The Inside Cabin

Day 6, Transit the Panama Canal

by | Jan 9, 2018 | 2018 Grand World Voyage, Central America, Panama, Panama Canal | 2 comments

  1. The Journey Begins – The 2018 Grand World Voyage
  2. Leaving San Diego for Fort Lauderdale
  3. Arriving in Fort Lauderdale and our first day
  4. Fort Lauderdale – Day 2
  5. Day 1 – The Adventure Begins
  6. Day 2 – Our First Sea Day – Abba Fabulous!
  7. Day 3, Georgetown, Grand Cayman
  8. Day 4, At Sea En Route Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica
  9. Day 5, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
  10. Day 6, Transit the Panama Canal
  11. Day 7, Fuerte Amador, Panama
  12. Day 8, At Sea
  13. Day 9, At Sea
  14. Day 10, At Sea
  15. Day 11, At Sea
  16. Day 12, At Sea
  17. Day 13, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  18. Day 14, At Sea, Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  19. Day 15, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  20. Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
  21. Day 17, At Sea
  22. Day 18, Avatoru, Rangiroa, French Polynesia
  23. Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
  24. Day 20, Mooera, French Polynesia
  25. Day 21, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
  26. Day 22 – At Sea
  27. Day 23, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
  28. Day 24, At Sea
  29. Day 25 – Alofi, Niue
  30. Day 26 – At Sea – Crossed Dateline – Jan 29th GONE!
  31. Day 27 – At Sea
  32. Day 28 – At Sea
  33. Day 29 – Auckland, NZ
  34. Day 30 – Tauranga – 3 Feb 2018
  35. Day 31 – Napier
  36. Day 32, At Sea – Super Bowl Monday
  37. Day 33, Port Chalmers, Dunedin
  38. Day 34, Fjordlands National Park – Milford Sound
  39. Day 35 – At Sea – Enroute Sydney
  40. Day 36 – At Sea
  41. Day 37 – Sydney, Australia
  42. Day 38 – Sydney, Australia
  43. Day 39 – At Sea
  44. 2020 World Cruise Possibilities
  45. Day 40, Hobart, Tasmania
  46. Day 41, At Sea
  47. Day 42, At Sea
  48. Day 43 – Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
  49. Day 44 – Adelaide, South Australia
  50. Day 45 – At Sea
  51. Day 46 – At Sea
  52. Day 47 – Albany, Western Australia
  53. Day 48 – 21 Feb Perth
  54. Day 49 – Perth Yarn Crawl
  55. Day 50 – At Sea
  56. Day 51 – At Sea
  57. Day 52 – At Sea
  58. Day 53 – Benoa, Bali
  59. Day 54 – Benoa – Bali
  60. Day 55 – At Sea
  61. Day 56 – At Sea
  62. Day 57 – At Sea
  63. Day 58, Puerto Princesa
  64. Day 59, – At Sea
  65. Day 60, Manila, Philippines
  66. Day 61, Manila, Philippines
  67. Day 62 – At Sea
  68. Day 63 – Hong Kong
  69. Day 64, Hong Kong
  70. Day 65 – At Sea
  71. Day 66 – At Sea
  72. Day 67 – Phu My, Vietnam
  73. Day 68 – Siem Reap (ms Amsterdam at Sea)
  74. Day 69 – Siem Reap
  75. 2020 World Cruise – w/detailed dates
  76. Day 70 – Singapore
  77. Day 71 – At Sea
  78. Day 72 – Phuket
  79. Day 73 – At Sea
  80. Day 74 – At Sea – Enroute to Sri Lanka
  81. Day 75 – Columbo, Sri Lanka
  82. Day 76 – At Sea – Enroute to the Seychelles
  83. Day 77 – At Sea
  84. Day 78 – At Sea
  85. Day 79 – Victoria, Seychelles
  86. Day 80 – At Sea
  87. Day 81 – At Sea
  88. Day 82 – St Denis – Reunion Island
  89. Day 83 – At Sea
  90. Day 84 – At Sea
  91. Day 85 – At Sea
  92. Day 86 – Maputo – Safari Day 1
  93. Day 87 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 2
  94. Day 88 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 3
  95. Day 89 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 4
  96. Day 90 – Cape Town, South Africa
  97. Day 91, Cape Town, South Africa
  98. Day 92 – At Sea
  99. Day 93, Walvis Bay, Namibia
  100. Day 94 – At Sea
  101. Day 95 – At Sea
  102. Day 96 -Luanda, Angola
  103. Day 97 – At Sea
  104. Day 98 – At Sea
  105. Day 99 – Crossing the Equator
  106. Day 100 – At Sea
  107. Day 101 – At Sea
  108. Day 102 – Banjul, Gambia
  109. Day 103 – Dakar, Senegal
  110. Day 104 – At Sea
  111. Day 105, Praia – Cape Verde
  112. Day 106 – At Sea
  113. Day 107 – At Sea
  114. Day 108 – At Sea
  115. Day 109 – At Sea – April 23, 2018
  116. Day 110 – At Sea
  117. Day 111 – San Juan, Puerto Rico
  118. Day 112 – At Sea
  119. Day 113 – At Sea
  120. Day 114 – Fort Lauderdale
  121. 2018 World Cruise Entertainers

Panama Canal

Today we will transit through the Panama Canal.  It’s always exciting to watch this engineering marvel in action.  The new, wider locks are open and in service, but we will be using the original locks.

