Skigoofy

Once through the Culebra cut we enter an arm of Gatun Lake where it begins to widen.  




A railway runs along the canal that in places is visible.

At this point we are roughly halfway across Panama.  Screen capture from the MarineTraffic.com app:

While creating the man made Gatun Lake solved the largest span between the oceans it didn't quite reach all the way to the Pacific.  The 8.75 mile gap required another solution - digging.  Enter the Culebra Cut, also known as Gaillard Cut.  The volume of earth removed from this section of the canal is staggering.  

At one of the narrowest spots you can see the terracing of Gold Hill and Contractor's Hill from the original days of canal construction.

This area was known for its landslides dumping massive amounts of earth back into channel of the canal as it was being excavated.

While the effort to construct the entire canal is impressive the amount of effort to create the Culebra Cut is mind blowing.  Spoils removed from the cut were hauled away in train cars used in other areas of the canal or dumped in the jungles.  The earthen Gatun dam that creates Gatun Lake was created from this excavation.   

Tugs are always at the ready in case a ship suffers a breakdown or mechanical issue that could be devastating to canal operations.  If a ship lost propulsion or ran aground and closed the canal that would cost a fortune in lost revenue.  Consequently tugs always escort ships through the Culebra Cut and they are ready to spring into action should a ship start to get into trouble.


The canal is quite deep to accommodate the draft of the biggest ships that can use the canal so you can imagine how landslides were an issue over a hundred years ago and even to this day in places.

Looking at the vegetation and how thick the jungle is you can imagine what it would have been like when workers first arrived to begin working on the cut.

Efforts continue to ensure run off from the rainy season is managed in a controlled fashion.

With that we were now up to the level of Gatun Lake.  Moving around the ship I wanted to see how it looked from different areas around the ship.


Looking back from where we came it was clear how the original locks were augmented with the Pacific access channel for the new locks to the right.  In the case of the new locks there are still three steps but they are all done in one lock complex so they bypass Miraflores Lake.

The Solarium roof was once again open.


Next we pass under the Centennial Bridge.  

With the Miraflores Locks complete it was time to proceed.  The ship before us is already halfway across Miraflores Lake.

They begin to let the cables to the locomotives go as we slowly move forward.

As we make our way across Miraflores Lake that ship is nearly through the Pedro Miguel lock that comes next. 

Tugs at the ready to push us around.

Two people in a row boat...

Our narrator over the P.A. system informs us they had studies done to evaluate replacing the people in a row boat with various other ways to accomplish the same goal.  At the conclusion it was determined this remains the most flexible means to get the job done.  It simply works.

Looking at the countryside you get an idea of just what they had to deal with over one hundred years ago when they started building the canal.

At this point we could clearly see the Centennial Bridge, the next bridge we would pass under and channel forward into the Culebra cut.

As we approach the Pedro Miguel lock the doors begin to open

Here is a timelapse up to this point:
 
 

A little bit about the Panama Canal.
In order to make it from one ocean to the other the ship needs to reach the man made Gatun Lake that lies in middle of Panama.  That involves three canal locks that are used to lift the ship a total of 85 feet (~26m) to reach the level of Gatun Lake.  Once across Gatun Lake another series of three steps in canal locks lower the ship back to sea level.
From West to East we will go through the Miraflores locks, across the small Miraflores Lake and then into the Pedro Miguel locks.  Once through those locks we will be at the level of Gatun Lake.  On the Atlantic side of Gatun Lake the Gatun Locks will lower us in three steps to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. 
Miraflores Locks
There are two steps in these locks.


These tugs are an important part of the canal operation. Ships our size are assigned two tugs.

Two people in a row boat...

They bring "messenger" lines over to the ship that will be used to haul the steel cables from the locomotives over to the ship.  Ship lines are not used in the transit.

The crowds at the front of the ship do become somewhat thick.  An opportunity to meet new friends. 


The Miraflores locks will lift us two of the three steps required to reach the level of Gatun Lake.

The locomotives on each side will help guide the ship into the lock channel and keep the ship centered. These have been upgraded over the years but their function remains the same as it was in 1914 when the Panama Canal first opened.

The locomotives are nicknamed "mules" and operating under guidance from the control room,  the onboard seamen and the pilot they keep the ship moving centered in the lock chamber.  The ship uses it's own propulsion to move forward.

As the ship moves forward we approach the lock door that hold back massive volumes of water.  Behind us a set of lock doors will close creating a chamber for us to ride in.

Once the doors behind the ship close the lock is flooded with water.  The spray seen here is normal leakage, the chamber is actually filled from below. 

As the chamber fills we can sense we are gently rising.

