What an adventure! For 10 years, we have had the Panama Canal as a highlight on our Bucket List, savouring the day when we could finally tick the box.
Nick aboard Sea Princess as he departs San Francisco.
We joined the elegant Sea Princess on her San Francisco to Barbados voyage, with Central America and Panama as major attractions, arriving at Puerto Amador, the Pacific entrance to the canal. Our anticipation was palpable as the impressive high rise skyline of Panama City came into view and we knew the passage was at hand.
After a day of touring the former American installations and a fascinating visit to Miraflores Locks to see the canal workings and the excellent Panama Canal Museum at the locks, we returned to the comfort of our mini-suite on the stern of Sea Princess. We could reflect on the wonder of watching another large cruise ship just feet away navigating the locks on the final steps of it’s 87ft descent down to sea level, knowing that we would be ascending the next morning. We forced ourselves out of the Raz-Ma-Tazz disco for an earlier night than usual, ready for an early start.
Up at around 5.00am, Sea Princess was already quietly positioning towards the pilot station on this warm pre-dawn morning as our senses quickened for the experience to come. Turning into the entry channel for the canal, we headed up along the ship to the bow to see the glittering rows of red and green buoy lights guiding us inexorably to the Bridge of the Americas, while to the starboard side, the lights of Panama City stage-lit the area.
We were not alone. Hundreds of equally enthralled fellow passengers lined the ships rails to take in the views – cameras clicking all around.
Sea Princess inside the locks.
Gliding under the huge steel bridge, we crossed the start line in the rising dawn of a glorious sunny day. Majestically inching our way along the first cut of the canal we gently rounded the first bend to see Miraflores Locks ahead of us. The locks were already lifting two vast commercial ships loaded with containers and cars as we wondered what cargoes lay within the steel boxes heading towards the Atlantic. Perhaps there were millions of televisions and computers, exotic foods and Californian wines – who knows?
As Sea Princess moved towards the starboard lock gates we were fascinated to notice a small rowing boat leave the massive engineering of the lock walls and towards our large ship’s bow. Amazingly, this was the technique used to link the steel hawsers of the first locomotives on the lock sides that would hold us squarely positioned as we were to transit the locks.
All the while, graceful Pelicans and birds of prey glided around the huge structures eyeing up fishy breakfasts in the churned waters. The giant doors opened and we shifted gently into the first lock chamber. We could see the museum and viewing galleries we had visited the day before as Sea Princess was raised though the chamber, through the next gates and up again.
Passengers aboard Sea Princess lined up to watch the Panama Canal transit.
Our on-board commentator told us about the construction of the canal, the considerable human cost and it’s completion on the day after the outbreak of World War One. The scale and quality of the engineering in such an era added yet more to an already impressive experience.
We retired to our balcony on the stern as we departed Miraflores, watching for crocodiles beyond the weirs as Sea Princess moved onwards towards the locks at Pedro Miguel, 87 feet above sea level. Along this section, we could see at first hand the new workings of the Panama Canal expansion programme, in which huge new locks and new cuts are being constructed to increase the canal’s capacity. Giant earth movers, floating cranes and other machinery were at work to add to the genius of those first pioneers 93 years on.
From Pedro Miguel, we cruised along the sunlit eight mile cut into Gatun Lake, watching the tugs keeping us in line, looking for wildlife and enjoying a fine Princess breakfast on our balcony. An occasional glance at our stateroom television showed us the forward view of ships of all types and colours moving towards us and they burst into life as they re-appeared to view from our sunbeds to glide onwards South to the Pacific.
Sailing past beautiful wooded tropical islands amid the wider views of rainforests that surround the huge man-made lake, we cruised quietly onwards to the final stage at Gatun Locks.
Sea Princess on her final leg through the Canal.
Now for the final surprises. Passing through the manicured locks, we descended through three levels to sea level and the Atlantic Ocean in this one huge structure. Looking back to the following ships as we left the final gates after this descent, it was seriously impressive to see these huge vessels stacked so very high above our own level.
As the new Gatun lock workings came into view and our camera batteries demanded a re-charge, while the pilot boat returned command to the splendid Captain Foster and his excellent crew we moved serenely away, Sea Princess’ straight white wake intensifying as we accelerated onwards towards Colombia.
This was one impressive and memorable day.
Two ships traveling through the locks.
Nick and his wife Vicki on a formal night aboard Sea Princess.
A cruise through the canal is OK, but visit the Panama is better. I have some great photos taken from two tubboat rides on the canal I’d be glad to share with any one who is interested plus many more photos and information about Panama.
