DH and I went thru the Panana Canal last December as part of a 12 day cruise from Miami on Royal Carribean's Brilliance of the Seas. Our itinerary called for a "partial transit" or cruising thru one set of the three sets of locks. The ship prepared to enter the lock at about 5:45 in the morning, but we didn't actually get into the chamber until about 6:30. (Quite a procedure, well worth watching - the ship is 107 feet wide, the lock is 110 feet wide!) Lots of folks go to the bow of the ship to watch, others watch from their balconies -- but we got a good hint from a friend who suggested we watch from an area on the deck with the solarium - from a glassed in area that extended to the full width of the ship we had an unforgetable view of the ship actually entering the lock...the same view that the captain has!
The actual transit thru the lock took about 3 hours, then the ship cruised the lake a bit before coming back thru the same lock (of course on the other side).
We elected to take the excursion that transversed the entire Panana Canal and it was truly an amazing way to really experience the Canal. After going thru the lock, the ship dropped anchor and those of us going on the full Canal transit boarded a tender that took us to the dock where we boarded buses that dropped us off near the second lock and we boarded a small ferry.
The ferry then went thru the second and third sets of locks, exiting at the Pacific side of the Canal where we were met by buses that drove us back to the Atlantic side and our ship. Our tour guide gave us a really good overview of Panana on the buses as well.
The full transit takes about nine hours, but seeing it from a 970 foot long ship and then from a 100 or so foot long boat really gives you the full perspective. Nothing like watching a 1,000 foot container ship on the other side lock as you are waiting to exit the lock. We actually were able to touch the walls of the Canal in the lock as the water receded! During the trip we heard a lot about the new Canal and saw where it's going to be.
Not too many people sign up for the ferry trip thru the Canal -- I think about 75 did from our ship -- but we really had the experience of a lifetime. It's a long day, but you learn so much more about the construction of this engineering miracle than by just staying on your ship. I highly recommend it!