Panama Canal Cruise Crossing: Top Tips for Viewing

The Panama Canal crossing was definitely something on my bucket list and it lived up to all the hype.  We enjoyed a great day of viewing and I wanted to share with you my comprehensive guide to help you have a memorable experience.

Best spots on the ship

The whole process will take about 8 hours including going through three different sets of locks (Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, Gatun).  With the size of a typical cruise ship, there are a lot of places for viewing. Follow these tips to get the most out of your day.

•    Bow of the Ship - Helipad

If your captain allows guests to enter the helipad area for viewing the locks, it’s definitely an experience being at the bow of the ship.  It will be a novelty to be able to view the process from the helipad, so expect big crowds early on.  You should wait until the next set of locks when it clears out a little. Wear closed-toed shoes, preferably sneakers, since the deck can be slippery and you don’t want to risk getting turned away and missing the locks.  

•    Stern of the Ship

This was my favorite place for viewing as we enjoyed seeing the doors close behind the ship. Being on a high floor allowed us to see over the massive lock doors to the different steps of the locks. 

Once finished with the last of the locks (Gatun locks) on the Pacific to Atlantic crossing, the back of the ship offers one of the best picture taking opportunities as you can see the narrow passage with the different “steps”, which the ship just went through.

•    Port or Starboard Sides

Each side will offer a different view, depending on the lane that the ship gets put into. There are two lanes for each lock and there will likely be additional ships going through the locks in the other lane. Check out the side where you can see the other ship as it gives you a fascinating perspective on what’s happening along with seeing the massive volume of water moving in or out of the locks.

Port Side (Pacific to Atlantic crossing)

If you want a good view of the new canal by the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks being built, pick a veranda on the port side when going through the canal. It’s an incredible sight to see the construction process and the massive amount of soil being transported.

•    Stateroom Veranda

We enjoyed sitting on our veranda as we went through Gatun Lake. The scenery was beautiful and it was the perfect spot to relax and be away from the crowds.  I’d recommend enjoying lunch or a snack as you cruise through Gatun Lake being that it is normally towards the middle of the day.

 •    Forward Lounge
If you don’t want to be outside for the crossing or are limited physically, I would suggest waking up early and securing a spot in the forward lounge, if your ship has one.  On the Celebrity Millennium, Cosmos offered a great viewing spot in a comfortable setting. Arrive early to save your seat for the day so you can just relax and enjoy the view.

Viewing mistakes

•    Staying in the same spot
Many people were up first thing to secure a spot for the whole day.  With so much going on when transiting the locks, you’re missing out if you’re not moving around and seeing it from different angles. Unless you’re physically unable to move around the ship, get out and walk around, go from side to side and back again to see it all.

•    Staying inside
One of the best parts is being outside and looking over the railing to see the whole process. 

Hidden Secrets

•    Fitness room
As I love to say, the fitness room often has one of the best views on a cruise ship and this really comes true during a Panama Canal crossing.  Watch the process unfold as you work out on a treadmill or elliptical, you’ll never forget this workout!  There is definitely no excuse to not work out during the crossing.

•    Get up Early
The ship will tell you what time you will go through the first set of locks but a lot happens before that.  I got up about two hours early, and was glad I did.  It was just about dawn and I could see all the other ships waiting outside for their turn to go through the Canal. The process of entering the first set of locks as the sun rose was truly unforgettable.

Learn

The main event of a Panama Canal cruise is going through the canal, so make sure to educate yourself on the process before leaving on the trip or while on the ship (if offered). On our cruise, there was a 3-part lecture series starting from the beginning days of building the Panama Canal to the Panama Canal today and its plans for future expansion.  

These talks were part of Celebrity Cruises, “Beyond the Podium” series.  Lecturers, Rheal and Claire Perron were engaging and all their talks were standing room only in the main theatre.  In addition, 2 different movies about the Panama Canal were shown leading up to the crossing.  When the day came, I felt that I had learned a lot and could really understand what was happening from an engineering perspective as well as appreciating from a historical standpoint.   

