I Love the Little Fishies. Don't You?

[tiggrbaby]

Oh, your pictures brought back nice memories for me! Your shots at La Popa were lovely. Nice score on the emerald!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm glad you found your emerald! And at a bargain price too. What will you do with it?


Cartagena really reminds me of Puerto Rico. I'm glad you saw all that you wanted and enjoyed it enough to go back.

I can't believe the tour was 2 hours late


Your blue dress is beautiful, and I absolutely love that pendant.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

How amazing to see Columbia! That must have been a joy. Sorry it was late and disorganised but oh my La Popa! Totally worth it! It looks gorgeous. So rich in history. What an interesting places and stops. Love your jewellery for that evening and wonderful dress. Great photos too! Sounds like a nice meal but love the cheeseburger more lol.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The day does sound like it started with un-Disneylike chaos. I wonder why?

What fantastic scenes of Cartagena. Did it meet your expectations? I've always been interested to go there.

I love the pictures of Princess Corinna. That royal blue with the jewellery turned out amazing. Great pictures with the Disney Princesses as well.

I really don't understand what the issue was. We did two further excursions through DCL on that cruise and they check in process for those worked like clockwork.

Yes, the tour did meet my expectations. I got to see everything I wanted. I think it would have been a better tour if they either had left off the last hour or instead gave us some free time in the Old Town, but on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Oh, your pictures brought back nice memories for me! Your shots at La Popa were lovely. Nice score on the emerald!

I really loved La Popa. This was what I had looked forward to the most before the trip and it did not disappoint.

I'm glad you found your emerald! And at a bargain price too. What will you do with it?


Cartagena really reminds me of Puerto Rico. I'm glad you saw all that you wanted and enjoyed it enough to go back.

I can't believe the tour was 2 hours late


Your blue dress is beautiful, and I absolutely love that pendant.

One of those days, the emerald is going to make its way to Kythryne who will turn it into a pendant for me.

San Juan is another place I really want to visit.

How amazing to see Columbia! That must have been a joy. Sorry it was late and disorganised but oh my La Popa! Totally worth it! It looks gorgeous. So rich in history. What an interesting places and stops. Love your jewellery for that evening and wonderful dress. Great photos too! Sounds like a nice meal but love the cheeseburger more lol.

Colombia really is amazing. I think you live quite close to Lakeside. If I remember correctly Five Guys will open there soon. We now have one at the Trafford Centre and I recently tried this. They do the best cheeseburger. I can't wait to go back.

Corinna

 

[wilma-bride]

Oh, I am really looking forward to seeing Cartagena. We will also do a DCl excursion, although not sure which one yet. I would love to see the monastery so it will have to be one with that included (although the journey on the bus sounds a little hairy).

I love the sound of your drinks at Mixology. I am organising private mixology sessions for our cruise, so I hope we get some delici0ous drinks like that. I only really liked one of the drinks we got at mixology on our last cruise.

 

[rentayenta]

Love the photos of Colombia, they bring back wonderful memories. I spent a few weeks there with my grandmother in 1991-1992. My uncle lives in Cartagena and has for over 35 years. It's a beautiful city. I have always wanted to go back. As a young woman I didn't feel the slightest bit unsafe and we ventured a lot on our own. My uncle owned a dredging business and dabbled in other ventures. I remember seeing the poorest towns, quite like Mexico and the places in Africa that DH has been. Amazing history there.


More lovely dresses and fun character photos. I think they're my favorite parts of your report.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oh, I am really looking forward to seeing Cartagena. We will also do a DCl excursion, although not sure which one yet. I would love to see the monastery so it will have to be one with that included (although the journey on the bus sounds a little hairy).

I love the sound of your drinks at Mixology. I am organising private mixology sessions for our cruise, so I hope we get some delici0ous drinks like that. I only really liked one of the drinks we got at mixology on our last cruise.

I really would recommend doing your own thing. Although I did enjoy our tour, the people who did just get a taxi seemed to have had a better time. A taxi to La Popa is COP45,000, which is about £14.00. As far as DCL excursions go, excursions that include La Popa are Best of Cartagena (the one we did) and which was $49.00 per person; City Drive, Shopping and La Popa Monastery, which is $45.00 per person and includes La Popa, the photo stop at Fort of San Felipe, Las Bovedas and 30 minutes free time in Old Town; Deluxe Cartagena and Folkloric Show, which is also $49.00 and seems to be pretty identical to Best of Cartagena, but includes 30 minutes free time in Old Town. This is the same length of Best of Cartagena, so I feel that this will rush La Popa as all the other timings seem to be the same.