It's a subtle rise that can be hard to notice.  The water line against the lock doors can be used to see how far the water has risen.  


With our first lift complete the lock doors in front of us open and we advance into the next lock chamber.

The ship before us is already moving into Miraflores Lake.

The orange ship in the new locks has already reach the level of Gatun Lake and is starting to move forward to continue the transit.  The Borinquen Dams separate the new Pacific access channel where this ship is from Miraflores Lake.


These Miraflores locks were originally completed in 1913. 

A visitors center allows people to view the locks (and us) in operation.

One more lift to go to reach the level of Miraflores Lake.

I noted our seamen in the bow looked different.  That's because the ship crew who normally handle the lines got the day off.   When transiting the Panama Canal local seamen come on board to handle the lines.

In the last photo of my above post you can sort of see there is a split or fork in the channel.  
As we moved forward it became clearer the path to the left are the new locks for neo-Panamax larger vessels.  The fork to the right leads to the original locks for vessels meeting the original Panamax standard.
Here is a neo-Panamax ship being helped into position to enter the new locks.


An old locomotive possibly from the Panama railroad that used to run between the coasts.

The new locks on this side of the canal. 

Those pools of water in the foreground are part of the water conservation approach used by the new locks.


As we continue on towards the right and the original locks we can begin to see the Miraflores locks around the bend.

Day 11 - Panama Canal
This is going to take a few posts, bear with me.  

In the early morning light you could see a virtual fleet of ships at anchor waiting their turn.


Panama City was becoming visible through the morning fog.


I was surprised by the number of high rise buildings.

We continued to glide through the flotilla of ships until we approached the Bridge of the Americas.


This bridge is the lowest of three bridges that now span the canal.  This is the original and lowest of the three.  The NCL Bliss as the largest cruise ship to ever transit the Panama Canal squeaked under but only at low tide.

Vision was built within Panamax standards so there is no question we'll slide under quite nicely.

Once past the Bridge of the Americas our adventure really begins.

Also forgot to mention, they held a Veteran’s Day event on board in the Promenade. They sang the national anthem, and had one of the casts from Grease sing ‘Hallelujah’ with lyrics changed to honor our servicemen and women. The moment of silence was deafening. Both my husband and I are veterans, and found it to be very touching and moving. (Also on board was a 92 yo WWII vet!). Thanks to RCI for taking the time to honor our vets!

DAY 2: Perfect day at Cocoa Cay
 
DRINK COUNT
Specialty Coffee
Frozen mojito
Bahama Mama x4
Shot of rum
3 glasses of champagne with dinner
Disarono on the rocks 
1 terrible drink from the mechanical bar (it must have ran out of limes and couldn’t muddle ??)
 12 drinks total
 
THRILL PARK
got off ship about 0900, waited about 15 minutes to ride Devil’s Peak
No big wait on any other of the rides in the tower
Headed over to Slingshot and waited about 15 minutes
The rest of the slides wasn’t much of a wait. 
Great day! Nearly “perfect”
 
UNLIMITED DINING PLAN
this is the only not so perfect thing about Cocoa Cay. So apparently Captain Jacks on Cocoa Cay IS NOT included with the UDP! I ordered some chicken wings for the brusband thinking it would certainly be covered and well within the food credit... but alas no ? Seems a little weird to have a charge for something like that. 
 
Also, surprisingly Wonderland was rather a miss for us. They waiter recommended we let them pick some of the favorites for appetizers and we pick the mains. We really liked only 3 of the 7 appetizers served. They weren’t bad, just not delicious. Perhaps if we had just chosen which ones we would have preferred based on tastes, this would have been a better experience. The brusband got the pork belly and I the beef short rib. Both were good. 
 
The view and the experience in the venue was worth it since I don’t think there is another view like that on the ship. But the food was hit or miss for us. Perhaps if you’re bringing young’s ones who are picky eaters, this may not be worth your money if they don’t like it. 
 
The other thing with dinner, they came out to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to my Colombian, and forgot his name ?? And not in a casual... mumble mumble something close kinda way... but as in they still tried to sing it with no clue. (They literally may have said the words mumble mumble... I’m still not sure) Lol It was no big deal... but the waiter seemed so embarrassed for clearly not knowing his name (in spite of just confirming with us both right before), that he FORGOT to pour whatever hot sauce goes on top of the chocolate dome ? By the time we got his attention, the sauce had cooled. He still tried pouring it, and what came next was a sad awkward moment coupled with fear and false hope. He poured ALL of the contents over the dessert and when nothing really happened... he pleaded with it. Then he tried covering up for the poor performance by saying.., I’m sure any minute now it will start melting. We were left with a half melted, Frankenstein of a dessert ?? No big deal; it was still rather delicious.

