Karen's Blog Post of the Panama Canal Cruise

Karen Gansel link to her blog:

Blog: New Fiction Writer
Post: January 2012 - Panama Canal Cruise
Link: http://karenfictionwriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/january-2012-panama-canal-cruise.html

Cruise Statistics

Cruise Statistics

Crystal Symphony "Between Two Seas" Cruise
Los Angles, CA USA to Miami, FL USA
via the Panama Canal
January 4 - 17, 2012


Distance Sailed on this Cruise
Los Angles, CA / Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - 815nm
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico / Caldera, Costa Rica - 1742nm
Caldera, Costa Rica / Panama Canal - 487nm
Panama Canal / Cartagena, Columbia - 270nm
Cartagena, Columbia / George Town, Grand Cayman - 640nm
George Town, Grand Cayman / Miami, FL - 650nm


Panama Canal Pilot Distance - 92nm


Total Distance Sailed: 4,696nm
Land Miles: 5,400


*(nm - Nautical Miles) conversion multiply nautical miles by 1.15


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad2

Day 15 - Arriving at Miami - Jan 17

Day 15 – Arriving at Miami (Tuesday, 2012-01-17)

Weather: Sunny, Warm, 20c+

As I write this post our ship is pulling into the Miami at 5:30am, we have been in a holding pattern just off the harbour, as we arrived at 2AM.

Karen and I had such a wonderful time these past two weeks, we saw so much and had a once in lifetime to transit the 99 year old Panama Canal.

Good by Crystal Symphony

Day 14 – At Sea - Jan 16

Day 14 – At Sea (Monday, 2012-01-16)

Weather: Cloudy, Hot and Humid, 22c+, HIGH WINDS and SEAS

We are still experiencing high waves and winds, the Promenade Deck has been closed, only now we are hitting the waves straight on, rather than off our Starboard side.

At 13:00EST we were 60km North of Havana, Cuba and still proceeding eastward to Miami, which is or disembarkation port for this cruise.

I think that a lot of people were disappointed that we bypassed Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, so the ship served free drinks to everyone before each dinner seating to keep things calm.

This will be the last post, as tomorrow we are getting off in Miami and heading for the airport. I would take another cruise, as this one has exceeded my expectations and this was an enjoyable vacation, as we (Karen and I) had do nothing. I would consider Crystal again, as it is a 6 star line and the service was excellent.

Once I am home and have a faster connection to the internet, I will post more photos from Columbia.

Day 13 – STOP BYPASS / CAYMAN ISLANDS - At Sea - Jan 15

Day 13 – STOP BYPASS / CAYMAN ISLANDS - At Sea (Sunday, 2012-01-15)

Weather: Cloudy, Hot and Humid, 28c+, GAIL FORCE WINDS

WEATHER ALERT: We are in a trade winds GAIL, with winds in excess of 80km, and wave heights of 30ft.

We arrived off Georgetown, Cayman Islands at 7:00EST, and entered into a holding pattern, which is a circle, no anchor drop.

The ship launched one tender craft to go a shore as Georgetown does not have a cruise ship dock. At 08:15 the Captain announced all tendering to shore was on hold, due to the high winds and waves. At 10am a decision was made to bypass the Cayman Islands, so the tendered returned and we set course for Miami, but at a reduced speed of 14knoots, so we would not arrive in advance of our schedule arrival time of 8am on Tuesday.

At 17:00 EST, we are 12 NM, off the extreme Western end of Cuba.

Day 12 – At Sea - Jan 14

Day 12 – At Sea (Saturday, 2012-01-14)

Weather: Sun, Hot and Humid, 30c+, GAIL FORCE WINDS

WEATHER ALERT: We are in a trade winds GAIL, with winds in excess of 80km, and wave heights of 25ft.

Ever since leaving the Panama Canal and being in the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean) we have had a drastic change in weather, the winds are now at Gail Force and the seas are very rough. The ship is holding course, and continuing on our route.