Have additional tips to share? Please add a comment below.

FreshCruiser Tip:  If you're going be on a top deck, don't forget to bring something to stay hydrated, it’s very hot there and you may not want to give up your prime spot along the rail.  Also, don’t forget to continue to keep reapplying sunscreen!

Behind the Scenes: Galley Tour on the Celebrity Millennium

Ever wonder what the kitchen or galley, as it’s called on a ship, looks like?  In the “Heart of the Operation Galley Tour” on the Celebrity Millennium, cruisers were able to learn about culinary preparation at sea while touring the ship’s galley.

At the beginning of the experience, there was a brief introduction and welcome by Selin Bert, the Food and Beverage Manager from Turkey, and Jason Banyon, the Executive Chef.  According to Celebrity Cruises, Executive Chef, Jason Banyon,  “comes from a lasting family tradition of British Culinarians where he started to taste, develop, and enjoy the different flavors and rewards of the trade. “ He has worked in kitchens and galleys in respected hotels in London and New Zealand before enjoying Celebrity Cruises.

Interesting Facts

Jason Banyon, the Executive Chef, and Selin Bert, Food and Beverage Manager, answering questions from the guests

While we were waiting our turn to go to down the escalators to the galley, Bert and Banyon answered questions from the audience.  

The chef emphasized over and over again that they will work with any food allergies, preferences, etc. to let the staff know and they will do their best to accommodate everyone. 

Another interesting fact was that they will look at the demographics of the guests for each cruise, as it helps to judge the amounts of different types of foods needed using information gathered from previous cruises.  

In addition, all the food is brought on at the embarkation port and only very perishable items like fruits and vegetables might be added at other ports.  It was obvious that both Selin and Jason truly had a passion for their jobs.

The Tour

I’ve been on galley tours before but what I liked about this one was there were people prepping food and their areas for lunch, it helped me picture how bustling it must be during dinner. In the previous galley tours, the galley was just walking through looking at stainless steel. 

There were special preparation areas to handle the special requests, cold food stations, hot food area, as well as designated kitchen for Blu, the Aqua class specialty dining room.  

Images from the Galley of how each item on the menu should be presented

The Operation*

The culinary part of a cruise involves staff working 24/7 to make sure all the guests dining desires are met.  On an average day at sea, over 9,000 dishes are prepared for guests and crew.
-    4 Executive Sous-Chefs
-    6 Sous Chefs
-    122 Cooks, Chefs, and Cleaning personnel

By the Numbers*

Here’s a few consumption figures based on an average 7 day cruise.
-    Whole Chicken        10,000lbs
-    Lobster            800 lbs
-    Fresh Eggs        2200 dz
-    Potatoes        14,000lbs
-    Ice Cream        650 gal
-    Fresh Fruit        60,000 lbs

The tour was very early on in the cruise, which I liked as it gave me great insight.

Myself with Jason Banyon, the Executive Chef of the Celebrity Millennium

FreshCruiser Tip:  If you have allergies or special food considerations, make sure to notify the cruise line before your cruise.   

*Estimates provided by Celebrity Cruises while on board the Celebrity Millennium.

Flavors Unite! Review of Qsine on Celebrity Cruises

Qsine, Specialty Restaurant

Dining at the specialty restaurant, Qsine®, on the Celebrity Millennium was one of the culinary highlights of my recent cruise.  I will go into more details but the presentation of the food alone is worth the visit, let alone how delicious it tasted.  I have to admit that when I was looking up the specialty restaurants on Celebrity Cruises’ website for the Celebrity Millennium, I thought that Qsine sounded gimmicky with a confused identity.  I convinced my husband to go as I like to try new things and it sure did not disappoint!

