Caribbean Princess. On October 26, 2017. It was the very first giant to use the “Panamax” locks. Some think the Canal constructed two new routes. They did not cut a new canal. No, they created much bigger locks at both ends. The “old” locks are still there (100+ years old!). Those locks had a maximum width for vessels entering the canal of 106 feet. The Caribbean Princess is 118 feet wide and carries 3,200 passengers.
The very first passenger ship of any kind – regardless of size – to use the new locks was the Disney Wonder. Not a real noteworthy event, since it is small enough to use the old locks.
A Panamanian woman
Carnival has 13 Panama Canal crossings set for the 2017-2018 season. Some are not full coast-to-coast trips. I think that’s a bummer. Passengers only get to see either the east or west locks. On a full trip, you get to stop at the Mira Flores locks and view the Museum and operations. You can also take an excursion to a native village.
Read about the opening of the new locks
It’s easy to get a free trip through the Canal. I’ve had three. Lots of trips need speakers. We are going in December 2018 since my wife has not seen it. I’ll take fresh photos for my talks. Yes, I now give presentations on the Canal. Once you are actually ON the trip through, a real guide comes on to narrate.
Drop us a line and we’ll show you the process to snag these kind of free trips for two.
SpeakOnCruises is not an agency. We are not part of the cruise industry. We DO help folks looking to get on board and deliver lectures. The main benefit? A free cruise for two. Plus many discounts.
So where can you expect to go? The Caribbean – that’s the destination for over 30% of all cruise trips – worldwide. Europe, the Baltic, the Med, South America are all very popular. This time of year, count on Alaska.
Those are places you’ve already been? OK, here’s one. The Middle East. We did this exact cruise in March. Check it out. And YES, you can snag it. We teach how to get those gigs.
The view from the world’s tallest building The Burj Kalifa in Dubai
This is the real deal. No fake bait-and-switch here. This trip is still open. If you have a bunch of Enrichment talks (I gave 5) or can be a Destination speaker — contact us. You could take our class and be ready to snag this.
1 Sat Dec 8, 2018 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2 Sun Dec 9, 2018 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
3 Mon Dec 10, 2018 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
4 Tue Dec 11, 2018 At Sea
5 Wed Dec 12, 2018 At Sea
6 Thu Dec 13, 2018 At Sea
7 Fri Dec 14, 2018 Cochin, India
8 Sat Dec 15, 2018 Mangalore, India
9 Sun Dec 16, 2018 Marmagao, India
10 Mon Dec 17, 2018 Mumbai, India
11 Tue Dec 18, 2018 At Sea
12 Wed Dec 19, 2018 At Sea
13 Thu Dec 20, 2018 Muscat, Oman
14 Fri Dec 21, 2018 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
15 Sat Dec 22, 2018 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emiratese
Interested? Let us know. 1 on 1 classes starting weekly.
On every cruise, you will hear the Captain get on the ship’s PA system and bark out instructions to the crew. I’d like to share with you what the heck is going on.
All passengers MUST attend the lifeboat drill. Roll will be called and if you do not yell “HERE,” you will be marked as absent. Then you have to take a special session just for laggards.
Mandatory lifeboat drill
During the drill the Captain will say: “This is a test. This is a test: BRAVO BRAVO deck 7, store room…or such….BRAVO BRAVO.” What’s up? This is all part of the lifeboat drill. They might even do it mid-cruise. It is for the emergency response team to go to the named place and practice their action. BRAVO means fire. A big deal on a ship at sea.
Another one you hope you don’t hear for real is: ALPHA. This is for a medical emergency. On a 3,000++ passenger ship, people will have medical issues. Sometimes a person dies. Yikes!
RELATED: Learn more about lifeboat drills
OSCAR is the signal for “man overboard” If YOU see this…yell “man overboard,” three times and get someone to dial the emergency phone – often x3333. If no one is around, YOU run to a phone. It’s better for you to stay to note the position, but at 20 knots, the ship will move away rapidly so it’s got to stop ASAP. Continue to point to the spot.
ECHO is the word for collision imminent. Hang on!!
So now you know.
To keep abreast of the cruise industry, tune back in on Mondays for these blogs. Subscribe and drop us a line – we want you to get free trips by lecturing. We’ll cut to the chase and teach you how to get gigs.