Once we left Cartagena, Columbia and cleared the harbour the wind and waves were on us again. In fact in the dining room which is one deck above the water line, a wave smashed into the window, but the glass is 3/4” thick and encased in a stainless steal frame, but it was a shock.

Tomorrow is our last stop in Georgetown, Cayman Islands.

Day 11 – Cartagena, Columbia - Jan 13

Day 11 – Cartagena, Columbia (Friday 2012-01-13)

Weather: Sun, Hot and Humid, 30c+

Our tour group visited historic Cartagena, Columbia today with a local guide, Billie, a knowledgeable and honest man. Travelling by motorboat, we visited the fishing village of Bocachica and explored the 18^th century San Fernando Fortress. Shaped like a horseshoe with an enclosed wall at one end, the thick stone fortress allowed the Spaniards to keep enemies at bay. We then continued by boat around several small islands to the remains of two more fortifications of Manzanillo and Santa Cruz of Castillo Grande both very old and well maintained.

By motor coach, we did a city overview tour starting with the Colombian emerald jewelry shops at Pierino Gallo which the women found intensively interesting and the men simply tried to hurry them out of as quickly as possible.

From there, we continued past the old walled city and into the picturesque Old Town with restored Spanish houses from the 18^th century painted gold and coral and including wooden colonial balconies. We finished the walk at Plaza Bolivar with a bronze statute of hero Simon Bolivar in the middle of the city square.

Once outside the walled city, we continued to the San Felipe Fortress built in 1536, which took 121 years to construct on top of a hill and still standing in excellent condition. The tour group had a minor revolt at that stop since we had no lunch and many were tired and cranky. We were among the six out of twenty-five passengers who toured the fort with its deep underground passages lined with cannon ports. Back at our ship, we said goodbye to our local guide, Billy and headed inside in search of food and cold refreshments.

Day 10 – Transit of the Panama Canal South to North - Jan 12

Day 10 – Transit of the Panama Canal South to North (Thursday, 2012-01-12)

Weather: Sun, Hot and Humid, 36c+, Moderate Winds +15kmh

Today was why Karen and I took this cruise, that was to experience a full transit of the 99 year old Panama Canal. I was up at 5:00am and secured my position on the Seabreeze Deck just below the bridge on the Starboard side at 5:45am. Sun was up at 6:45am, and there was a light breeze, the sun rise over the Pacific was impressive, just remember that the sun rises in the West, just kidding, Panama is orientated in such a way that you go from the South to the North in direction when you transit the Canal from Pacific to Atlantic.

Karen joined me around 9am, just as were entering the first set of locks at Miraflores, she was part of my security permitter to be established to ensure that I had a clear view of video and pictures (690+ images, 2+ hours of video was shot).

But was even more impressive is the skyline of Panama City, population 10million, it is called the Singapore of South America. I have never seen so many high rise buildings, all over 80 stories high. There is one that is 100+ stories with a curved roof starting at 80 stories on an enjoining building and then there is the one shaped like a giant green glass brill bit, also 80 stories. Panama is set this year to have an +8% GDP growth, the place is booming!!

Our passage of the canal cost about $260,000 US$, the canal can handle about 36 ships a day, and that is due to the one-way traffic restriction in the Gaillard Cut, more on this latter. What is key to the whole operation is the electric powered tow locomotives, these run on a cog wheel tracks and can pull any size ship and stop it on a dine as well, they climb 45% grades as though they weren't there, wait for the video clip.

Because Crystal Cruises books an guaranteed passage time slot, we move right into to the Miraflores Lock ahead of the other 20 ships anchored off the entrance, our ship carefully picked our way through the gauntlet to container and cargo ships. We were met first by the pilot boat bringing on the Canal Pilot, who would take charge of our transit. Once in the lock we are hooked up to the Tow Locomotives and they take over moving and stopping our ship as we transit through the two locks. We will gain 85ft to reach the level of Gatum Lake, these are the same locks which opened in August of 1913, even the design of the electric locomotives is the same, all of this is very impressive, in fact some is unbelievable.

