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10 minutes ago, twangster said:

Nope, but presumably having shore power capabilities added to be compliant for California.  

Will they give her a haircut so she can squeeze through the Panama Canal?  Don't know that either.

Ya, I'm wondering about the 'haircut' as well.  It would make sense to get her out to the west coast.

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1 hour ago, BeachGal said:

Ya, I'm wondering about the 'haircut' as well.  It would make sense to get her out to the west coast.

These protrusions from the side of Voyager class may yield a haircut a moot point.  

852424738_VYClassProfileCanal.thumb.jpg.8603bb7e1e93e223bbd135c489f9fb08.jpg

The make for a nice walkway for guests walking around the ship but if that rubbed against the side of a canal lock wall it would probably be ripped off like a tin can.

Most ships that are canal friendly have profiles without extrusions this low.  

Consequently I'm not sure this class or Freedom class can ever be made canal ready as her hips may be too wide.   Only Royal knows and so far they aren't talking about it.

 

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43 minutes ago, twangster said:

These protrusions from the side of Voyager class may yield a haircut a moot point.  

852424738_VYClassProfileCanal.thumb.jpg.8603bb7e1e93e223bbd135c489f9fb08.jpg

The make for a nice walkway for guests walking around the ship but if that rubbed against the side of a canal lock wall it would probably be ripped off like a tin can.

Most ships that are canal friendly have profiles without extrusions this low.  

Consequently I'm not sure this class or Freedom class can ever be made canal ready as her hips may be too wide.   Only Royal knows and so far they aren't talking about it.

 

 
The larger, newer locks are supposedly 181 ft wide (wikipedia, so correction may be warranted).  Not sure how much space to each side would be needed.  The beam info I saw is water line at 127ft at the waterline, so obviously wider a little higher, and more-so with the walkways.  

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37 minutes ago, Plumlee2028 said:

 
The larger, newer locks are supposedly 181 ft wide (wikipedia, so correction may be warranted).  Not sure how much space to each side would be needed.  The beam info I saw is water line at 127ft at the waterline, so obviously wider a little higher, and more-so with the walkways.  

Regardless if the new locks are 200' feet, when that extension rubs against the concrete wall of the lock it will be ripped off.  The hull near the waterline can take scraping along a concrete wall.  Lifeboats that protrude or anything that extends out beyond the profile of the hull are a problem in the canal.

This isn't just a matter of looking at dimensions.  The side profile of some ships won't work in the canal.  

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29 minutes ago, twangster said:

Regardless if the new locks are 200' feet, when that extension rubs against the concrete wall of the lock it will be ripped off.  The hull near the waterline can take scraping along a concrete wall.  Lifeboats that protrude or anything that extends out beyond the profile of the hull are a problem in the canal.

This isn't just a matter of looking at dimensions.  The side profile of some ships won't work in the canal.  

That makes sense.  I wasn't sure what kind of job the rope trains that pull along the length of the lock can do holding the ship centered in the lock or not?  Or do they just help guiding into the lock more than being able to do any centering? Perhaps for ships like a cruise ship there are wind limitations etc., where it may work in lower winds where the risk is decreased particularly if the lock is wide enough? 
 

i dont know much about this other than basic TV documentaries, so its interesting to get more info on the topic. 

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26 minutes ago, Plumlee2028 said:

That makes sense.  I wasn't sure what kind of job the rope trains that pull along the length of the lock can do holding the ship centered in the lock or not?  Or do they just help guiding into the lock more than being able to do any centering? Perhaps for ships like a cruise ship there are wind limitations etc., where it may work in lower winds where the risk is decreased particularly if the lock is wide enough? 
 

i dont know much about this other than basic TV documentaries, so its interesting to get more info on the topic. 

The new locks use tugs and ship power.  The old locks use the locomotive "mules".   Both Royal and the Canal authority understand the risks and only they know if they are willing to accept those risks. We'll know soon enough.

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The Radiance class ships are Panmax size; any class of ships over that will not fit in the old locks. Not sure about the new locks.

