easily thrilled: Panama Canal Full Transit: Advice for the Best Experience

In February 19, 2020, I checked off my Life List #89: Cruise through the Panama Canal! Rather than get into the technical details, I wanted to share some advice for optimal enjoyment of the vacationer.

While this was only my third cruise, I'm a big fan of cruises as a mode of vacationing, and short of a trip around the world, the Panama Canal Full Transit cruises are some of the longest and most coveted itineraries. As such, I've wanted to do it for a long time (hence it being on my life list), but when I started to look into it, I discovered how difficult it is to pull off if you're not retired, because of the length and dates when it runs (i.e. not over winter or summer break so it's hard or impossible if you're contending

with school schedules). Even if you're not contending with school, it's still a long time to take off work, since most run 13 - 16 days and then you have travel time to and from the ports.

The circumstances that allowed us to go were simultaneously a little sad, funny and counter-intuitive. I had found out early December that my site was closing, and I (finally!!) sold my house in Arizona shortly after. I wasn't in a big hurry to get a new job, but knew that eventually whatever my next job would be would probably take me away from Panama City Beach, and likely away from Florida. We'd only been living in Florida for a year and a half,

and I disliked the idea of leaving Florida without having done a cruise. So I jokingly rationalized, what do you need in order to go on a Panama Canal Cruise? Time and money, and I found myself having both. After booking but before leaving, I accepted a job with the same company in southern California, confirming that we would be leaving Florida. So then I joked that, clearly, the most logical thing to do before moving to one of the most expensive parts of the country was to splurge on an indulgent cruise! We also had the added joke that taking a giant ship from Florida to California was the (best) slowest way to move.

Alright, silly ironies aside, I booked the Norwegian 16-Day Full Transit cruise from Miami to LA leaving on Valentine's Day. Jaiman couldn't get the time off from work, so he ended up putting in his two week notice, which worked out perfectly once I accepted the job in Cali, since he'd have to leave his job anyways. We originally had a balcony cabin on Deck 8 (I went with basically the cheapest balcony option)and we were then upgraded to Deck 10. Given what I learned while actually traversing the Panama Canal, I may have preferred to keep my original room, but it worked out okay regardless. The ship we were on was the Norwegian Joy (currently being featured in some of the commercials, with the racetrack in top and two water slides that go overboard).

As you may know, the cruise ships now typically go through the new canal which opened in 2016, and which employs many of the same engineering principles (although not all). Basically, a series of locks raise the ships by adding water (without pumps, using gravity), until the ship is level with the man-made lake that stretches over most of the route, and then there are locks on the other side to lower the ship, also with gravity driving the water out. You can learn lots more about how it works elsewhere, I'll leave that to the experts. The big difference between the old and new canal is the structure of the lock gates. The old locks utilize gates that met at an angle like an arrow pointing toward the higher water. The principle is that the pressure from the water pushes against the gates, effectively sealing them shut. I find this way more interesting, actually, than the new gates which just go perpendicular to the direction of

Lock gate opening viewed from Garden Cafe

travel. Like,that is the most obvious solution, right? The angle is way more innovative and creative. So, maybe the next time I find myself with extra money and free time on my hands,I'll see if I can find passage through the old locks, because those sound cool! Probably, then, the most interesting thing about the new locks is that they are hollow! The new locks are also bigger, wider and deeper, accommodating larger ships. Our ship would not have fit through the old locks, for example.

Our cruise held two one-hour lectures on the days at sea preceding the Panama Canal passage, although we attended one and were bored to tears. The cruise also have us pamphlets that told us more about the history, technology and landmark geography, which was a little more helpful. What they didn't communicate, at least not well, was what to expect to see and where to best see it. So now that I'm an expert, having sailed it one time, I thought I'd give you some ideas and advice based on my experience and observations.

Where to View

View from the Waterfront of the Norwegian Joy

For transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific (i.e. Miami to LA), the first set of locks, called the Agua Clara Locks, are on the port side of the ship (right-hand side). The second set of locks, called the Cocoli , are on the starboard side (left-hand side). So, splurging for a balcony cabin is worthwhile because you'll be able to view the locks from your balcony either in the morning or afternoon depending on which side you're on. While being up high usually affords the best views of the world around you,the locks are quite low compared to the cruise ships they can accommodate. For this reason, I recommend being on a lower deck rather than a higher deck for the passage through the locks. You'll get a better sense of the size and scale of the engineering marvel from lower decks, and you'll be better able to observe the rising and sinking of the ship. (Hint: To a casual observer, the flood of water in and out is subtle. I suggest paying careful attention to the water level relative to a marker along the wall or on the locks themselves if you have a good view of them. Take a picture if it helps, so you can compare how much of the wall is exposed after some time.)

View from the Waterfront of first lock gates

Finally, being toward the forward or aft (front or back) are more advantageous than the middle. It's great to be at the front on the approach, but the crowds will be there. In our case, the crowds were gathered most on the Waterfront (Deck 8 Fwd) which I think was only open for this one occasion, as well as the Observation Lounge (Deck 15 Fwd) and the Garden Cafe buffet (Deck 16 Fwd). Ironically, our daily newsletter had listed Deck 7 Promenade as the first of the best places to view, but when we went out there during the third lock, there was almost nobody out there. I liked that spot a lot because of how low it was. When the ship moved away from the port side of the lock walls,we could get a really good view of the hollow locks as we passed. However, they didn't have any

chairs set up there, so one would have to endure standing for the whole viewing. Long before we approached the second set of locks, we had planted ourselves in the Garden Cafe, enjoying the buffet of food slowly to make it last, so we'd have a brilliant view of the approach. When I saw that the locks were starboard, I was excited that we could then watch from our cabin balcony, so that's what we did after watching the first from up above on Deck 16. Additionally, our balcony was shady by this time, a happy bonus. (Note: Access to the coveted Waterfront was through the cabin hallways on Deck 8, specifically starboard side. So for this purpose, those rooms are advantageous in that they were closer to the most popular viewing area, but disadvantageous in that they would have a lot of traffic to contend with on that day.)