One more single set of locks at Pedro Migual and we are at 85ft entering the 8 mile long (one way section) Gaillard Cut, which is very narrow, and can only accommodate ships in one direction, so they have time blocks 8am to 12noon Northbound 12noon to 4pm Southbound, etc.. It works and the Cut is a problem, but to widen it now would require moving 300,000,000tons of dirt, and shutting down the canal for 10 years – not happening.

After the cut you enter one of the largest man made lakes in the world – Gatum Lake, created by building a dam with the material from the Cut, the lake is fresh water, and is replenished by Panama's 200+ inches of rain a year, it is large and impressive.

The exit into the Atlantic Ocean is at Colon, and this is done in a three chamber lock called the Gatum Locks.

It took about 10+ hours to do the transit, if one had to travel via Cape Horn at the tip of South America add +21 days to the journey, the Panama Canal saves lots of time and makes Panama a very rich country in the process.

Day 9 - At Sea off the Coast of Panama - Jan 11

Day 9 – At Sea, off the coast of Panama (Wednesday, 2012-01-11)

Weather: Sun, Hot and Humid, 34c+

Today is another day at sea as we continue to head South down the Pacific Coasts of Costa Rica and Panama, tomorrow is the trip through the Panama Canal, and the main reason for taking this cruise.

At precisely at 8:00am, and we are now back on Eastern Standard Time (EST), there is an at sea rendezvous with our sister ship the Crystal Serenity. With everything else so far on this cruise this is a well planned operation, which included an “at sea photo op”, stagged by a PR firm hired by Crystal to capture the moment for some future publication or travel brochure. Just so you also know this was not a chance meeting, these cruises/routes are planned 2+ years in advance, this is a very well run cruise ship company with lots of technology including an on ship TV production studio with live programming - awesome!

This is how it went:

(Some notations: CY=Crystal Symphony. CS=Crystal Serenity)

CY is South Bound, CS is North Bound, we are 50km of the coasts of Costa Rica and on the border with Panama.

CY turns 180degrees to the Starboard side and North and reduces speed, CS turns West towards us and then returns to due North. Now both ships are Northbound, CS closes the ship to ship distance to one cable width or about 150m.

CS launches a high speed jet boat for MOB (Man Over Board) rescue from their Starboard side. This boat has the camera crew of three + one driver. They go out long and North, both ships maintain a slow 2knots plus the separation space. CS pulls ahead so we are now in staggered formation, cameras roll.

There are full signal pennants on both ships and everyone is on deck on both ships, CS plays music “we are the champions”, we play “its a wonderful world”, ships sound 4 blasts on the ships horns (and they are loud). Camera crews also work the ship as well as the photo op of one's self with the CS in the background is a must have, and at $39@ they will be big sellers on this ship for sure.

After the MOB boat is on board CS, CY, make a 180degree turn to Port and South, increase speed back to 21knots and we are on our way, CS resumes full power and its North course, whole process takes about 35 minutes. But the meeting of a “sister ship” at sea is a big thing and the CS is bigger, wider and has 999 passengers, we have 888 passengers on board this trip.

Well after that action packed event it is time for late breakfast in the Bistro followed by the continuation of the Speakers Series, this time it is Dr. Richard Detrich and the best viewing locations for the Panama Canal transit which is tomorrow at 5am.

After lunch another speaker is Dr. Robert Freedman who is taking on “US Policy in the Middle East – Part 2”, so far both of these sessions have been excellent.

Tomorrow is the Canal.

Day 8 – Puntarenas, Costa Rica - Jan 10

Day 8 – Puntarenas, Costa Rica (Tuesday, 2012-01-10)

Weather: Sun, Hot, 30c+, more humid in the PM

Arriving in the port of Caldera, Costa Rica, which is the container port on the Pacific Side of Costa Rica. Puntarenas is about 20km to the North of here and it is an island, a very narrow one.

We are both just glad to be off the ship after 3 days at sea not seeing another ship or having some time on shore to do stuff.