We really lucked out with the drinks during our Mixology class this time.

Love the photos of Colombia, they bring back wonderful memories. I spent a few weeks there with my grandmother in 1991-1992. My uncle lives in Cartagena and has for over 35 years. It's a beautiful city. I have always wanted to go back. As a young woman I didn't feel the slightest bit unsafe and we ventured a lot on our own. My uncle owned a dredging business and dabbled in other ventures. I remember seeing the poorest towns, quite like Mexico and the places in Africa that DH has been. Amazing history there.


More lovely dresses and fun character photos. I think they're my favorite parts of your report.

Cartagena is definitely beautiful. How lucky that you had the chance to spend some time in Colombia. I would love to have some time to really go exploring and take in all the history.

I agree with you there. Dressing up, playing princess and meeting characters are definitely a highlight on my cruises.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 9

This day was one of the highlights of the cruise: the Panama Canal crossing. We had been told the previous evening that the pilot was due to board the Wonder at 6:00. So we set our alarm call for 5:45. We got ready and headed up to deck 4. We have found on our 2011 Panama Canal Cruise that this is a perfect viewing spot. It is nowhere near as busy as decks 9 and 10 and is sheltered from the direct sun. With this being also closer to the locks, we found that the views are also better on deck 4. In 2011, we had been on deck 4 at 5:00 and it was already quite busy. So I was a little concerned that by getting there later, I would not be able to get a lounger. My concerns were unfounded. It was positively deserted when we got there. I had my pick of loungers. We set up camp and then we got some breakfast. They had set up a refreshment station near were we had based us so we got some coffee and some pastries. Graham had a Croissant and I had a Cheese Danish.

While we were enjoying our breakfast, Captain Fabian made an announcement that the Panama Canal authorities had advised him that the pilot would board the Wonder half an hour later than scheduled, but that this would mean that we could then proceed straight to the first locks. I used this time to take some photos. It was quite misty that morning so I did not notice that my lens was misted up as well until I took a photo that included the life preserver right in front of me. I am glad that I noticed the issue before we entered the locks.





















Soon we were on our way towards the entrance of the Panama Canal. When the pilots boarded the Wonder, they had also brought somebody on board who did the narration for the crossing. She gave us some facts about the canal and also shared the calling sign that the Wonder would be known at for the duration of the crossing. This is made up of a code for the type of vessel, the direction the ship is travelling in and the order in which the ships cross. Our position in the queue was 14. However, she explained that all ships going north have odd numbers and all ships traveling south have even numbers. So this meant that we were the 7th ship of the day heading south. This was something that confused me a little as I had thought that we are going from east to west, but the Panama Canal actually runs north south. She also explained the charges. I knew that the charges are made up of a combination of number of berth and the cargo capacity of the ship. I also learned that there is a fee to reserve a slot on a particular date, which is mainly done by cruise ships. If no specific date has been reserved, the waiting time to go through the canal can be anything from 72 hours to a week.

 

[dolphingirl47]

As we continued approaching the Gatun locks, we got some visitors. The first character to check out the view was Stitch. I was very pleased about this. Stitch posed with me for a photo. A little while later, Pluto came by to visit as well. As we got closer to the locks, the view changed quite considerably. Instead of open water, there was suddenly a lot of green around us. I was actually surprised just how green everything was as our narrator had mentioned that this should be the beginning of the rainy season, but that this was late this year.

 

[dolphingirl47]

 

[dolphingirl47]

Eventually we arrived at the Gatun locks. The Gatun locks consist of three chambers or stages that lift the ships nearly 27 meters from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake. At all the locks there are 2 shipping lanes that operate on a one-way system. For some of the day, all the traffic goes southbound and for the rest of the day, the traffic goes northbound. There was a cargo ship in the shipping lane next to the one we were waiting to go in and this was one stage ahead of us. So we got to see how a different ship was going through the locks before experiencing it at close quarters. It was especially nice to see how the locomotives or mules operated as the ones that kept the Wonder in position were pretty much hidden by the ship. It is a real shame that they will not be using mules in the new shipping lane, but have decided to use tugboats instead. The mules are something that add something to the charm of the Panama Canal.

