The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel, with three series of locks lifting ships 85 feet above sea level, to cross the Continental Divide and one of the world’s largest manmade lakes.

In1880, the French attempted to to cut a sea-level canal across the Isthmus of Panama, but their efforts were continually flooded out.

In 1904, the Americans stepped in and, after some difficult starts, completed a few engineering miracles. The Americans constructed the largest dam ever built and a new lake that would serve as a reservoir for water to fill the locks.

The Americans thought to do something the French did not: Lift the ships through a series of locks that gravity would fill with water from a manmade lake.

The 50-mile transit typically takes about nine hours, depending on traffic, and cost Crystal Cruises about $200,000 for our transit today, which is considerably more than the 38 cents by a man who in 1928 swam the canal. He set a record for the smallest amount ever paid, but missed out on the comfort of a Crystal cruise.

with the birds drifting overhead

was only interrupted by the squawking when one tried to land where there was no room for a stranger.

I’m finally getting the “Yacht” concept as opposed to the cruise ship approach. We decided to eat at Colonnade last night.

So we didn’t have to be “Casual Elegant” which would have meant jacket for me. We ran into Linda and Steve Bauer and ate together. Steve is lecturing on this portion of the trip; a retired Colonel, he served in the White House as a military social aide under Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. Linda is a journalist and together they write books. This is cruise 117 for them.

So what does that have to do with the Yacht concept? Out of the blue, I realized there were no flashbulbs going off. No photographer asking us to sit closer together, or making two of us change position for a 4 shot. There are no ship’s photographers on my yacht! And no music on the pool deck to disturb one’s sense of serenity. This is small but looms big when it doesn’t work. Salt on the open deck dining areas works! Instead on fat, humid heavy salt trying to get through petite outlets, the “shaker” is a grinder. Another nice touch that even top restaurants neglect is an empty beaker next to the sugar substitutes. This holds the emptied envelopes. So simple, but so stylish.

Dessert was floating island pudding, something my grandmother used to make, but it never looked like this.

Leaving dinner we were tempted by the movie under the stars, but I passed. I didn’t want to see Julia and Juliette at home either.

Again, for lunch we ate at Colonnade, and almost had to shoo the waiters away. The great thing for me about the staff is they get my humor. After a bit, they come up with their own. Tito remembered our names, and Michael was impressed. She asked him how he did it. He said, “Magic happens.”

I do have one small complaint. There are no directions in the laundry as to how to start the washing machine. Three ladies and I all had a different method. None of them worked. Also, a hint for those who will sail Odyssey, there is a second unmarked laundry directly across the hall from the one the three and I have been using.

Our room stewardess is Sonette from South Africa.

Since the Panama Canal she has been leaving us a personal note in the evening.

She probably does that for each of her cabin’s passengers, but I like to think it is just because we’ve befriended her.

Tomorrow we dock at Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. Unfortunately, the tour to the Monteverde Rainforest has been canceled for tomorrow, because of…………..wait for it………..RAIN.

The Canal opened in 1914, and since then close to a million ships have made the trip from ocean to ocean. Ten years ago last month we turned the canal over to Panama. Soon it will be bigger. There will be two new locks that will handle ships up to 160 feet wide and 1,200 feet long. It won’t be completed until 2015, but when it opens, it will be a big benefit to the cruise lines.

The canal still functions in a way like it did in 1914. Take one huge ship, add one rowboat, throw a line

and attach it to a “mule”.

They’ve tried different ways to grab on to boats, but the rowboat has yet to be bettered.

As you go through the Canal, big freighters, oil tankers, etc. pass you going the other way. I think each ship has a designated “waver.”

The ship that captured my attention was a yacht transport. The expansive deck packed with million dollar boats. Actually, the Pacific to Atlantic traffic was sparse, but the people still turned out to watch whatever came by.

Weird to see flashbulbs going off as some tried to photograph our ship.

I must say it’s the little things that make Seabourn Odyssey special, like Miraflores Margaritas served on deck.

If the Panama Canal is in your future plans, be sure to read “The Path Between The Seas.” You’ll be mesmerized by the story of the creation of the ditch, and your passage will mean much more to you. It took 400 years to get the job done.

Last night we ate in Restaurant 2. Before we went, I checked the menu, which changes each night and then repeats weekly. I couldn’t figure out the courses, or how we would order what appealed to us.

It worked this way: Each paragraph describes a course that is served on an oblong plate. Each described food is deposited on the plate in small separate portions. Tasty for sure, with immediate service and explanations of each course. It was an out-of-the-ordinary culinary experience.

One of the great things about Odyssey is the dining venues. Colonnade changes its theme each night. For example, Thai Bistro, Japanese Bistro, Indian Bistro, etc. The dress code is always casual.