Anyway today is action packed, we are off the ship at 9am sharp and onto the bus for a 30 minute ride down the Panamanian Highway (Costa Rica #1) to Parque Aventura at Esparza. This will be our first experience on a zip line, and we did seven segments, one was 550m in length, and it is exhilarating. I could have repeated the lines, but back on the bus back to Caldera pier.

Changed over to the Puntarenas Shuttle bus for a 30 minute ride into Town, arriving around 2pm. This gave us time for lunch of fish and rice, which is a traditional Costa Rica lunch meal. Karen and I were here in 1993, but we could not fine the restaurant we eat in back them, anyway this place was local, no English, but we managed to get served have a Imperial Beer which is local.

We spent about 2 ½ hours exploring around town, including:

• Nuestra Senora el Carmen Church
• Mercado Municipal (which is very much like the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto), except this has more fresh fish and lots of exotic fruits and veggies.
• Paseo de las Touristas, which is a big walkway along the beach, lots of people, just a fun place.

The bus returned at 5pm, which was the LAST BUS!, back to the ship, we depart around 9pm tonight, for the Panama Canal (one day at sea to get there).

Karen and I said that we would return to Costa Rica, and we did, and it was a very positive experience as it was back in 1993.

 

What is of note the electric Railway is gone, very sad. Back in 1993 I had an entire set of narrow gage Germany made Electric Locomotives moved in a yard into the right photo position by just handing out Canadian Grain Elevator hats, it was a good way to reduce my collection of 60+ down to one or two. All of the electric lines are gone, there is no longer any freight or passenger service to Caldera. BUT!!!, the tracks are in place and there are railway cars here and there, even three in the outdoor museum in Puntarenas, OK reason for another visit, by car and more exploring.

Day 7 - At Sea - Jan 9

Day 7 – At Sea (Monday 2012-01-09)

At sea off the coast of Nicaragua (Leon)

Here is our current position as of 2012-01-09 / 16:34 CST / 22:34 GMT.

GPS WGS84 Base for reference

11.15.13N

088.17.78W

Off of the coast by about 100km

Speed: 17.8knots

Course: 115degrees

Water Depth: over 2,900ft

** SPOT is back on-line for about 2 hours around 12noon CST today **

This will be our last day at sea on this segment before we arrive in Costa Rica in the port of Caldera. Based on our present speed and distance to go of about 228nm, I expect that we will arrive sometime around 3:30AM.

We will be getting off here around 8am for a full day of zip lining adventures, what could possibly happen on this adventure stay tuned.

Today however, was Chili day at the Ledo Cafe, so they were serving typical Central American food which is a lot of rice and beans of course, but it was much more than that, they must have had 50 different dishes to try and 20 different deserts too.

Also spent a good part of the day on the sun deck and in the pool as well.

Ken and Karen at sea on the Pacific Ocean just south of 11degrees.

Day 6 - At Sea - Jan 8

 

Day 6 – At Sea (Sunday 2012-01-08)

At sea off the coast of Mexico

Here is our current position as of 2012-01-08 / 11:27 CST / 17:27 GMT.

GPS WGS84 Base for reference

15.18.567N

097.31.220W

Moving between WP6 and WP7 on their GPS NAV System

Off of Rajos de Chila by about 80km

Speed: 19knots

Course: 114.3 degrees

Water Depth: 3790ft over Middle American Trench

There is a flat screen 35” monitor on the Palm Court, which reproduces the Bridges GPS Navigation system, so I am using this for my location reports.

Around 3pm, we overtook a single mast sail boat heading South as well, reminds me of sailing with my Father some years past.

Later in the afternoon was the 3:30pm afternoon tea in the Palm Court and today's theme was Mozart, with so many people you could not hear the 4 piece orchestra, the tea was good and the cakes and pastries were out of this world, but that is what you would expect on a 6 star cruise line and a ship like the Crystal Symphony.