About Qsine

Celebrity Cruises describes Qsine:

"Qsine® offers a culinary journey that delivers elements of surprise and delight. Our James Beard featured Master Chef created Qsine to give you something you've never experienced before—on land or at sea. Leave any preconceived notions behind. Dig in and try new things. It's time your palate got a wakeup call. Our iPad® menus make your dining experience even more fun and interactive."

In all of Celebrity Cruises’ marketing material, it pushes the fact that your menu is an iPad, which you order directly from.  I’m typically on some type of electronic device throughout most of my day so this part didn’t sound “fun and interactive”; but rather, annoying. Why couldn’t I just give my order to the waiter?  To my surprise however, I quickly found out it was only one small aspect of the restaurant and was fun just clicking a button to send the order to the kitchen.  The friendly Brazilian waiter stopped back often as we went through the menu to answer our questions along with giving us recommendations.

Every dish that came out had its own unique presentation and flavors.  You can travel around the world while dining here.   We had the opportunity to meet the chef, Jean-Pierre, who really enjoyed cooking all types of dishes from around the world and sharing them with guests.

Dishes Worth Trying

Fresh Market Salad

There were definitely some dishes that were stand-outs for me.  The Qsine Greens is described as a “Fresh Market Salad with Arugula, Radicchio, Frisée, Watercress, Spinach, Pomegranate Emulsion, Crispy Goat Cheese Crumble”.  I didn’t think much of it when I saw it on the menu, but was really happy that I ordered it.  The warm goat cheese pattie combined with the pomegranate emulsion provided a crispy yet sweet and creamy taste.  The dressing provided on the side allows you to customize the taste to your preference.

Treseviche

The Treseviche dish included three types of cerviche served with a side of French fries to cleanse your palate and provide a little saltiness to help cut the citrus-ness of the dish.  With each taste, I tried to figure out which one I liked the best and I couldn’t decide as they were all exceptional.  The flavor combinations were matched perfectly to each type of seafood.

Treseviche included:

• Tiger Shrimp & Bay Scallops with Lemon Juice, Tequila, Cilantro, Tomato & Jalapeño Oil
• Salmon with Yuzu Citrus, Cucumber, Vodka & Basil
• Sea Bass with Lime, Red Onion, Choclo, Avocado & EXVOO

Slider Party

In addition, I would recommend ordering the Slider Party.  The dish comes with one slider per person, which comes out of the kitchen on a grill pan with cheddar cheese on top surrounded by a medley of burger fixings. 

The burger was just the right size, juicy, and still piping hot and served with a side of French fries….what could beat that?!

Painter's Mignon

Stand-outs for presentation included the Painter's Mignon which was a Filet Mignon with a variety of sides, served in little jars.  The sides included mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and a demi glace sauce. The presentation was unexpectedly refreshing for what’s normally considered a “fancy dish”. 

Sushi Lollipops

In addition, the Sushi Lollipops including, “Nigiri Sushi, Soy Center, Wasabi Mayo & Pickled Ginger-Radish Salad” was sushi presented in a fun way and was even more fun to eat!

Tips for Ordering

Disco Shrimp

The portions are meant to share and some are larger than others.  If there is just two of you, read the different dishes carefully and what comes in each one as if it lists 10 items, you may want to pass to try more items as that alone could fill you up. I definitely decided to try as much as I could.

After a good number of dishes came out, the waiter came to inform us that we were only half-way through what we had ordered on the iPad to see if we wanted the food to keep coming.  His timing was perfect as we were getting full.  We decided on one more dish to try and that would be it as we still wanted to leave room for dessert.  

Dessert Menu

The way that the dessert menu is presented is distinctive and memorable in a puzzle cube. 

We enjoyed the tombstone cake, which was rich and fabulous, and the silver bullet, which was filled with two types of sorbet.