My digital camera has a feature that, when set, will automatically take a shot the moment the shootee smiles. Left in that mode and pointed at any of the crew, it would be clicking all the time. There must be a smile class that has to be taken before getting a job on Odyssey.

Here’s a quote from my wife’s email to the kids:

“This is the best ship we have EVER been on! Gorgeous, fantastic food, everyone is so friendly, even the passengers!”

Entertainment is specialized; famous violinist, famous pianist, and a vocal quartet that gets good reviews. We’ll make it to their next performance, but for tonight it’s tuna tatar (sic) in The Restaurant.

But I want to assure you that what I am about to say has nothing to do with my remorse. The French fries on Odyssey are the best I have ever had. They coat the potato slice with a couple kinds of flour and pop them in the oil.

There is no thick coating, just a French fry that would make Jenny Craig take a handful. I want to open a drive thru that only serves these fries. And maybe pizza. This may be the only ship where thin crust NY style pizza is standard.

Kendall Meuskens, the head of IT on Odyssey, stopped by this morning. He had the AvidCruiser blog from the other day with my typo that mentioned the ship charged $69.99 for an hour of internet time. I hope he found me less doltish than that sum might lead him to expect; the price is $9.99. He cleared one thing up. The cost of the Loyalty Package, $399, is good for a guest’s entire trip, even if that trip is around the world. Amazing. He also helped me increase the speed of my internet connection by having me move the laptop to the opposite wall.

Seabourn has taken a bit of a gamble with Odyssey. The other Seabourn ships are marketed as “your yachts” and carry a bit over 200 passengers. There is a large base of repeat passengers who always sail with Seabourn. Odyssey has 450 passengers. I have heard complaints that this ship is too big. Strangely, both of the complaints came from couples who were sailing on Odyssey for the second time. This is a warm intimate ship.

I searched for two days for the purser’s desk. There is none. Instead all, including excursions, is handled in a relaxed, no lines, enclosure.

On Odyssey, you ask for it and you get it.

When this ship first sailed there were complaints about the difficulty of getting a reservation at Restaurant 2. We had no problem. Although it’s suggested that reservations can only be taken 48 hours in advance, we called yesterday, got right through, and will be eating there tonight. The only thing I know positively about the food tonight is, I will not order penne.

We’ve been on two world cruises, and are surprised that the age of the passengers doesn’t skew older. this is a lively group.

I missed the photo-op of the one year old being fitted with a life jacket. but I got the one of what to do at the end of a busy day at sea.

Tomorrow a report on Restaurant 2, as we are one day away from the canal.

It’s been just a week since my return from Fiji. I am sure by now there are Fijian mosquitoes dying for lack of my blood.

So empty the suitcases and fill them up again. Michael (my wife) and I are heading to Ft. Lauderdale for a transcanal back to Los Angeles.

This is the first leg of a world cruise for the new Seabourn Odyssey. We’ll be on her for 16 nights. Carrying 450 passengers, Odyssey is quite a bit bigger than Seabourn’s other “yachts.”

Seabourn's Odyssey

We took the red eye on American to save some hotel money. We didn’t leave until 1 AM to arrive in Lauderdale at 10 AM. This got us to the ship about two hours before the 1 PM scheduled boarding time. Hopefully, they’ll let us on a bit earlier.

Seabourn calls Odyssey “luxury redefined.” They do not tell us, however, what it becomes.

I must say it’s been a good start. Many cruise lines now have everything, including baggage tags, downloaded from the internet, which the customer must print out. (For those that do, the baggage guys have staplers.)

Instead, we received beautiful leather bound baggage ID cases, pre-printed baggage tags, and a leather case to hold our tickets, passports, etc. Class? Oh my, yes.

On Odyssey, there are three dress codes; Casual (slacks and collared shirt), elegant casual (jacket; tie optional), and formal. There wasn’t any notation as to which night was which, but drawing on my experience with other cruise lines, I figured casual nights would be the night of a visit to a port. This translated into seven casual nights, added to two formal, and seven elegant casual nights. Forgoing formal, we packed accordingly.

I grabbed a shot of Odyssey from the plane as we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale. Florida was in the midst of a freeze; colder than LA for sure.

Odyssey from the plane

Arrival at the pier was at 11 AM. Security was firm at the check in; I was wanded. In Los Angeles I was physically patted down. Being patted down is more fun.

We were ushered into a waiting area, and given a card with the number 1. This meant we would be first to board. Checked in, photographed, and credit carded, it was back to the seats to wait.

Snacks and soft drinks were served

and the way punch was given out gave us an idea of good things to come.