At 4:30pm, I went on a Galley Tour, the facility was spotless and it was very efficient in order to make meals for 800 passengers and 550 crew in 4 different restaurants, some of which operate 7/24 for the crew. There are 103 staff that work in food preparation and all of it is computerized from menus to the exact ingredients for each item served. They already have the next cruses food ordered so when we arrive in Miami they can load it abroad.

They have fresh water bunker tanks good for about 8 days, after that there are 2 desalinization systems to keep the fresh water level up.

The stats on food consumed is staggering, as is the 40,000 bottle wine collection, and I though I was doing a good job in keeping my 80 bottle cellar stocked, may need to expand this, to maybe 500 bottles, that is if I convert the darkroom over. The darkroom is planned to become a green screen video studio for ramping up video production.

Another sunset from our veranda with a glass of wine, what a way to spend ones time.

Tonight is Casual night on board, which I always look forward to, plus there is some interesting vegetarian items on tonight's menu as well.

Ken and Karen at sea on the Pacific Ocean just south of 13degrees.

Day 5 - At Sea - Jan 7

Day 5 – At Sea (Saturday 2012-01-07)

We will be at sea now for the next three days enroute to Costa Rica.

I can report that as of this morning there are now signs of DCS, and there is no pooling of blood in my lungs or stiffness in my joints which are some of the signs.

So Karen and are taking it easy today, and sending some time on the sun deck, as I don't want to come back without a tan.

The internet from the ship is by Martime Telecommunications Network (or IMARSAT), so it is very slow, as a result we can't publish any photos to the blog. One solution is to reduce the image size before publishing – working on it..

Too much steal is block my SPOT satellite transmissions as well, again I am working on a solution to this.

We have relocated to table 80 in the Crystal Restaurant and have 4 others at our table, a couple from California and one from Florida, so lots of interesting discussions on US economics and politics, make for some interesting conversations.

Day 4 – JAN 6 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Day 4 – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Friday 2012-01-06)

Today we are arriving at 12noon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, this will be a 5 hour shore stop, and the Ship will use tenders to get us to shore, as we there is no pier to accommodate cruise ships. The Disney Ship Wonder is also in port as well.

I went Scuba Diving in Cabo and Karen went on a land/sea tour of the area.

Karen's Tour:

The tour started out on a small catamaran which took us around Land's End, the southernmost point of Cabo. The golden sand and rock formations with an prominent arch was the main point of interest. We then boarded three motor coaches which took us along the scenic coast and up the cliffs to Misiones del Cabo Hotel. At the Sunrise on Mona Lisa Restaurant, we spread out across the manicured sand and rocks on comfortable lounge chairs to watch the fish and seals in the bay. The perfect blue skies and warm sun made for a pleasant afternoon.

Ken's Scuba Adventure

There were only 2 others plus on crew member who went scuba diving in Cabo, with Cabo Adventures. I brought my own equipment, except for the BCD, which was a mistake. The BCD was missing the rear pull for the rear valve which would prove to be an almost fatal mistake. The water visibility was very poor, one could only see about 10ft due to all the sand turbulence and so many boats going back and forth along the shore.

I dove down to about 79ft and there was a fantastic underwater wall with sand falling over it like a water fall. The group started back up to 39ft after about 17 minutes of being underwater. I ran in to my problem at that point when I started to raise and was unable to release air from my BCD, even after pulling on all release valves, but remember there was not “pull” on the rear valve, it was missing. This BCD was almost the same as mine so I was very familiar with this equipment. I ended up on the surface in one minute, without my safety stop at 15ft for 3minutes. I did bubble out the on the fast ride to the surface, and my dive computer want into “emergency”, but there was not much I could do to stop the rapid assent. I was about 300ft from the dive boat and my concern was DCS and my own safety of being run over by all the boats and watercraft that have no regard to swimmers and divers. I made it back to the dive boat.

I am very lucky not to have had a serious medical issue and so far no signs of DCS, it would have effected me right away and within a 12 hour period.

I would never recommend this dive organization or this location, and note to file NEVER use rental shop equipment in Mexico. My local dive shop warned me ablaut this before we took this cruise.