We arrived at the Gatun locks at 7 am and would spend the next 90 minutes going thru the various locks until we sailed into Gatun Lake where we would spend most of the day.

One advantage of transiting the Panama Canal on the World Cruise is that all the viewing spots around the ship, normally packed on a normal Panama Canal Cruise, are virtually empty.  I wandered up to the Crows Nest around 8 am and there were still prime window seats available and all the extra chairs set up on the dance floor were unused.

I wanted to check out the other prime viewing spots to check on the crowds (or lack thereof).  On the way to the bow, I passed thru the Lido which had a normal breakfast crowd and there were still plenty of window seats available.  Walking out onto the bow, there were about 20 people there and about 20-30 or so up on the 6th level observation deck.

Panama Canal Rolls!

The famous Panama Canal Rolls – Recipe HERE – were available at most viewing venues until 9 AM.  If anyone missed the Panama Canal Rolls, they will reappear as Sydney Opera House Rolls, Hong Kong Rolls and probably a few other harbor rolls before this cruise is over.   I sampled one on the bow and they were as tasty as always.

Serving rolls, coffee and juice on the bow

Panama Canal Roll

Texas Hold’em

Good game for me today as I finished in the money (second) for the first time this cruise.

Pinnacle Grill Lunch

The Pinnacle Grill is open for lunch – $10 is the normal charge before any mariner discounts.  The service is always fantastic, and the menu has a lot of nice choices.  Highly recommended for a nice change of pace.

We hosted Abba Fab for lunch today in the Pinnacle Grill along with our friends from Table 52 on the 2016 cruise.  The same people who perform Abba Fab will also be performing their show called “The Piano Men” this evening, which features the music of Billy Joel and Elton John.

Miraflores Locks

The Miraflores locks would be our final set of locks today before we entered the Pacific Ocean.  I always enjoy these locks the most because they occur later in the day (no early morning wakeup) and the Canal’s main visitor center is here so you always have a crowd of people cheering and waving as you pass buy.  As we were waiting to clear these locks we could see other ships using the new locks to our west, but there was small rise between our location and the other ships so all we could see from our vantage point was the upper parts of the other ships and the control tower that operates the new locks.

Selfie at the Locks

 

Visitor Center Guests

Anchoring

The Amsterdam dropped her anchor around 6pm or so and started to run tenders around 7pm.  Based on the crowds and the shows and in the dining room, I don’t think that many people chose to go ashore this evening.  Tenders will run until 1 am and start again at 6 AM tomorrow morning.

Dinner

The food on the cruise continues to be exceptional with every meal to date being wonderful.  Tonight Judy and I had the Grilled Kingfish with Roasted Corn Salsa.  Our service is exceptional and even though we are at a table for 10, we are usually finished in about 90 minutes.

The Piano Men

Terry Davies performs in Abba Fab but he takes center stage for the groups presentation of “The Piano Men”, a tribute to the music of Elton John and Billy Joel.  They play all the favorites including a very nice rendition of “Circle of Life”.  A special treat was a performance by Nick of a Billy Joel favorite – We Didn’t Start the Fire” where he updated the lyrics to include more recent historical references.   You will find Abba Fab and The Piano Man performing on a variety of different cruise lines and land venues.  If you ever have a chance to catch their show live – don’t miss it.

Terry Davies – The Piano Man

Kat

“The Piano Men” performing

Nick Davies

2 Comments

  1. Ron and Jane Raifsnider
    Ron and Jane Raifsnider on January 14, 2018 at 5:36 am

    We were on the 2017 Grand World, so we are enjoying your daily observations and comments. And, although we have sailed 400 nights with HAL, we find we can always learn something new through the experiences of others. For instance, it has never occurred to us to invite performers to lunch in the Pinnacle. We have invited various officers and staff to our regular dinner table but not the Pinnacle . . . Great idea!

    We also enjoyed seeing Presty in your first post. He took such good care of us last year. We miss him.

    Reply
    • The Inside Cabin
      The Inside Cabin on January 14, 2018 at 8:20 am

      Yes, inviting folks to lunch in the Pinnacle had proven to be a winner. A more casual vibe than dinner. Plus some performers are booked for dinner on all nights as soon as they appear on the ship.

      Presty is a superstar. The entire dining room experience is exceeding our high expectations…

      Reply

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