My wife, daughter and I had the great opportunity to go on (or is it through) the Panama Canal recently. It took us over 7 hours to go those few miles, so we had ample time to see it from various parts of the ship. Ruby preferred the kids pool on the top floor in the aft view. The couple things that really stood out to me. #1 There are 100's of ships waiting out at sea to go through the canal. Was not expecting that. Basically, if you have cash you get to the front. Our ship's toll was $360,000 to make the trek.
#2 The bridges were almost more of a showstopper than the locks. I mean the locks are a cool, but there are three bridges that cross the canal so automobiles can get around the country. One at each end and another in the middle. Bridges are just so cool to go under when in big ship. (We started this trip in San Francisco so got to go under an iconic bridge there also!) #3 Those are the tops of the mountains and hills, not islands. At least they once were, until they released the dam water and created what we know as Gatun Lake. The middle of the trip was so amazing looking at the greenery, wildlife, and other ships crossing. The canal is so much more than the locks. #4 We started the journey from westside and crossed to the eastside, but the whole time we were going Northwest. If you know geography this was a mind-numbing thing to wrap your brain around. Look at a map and the direction of the canal.
This was just one day of our 18 Princess Cruises trip and was the main selling point of the trip. I am glad it was towards the end of the cruise because it did feel a bit down hill from here! Either way I would do it again and continue to soak in our world.
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