(August 24, 2020, 4:52 am)
We were lucky enough to be able to view a freighter in the lock with a second waiting to enter from the other direction. Upon our arrival, we were told that at 2:30, the museum and viewing facility would close for cleaning until 3:00. (Covid 19) The staff at the door told us two ships were coming in at 2:18 and 2:19. First that’s not possible because one takes a good 30-45 minutes to get in and out. Secondly, they close at 2:30 to clean. It was close to the closing time and the ship wasn’t even ready to stop yet for the level drop,
We opted to leave the elevated viewing dock and go to the park area to watch from ground level.
At exactly 2:30 a staff member evacuated all guests off of the viewing deck. Everyone from there came to the park area as we had to see from the ground level. I understand the need to sanitize and be health conscious during this time. However, I feel this cleaning could have been done prior to the ships arriving so people can see the lock activities. If there are no ships expected, keep the sanitizing schedule as is. The staff have the times of ship arrivals so it could be a more pleasant visit if these practices changed.