First day travel—
We booked a room on Cocoa Beach in the Courtyard by Marriott. Arriving a day earlier, I had the preference of staying in Orlando (more bang for your buck IMO)... but the Colombian side of my husband was wanting to stay closer to the port... and I’ve learned just to not argue with that side (sorta like disagreeing with Pablo Escobar...). 
 
No problems with our flight. I usually make fun of my little Colombian when he books travel because he loves to book our flights with a few hours layover so we can relax in the lounge and eat/drink... the analytical and practical side of me just wants to get to where I’m going ? If we have a layover it’s nice to use a lounge, but I won’t go out of my way to add time onto a travel day. With me booking, I gave us about a 50 minute layover (which in hindsight ALSO wasn’t the best). But we were still able to pop into the Delta lounge and grab some drinks and a hot meal. 


Arrived in Orlando airport and dang... I always forget how big and weird this airport is! We made our way to grab our bags and hopped into the USO for a bottle of water and to see if they had any recommendations for shuttles to Cocoa Beach. (My plan was just to book the Uber, but no harm in asking) For our vets out there... if you need a moment to relax at MCO... I DEFINITELY recommend stopping by! This is probably one of the nicest USO’s I have ever been in. 
 
All of the shuttles they recommended (Go Port was one) had already had their last shuttle out. (We arrived MCO at 7pm). Back to square one booking an Uber... but at least we were able to get some waters/soda/snacks for the road!
 
Here’s my first tidbit: don’t let the Uber driver convince you to cancel your ride. Booked the Uber, we were waiting outside the rideshare pickup area, and we get a message from the driver. He messaged that he was “unable” to pickup at the airport due to “not having a permit”, and we would need to cancel the ride. (He most likely just saw the distance and didn’t want to make the long drive). Knowing we would likely get hit with a charge if we did, and confirming with the airport security the no permit was necessary, I knew the guy was either just scamming, or at a minimum being dishonest. We simply told him he didn’t need the permit, and if he didn’t want to perform the ride, he needed to cancel. He eventually did. We got another one shortly after (within about 10 minutes). 
 
The ride to Cocoa Beach wasn’t bad. We were both tired after a long day of traveling. The hotel is ok, but not worth the price tag IMO. (We had an AMEX travel credit of $200 which is the only reason I agreed to the $300 price tag of staying here vs. Orlando). Ultimately we thought my gut was right, hotel room is a little dingy. But they did have a beautiful pool area, the bar had good food, and I even caught a glimpse of a fire pit where people were enjoying drinks and community. 
 
If you have the time to just shuttle to the port the next morning, and cost is a factor, I would say just stay in Orlando. There were plenty of nice hotels right next to the Airport that were really affordable. 
 
That’s it for day 1 travel day! I’ll let y’all know how embarkation day was when it’s over!

Well... today is the day! We were prepared in the usual fashion of pre-cruise excitement. For us, that means I obsess over the minutia, while typically missing the bigger picture of intentionally needing to relax ?? Our nails freshly manicured, our tans freshly sprayed, and our nose hairs freshly waxed, I was starting to feel better prepared! (Too TMI with the nose hairs? ... I’ll rein in the descriptors... But man... getting old sucks sometimes). 
 
We are sailing out of Orlando today on Harmony of the Seas. Of COURSE I’m up at 5am eagerly anticipating embarkation on one of our favorite ways to vacation. 
 
I’ll try to keep this as ‘live’ as possible! (Hence the Ron Burgundy question mark at the end of the title). I just wanted to post some tidbits that we are learning along the way. We are doing a lot of firsts on this cruise! This is our first junior suite, our first time purchasing The Key, our first time booking UDP, first cruise ship escape room, first time maybe eating in CK, first sailing out of Port Canaveral, and first time in Harmony OTS. We originally booked a New Zealand cruise during our Cuban cruise on Empress last year. We saved and saved, but ended up canceling around June due to scheduling conflicts. This cruise was a spur of the moment purchase in our desperation to take a reprieve from work... so we just said “the heck with it” and went all in with the bells and whistles (well... all the bells and whistles as far as we can afford...I’m the cheap one in the marriage by the way). 
 
Thanks for joining!

Flowrider Was Super Great Today. The Lines Were Long But The Riders Were Great?

Also At 11:00 They Were Testing The Life Boats.

For Lunch I Went To The Windjammer And Grabbed A Burger.

After That I Headed To The Helipad To Take Some Photos.

 

Day 10 - Sea Day
We changed time last night.  We are now on Eastern time.
Our progress...