Would enjoy getting copies of your pictures, went thru the locks in ’68 on our way to Africa. Was favorably impressed with Panama City.
Thank you for your write up and pictures. Consider moving there.
Hi Nick, what a splendid write up on this canal transit. My husband John and I were on the same cruise San/Francisco to Barbados. It was our second transit of the canal having gone from Barbados to Acapulco previously, we loved it then and still do. The sense of excitment throughout the ship on both occasions is something hard to describe. Our balcony cabin was at the opposite end of the ship to yours on Riviera deck just behind the bridge. My memory of people on the decks and balconies waving flags, posters etc is both very emotional and will remain with us for the rest of our lives. Sea Princess is a lovely ship with a super Captain Foster at the helm, who proved himself by keeping us and the ship safe even with hurricaine Tomas around
Barbara
There is nothing like going through the canal with a balcony cabin. Sitting on the veranda and listening to the narrative and watching the beautiful scenery go by. I have been on 13 cruises – headed for #14 next month. Three of these have been through the canal and it is my favorite place! Princess does it right!
Sorry about the mistake, no doubt someone would have noticed if I had not owned up! 8/10/10 – 2/11/10
I have only just heard about the 50 essential experiences and happened to ‘google images’ for a new ‘wallpaper’ for our computer. Came across the panama picture and have used it for my new background. Also found by accident the 50 essential experiences and have now added this to my favourites; no doubt hubby will have more time than me, to read up on all the fantastic experiences that have been posted. Nice to read all you comments and it continues to remind me of our glorious cruise 8/11/10 to 2/11/10, didn’t we have a fantastic time. Now where excites me next…..hhuumm. Take care everyone x
Your blog brought back such great memories. My husband and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale for the voyage to San Francisco May 7th,2010 aboard the Sea Princess. This was a dream trip come true. Going through the canal is in itself a wonderous experience. Imagining all the workers who slaved so hard with all the hardships of the snakes, alligators, mosquitos and dieseases and here we are savorting the fruits of their labor. We enjoyed so much going to rainforest in Fuerte Amador (Panama City) back in the Gamboa Valley. This is where we saw a tree sloth and a capiberra in the wild and native jungle. I still see all of this in my mind but the pictures are a plus. n There were other locations we enjoyed quite a bit such as Puntarenas, Costa Rica where we went to an orchid farm. The colors were incredible. We are now planning a return trip to Alaska for a cruise/tour into Denali National Park. Hope the wait time goes fast. Again enjoyed you narriative.
Thank you for posting your photos Nick. They are wonderful!
We are going on the 15 day cruise on Island Princess soon! Can hardly wait! I’m reading The Path Between The Seas, a fascinating book about the building of the canal. I highly recommend it.
Question: Which shore excursions did you go on? Which ones would you recommend? Which ones were a disappointment? Thanks!!
We enjoyed the Princess Tour : “Old Canal Zone & Miraflores Locks” : it will augment your book at first hand by seeing the excellent Museum at Miraflores and you can stand close to ships passing through.
Visit Miraflores Locks, the first locks located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal and enjoy a guided drive through the old military bases that the United States occupied before returning the Panama Canal to Panama. Drive to the Miraflores Locks. View a model of the Panama Canal that is narrated by a Panama Canal guide and then visit the viewing platform overlooking the locks. Continue to Fort Clayton, the Army base that housed the Southern Command Headquarters. Drive through portions of Albrook Air Force Base where the new domestic airport is located. Pass by the community of Balboa.
From Puntarenas, Costa Rica:-
Scenic Drive To San Jose With Lunch – a really interesting day
A full-day excursion explores Costa Rica’s incomparable landscape, features a scenic drive through the capital, and includes a tour of the National Museum and the famed National Theater.Travel approximately two hours through lush valleys, green pasturelands, coffee plantations, and small towns. In San Jose, visit the landmark National Theater considered the country’s most beautiful building. Visit the National Museum, home to a vast collection
of artifacts. Enjoy a lunch buffet of Costa Rican dishes at Valle del Sol, a private colonial-style estate. Stop in Sarchí for shopping.
At Cartagena, I suggest you focus on the old town area offerings, including the museum. It is an attractive old Spanish Colonial place, with pretty architecture. Our tour tried to do too much in a short time there (especially too much time at cheap tourist shops!)
Aruba
If you want a good laugh and a fun Caribbean atmosphere, take any tour that goes on a Banana Bus!
The crossing of the Panama Canal is one of our best expiriences so far,the all Itinary Costa Rica, Acapulco,Colombia,Cabo San Lucas left a great impact in our travel memories.We didn’t do it with Princess but we will go back there no doubt.
