HAL's Panama City Bus Tour?

[nansi]

We need some feedback from anyone who has done the HAL Panama City Bus Tour. It sounds really good according to HAL's description, but we'd like some firsthand experience reports from former trippers. It's a long and costly excursion, but we are really interested in seeing Panama City, and this seems to be the only option to do that.

There's a post concerning this on the "destinations" board, but not much feedback there, so thought I'd try the HAL board instead.

Has anyone out there done this tour with HAL, and if so, what did you think of it. We're on the Rotterdam March 6 cruise.

Nancy & Henry

[ehrkes]

:) Hello,

This is our first time cruising with Holland America(my wife and I are in are mid-thirties-I am a computer animator and she is a writer
(book-ongoing)......we are very excited(Westerdam 3/6/2005) anyhow we did this Panama City Bus Tour VIA Carnival last year and here is how it went I am hoping this tour is the same/kinda the same as ours:

Got off the ship, warm and humid morning already (Feb. 27, 04) and was directed to the bus tour group (live entertainment by the locals, dancing, music, etc very cool), got on the a/c bus (new) state of the art bus......and was welcome to Panama, and given some safety chat----Don't roll down the windows (due to stopping in some areas of PC you would be approached by beggars etc) and NOT to get out or walk around PC without an escort. Some muggings the week before on our Carnival cruise(they walked 8 blocks to the duty-free zone and were harrassed, mugged twice-guys left them their ships passes and dl's only-so they could get back aboard) anyhow and off we went.

I was not nervous (grew up in Chicago) so familar, areas of extreme wealth, poverty and everything in the middle.............once we got out to the jungles or forest area, they it got fun..............we pulled up to banana and mango? plantations and they would honk the bus horn and these guys would run out from the plantations with bananas-some ripe some green on those huge banana stalks (imagine 500 bananas or something like that) and they would bring it on the bus, they we could "tip" the workers.............we ate, the freshest bananas...mangoes? Saw monkeys, lots of people walk in PC and outside city......walking and walking miles the driver told us.....not alot of cars-just in the PC city center put lots of people walking along these roads in the middle of nowhere-some of them walk 10-20 miles to and from work/home etc...he told me. We actually picked up one lady who was "off" that day--she works for the tour company that drove our bus-----she was just heading downtown PC (8 miles away) to do the family shopping for the week....so she accepted a ride from us.........Amazing.........

Otherwise uneventful, and we ended up taking the "longer" tour of PC and ended up in the rainforest, by the Panama Canal and ended up at a place called Gamboa Resort. Which is smack-dab in the middle of a rainforest---about an hour outside PC......anyhow took this aerial tram ride costs $15 pp and it was so quiet......each tram seats 6, and one ride operator who stayed and explained as much or as little as you wanted to know about the rain forest. AWESOME. Hope Carnival carries this tour over to the Holland America.

Anyhow, we got "local music" to listen to and buy on board, unlimited sodas, PC water to drink in bottles and lots of photo ops-like stopping at the dam outside of PC....it seems 90% of Panama is powered by the waters and dams....got out only after tour guide confirmed safety (about 6 armed guards guarding the views off the dam from rebels who sometimes mug, kidnap tourists) I was not nervous.....views were awesome.....

We also learned that alot of Americans move to Panama for low taxes, the lifestyle and to enjoy their money/retirement. You will see theses houses since the tour operator told us people always ask and yes they take you right to these neighborhoods....imagine a hundred thousand square foot mansion/house for only like $180-190 thousand USD.....or so I was told-jaw dropping :eek:

Bus got back to ship, dropping us off safely at a shopping mall-stocked with goodies, not usual junk show stuff.......nice stuff, good prices haggling is a must.........I learned ask the price, haggle it down, the laugh a little.....if they laugh back or giggle it is a deal---if nothing, then no sale...hehehehehe
Don't miss the live entertainment-tons of native dancers (topless) don't gawk-and singing, music and people got back on the ship--and they were tossing money/coins back down to the entertainers-(much to the dismay of our cruise employees) they sang and danced and entertained us all the way until we left and pulled away....."thanks for coming, come back soon..they sang..." really cool.............not to be missed.

TIP, if you are gonna tip them-just tip them when you walk/get back aboard the ship--otherwise--you needed to put a few quarters or a half-dollar waded up in a dollar bill and scrunched it up just to throw it and get it to land-down by them---especially if you were up 10 decks--FYI.


I loved Panama the best.......very nice people--we didn't see any scary areas or muggers waiting to get us....but like with ANY tour, be careful, listen to your guide/guides STAY with them..........and relax and have fun.


I hope this helps.....I will try and pull Panama photos from last year and email/post em if I have them......


Bon Voyage!

Ehrkes

[nansi]

Thanks for all those details Ehrkes! We really appreciate the information. We were just wondering where the ship dropped you off to catch the bus. We will be dropped at Lake Gatun for the excursion, and we'll be returning to Colon 8 hours later to meet the ship before it sails. Did you leave from Colon and return to Colon?
I don't see any options for the "longer" tour, as you mentioned. Did you know about that before you left, or they told you about it while on the bus? I believe the Aerial Tram ride is a separate excursion on HAL. Since we plan to do some Zip-lining when we're in Costa Rica, we'll probably pass on the aerial tram in Panama. Glad to hear the bus has A/C though!
Looks like the Westerdam and Rotterdam are both sailing out of Lauderdale on March 6th....we'll wave to you as we pass!

Nancy and Henry

[ehrkes]

Hello,


Oh yes, we had wanted to get on the Rotterdam------but was getting very costly for what we wanted...............a cabin, any cabin---------hehehehe
ANYHOW, we are the Westerdam......and cannot wait...

We will also wave to you guys--BON VOYAGE
It is just that we have done it all with cruising and have decided that just being on a ship-and having a room is a gift enough.

We have had big cabins with verandahs, balconies, and small cabins, small port windows, huge windows...........we just are not fussy anymore--we will take a good deal in price cabin anyday.........we always do the tea at sea, and enjoy listening to the music, usually performed in the clubs, promenade etc...and we love people watching.....our fun...

We are the two who always get off the boat and set out to hike, explore the countries we visit(forewarned by the State Department) etc..........and we know where we should and should not be while hiking, exploring about........
anyhow that is us........we will snorkel also--but we just like meeting new people and learning about new cultures and such......we hardly ever do the tours ---------the one we did do in Panama was the tour of the rainforest, via a gondola(very safe) in Colon, Panama..........it was awesome...

Hoping that all of your cruises are wonderful!


The Ehrkes :)