My question is regarding the ship's itinerary. I know that the itinerary says that the ship enters the Panama Canal at Cristobal, and I have now found out that the ship does not actually exit the Canal at the Pacific Ocean, but rather it cruises the Canal and enters Gatun Lake and then exits the Canal again at Cristobal. My question is... Does the ship ever enter the locks of the Panama Canal?
I look forward to a knowledgeable response.
Thank you.
~ John N.
I think (I could be wrong) that it needs to go through a set of locks in order to reach the lake, I think the lake is at the halfway point.
You can find a map of the Canal here, which does show a set of locks prior to entering the lake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_locks#/media/File:Panama_Canal_Map_EN.png
You can find a map of the Canal here, which does show a set of locks prior to entering the lake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_locks#/media/File:Panama_Canal_Map_EN.png
BDRebel...Thanks very much for your reply. This is exactly what I was hoping to receive!
~ John
Yes, it does. I took that itinerary on the Zuiderdam (favorite cruise so far). The ship approaches the locks VERY early in the morning (like 4am) and people already start to gather on deck to view the locks. It is pretty cool once you are in the locks--you're so close to the walls that you can touch them if you are on your balcony. Of course, I went through the old locks, your ship may go through the new ones. Either way, once the ship is in the the Lake, passengers can only get off if they have book an excursion. Enjoy!
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