Panama City, Panama

Those of you who still posses Van Halen albums, and you know who you are, go ahead and cue up the song: “Panama! Panama-ah! Panama! Panama-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! Panama!” Yes, there’s been a lot of this going on in the hallways between Acapulco and our most recent stop. This will be an interesting port because we’re not docked; we’re anchored. There are too few births available and we couldn’t outbid others wanting one so we’ll have to tender to the shore. Approximately every 20-30 minutes from 7:00am to 1:00am, our crew are working very hard transferring passengers in lifeboats to and from shore. This is a rather intricate process, especially since the Panama Canal is very near where we’re located and swells can be rather unpredictable at times. Because we have passengers on board ranging in age from 3 months to 87 years, several need special assistance in any disembarking situation. Most of us need a little help with this one. Important note: Garrett Michael Morris, who we’ll all call Rett, was born today. Thanks to technology, we’ve already seen his photo and, as expected, he’s adoreable. Congratulations to Aunt Julie, Uncle Doug & Cousin Ryan!

Tender Update: the first day in port a tender broke loose from the gangway and several crew were seriously at risk while protecting the passengers. All days this is potentially dangerous, but this one was especially so. Last night (7.04.07) at our logistical pre-port meeting, the Executive Dean, John Burkoff, presented each of the 30 crew members involved in the tendering process with certificates designed by the ship kids.