Surprisingly, there is no stopping of the ship in or near the canal. It's a no parking zone! Too many security risks, especially for cruise ships. So, we have to experience the whole canal from the ship. Plus, it actually only takes a hour to go up the first 3 locks, a few hours to cross Gatun Lake, then an hour to go down the last 3 locks. We're in, up, across, down & out in about 6 or 7 hours.
Our ship is so big that there is less than 2 feet of space at between the ship & the canal wall on either side. The bridge is unable to see the canal walls so 8 small train-like engines have to tie on to the 4 corners of us and guide us through the locks. It's pretty cool....
On our way from the Pacific in to the first locks.
Entering the first lock One of the little engines that will steer us
Following a Princess Ship through Fun with Grampa
The locks
The lock walls just inches from our window
Construction underway of the new canal locks
Can you see how close the ship is to the side of the canal? Inches!
Tight fit!
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