 

[dolphingirl47]

As we passed through the first stage and into a second, somebody commented that this was getting old really quickly and that he was getting bored. I was speechless. Although I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the cruise, the main reason why I booked this is for the actual crossing. I had thoroughly enjoyed this in 2011 and was looking forward to experiencing this again. I am fascinated by the technical aspect of this and I cannot understand how anybody could be bored by this, especially so early into the crossing. Still, people are all different. While we were passing through the Gatun locks, a photographer came past for the first time. I happily took up the offer of some photos. We passed the control tower for the Gatun locks and this had the logo for the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal on it. I felt very privileged that I had the chance to do a Panama Canal crossing during the year of its 100th anniversary.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Time seemed to pass very quickly and we were in the Gatun Lake. On our 2011 Panama Canal cruise, we had learned that this is normally very clear. Unfortunately just before we went on that cruise, there were very heavy storms that caused landslides and Gatun Lake was about the colour of hot chocolate. I always wanted to see this in its normal state. The difference in colour was very noticeable, but it still was not as clear as I had imagined it. It still was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the views. I was fascinated by all the wildlife that we saw as well. I was very surprised that deck 4 emptied out quite considerably once we had left the locks.

















After I had enjoyed the view for a while, I decided to take care of a few things. They offered something this time round that they had not offered in 2011. For a few days beforehand, they had advertised in the Navigator that you could take your passport to the Port Adventures desk between 8:00 and 14:00 on the crossing day to have your passport stamped by the Panamanian authorities. This sounded good to me. I had put our passports in my bag that I had taken up to deck 4 and once we had cleared the Gatun locks, I decided to go down to deck 3 to have our passports stamped. Unfortunately it looked like half the ship had the same idea and the line was huge. I decided to give this a pass for the time being and to come back later. Suzy and Perla were out on one side of the atrium and Princess Sofia was out on the other side. Neither of them had a significant line and I got to see them in short succession. I still had nearly 25 minutes until the next character set.









I quickly went back to the cabin to get my wallet and the plate that I had brought for the characters to sign. As I had paid for our cruise in Pounds, I could not add a certain amount to our onboard account before the cruise. I learned over the years that the easiest way to add a specific amount to the onboard account once I am on the ship is to purchase a gift card. I had seen a nice gift card as well that must still have been left over from Halloween. The payment did not go through. I knew there was more than enough money in my account. The person assisting me mentioned that they had issue with processing card payments since the previous evening. She put the card to one side for me as there were only a couple of them left and advised to try again later in the day. I then went down to Guest Services to hand in my plate. I had managed to get glitter porcelain markers that set at room temperature to the point that they are actually dishwasher-proof. I asked for as many characters as possible to sign the plate, but specified that I definitely wanted Stitch to sign.

Even after all this, I still had some time until the next character set. So I decided to brave the crowds and get our passport signed. The line was still impressive, but had gone down quite considerably. This was actually extremely well organized. They had drafted in some officers to help with crowd control and they were asking that one member of each family has all the passports with them being open on an empty page. With this and the fact that there were two immigration officials available, the line moved very quickly. Of course, when I saw the passport stamps, it was not actually anything special. This is probably the most boring looking stamp that I have in my passport. Still, not everybody has a Panamanian stamp. Once I had my stamp, I joined the character lines. Mickey was out in his tropical outfit and I finally managed to get a photo with Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I then took my stuff back to the cabin and joined Graham on deck 4.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We still pretty much had the deck to ourselves. We just enjoyed the view and the wildlife that seemed to be everywhere. While we sailed through Gatun Lake, we also saw the first clear evidence of the Panama Canal expansion. As part of the expansion project, they are widening and deepening some of Gatun Lake and we could see quite a bit of heavy equipment for this work. At the time, there was not actually any work going on in this area, but it looked quite well progressed.



































