Way back in 1994, years before we were married, Sue and Dan embarked on their very first cruise. It was a15 Day Panama Canal voyage aboard the original Sky Princess. Our cruising life was launched. Today, 31 years later, marks our 63rd cruise aboard a Princess ship, this time the Island Princess (we have several journeys with other cruise lines, but 63 on Princess).
Today we will travel the 51-mile waterway from the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. through the original locks of the canal. The original locks are 33.5 meters (110 ft) wide and allow the passage of Panamax ships such as the Island Princess. A third, wider lane of locks was opened in 2016 to allow transit of larger, Neopanamax ships. We’ve made this transit a number of times over the years, but the mechanics and sheer ingenuity of the canal never ceases to instill a sense of wonder.
We picked up our Canal Pilot outside the breakwater of the Cristobal Harbor just before 7AM and proceeded under the concrete girder, cable-stayed guardian of the entrance, the Atlantic Bridge. We were joined by tugboats as we made our way to first set of locks, the Gatun. Upon entering the locks, we were met by our 8 mules. The mules are electric trains that secure and guide the ship through the locks, keeping it centered and providing braking control. Forward motion through the locks is via ship power. Once secured we were raised 85ft through a series of 3 locks and exited into the freshwater Gatun Lake.
We spent the next 3 hours traversing 21 miles across the lake before passing under the Centennial Bridge, part of the Pan-American Highway system, and entered our second set of locks, the Pedro Miguel. Once connected to the mules, we were lowered 31ft and exited to the Miraflores Lake and finally the Miraflores locks and lowered 54ft to the Port of Balboa. The entire transit time from entering the 1st lock to exiting the last was just under 12 hours. We passed under the majestic arched Bridge of the Americas and on into the Pacific Ocean just as the sun was setting.
Random photos from today’s transit may appear truncated. Click photo for full view.
