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Day 6- Cruising the Panama Canal

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Day 6 Cruising the Panama Canal

Sunset Photo by Judy Z

Unlike a dedicated Panama Canal Cruise, where the transit is the main event, this time it is simply another wonder of the world amongst dozens of other wonders.

Nevertheless, it is still spectacular and something to see, but unlike shorter cruises, prime viewing space is easily available and you don’t have the crowding you may see on a classic Canal Cruise.

Clocks were advanced one hour, so we lost an hour of sleep and combined with all the excitement, late nights and early mornings of the first week of this voyage, we decided to sleep in a bit and enjoy the canal from the view available on our deck. The weather was remarkably mild and quite pleasant. We did miss the Panama rolls that were available until 8am. We will try and get up earlier on our next transit thru the Canal in May on our way back to San Diego.

There was also something called a “Crocodile Swim” They poured a bucket of canal water into the Sea View pool and you were required to swim the length of the pool while imitating a crocodile. We envisioned they would toss in inflatable crocodiles instead of having the guests imitate a croc, but Oh Well…. maybe they will repeat during the Canal trip in May and we can take part. Certificates were awarded.

GWV-LogoThe bow was open and we took advantage of the nice weather and great viewing spot. We noticed a nice big logo under the Bridge marking the 2016 Grand World Voyage. It was popular photo spot.

 

 

mirafloresWhile passing thru the Miraflores locks you sail right next to the multi-story museum/viewing platform which was filled with people cheering our arrival. Very nice.

 

 

We passed thru the Queens Lounge right when Bingo was supposed to start at 4pm. There were only about 10 people present. We learned that they need at least 20 people to hold a Bingo Game and if 10 people didn’t arrive in the next 15 minutes, this would make the 3rd consecutive Bingo game cancelled.

The casino remains dead. The only consistent action is the Texas Holdem game. We have yet to see more than 2 people playing blackjack at the same time or more than 3 people at any table game (except Texas Holdem)

We anchored off Fuerte Amador about 5pm, 3 hours earlier than anticipated, and they starting tendering about 6pm, with the last tender leaving at 11pm SHARP – with a lot of emphasis on SHARP. Tendering starts again at 6am tomorrow.

panama-hatsTonight was Panama Hat night. We each received one placed at our table. A nice touch and we enjoyed wearing them for a bit. The waiters began to stack them on their heads as people left theirs behind after dinner.

 

 

Harp

Tonight’s Show was Harpist Shirley Dominguez who was quite good and entertaining. She played a variety of tunes, while standing and dancing, on her red electric harp.

We are planning to catch the 6:45 AM tender to start our private tour at 7:30

 

This entry was posted in 2016 Grand World Voyage, Central America, Panama, Panama Canal

5 thoughts on “Day 6- Cruising the Panama Canal

  • Melissa January 11, 2016 at 4:27 pm Reply

    Make sure you don’t miss the Panama rolls next time. Those are some pretty exceptional little treats. I would have missed having one (or maybe three – lets be real here) if my Mom was not cruising with me and made me go try one. Yum!

    • The Inside Cabin January 16, 2016 at 6:42 am Reply

      Thanks for the tip!

  • Nicholas Sabalos January 11, 2016 at 7:19 pm Reply

    Thank you for this extraordinary blog about an extraordinary journey!

  • Anne February 19, 2016 at 7:39 pm Reply

    I love the Traveling Christmas Tree and will be shamelessly stealing this idea. My husband has recently retired and we are beginning our traveling adventures. Thanks for your blog.

    • The Inside Cabin February 19, 2016 at 9:29 pm Reply

      Glad you like the idea. Thanks for the comment!

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