Also read that the Royal's mega ships - Harmony and Symphony wouldn't fit mainly due to the fact that they are too tall to fit under the Bridge of the Americas

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Current size for ships in the Panama canal is 1201ft  maximum length with a 168.14ft maximum width which is likely closer to the waterline. Draft is currently limited to 44ft of freshwater with a maximum height of 190ft above water unless there is a low water situation and then it's 205ft above water. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax#Ship_dimensions

 

More than likely with the new locks in place the height will be the biggest issue. Freedom class seems to be about 209 feet above the water line for height but if that is saltwater measured it may squeeze through at low tide.  The Oasis class is an absolute no go as it is over 230 feet. The voyager class sits around 206 feet tall so if that is measured in saltwater it will likely just squeeze under the bridge at certain times as well. 

 

 

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10 hours ago, BeachGal said:

Just noticed that Navigator left Cadiz and is on her way to Cyprus (where Harmony is currently located).  Do they normally move ships from one dry dock to another?

Prior to the pandemic shipyard time and space was in such short supply that Explorer's amplification was going to be split between shipyards.  However I don't think that is why Navigator is heading to Cypress.  

What we do know is that Cypress has been a popular port to board new crew for more than one ship in the region.  The country is one of a few that is making it convenient to travel into for crew joining a ship.  I don't know that is why Navigator is heading to Cypress but it is another speculative guess.  

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

I don't know that is why Navigator is heading to Cypress but it is another speculative guess.

Cyprus is the same direction as the Suez Canal. If Panama Canal transit isn’t an option maybe Royal is willing to risk the pirates in the gulf of Aden over the currents of Magellan strait. A stop in Manila could fill crew manifest. 

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14 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Cyprus is the same direction as the Suez Canal. If Panama Canal transit isn’t an option maybe Royal is willing to risk the pirates in the gulf of Aden over the currents of Magellan strait. A stop in Manila could fill crew manifest. 

I didn't know the Philippines had even reopened their ports to cruise ships.  Haven't seen a ship there in months.

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Everything I wrote was speculation. Going east would take the ship past countries which typically represent a high crew percentage. Ability to stop, I don’t know. The distance is more from Mediterranean via Suez than around South America to Los Angeles. 
A question that was brought up a few months back, is it worth it logistically to set up a revenue sailing with stops around South America? 

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25 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Everything I wrote was speculation. Going east would take the ship past countries which typically represent a high crew percentage. Ability to stop, I don’t know. The distance is more from Mediterranean via Suez than around South America to Los Angeles. 
A question that was brought up a few months back, is it worth it logistically to set up a revenue sailing with stops around South America? 

You could be onto something here.  It looks like Navigator doesn't have any planned cruises until she gets to LA.  I thought they were going to bring her back to Florida to finish out the summer.

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They already cancelled Navigator FL bookings and moved guests to Freedom.  I don't think we'll see any revenue sailings on Navigator before California.  

From Cadiz sea-distances.org offered the following routes:

744635510_ScreenShot2021-07-14at3_26_47PM.thumb.jpg.920d4d2b5d8595f8d11412d8019a475c.jpg

The Suez wasn't the best option for distance or time but with her going to Cyprus that changes the situation.  Panama Canal remains number one from Cyprus so if they go any other way to reach California it pretty much confirms she can't fit in the Panama Canal.

1663404549_ScreenShot2021-07-16at1_18_46PM.thumb.jpg.f5957bd7b162ac95694efc08ed351c08.jpg

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3 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

The way Explorer took to get to the east coast is how I predict other ships will take to get to the west cost. I don't know that information. Does anyone else?

Sydney to Singapore to Dubai to Barcelona to Southampton to Miami VIA the Suez Canal.  

The same way that Voyager is going in 2022 with different stops - VIA the Suez Canal.  

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Great find for travel distances. Interesting that if Panama isn’t feasible, that Suez is shorter than around South America. 1,200 nautical miles is +/- 3 days sailing and lots of fuel. But the Pirates in Aden, the AquaCoaster hanging over the side of Navigator provides an exception target for grappling hooks. I bet Bayley tosses a coin to decide.

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