Centennial Bridge

There are also three bridges you'll pass under. For viewing the passage under the bridges, it's advantageous to be outside, and probably best to be on the pool deck. In the Atlantic to Pacific route, the first bridge we went under was very early in the morning (maybe 6 am), well before we the Agua Clara Locks. The name of the first bridge escaped me, but it looked a lot

Bridge of the Americas

like the second bridge, called the Centennial Bridge. The Centennial Bridge is passed in between the two sets of locks. The last bridge in this direction is the Bridge of the Americas, and you'll be able to see its grandiose structure will before you approach the Cocoli Locks, although you don't pass under it until a little while after clearing the last lock.

In summary, for going Atlantic to Pacific, I'd recommend:

Be up high outside and forward for the first bridge and approach - great for selfies
Get low and forward on port-side for the passage through the first set of locks (Agua Clara) - check out the hollow locks
High and forward is best but anywhere is fine during the transit through the lake - rainforest on either side
Get low and forward on starboard-side for the second locks (Cocoli)
Be high and outside for the Bridge of the Americas - great city skyline views on starboard side

Length of time

The full transit through the Panama Canal is a 6 - 8 hour affair, but the most exciting time is right at the start and and at the tail end. Thus, you'll want to wake up early to see the approach to the first lock, even if that means napping while you're in the lake (which is exactly what we did). Be aware that the times your cruise director gives you are approximate, so if you don't want to miss

anything, I'd recommend getting up extra early (and staying up). In our case,we were ahead of schedule the whole time, reaching the first set of locks about 20 minutes early and passing under the Bridge of the Americas a full 98 minutes early. If you're going to nap,it may be a good idea to keep the TV on to the forward view, our cruise director was making announcements on that channel, and we could monitor our progress in a way.

What to look for

Inside the locks

I'm thoroughly fascinated by the operations and engineering of these landmarks like the Panama Canal,so I'm tickled by rather intricate details one might otherwise miss. Here are some things to look for during your passage. You could even make a drinking game of it,or if you have little ones with you, make it a scavenger hunt or Bingo game (see below for Bingo cards if you'd like).

Entering the locks (see metal arrow pointing to the entry)

Passing a lock gate

The metal arrow painted in red and green indicating where to enter (port side enter Agua Clara, starboard side entering Cocoli when transiting Atlantic to Pacific - in other words, opposite sides of locks)
The reservoirs holding water for the locks (same sides as locks)
Watch the crew on land capture the ship's rope and secure it (best seen from forward or aft, but you'll be able to see it from outside mid-ship as well). Likewise,when they release the rope, it's comically simple.
Panamanian flags
Tug boats guiding the ship through the locks - most visible when you're outside and forward or aft
Various operations buildings - try guessing at their meaning and then checking your guesses with Google Translate
The gates as they open
The hollow insides of the gates - you need to be low and have a little luck for the best view, when the ship glides away the wall is when you'll get the best view
Bumpers on the sides - noting or taking a picture of the water level relative to these will help you notice the rising and sinking of the ship as water is moved (without pumps!)
The distance marker - what are they making the distance to and what unit do you think they're in?
The stair cases from one lock to another
Check out the birds - can you find a pelican?
The skyscrapers visible while traversing and before and after the Cocoli Locks - look for large LCD screens too! A good zoom on a camera or binoculars is helpful if you have them, but not necessary by any means.

Entering the Cocoli Locks, view from Garden Cafe

Pictures to Take

While Jaiman and I admittedly take a ton of pretty usual selfies, I do like to think of creative and nice pictures that go beyond the usual selfie. You can play with forced perspective on a couple occasions. For example, if neighboring boats are lined up right,you snap a picture of someone eating a boat. You could also "help" with lifting the rope, holding up a bridge or pushing a lock in. If you're on a promenade,find a life raft with the ship's name on it and take a pic of it with the locks in the background, or just posing by it. Definitely get pictures of yourselves with the locks behind you, with the bridges above you.

Additional notes

We've had passable to decent connections on our regular mobile data plans when traveling to Japan, Australia and Europe. That same data plan was much weaker in Columbia and Panama, to the point that we never got Pokemon Go to load, but were able to peruse and upload to Facebook in spots. So if mobile data is important to you, consider getting an upgrade package.

A view of the hollow locks

Along with that, we were informed that the ship's clock would go back one hour after we left Panama. For most phones and watches,that's fine because you can manually override or set them. However, my FitBit is my watch, and it cannot be updated without internet connection. So if you are in the same boat (pun intended), you may want to proactively set your watch back an hour while you have the weak data connection in Panama.

One final silly note, like many theme parks and public venues, our cruise went to paper straws or no straws, and I like having straws (not to mention that statistically, plastic straws are a mere blip in the total pollution of the oceans, so I'm not entirely for their use, but obviously it's not up to me on this regard), so having a telescopic/collapsing stainless steel travel straw has been a handy little hack that I utilized quite a bit on this cruise.

I hope that helps in choosing your staterooms and planning your Panama Canal passage! Enjoy!