I rested up in the evening, and can report that I am back to my normal self, having escaped a near death experience on my 63^rd dive, I think everyone has had one of these in their dive experiences.

Day 3 - Jan 5 - At Sea

Day 3 – At Sea (Thursday 2012-01-05)

A very restful night, one can hardly tell this ship is moving, it is at 23knots or about 22MPH.

Not up too early, we are retired and on vacation, and my new attitude is that I really don't care that much about anything.

I was nice the have breakfast in the dinning room and watch the sea pass by, we are about 45km off the Baja Coast of Mexico at present. You can see some shoreline mountains in the haze, but that is about it.

.

Tonight is our first Formal dress night for dinner.

Tomorrow we will be in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and my first scuba diving adventure on this trip.

More (now at sea)

Day 2 - Jan 4 - Los Angles, CA

Day 2 – Los Angles (Wednesday 2012-01-04)

This is the day we get on board our first ever Cruise Vacation, here are the details:

Line: Crystal

Ship: Crystal Symphony Built in 1995, refurbished in 2005 and 2009

Size: 52,000 tons

Passengers: 800

Crew: 560

This is considered a “mid size” ship which is just fine by me, I was not planning to travel with 2,500+ passengers as I have an inversion to crowds.

The plan was to return to the airport and meet up with the Crystal agents and be transferred to the ship. There was another couple from St. Catharines on the cruise as well, Neil and Rosemary. Neil had left his reading glasses behind at the hotel, so with a quick cell call back to the hotel for them they were dispatched on the next hotel shuttle bus to the airport. Anyway I am sure we will see them again on the voyage.

Karen and I were on the first shuttle bus, the Canadian bus, as this was maily the group that came in on the first flight from Toronto at 10:20am.

The cruise terminal is South LA (San Pedro), it too was a massive operation, with our ship and two more in dock. One was the Golden Princess with 3,000 on board and the Cunard Queen Victoria (a smaller ship, maybe smaller then ours).

You go through a similar process like at an airport, baggage is x-rayed and you go through a metal detector. Once on board you get a photo-id card which is a replacement for one's passport and money, novel idea.

We had lunch on board on the Lido deck, you have to wait to 3pm before you can get to your stateroom. Our room is on deck 9 right at the bow of the ship on Starboard side, with a very nice large balcony, I chose this room for the best photo opportunity for the Panama Canal passage. We had a late dinner in the Crystal Dining Room, and they had a number off vegetarian options on the menu.

Tonight we will change time zones, moving from Pacific time to US Mountain time or -7 off GMT.

We are doing a spot check-in every day around the noon hour local time so check on our location them.

More (now at sea)

Day 1 – Jan 3 - Toronto to Los Angles

Day 1 – Toronto to Los Angles (Tuesday 2012-01-03)

We departed from Niagara-on-the-Lake at 8:00am, and was cold -10c, but bright sunshine, so a good day for flying.

Our flight leaving from Toronto (AC#799) was delayed in departing by a hour, this was because half the travellers were still being processed through US Customs, it appears that only half of them did not show up for work, they must think this was a holiday or something, any way with a NIXUS card our time was 3 minutes to get through the process and skipping the long lines.

Los Angles was great as always, sunny and 23c, California is the place to be (or live), too bad it is so far away from Eastern Canada, but I would prefer this area to Florida any day. However, the airport is a bit of a zoo, but it is a big airport, there were two of Quantas's A380 double level jumbo jets on the tarmac.

We stayed over our first nigh in LA at the Marriott LAX (Century Blvd.), only because that ensured we were in the LA in time for our cruise departure on the next day, in the event our flight was delayed (and it was). This hotel must have had over 2,000 rooms, it was enormous. I did find out that a German Motorcycle group use this hotel as a starting point for Route 66 (West to East), memo to file, next years trip.

Getting ready to go - Our Ship

Getting Ready to go!!

This is the ship that we will be on, the Crystal Symphony

Departing from Los Angeles, California on Jan 4th, 2012 and returning to Miami, Florida on Jan 17, 2012.