World Cruise - Day 7 - Jan 19 - Panama Canal

Thanks to all those who have been following the blog and commenting at the site and through e-mails.  I get both public and private comments, although there is usually a lag of a day or two before I am able to answer the questions.  If someone has a public question, I will try to answer it publicly on the blog.  If you have a private question, probably best just to send it to me via e-mail at Brian@Krueger.com.  I have two different categories of people following this blog: 1) family and friends; and 2) those who are interested in this cruise.  The second category includes those onboard (I am also following the blogs of two other couples onboard), those who will be joining the ship on a later segment (the blog is a good way for them to keep up with what is happening before they join the cruise) and those who have family/friends onboard and would like to follow along.  I guess maybe there are also some who have no connection with anyone onboard and are just interested in following the world cruise?  Anyway, I’d like to get caught up on some of the recent comments and questions.

Hi Julie, welcome back from your cruise!  In answer to your question about whether our cruise ship would be going to the same area as the Costa Concordia, the answer is no.  We will be going to Venice on the Adriatic Sea, while the Concordia is on the west side of Italy.  We hope and pray that those who are still missing are OK and simply got ashore without informing others.  Although at this point I guess that is less and less a likelihood.

Patti, the stars and planets are typically very visible at night, since we are usually in the middle of sea with very few lights around.  I wonder if anyone brought a good telescope onboard?  That would be fun.  I wonder if my binoculars would be of any help in looking at the stars at night?  They are small pocket binoculars that are especially handy for days like today as we go through the Panama Canal to see things in the distance.  I usually carry them with me onshore if I bring along my daypack.  Regarding ping pong, they actually give out a medal to the first and second place winner, so I have a silver medal from my 2^nd place finish the other day.  I would like to get a gold medal just to be able to have something to give away for our “Fantastic Fifty” photo contest we are doing with the Cruise Critic group.  We are doing our top 15 photos (“Fantastic Fifteen”) after each segment, then bringing it together for each person’s top 50 at the end of the cruise.  The idea is that we can all share with each other our best photos from the cruise.  I am taking about 150-200 photos a day, so usually you will see only maybe 8-10 (although yesterday was quite a few more) of the best photos each day.  If you see a photo that you think should be included in my Fantastic Fifty, let me know.  I’m under no illusions that my photos will be able to compete with some of the top-notch photographers in the group, but it is fun to play along.  And I look forward to getting a copy of their photos to put together a best-of-the-best photo album.  Anyway, that’s a little off track on your ping pong comment…regarding the iguanas, they were about 3’ including the tail, but they were pretty skittish, I doubt I could have gotten them to stand on their hind legs (I’ve never seen that before), but if we come across some more, you know I will try!

Sonia, it’s interesting that on this ship is a pretty well-traveled group of passengers and they all seem to be very courteous and pleasant to one another.  If I were selecting a cruise based on the type of passengers aboard, this cruise is pretty close to being ideal.  We love being onboard with such a fun group of people.  And hoping that we can do our best to be respectful of each other and all of the people we come in contact with along the way.  Colombia does have a reputation for crime and drugs, but the port of Cartagena was very nice, we felt very safe.  BTW, you are great at answering the trivia questions, we need you on the team!  I think maybe I spelled bicephalis incorrectly.

Hi Donna, glad to connect with you in advance of your joining the cruise in Sydney.  The Assistant Cruise Director is Collette.  I understand Frankie was quite fun on the last world cruise, Collette is doing her best to keep things interesting as well.  I am looking forward to some of the more outrageous parties (such as those when we are crossing the equator, etc.).

So on to Panama Canal.  This is our second time going through the canal, the last time was in March 2011 on the Cunard Queen Victoria.  It was a pretty exciting day, with everyone waking up early to watch our entry into Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side at about 7a.  We were excited about the webcam at Miraflores Locks (Pacific side) and were hoping our kids would be able to see us onboard?  We did get some pics of the ship, attached is the best one (thanks, Sonia!), but the webcam resolution is pretty low.  We were on the top deck, I’ve placed a circle with where we were located on the ship:

I’m standing with my hands in the air, trying to make myself visible for our kids to see us.  Here’s what we looked like on the deck:

So here is a pictorial journey of our trip through the Panama Canal today:

We arrived at Gatun Locks shortly after sunrise and entered the Locks at 7a.  The first step is for them to hook you up to one of their locomotives, called “mules,” which then tow you through each of the locks.

Here is our “mule” connected to the front of our ship.

We saw these very cool birds with a split tail all the way through the Panama Canal.  Not sure what kind of bird they are?  Anyone know?

We didn’t have much clearance on either side of the ship.  Note how the track goes up a hill to the level of the next lock, about 28 feet higher.

There were several pelicans flying around.  I got a pic of this one sitting by the track.  Lots of stirring of the water around the canals, must produce lots of good fish treats for the birds as well.

You can see how our ship was almost at the level of the ground next to us.  We are on the 6^th deck, yet it was almost even with the ground until they filled the lock with water.

There was another ship going through the other lock next to us.  Typically morning is for entry into the locks from both the Pacific and Atlantic sides, then the ships all pass in Gatun Lake before using the locks on the other side for exit later that day.  It takes about 8-9 hours to do the full canal transit.

I think this ship was perhaps a grain ship?

Now you can see how much higher we are now that the lock is filled with water.

You can see the other ship in the other parallel set of locks before the water fills to increase its height by 28 feet.

As we exit the Gatun Locks, which take us up to the level of Gatun Lake.

Gatun Lake in the background.

This is the dam at the Chagres River that is quite large, although difficult to see from this side.

This boat was putting on a water show as we went by.

This boat is dredging the area, which is being done almost constantly.  Name is D’Artagnan.

Krissie and I spent some time up on the walking track while we were going through Gatun Lake.  Apparently there was some road rage on the track because one guy was going in the wrong direction and another guy didn’t like it.  I didn’t see it, but Krissie did.  No fists, but there was some bumping and some words exchanged.  I’m gonna make sure we are going in the right direction, seems like counterclockwise is the “right” way?

This is part of Culebra Cut (a/k/a Galliard Cut), the most difficult part of building the Panama Canal.

Passing under the Centennial Bridge

Entering Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side.

Krissie on our balcony as we pass through Miraflores Locks.

We are now through Miraflores and on our way into the Pacific Ocean.

Bridge of the Americas near Panama City.

Panama City skyline.

Our trivia team won at trivia today.  There were a couple really tough questions that we did not get.  What does M&M stand for?  What is the only nation to host the Summer Olympics and not win a gold medal?  The one tough question I was able to help the team with was: Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec 7, 1941.  What archipelago of islands was invaded by the Japanese on Dec 8, 1941?

The show this evening was Cinematastic, the first production show of the Princess singers and dancers.  It was excellent.

And then the real treat of the evening was listening to Arnold Danoff, one of our Cruise Critic members and a fellow member of our trivia team, playing jazz with the Pacific Princess Showband.  Arnold has played with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and even as a backup to Bill Clinton.

Tomorrow we have a sea day.  We will be doing a cabin crawl for the Cruise Critic members (where someone from each cabin category opens their cabin for others to view).