Early boarding did not happen. The 1 PM scheduled boarding time didn’t happen either. The rumors as to what was slowing things down were so contradictory that I won’t list the half dozen or so. We finally got on the ship at 2 PM.

Our gorgeous spacious cabin easily erased any wait weariness.

First impressions:

• The TV is not as large as my computer screen at home (incidentally, I’ve just learned that this was one of Avid Cruiser Editor Ralph Grizzle’s gripes in Seabourn Odyssey: Five Little Annoyances And How To Deal With Them)
• There is no desk as such for my laptop and Wi-Fi work. There is a large table and I suggest an extension cord to plug in to the buried outlet in the wall.
• A walk in closet with tons of storage space.

The bathroom is lovely, with tub, shower, and two sinks. Characteristic amenities are by Molton Brown of London. You can also order special bath oils from your stewardess. That, I’ll do tomorrow as I have to make up my mind which to choose:

• The Heavenly Gingerlily Bath
• The invigorating Ginseng Bath
• The Blissful Templetree
• The Yuan Zhi Peacemaker Bath
• The Oceanic De-tox Bath

Or maybe get them all, not to be used at once of course. Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I did that.

The next order of the day was Life Boat Drill. All passengers carried their life vests to the restaurant, and then were instructed on how to get into them. These life jackets are brand new and the most advanced on the market, but they are not easy to wriggle into. I know it will keep me afloat, but I hope, should trouble occur, I can get mine on before I start blowing bubbles.

Oh, a big oops! Full information about the trip, the ship, and what to wear when, was in the cabin. There are only TWO casual nights. There are ELEVEN elegant casual nights. We are dress code impaired.

Our first night dress for dinner was casual. For me, a sedate Hawaiian shirt (can such a thing exist?), but most of the men had jackets on. Now I’m getting nervous about elegant casual.

The Restaurant (it is so named) food was wonderful. Great choices and fast friendly service. There were at least three people that served us. Water in a glass was refilled after two sips. There is no tomato soup in the world better than my bowl of roasted tomato soup.

We were sated, sleepy, and seduced by our experience so far.

Available itineraries range from five to 14 days, all departing between November 2009 and March of 2010, and the sale is based on double occupancy for a 277-square-foot ovean view stateroom. Of course, Seabourn’s personalized service, complimentary open bars throughout the voyage, fine dining in an open-seating restaurant and, on many itineraries, free watersports from the yacht’s unique Marina.

The voyages included in the one-week sale are:

Seabourn Legend

• 11/23/2009 14 days Ft. Lauderdale to Caldera, Costa Rica from $3599
• 12/07/2009 14 days Caldera, Costa Rica to Ft. Lauderdale from $3599
• 03/20/2010 5 days St. Thomas to St. Thomas from $149
• 03/25/2010 7 days St. Thomas to St. Thomas from $1999

Seabourn Spirit

• 11/15/2009 12 days Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale from $2765
• 12/16/2009 5 days St. Thomas to Ft. Lauderdale from $1349

Seabourn Pride

• 02/13/2010 14 days Singapore to Hong Kong from $4999
• 02/27/2010 14 days Hong Kong to Singapore from $5249
• 03/13/2010 14 days Singapore to Hong Kong from $5249

Seabourn Odyssey

• 11/28/2009 12 days Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Lauderdale from $3999

The cruise lines are all dressed up with plenty of places to go, but they still need some more dance partners. And they are prepared to use all their wiles to get more people to join them out on the floor — er — make that, out to sea.The bargains and values on cruise vacations have never been more impressive, especially for itineraries later this year as the cruise lines look to fill berths during the fall and early winter when the family-travel market is in its school-days lull. The ships will sail, and the cruise lines know they are going to have to be aggressive to fill them.

Although demand has been dampened by the worldwide recession, cruising has never had more to offer, in terms of both hardware and itineraries, both of which have been polished and refined to a high luster.

Certainly, the gleaming ships provide resort-style services and amenities. Nowhere is that more true than on the Freedom of the Seas, one of Royal Caribbean’s mammoth flagships, which will be making for the Caribbean out of Port Canaveral this fall. A destination unto itself, the three-year-old Freedom keeps everyone happy and entertained and well fed with a what-will-they-think-of-next assortment of activities, amusements, eateries and public spaces. Somehow, Royal Caribbean has created the largest cruise ship, equipped it with the most toys, and yet managed to create an experience that doesn’t feel crowded while maintaining a personalized service standard.

