to pull the heavier rope across.

The ship was raised a total of 85 feet by the time we exited the third chamber and sailed out into Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake was formed by damming the Chagres River and at the time it was built, was the largest manmade lake in the world.

Once in Gatun Lake, we took a break and went back to our cabin to rest. After about a half hour of “trying” to nap, I peeked out the window and could tell we were much closer to land. We watched from the shade of the promenade deck as we sailed close to the shoreline. When we started seeing the narrower terraced walls of the Culebra Cut, we went out on the bow but the heat forced us back inside fairly quickly.

The Island Princess went through the canal after the Zaandam and followed us through Gatun Lake.

The three sailboats were untied and sailed individually through the lake.

At 11:45 we met Danny and Stan at the buffet for lunch and watched through the windows as we started through the Culebra Cut…the portion of the canal that crosses the continental divide. This section of the canal was what proved to be such a huge challenge. As soon as we finished eating, we were back outside...anxious to see what was yet to come.

Towards the end of the Culebra Cut and shortly before the Pedro Miguel locks, we sailed under the Centennial Bridge. This bridge was opened in 2004 and was built to ease the traffic from the Pan American Highway.

Looking back after sailing under the bridge. The Island Princess is barely visible as she comes around the bend of the river.

Gold Hill

It wasn't far from the bridge to the Pedro Miguel locks…the middle set. There was just one lock chamber and then we sailed on to the last two sets of locks, the Miraflores Locks. We were amazed at how much there was to see all day long and we were afraid we would miss something if we went inside!

A tight squeeze!

I totally forgot about checking the view from inside the cool Crow’s Nest and instead we spent all day outside wandering from the bow, to the aft pool, to the promenade deck where we could cut across the atrium to go from one side of the ship to the other.

At 2:00, Bob left to attend the Pickleball session listed on the daily schedule. The activity was put in there at his request, but during the heat of the day when we were sailing through the Panama Canal certainly wasn’t an ideal time. A few did show up. No staff, but some of the passengers he had talked to at the Cruise Critic meeting did attend. They just talked about the game and made plans to play at 7 am the next morning.

By the end of the day, the combination of heat, humidity and our early wake up call had wiped me out. I struggled to keep watching until we exited the Miraflores Locks and sailed out into the Pacific and may or may not have dozed off sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the Promenade Deck!

By 4 pm we sailed past the impressive skyline of Panama City and under the Bridge of the Americas. It was all I could do to muster up enough energy to shower and dress for dinner. Bob, Danny and I all ordered the tuna steak without even thinking it would be served rare…VERY RARE. Bob managed to finish his, but Danny and I ate the more well-done edges and left the raw inside. Lesson learned.

APPETIZERS, SOUP, SALAD

MAIN

Dessert for me was the almond cake that had been served in the buffet the day before. I had heard someone mention that the desserts served in the buffet are often on the menu in the main dining room the next night. Not sure if that is true…I will have to start watching.

Bob and Danny both love the crisps which are on the dessert menu every night. So far, each night has been a different fruit…apple, peach, blueberry, rhubarb, etc. I am curious to see how long they can go on a 23-day cruise before repeating a flavor.

The evening entertainment was a “variety show” with the magician and harmonicist sharing the stage. In other words…rerun entertainment. 😉 The movie, “A Man, a Plan a Canal” had been shown multiple times during the day and I intended to go to one of the showings after dinner in place of the main stage, but I knew it would be hopeless. I would be asleep within 5 minutes of the movie starting.

Instead, Bob and I went back to the cabin. He pick up watching where he had left off on the latest DVD he had checked out. I looked at some of the photos I had taken during the day and tried to work on my blog, but just couldn’t stay awake. With Bob still watching the movie, I crawled into bed and was asleep within 60 seconds! And to top it off, we were to set our clocks back an hour before going to bed so I was actually sleeping by around 8 pm!