Additional Highlights

The service was outstanding, even a step above the typical dining room experience.
Another aspect I liked about this restaurant is that I enjoy going for tapas and getting to try new things when I’m on land. However, my husband and I are always looking at the price and trying to add things up in our heads.  Part of the fun of this restaurant was ordering what you felt like versus trying to find the cheaper or more filling items on the menu. My only regret was that we didn’t go back again to try the items we didn’t order and to have some of our favorite dishes again.

Where to find Qsine

Qsine is available on the following ships in the Celebrity Cruises’ fleet: Celebrity Eclipse®, Celebrity Infinity®, Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Summit®, Celebrity Millennium®, Celebrity Reflection.

FreshCruiser Tip: Qsine is definitely a splurge if you’re trying to eat healthy while cruising. To help with this, start your day off with a visit to the fitness room and eat a healthy breakfast and lunch which will let you splurge a little more at dinner.

Photo tour of the newly renovated Celebrity Millennium

I can’t believe that a little over a week ago I was on the Celebrity Millennium.  The 15 day cruise went by a lot quicker than I thought it would.  As I deal with "Cruise Lag" and settling back in to life on land, I thought I would share some pictures of the ship.  

Celebrity Millennium in Costa RicaAs usual, after the welcome aboard buffet lunch, I went floor by floor exploring.  The Celebrity Millennium was the final Millennium Class ship to be renovated as part  of Celebrity Cruises’ "Solsticizing" project. The renovations added features that cruisers enjoy with Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships. The project was completed in May, so I was excited to see the ship with these new additions.

Ship Overview

Grand Foyer

Pool

Pool Deck
There were a lot of different types of loungers and places to relax throughout the ship.

Cosmos Lounge
Located on the 11th floor, this lounge is great for viewing.

 Fitness Room

Café al Bacio
Coffee House serving speciality coffee, tea, and pastries.

Library
Two-story library housing a variety of books and cozy spots to read.

Aquaclass Stateroom
Picture of a stateroom on the 11th floor. These staterooms were added as part of the "Solsticizing" on the Celebrity Millennium.

Dining Highlights

Look for more detailed reports on dining but here are a few highlights to see the decor of each.

The Metropolitan Restaurant
Main dining room on the ship.

The Olympic, Specialty Dining Restaurant
French restaurant (Service charge applies)

Qsine, Specialty Dining Restaurant
The Qsine menu includes food from all around the world, all the dishes are meant to share.  (Service charge applies)

Blu, Speciality Specialty Restaurant for Aqua Class Guests only
The menu features "clean, contemporary and unforgettable cuisine". Blu was added as part of the new renovations.

 Ocean Café / Ocean Grill
Casual dining and buffet area includes a pasta bar, pizza, salad bar, hamburgers and much more.  I spent a lot of lunches enjoying the salad bar and pasta bar.

Bistro on Five
The restaurant has a selection of sandwiches, salads, crepes and desserts. (Service charge applies). Bistro on Five is featured on the Solstice class ship and added to the Celebrity Millennium as part of the new features. (Service charge applies)

Click here to view the Deck Plan of the Celebrity Millennium. 

FreshCruiser Tip: I always take pictures of the ship on the first day, that way I know I've gotten all the common places and don't have to worry about it for the rest of the trip.

Sail on: Packed and time to Cruise!

I’m extremely excited about leaving on a cruise this weekend.  15 nights will be the longest cruise I’ve taken.  My previous longest was 13 nights, and I still wasn’t ready to disembark on the last day.  

Packing is daunting for this long of a cruise as you need “day at sea” clothes, formal clothes for 3 formal nights, clothes for port activities, and “smart casual” outfits for dinners. I’m not a fan of packing but one of my favorite things to do on a cruise is unpacking.  Why?  Besides the joys of feeling settled, I like waking up in a new place each morning without having to drag my suitcase on a plane, train, or bus to get there. My trip will cover 6 countries, all arriving in the morning after a restful night sleep.

Please look for my blog posts when I get back of all the details from my time on board the Celebrity Millennium.