We are booked on the Infinity through the Canal in October. Our question is, should we book the train ride excursion or stay on the ship and enjoy the trip through the Canal. We have a balcony cabin and we were wondering should we sit and enjoy the trip or get off part way through for the train? We are anxious to see the locks in action, we have been through the Kiel Canal in Germny but that was a sea level canal. We enjoyed sitting on deck for most of the day watching the world go by. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I found the transit of the canal to be a thoroughly facinating experience.
We woke up quite early and got front row viewing from the top deck of Celebrity Mercury .
We proceeded toward the canal with Panama City off in the distance and then under the bridge on the transamerican highway . Approaced the first set of locks with a very large cargo ship just slightly ahead of us in the adjacent lock. Made for great shots.
As we approached the second lock we gave up our prime viewing to another group and caught a nice breakfast. Interesting perspective to see the lock walls just beyond our dining room windows.
We spent the day on a lower prominade deck (for shade) and I ran back and forth through the lobby for photo opportunities on both sides of the ship.
As we approached the locks on the Atlantic side we took photos from our port side vantage, This time the same ship was adjacent and slightly behind us.
For the final decent we went to the stern of the ship and got some great shots of the "mules" that control the ship and the cargo ship above us .
All in all a long and wonderful day. I would not miss the transit on the ship by taking the train.
Panama, great cruise but hot. we had the room with floor to ceiling windows. my brother and sister in law had the balcony room. we spent most of the time going through the canal in the air conditioned room which actually extended out from the ship. great view.
We also loved being on the ship for transit of the Panama Canal. We were in
many different areas, from front of the ship, our balcony, dining room, pool deck
facing outward, and in a/c rooms when it was hottest in the afternoon. Waiting
in Gatun lake while the "traffic" cleared...we were getting ready for dinner (late
seating) as we finally left the canal...guess there was alot of traffic that day.
Breakfast served on your balcony that day is lovely.
What about the Portobello Priates trip where you see a historic site & also get a tour of the locks--that seemed quite interesting! Has anyone taken this?
We did an east-bound trans-canal cruise in April. Our ship did not offer the opportunity of getting off the ship for the train excursion. It did stop on Gatun Lake, and some people got off, but mostly, they viewed the transit from the ship
We had a stern corner cabin, just could not have been better for the transit
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Panama Canal excursions
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