At some stage, my stomach started to rumble. We had not eaten much that day. I headed up to Beach Blanket Buffet to get some food. In 2011, they had a barbecue by the family pool on the crossing day and this did not really work out. It was very busy on deck 9 and it also got very smoky as the area is quite enclosed. During our Alaska cruise last year, they had the barbecue set up behind Beach Blanket Buffet, which worked perfectly. This is what they did that day as well. I managed to get two plates on a tray. I got some stuff from the buffet. I got some Peel and Eat Shrimp and some salad for Graham and I had some Macaroni Cheese. They also had some marinated Ribeye Steak and I got us one each. I then headed out to the back deck and got some bread. I got some Salmon and Steak from the barbecue for Graham and some Steak, Sausage and Chicken for me. Then I made my way back downstairs. There is something very special about having a “picnic” on the open deck while being surrounded by a glorious view. The Sausage turned out a bit of a surprise. I really enjoyed this and then found out afterwards that this was Venison, which is something I would never have considered if I had realized what it was. Once we were both finished, Graham took the tray and the plates back up to deck 9.

 

[dolphingirl47]

By the time Graham came back, our scenery had changed. We had now entered the Culebra Cut and the scenery had come somewhat closer. We still saw plenty of wildlife. We crossed the continental divide. Soon afterwards the Centennial Bridge was coming up. This is definitely one of the prettier bridges in the world. At one point after we passed under the Centennial Bridge, one of the photographers showed up. He spent some considerable time moving me so that the Centennial Bridge is in the right spot behind me, but unfortunately the light did not quite work out.



















[url=https://flic.kr/p/nLkC2V]

 

[dolphingirl47]

Shortly afterwards we were approaching the Pedro Miguel lock. Last time round we were on the other side of the ship and I thought that this was the prettiest part of the Panama Canal. This side was not quite so picturesque. As we were approaching the lock, we saw the line crews come on board. Although this side was not as pretty, I got a better idea of the workings of the lock.



















I seem to remember that it took us a while in 2011 to get from the Pedro Miguel lock to the Miraflores locks. We had time to go to our cabin, get changed and head to Palo. This time round it took very little time to get from one lock to the other. On the way, we got quite good look at the works for the Panama Canal expansion on the Pacific side.

 

[dolphingirl47]

 

[dolphingirl47]

We were on the wrong side for the visitor centre at the Miraflores locks. I decided to go over to the other side, but there were a lot of people who had the same idea and it was pretty crowded. So I went back to the other side to join Graham. I found out later that I had not actually missed anything as we were in the shipping lane that was furthest away from the visitor centre. The side we were one was definitely the prettier side.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once we were through the locks, the deck cleared out completely. I stayed until we had passed underneath the Bridge of the Americas and then I headed in as well. Graham decided to stay outside. I had the best intentions to read my book, but I fell asleep. Fortunately at one stage there was an announcement that refueling operations had started and this woke me up. I went to have a shower and got changed and then I headed up to the atrium to meet some more characters. I had hoped that the characters would be out in their tropical outfits, but they were wearing their Mexican outfits. I managed to meet Donald and Goofy and then had time to have some photos taken against the white and pink backdrops before meeting Mickey and Minnie. I then headed up to deck 4 to flush out Graham. He had made himself comfortable on one of the loungers and was initially not inclined to move. However, after I pointed out that he had hardly eaten anything that day, he came back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Dinner that night was at Parrot Cay and the menu was the Panama Canal menu. Graham had Steamed Crab Royal, which consisted of Alaskan King Crab Legs with Lemon Butter Sauce and fresh Herbs. Our server brought him two huge plates of this. He then had the Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Almonds. He had the Slow Roasted Prime Rib with Green Beans, Twice Baked Potatoes and Madeira Sauce and a side of the Baked Lobster Tail Gatun. I had the Warm Cheddar Cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon Tartlet with Sweet Onion Sauce followed by Cold Avocado Corn Soup with Cilantro Oil, which packed quite a punch. For my main course I had California Grill Fire-Roasted Pork Tenderloin brushed with Dijon Mustard served with Goat Cheese Polenta and Zinfandel Reduction. Neither of us had room for dessert, which was a shame as there were a few tempting things on the menu that night.







After dinner we had some quick photos taken against the pink background and then we headed to bed. I took a quick photo of our towel animal and quickly checked out the Navigator for the next day while Graham got ready and then I quickly got ready before switching off the lights. We were both absolutely exhausted, but had a wonderful day.