Thank you for the great blog, we’ll be on the Coral Princess, Acapulco to Ft Lauderdale on March 5th. We did a partial transit 11 years ago and were sorry that we couldn’t do the full transit due to the fact they didn’t have 10 day full transits, now they do. We love photography and can’t wait to take lots of pictures.
We are sailing on the Coral Princess May 4 from Ft. Lauderdale through the Canal and on to San Francisco. We are all from the San Francisco Bay Area so it will be a great trip. I can hardly wait.
I am thinking about a Partial Panama Canal Cruise because I do not have the luxury of being away for more than 2 weeks. Will I miss out on much by not traversing the whole Canal?
It only takes 10 hours to go right through and you’d need to pick a 10 day Princess cruise to/from Fort Lauderdale / Acapulco. So you can do it and the whole canal, with excursions is the best thing to do.
We, too, had a fabulous trip on the Coral Princess last spring, from LA to Ft Lauderdale. It was really an amazing journey and the info about the Canal was very interesting.HIGHLY advise putting this trip on anyone’s bucket list!!
We are taking this cruise January 2012. Which is the best side of the ship to avoid the sun for the trip from LA to Fort Lauderdale? We want the room to stay as cool as possible and we want to enjoy the balcony.
going from LA to NY in February – do you advise stay on board to see ship go through Canal or go on tour to Panama city? Did you see Cliffe divers in Acapulco if so on tour or not. Thanks Lyndell Colins
We leave from LA on Feb 8 — Can hardly wait — Your description was riveting and it sounds like SO much fun!
What ship are you sailing on?
What a great summary of cruising thru the canal.
We are scheduled to make the trip from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco this April.
Your descriptions further wet my appetite for this experience.
Many thanks.
any one have any takes or comments on the panama side tours
Hi Larry,
We did the same trip at the same time as Nick and went on the domed coach railway alongside the Panama Canal from one end to the other, returning by coach and stopping at Gatun Locks on the return journey. To be able to climb up to see the locks, the ships and the mules close up was a real experience and I would definitely recommend this trip.
Hi Nick, enjoyed your blog and photos. We had a wonderful cruise on Sea Princess in the Caribbean. Lovely ship. Can’t wait to do the Panama Canal, I have heard so much about it. Lorna
Hi Nick…we may have been on the same trip…Oct 6-21, 2010 but I didn’t know it went on to Barbados. Some of my ancestors lived in Barbados in the 1800-1830′s and I would have stayed on the ship had I known it was going there!!!
I just finished my hardback book, offered by the Photography department..the deadline was today and I finished swapping my pictures for theirs and rewriting the text on Tuesday and sent it in. Can’t wait to see what it looks like.
I loved your pictures of the canal locks. I couldn’t get close enough for a front view without the blue glass in the way. And your text was terrific. I will print out your article and put it in my binder of the trip. I really loved Panama City which we did on a bus tour. However, I lost all my pictures (200) of Cabo through the beginning of the Canal, due to the chip not being downloaded properly onto the disc this process which I purchased from the Photography Department. Only 40 pictures were on the disc when I got home…and those had been on there from San Francisco. So I had to depend on my travelling partner’s photos for those places. Fortunately my photos from Cartagena and Aruba were perfect. Both lovely places to visit.
I could easily be persuaded to do this trip again!!!
Glad you liked the write up. Yes, same trip. It was marketed in the UK as a 23 day trip, as Sea Princess was being re-positioned from the Alaska season to Barbados for the Caribbean season. Unfortunately the last three days were affected by Hurricane Tomas, so the ship had to shelter on the lee sides of Guadeloupe and Dominica while it passed through Martinique and Saint Lucia, where we could not land.
Did a Princess Caribbean Cruise over Xmas 2009 , had a great time , after viewing comments and photos already looking forward to Panama canal Cruise in October 2011
Hi Nick. Following a fantastic week in Orlando with Princess Cruises we joined the Sea Princess for the week on the Caribbean. There was a great atmosphere aboard as many, like you, had sailed from San Francisco through the Panama Canal. Everyone we met raved about the Panama Canal experience and your Post captures the atmosphere. While it was very disappointing not to see St Lucia the Captain did a fine job avoiding the hurricane and the staff worked hard to ensure the extra days at sea were very enjoyable. We’ve already planned our next Princess Cruise.
Hi Nick, we were fortunate to experience the Panama transit with yourself and your lovely wife Vicki ( you missed out the cheeky part ). We had such fun, and met lots of lovely people, as you do on a Princess cruise. Definately our best cruise to date. Looking forward to many more.
