Locked In: What It's Like Transiting The Panama Canal

LOCKS, LAKES, AND LOGISTICS

If you've been following my Peru adventure, you know I started my cruise and just left Ecuador. Here's where and what I'm up to now:

The Panama Canal has always intrigued me. My mom used to talk about wanting to sail through the locks. It wasn't very high on my personal bucket list but after she passed away, it rose in meaning. I also wanted to see Machu Picchu so combined the two into this trip.

WHY I CHOSE THIS VOYAGE

Another reason I booked this particular voyage on Silversea was that it offered a day in Panama City before the all-day transit through the canal. I wanted to see a bit of Panama City and see some of the locks and its operation from the land. I had a morning excursion to the Miraflores locks with a scenic drive around the city and outlying areas en route to the canal area.

MORE ABOUT THE LOCKS

There are 6 locks that encompass the original lock system of the canal. 3 on the Pacific side and 3 on the Caribbean/Atlantic side. The newer locks (finished in 2016) run parallel to the original ones and accommodate much larger ships with more automation than the original ones. You can generally see ships transiting these first locks at 10am and again at 2pm. Our excursion started with a 45-minute movie about the construction of the locks and was fascinating. We then headed outside to observe a ship passing through.

Cruise Tip: Larger cruise ships may pass through the new locks which are still interesting, but if you're set on a passage through the original locks, it's best to book on a smaller vessel. While some cruise lines may know for certain which set of locks they'll transit through, ultimately it is up to the Canal Port Authority. The exception is if the ship is simply too large to "fit" in the original locks; you'll certainly transit through the newer locks in this case.

DOWNTOWN PANAMA CITY DETOUR

Once back on the ship I hooked up with one of the other solo passengers, Katherine, and we took the ship's shuttle bus into downtown Panama City. She wanted a pedicure and I wanted a supermarket with a pharmacy. I was trying to find a washcloth and maybe some more face cream as I still hadn't fully figured out my skin issue at that point. The newer part of the city was a ghost town. Most of the downtown, with all its high-rise buildings, are actually residential. Like 60-70%.

In the area we got dropped off at (at a huge shopping mall), the surrounding streets were deserted. I walked around a bit after scoring my washcloth but headed back into the mall as the empty streets were freaking me out! It was too much effort to get to the old part of Panama City so we just returned on the free shuttle back to the ship. Had a lovely al fresco lunch with a few other solo ladies, then it was time for bingo and trivia!

EARLY MORNING CANAL PREP

I ordered room service that evening as I wanted to go to bed early. We were going to be getting underway around 5am to position ourselves for entering the first lock by 7:30am. I watched the sunrise from my balcony then got dressed and up to the observation lounge on deck 10 to find a seat in front of the ship, but in a comfy chair in the airconditioned lounge. Katherine, one of my solo friends, had saved me a seat right up front so I was set. It was fascinating watching the process unfold in front and around you. We have locks in Seattle of course, but this operation was on a much grander scale and just knowing that this was all built in the 1910s, was amazing. There were electric powered "mules" that ran along tracks on either side of the locks that held the guidewires to control the position of the ships. With only a couple feet and sometimes mere inches to spare on either side, these guidewires are critical.

There were conductors on these mules (looked like tiny train locomotives) and they communicated with one another with bells to signify whether one side needed to take up or let out more slack. There were two mules per side, one in front and one in back. The newer locks don't have these mules. Tugboats are used to guide and keep the ships positioned while in the lock chambers, which are also much wider in comparison to the original lock chambers. The original locks have gates similar to the locks in Seattle where they swing out and back to open and close, tucking themselves away against the chamber walls. In contrast, the newer locks have gates that retract horizontally into the chamber wall so looks like an elevator door opening and closing.

CALEBRA CUT AND GATUN LAKE

After passing through 2 lock chambers at Miraflores, we sailed through the Calebra Cut towards a third lock at Pedro Miguel. The Calebra Cut is a narrow passage through what was a mountain range and out into what is now the manmade Gatun Lake. It was the most challenging and deadly portion of the build back in the day, starting with the French in the late 1800s and for the Americans who finished the canal in the early 1900s. They used a lot of dynamite but that made the hillsides unstable so many landslides caught workers by surprise. The Americans put in railway tracks to haul out the earth they needed removed.

The tracks and other equipment no longer needed are still down below, buried under 100s of feet of water once the dam was finished and the area flooded. The French were planning on trying to make a canal all at sea level. The Americans switched up the design entirely to leverage water (damming the river to create a huge lake and raise the water level so as to not have to dig down and excavate as much). They still dredge the cut today to ensure it stays deep enough to let the ships pass safely.

LUNCH BREAK AND TIME-LAPSE CAPTURE

Gatun Lake is huge. It took a few hours to sail through it (granted we were going slow) and you can see many different types of vessels just hanging out waiting for their turn to proceed through the locks - either on the Pacific or Caribbean side. There is a hierarchy and it mostly revolves around money of course. Passenger ships have priority and they pay a pretty penny for that privilege. Just before passing through the 3rd Pacific lock and into the lake, I decided to give up my seat in the lounge to go grab some lunch and check out the vantage points from other parts of the ship.

Just as we were moving into the 4th of 6 locks, these on the Caribbean side near Colon Panama, I popped back up to the observation lounge. I wanted a time lapse video. I set my phone up on the base of one of the large windows and let it run for a couple hours. Got a great 23-second video and have it out on YouTube in case you want to watch it. Time lapse through the 3 Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal

Cruise Tip: To capture a full time-lapse of the canal transit—including all six locks—you’ll need to leave your phone untouched for several hours. The observation lounge is usually the best spot: it offers a wide, forward-facing view and protection from the elements. Lean your phone securely against a window so it's out of the way.

Before the transit begins, open your camera app, go to Video mode, then select Time-lapse. Set your phone in place, make sure it’s fully charged, and confirm you have enough storage. Once it’s recording, don’t touch it—any movement will disrupt the video. You won’t be able to use your phone for photos, messages, or anything else during the transit, so plan accordingly. If that’s too much of a trade-off, consider filming a shorter segment instead.

SOLO GROUP UPDATE AND ONBOARD ILLNESS

RE: the solos. We didn't lose anyone from our core group, but picked up a couple new solos in Panama as that was sold as a separate segment of the cruise - ending in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Right around the time we left Panama we were told that there was an outbreak of a gastro-intestinal illness on board affecting crew and passengers. They never said Norovirus but that's what it sounded like. They put in extra protocols for proper hygiene and sanitation, even quarantining if need be.

They sadly cancelled all the S.A.L.T. cooking classes so I was glad to have participated in 2 up to that point (had 4 total reserved so missed out on 2). They also removed all the puzzles and game boards from one of the lounges and locked the door to the library. They never stopped bingo though which I found odd, seeing as talk about a high touch activity with the cardboard game boards. It all seemed rather arbitrary but they were trying. At the one venue that had a buffet set up for breakfast and lunch, they no longer allowed you to serve yourself. But, they still had serving tongs sitting there pointed outward. You needed to wait for a uniformed staff member to serve you. This caused much confusion the first couple days but all seemed sorted by the end of the cruise.

Honestly, I think all buffets on every ship should be set up to NOT be self-serve. Much more hygienic that way. My Alaskan cruise last year on Holland America didn't allow you to serve yourself at the buffet and I really appreciated that.

LOOKING AHEAD

Thankfully none of us solos got sick, except the guy from Seattle, on the last night. I'm sure he didn't have a pleasant flight home. But, it's not time for the cruise to end yet - we still have two more ports left, Colombia and Aruba. Check out my next blog post to continue sailing with me.