Considered one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World, the Panama Canal is a man-made waterway that
connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The 50-mile passage allows ships to avoid
the long route around the southernmost tip of South America and its completion was a
significant milestone for maritime trade. In this video, we’ll provide an overview and
tips from our December 2021 partial transit of the Panama Canal when our ship –
the Emerald Princess – sailed through the new Agua Clara locks, from the
Caribbean Sea to Gatun Lake and back. Just a quick note that if you enjoy this video,
please give us a thumbs up or leave a comment. It really helps our channel! And consider subscribing so you
get alerted when we add new videos! Our day at the Panama Canal
started at 5:30 in the morning, when we headed to the observation deck at the
front of our ship to secure a viewing spot. We picked our fantastic viewing spot based
on the recommendation of our room steward. While we waited for our ship to
be approved to enter the canal, we sat in the dark in chairs that
Princess provided for guests. Princess also provided umbrellas, which were
very helpful during the occasional rain shower and for shielding us from the
hot sun throughout the transit. Our full journey – from entering the canal to
Gatun Lake – took our ship about four hours. During the transit, Princess’s
Destination Lecturer provided a live commentary from the bridge,
which could be heard on the open decks, in the buffet and some interior venues,
as well as in guests’ staterooms. The Lecturer’s insights and stories significantly
added to the overall enjoyment of our visit. Just a few minutes before sunrise, our
ship passed through the breakwaters to officially enter the Panama Canal about seven
and a half miles from the Agua Clara locks. Shortly after passing through the
breakwaters, a pilot boat approached our ship and a local pilot came aboard to
navigate the ship through the canal. As we continued at a very
slow pace along the canal, we passed the Panamanian cruise port of Cristobal. Our ship returned to the port later the
same day to collect passengers returning from ship-sponsored excursions before
heading back out to the Caribbean Sea. We also passed a Panamax-sized ship, which
was built to maximize the size of the ship that could still fit through
the older Gatun Locks. About an hour after entering the canal
– around 7:30 in the morning – our ship came to the Atlantic Bridge, which is
located about two miles before the locks. The cable-stayed bridge was opened in 2019 to accommodate larger ships
for the new Agua Clara locks and to allow traffic to cross the Atlantic side
of the canal regardless of the lock operations. Roughly half a mile past the Atlantic
Bridge, there was a fork in the waterway. The older Gatun Locks – which first
opened in 1914 – were located to the right and the new Agua Clara Locks – which
opened in 2016 – were located to the left, which is the direction we continued. At around 7:50 in the morning
– as our ship approached the locks – a tugboat came to help guide
us through the locks to Gatun Lake. The new Agua Clara locks use a system of large,
rolling gates to open and close each lock and tugboats are used to help vessels
move and maintain their position. Ships transiting the Agua Clara locks
can be upwards of 1,200 feet long and almost 170 feet wide, which allows for almost three times as much cargo compared to ships
that can transit the older Gatun locks. Both the new locks and the older locks
consist of three consecutive locks that operate by gravity flow of water from Gatun
Lake, which is situated 85 feet above sea level. No pumps are involved in the operations. Additionally, the new Agua Clara locks have
water-saving basins – which were visible off the side of our ship – to help reduce the
amount of water needed to operate the locks. For a more detailed explanation
of how this whole system works, we highly recommend watching
Practical Engineering’s video “The Surprising Efficiency of Canal Locks,”
which we’ve linked in the description below. It took almost two hours for our ship
to pass through all three of the Agua Clara locks and we entered Gatun Lake
a little before 10:00 in the morning. After our ship anchored in the lake, passengers
who purchased shore excursions from the ship were transferred to their
excursions by water shuttle. A bit before 3:00 in the
afternoon, our ship turned around and headed back through the same Agua Clara locks. After leaving the locks, our ship stopped to pick
up shore excursion guests at the service port before heading back out to the Caribbean Sea. Now, a few tips to help you enjoy
your visit to the Panama Canal. Our first tip is to visit the Panama
Canal, even if you can’t book a balcony. Many people say that you must have
a balcony for a Panama Canal cruise. However, during our cruise, there
were plenty of opportunities to see the sights from our ship’s
public areas and open decks. In fact, most balconies will have a fairly
limited view off one side of the ship, while the public areas and open decks will
allow you to see much more – including both sides of the ship – and help you fully
appreciate the scale of the canal operations. Our next tip is to expect possible delays
during your Panama Canal transit day. Don’t be surprised if there are delays
for many aspects of the experience, including entering the canal and
locks, shore excursions, and more. We spoke with fellow passengers who were
very thankful they brought snacks, water, and other items with them on a shore excursion since they were delayed returning
to the ship by a couple of hours. Our third tip is to be prepared for
hot, sunny weather with passing rain if you’re planning to spend a few hours
watching your ship transit the locks. We were thankful to have sunscreen, hats, water, umbrellas, and even towels to cover our
legs as we sat in the intense Panamanian sun. We were also thankful to have JellyBean, who happily volunteered to bring
us food and snacks from the buffet! Our next tip is to do some investigating in
the days before your actual canal transit to find the best place to view the
locks from your particular ship. By talking with crew members, we learned
about observation areas that were not immediately obvious to us, including an
adults-only private retreat area that could be reserved for an additional fee and an observation
area that was not listed on our daily schedule. Our fifth tip is to give some consideration to
what time you want to get to your viewing spot. During our cruise, there were very few people
at the observation deck before sunrise. However, just half an hour later, the
same location was noticeably more crowded. And about 20 minutes after
that – as the ship passed under the Atlantic Bridge – the
area was standing-room only. Interestingly, after our ship passed
through the first of the three locks, the crowds decreased dramatically as passengers
started getting ready for their shore excursions. So, if you’re not planning
to go on a shore excursion and you really don’t care about seeing
the first lock, you can avoid the crowds by waiting until your ship gets to the second
and third locks or by waiting until your ship completes the return transit – if you’re doing
a partial transit – later in the afternoon. As a bonus, during our cruise,
parts of the observation decks were shaded during the ship’s return transit. Our next tip is to be aware that
each set of locks has its own webcam. If you have access to the internet while on board, try to catch a screenshot of your
ship as it passes through the locks. We’ve linked to the webcam
site in the description below. Our seventh tip is to head to the back of the ship as soon as you’ve reached Gatun Lake to see
all three locks from a different perspective. After spending so much time looking “up” at the
locks, it was interesting to look “down” at them. Finally, our last tip is to
ask the ship’s photographers where they’ll be setting up to take passenger
photos with the locks in the background. In addition to getting your photo taken by
the photographers, we also recommend taking your own photos with the locks, just in case
the professional photo isn’t to your liking.