And if you like to sail on ships while they still have that new-car smell, Costa Cruises has a couple of fresh models for your consideration: Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica, both introduced this spring. Fully loaded with an elegant array of bells and whistles, including a retractable roof over the top deck pool on the Pacifica, these ships are offering a variety of European and Mediterranean itineraries. And part of the appeal of a vacation with Costa Cruises is the mix of European and U.S. travelers on holiday, providing a unique and fun cultural experience, even when the ship is at sea.

Another attractive European option, Azamara Cruises, a sister company of Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean, has packaged land tours with dozens of its Mediterranean cruises. For instance, one itinerary has the Azamara Journey boarding passengers in Istanbul on Oct. 3 and departing a day later; it can be combined with four days of touring Neveshir, Ankara and the surrounding regions of Turkey. The land portion of the vacation adds a fulfilling dimension of history and culture to the vacation.

For those looking for a more seasonal destination, Canada/New England itineraries are perfect for some bracing weather and brilliant fall foliage. Running from one to two weeks, these cruises skirt New England and enter Quebec, typically making stops in Boston, Montreal, Bar Harbor, Halifax and Quebec City. The schedules are designed so that there’s plenty of time for a Maine lobster dinner and for poking around historic cities and quaint fishing villages. With two ships on this route, the Maasdam and the Eurodam, Holland America Line spices the trip with visits to rocky and rugged Quebec’s Gaspé, where guests may see roaming herds of caribou and elk or eagles and puffins sharing protected coves.

Providing a bit more of a temperate climate, Panama Canal cruises are also abundant in the fall, and this continues to be a trip worthy of repeating several times. Princess Cruises is offering five canal departures each month this fall: a weeklong roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale aboard the Island Princess and 15-days one-way connecting Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles. Of course, the canal itself is an amazing experience, but the trip also provides access to beautiful and historic ports of call in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean where you’ll find turquoise waters and white-sand beaches, coral reefs and tropical forests, exotic wildlife, colorful histories of pirates and adventurers and fascinating national treasures.

It’s been the opinion here for quite some time that a cruise vacation provides the best overall travel value. Given the bargains and savings available through the end of 2009, combined with the quality of the ships and the diversity of the itineraries, that belief has only grown stronger.

Completed nearly 100 years ago, the Panama Canal took more than three decades to build — at a cost of 30,000 lives. Transiting this “path between the seas,” cruise ships move at a snail’s pace, waiting one behind the other to enter the enormous locks that flood with water to raise and lower ships.

Once the water fills the concrete locks, ships progress to the next set of locks. There may be a container ship in front of you, a sailboat behind on your panama cruise.This engineering marvel is best savored from the comfort of a cruise ship. Panama cruises typically run for full 14 days between San Juan and Acapulco. Several cruise lines, however, offer 10-day partial transits to Gatun Lake sailing roundtrip from Florida. Either way is recommended to cruise the panama canal.

The canal is lined in a lush jungle canopy, juxtaposed with the machinery of the locks that raises and lowers the ships making the transit possible. With numerous cruises in panama during the traditional spring and fall repositioning seasons, as well as both full and partial transits, this special passage continues to be an awe-inspiring favorite.

The Panama Canal isn’t just the quickest link between the Atlantic and the Pacific. It’s also among the most beautiful trips you can make anywhere.

Both the QM2 and the Queen Elizabeth will be in the early stages of world cruises, and the Queen Victoria will be preparing to transit the Panama Canal on the way to Los Angeles. While certainly a marketing milestone for Cunard, the three ships do stand out as the standard-bearers of the glory days of ocean cruising, and any time they are in the same port, let alone the gateway to the New World, it’s a special event, particularly for the guests on board. We believe it will be more than a little special.

For her first world voyage, Queen Elizabeth will offer a complete 103-day circumnavigation of the globe from her home port of Southampton, crossing the Atlantic en route to New York. U.S. and Canadian guests may choose to join the cruise in New York, Fort Lauderdale or – after the ship transits the Panama Canal – Los Angeles.

From the west coast, Queen Elizabeth will continue her westward journey to the ever-popular city of Sydney, where she will be docked overnight, and then the South Pacific and New Zealand. From there, it’s on to the exotic ports of Asia, including Singapore, Bali, Vietnam and Thailand as well as another overnight stay in Hong Kong. Then the ship sails on to Malaysia and India before calling on Dubai, also an overnight, followed by a visit to Oman for a Suez Canal transit. This will be followed by visits to the wonders and antiquities of Egypt, Greece, Italy and Portugal en-route back to Southampton. From Southampton, North American guests can rendezvous with the Queen Mary 2 and take in a legendary Transatlantic crossing to complete their personal circumnavigation of the globe.

Segment voyages of 12 to 25 days are also available if it seems too difficult spending more than three months living in luxury on a gleaming, new ocean liner. Of course, these segments can also be combined.