All our best wishes
Pat & Dennis
We are off to experience the Panama transit on 27th February on the Island Princess. After reading your review we are excited. Thanks.
Yes, it was good that my flash was working okay
Maureen and John, we were on the Island Princess, if you see Luis and Fernando in the Dining Room where dinner is not on a fixed schedule, forgot the name. give them regards from Luis and Martha. We were treated like royalty by them, besides they were so much fun, we are dying to go again and enjoy their bantering service. They picked from the menu for us, they knew our tastes and were always right on. There was no area that we felt was less than the very best. Be sure and see the show by the crew….IF I WERE NOT UPON THE SEA…..hilarious,
Well written Nick and enjoyed the photos too.My daughter and i cruised the med last year on Grand Princess, in honour of my mum who didnt live to come with us.We loved Princess and the Panama cruise has always been on my wish list!I’m now even more fired up and determined to fulfil this one in my life time!Thanks for bringing it to life on a cold wet day in England!
We also were on this trip fantastic, the trip through the locks is worth getting up for as it is a great achievement, so impressed. The day previous to going through we went on trip on gatun lock and that was splendid. We saw the monkey’s and they came on to our boat tempted by our guide with lemon, it cleans their coat like conditioner. We also saw crocs,sloath and other birds wading on the sand with crocs. We would recommend this trip to anyone.23days of pleasure. Just a pity about hurricane Thomas coming along and stopping us getting final island sightseeing. Captain did a great job keeping out of harms way, thank you captain foster.
Sounds like a great tour, it was so hard to choose what to do in such a short time, so we voted in favor of going on our own….my husband bought his Panama hat, it suits him perfectly. I repeat, if you go to the old town, see the musuem it is amazing complete in regard to the canel history, complete with original signed documents of each of our Presidents involved.
My husband and I had a truly fantastic trip from San Francisco to Barbados in October 2010. We too had wanted to see the Panama Canal for years,we finally did it to celebrate my 70th birthday. It was a wonderful experience, and to think it celebrated its 100th year since it was opened. Like Andy says the view from the Convent on the top of the hill in Cartagena, is breath taking, as is the hill to get up there but worth it. We must have been on the same trip as him. The whole trip was excellent and hurricane Tomas could not spoil it at the end.
Yes, it was the same trip.
The Canal is a must. Had such a good time on the Coral Princess that, a few years later, did it again on the Island Princess. Both great ships.
We were on the Island Princess this past Nov, and they are absolutely fantastic. They do an outstanding job! The ports of call were nice choices. Had my husband allowed, I would have stayed behind at Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, my favorite port, small town, LOTS of beach, palms, friendly people, two hours to the capital, the mountains are close too, an airport, what more could one ask for.
Nick – many thanks for sharing your vivid transit through the Panama Canal. We’re so glad you and Vicki were able to check this one off your list and truly enjoy the experience!
Princess has a first class crew….everyone was above and beyond. My favorite comment about our cruise is “The closest we will ever get to living like royalty.” Thank you for a most memorable fifteen days.
I am totally jealous this is something been trying to do last couple of years but been going around the Caribbean but hopefully the Panama is next. Love the photo’s
My wife and did the trip from Acapulco to San Juan via the Canal on the Island Princess during Christmas 2007 and a ball. This was a trip my dad and I always wanted to do, but unfortunately he never made it. He was with me in spirit on this trip. My wife was not sure she really wanted to cruise the canal as the word boring was on her mind. She was pleasantly surprised. We had a balcony room on the port side of the ship which was really fun as was passed other cruise ships transiting the canal as we approached lake gatun.
totally agree with you all, myself and my wife Sue did the los angelos to fort lauderdale cruise in 2006 on the coral princess to celebrate our 20 wedding anni’.
on the day of the canal transit we were awake and on our balcony from 0500hrs until early evening when we had completed the transit, absolutely fantastic cruise.
lucky sods…no disrespect…we have had it on our wish list for a few years and after reading your e-mail it has come to the top….and a must for this year.
kind regards
Keith
Hi Nick. No, you don’t know me but my friend and I were on the same cruise from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale and onwards to Barbados. What an experience to travel through the Panama Canal. We certainly did enjoy this cruise. Your write up is very good. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Hi Nick. Yes we were also lucky enough to be on this trip. Our second trip on Sea Princess. The Panama Canal was a highlight but we were also very impressed with Cartagena. We had met an Australian couple on that trip who had prearranged a private trip in Colombia on 21/10/10 and we joined them for a most memorable experience. The views from the Convent at the top of the hill overlooking Cartagena were amazing.
Best wishes
Andy