We've reached the Southernmost point of this cruise. A mere 6° 52.44' North of the Equator or just over 400 nm.  

Now we're heading due East.

Once past the lower tip of Panama we'll turn North towards the canal and meet the pilot at 5am.  If all goes well depending on ship traffic we'll be entering the locks of the Panama Canal at 7am.  

Hi everyone,

I am leaving on my very first cruise tomorrow (starting the drive today) and I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Matt, and everyone else here! I feel so confident going into this cruise. Between these message boards and Matt's live videos, I had all of my questions answered. This community is so positive and it just makes me that much more excited for my vacation! So again, thank you so much and happy cruising to you all ?

Hi all,
 
My girlfriend and I are going on our first ever cruise at the end of January.
 
We are on Allure of the seas sailing to Perfect Day, Bahamas, Cozumel & Costa Maya.
 
We are lucky enough to have the drinks package along with a balcony room.
 
Hoping the weather is warm mid 20’s or higher as we are based in the UK and it’s Baltic!
 
Thanks

This Windjammer moment is for @Sweety

Red Velvet Cake

Sail away was timed perfectly with the Costa Rica sunset.




Lots of small boats out tonight.


The flight of the Pelicans.

Back to the tour base...


"No swimming" - no problem, I'll gladly comply.

Our two motorcoaches from the train were gathered to take in a few cultural dances of Costa Rica.


Fresh local fruit was available as well as some free Costa Rica coffee to sample.   


Shopping is also available.  Of course I bought some Costa Rica coffee from a small farm to take home.

Back on the motorcoach we begin the drive back to the port and cross the river again to see... more crocodiles.  

We were given a handout with different species of birds that we could use to identify them.  We quickly started running through them like bingo. 
A Tricolored Heron, a Snowy Egret...

A juvenile Great Blue Heron...

Iguanas...

Crocodile on the left bank...

Another Tricolored Heron (I think)...

Another Croc swimming away from us...

A pair of Snowy Egrets flying around us...


I could go on and on.  In fact I had to ignore dozens of photos just to keep these posts reasonable.   

During our drive over to the boat ride that comes next our guide tells us many facts of Costa Rica.  This includes the fact that Costa Rica has the highest density of biodiversity of anywhere.  It's unique position bridging North and South America combined with it's numerous climatic regions has created different areas that can support a wide variety of species.  
As we approach our destination our driver tells us to get our cameras ready.  As we cross over a river we spot several Crocodiles on the banks of the river below.




We're going on a Crocodile Boat Tour.

Today's excursion in Costa Rica is "Pacific Train, Boat and Bus Adventure" booked through Royal.
We start by boarding an ultra modern motorcoach for a 25 minute ride to a train.  This Sandy Point area back in the days contained a cargo terminal to handle the growing coffee trade that Costa Rica was becoming known for.  Completed in 1914 trains carried the coffee to the port.  Today much of track is no longer used or serviceable but we ride the train along section of the old tracks that once was used to transport coffee to awaiting ships.

Along the way we spot a monkey in the tree. 

The motorcoach pulls up very close to the stairs of the train so it's a quick transfer from bus to train.

Soon we start down the old tracks.



Along the tracks are shanties put together with whatever materials people can find.

As we pass through some mangroves a termite mound is spotted.

The people are very friendly waving as we pass by.



An opportunity to try a local beer, Imperial.  La Cerveza de Costa Rica. $3.



More friendly people waving to us.


The train cars were refinished in original materials when they started using the railroad for passengers.



Forty five minutes later we've gone roughly 5 miles and it's time to re-board the bus for the next adventure.

They pull the bus right up so we never touch the ground.  Maybe because it's still rainy season they do this to avoid tracking dirt and mud into their coach, I'm not really sure but it makes for an easy transfer. 

As we drive off to our next stop we pass the train reversing back towards it's starting point.



While not fast moving the train is a nice way to see some of the countryside we otherwise would have never seen.

How do I look?
 
 

Forgot to mention this the other day...
One of the side effects of cruising often close together is that the Crystal Block providers don't always keep up with you.  Even though I technically earned a block on a recent cruise on another ship because the points take so long to post, sometimes that can work in your favor.  And so it is that I found this in my cabin:

Day 9 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica 
This area has a tidal approach that required we enter at high tide so at 3:30am the bow thrusters woke me up.  




Finally the sun broke the horizon and day began.

This area was dark when I first went top side so I started to see why this area is called Puntarenas or point of sand.

The pier is halfway down the point and in the early dawn light I could tell this area looked spectacular.

Lots of these guys checking us out.  They have a pretty large wing span and that beak looks like it means business.