Crossing the Panama Canal

Two months after our first cruise we saw a deal that we couldn't pass up - a 14-day cruise through the Panama Canal.  The timing and itinerary were perfect - starting the cruise in San Diego and ending in fort Lauderdale in April.  It was a smaller Holland America Line (HAL) ship - the Zaandam, a 2,000 passenger ship.  

I have been wanting to see the Panama Canal since I read the book,  "The Path Between The Seas - The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914" by David McCullough.  I am a big fan of David McCullough.  He has written some of the best books I have read:  The Great Bridge (about building of The Brooklyn Bridge), Truman (about President Harry Truman), 1776 (the United States Independence story), etc.  His books are detailed, and contains a lot of historical facts.  His writing style makes it easy to read a history book.

The Panama Canal is a waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  It reduces the time it takes for a ship to go from one to the other ocean without going all the way south to Cape Horn.  It is one of the most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken in history.  The French started building it in 1881 but ran out of money while many workers died working on the project.  The Americans took over in 1904 and opened it in 1914.  The Americans control the Panama Canal Zone until it handed over to Panama in 1977.

We took an early morning flight from Phoenix to San Diego.  I debated on taking a taxi, Uber or public bus to the cruise terminal.  I know where the cruise terminal is; it's not far from the airport. At the airport the HAL representative offered a ride on their bus to the cruise terminal for $36, a ridiculous amount.  I decided to ask an elderly representative at the Information Desk.  He said he you can take bus 992 to the cruise terminal.  It costs $2.50 in quarters.  Half price for seniors. In less than 20 minutes the bus driver dropped us right in front of the terminal.  A HAL representative met us and took our luggage.  If we had taken a taxi or shuttle van it would have costs us at least $20.

Just a few days before the cruise, HAL offered us an upgrade to a balcony room for $500 extra per person.  We took the upgrade.  A balcony allows us to sit outside the room and enjoy the views.  The cabin itself is slightly bigger than the one on an earlier cruise but it's still spacious.  It's almost the size of a 2 twin-bed hotel room.

Looking out from the balcony

A View of Downtown San Diego

Our first stop is Puerto Vallarta, a popular Mexican resort town on the Pacific Coast.  Many Americans like going there because it's next to the ocean and has cheap food and drinks.  We took a taxi with my friend Bill and his wife, Diana, to town.  It costs $5 per person.  We walked along the beach, where there are many shops and restaurants catering to tourists.  After a couple of hours we took a taxi back to the ship.

Next, we stop at another Mexican port town called Huatulco.  It's not popular among Americans but apparently, it is popular among Canadians.  I met a group of Canadians waiting to board a ferry to an island for snorkeling.  You have to take a taxi to go to town, which we didn't think it was worth it.  Again, we went back to the ship early.

Now comes the highlight of the cruise - the Panama Canal.  This is a special experience, from waiting your turn to entering the canal, being guided by the pilots, then being pulled by machines through the locks.  The Panama Canal Locks is a complex system of locks that lift and lower the ships so that it can traverse the canal.  Watching it happen is on a lot of people's bucket list.

Entering the Canal

The Centennial Bridge

Gatun Lake Locks

Passing through one of the locks

Passing another ship on the other side of the Gatun Locks

It took about 10 hours to go through the Canal.  We started very early in the morning, so much so that we ordered room service for breakfast.  HAL was very generous in baking special delicious Panama rolls for the passengers.  They were served on the 3rd level deck as well as other locations around the ship that have a nice view of the canal.  By the time we get to the Atlantic Ocean side it was already getting dark.

Our last stop after passing through the Panama Canal is Cartagena in Colombia.  I visited Cartagena in July 2022, after my trip to the Galapagos Islands.  This is a beautiful city by the Caribbean sea.  Here is my blog post on Cartagena and its colorful neighborhood of Getsamani.

The last leg of the cruise took us back to Fort Lauderdale.  We disembark on our own after breakfast.  Many passengers need help or help with transportation.  We called an Uber and in about 15 minutes we were at the Fort Lauderdale Airport.  We were able to get on an earlier flight to Atlanta, which means we have more time at the Delta SkyClub, before finishing the trip back to Phoenix.