Panama canal excursions (ferry vs train ride?

We are trying to decide on an excursion for a January cruise to the Panama Canal and have narrowed it down to the ferry or the train. Any suggestions? Thank You.

Really depends on how interested in the Canal you are... not trying to be too vague on purpose... but are you on a full transit cruise or are you on a partial transit cruise or perhaps just making a port call in Colon? Might be able to steer you one way or another based on what type of transit you are taking.

Briefly however, the ferry excursion will give you an excellent overview of the Canal, IMO if you have to choose on which part of the Canal to see, the ferry will hit the preferred section. There is certainly more of the"highlights" when you transit the two Pacific Locks and pass through Gaillard Cut.

The train is certainly a very laid back excursion and has a lot of historical significance since the Panama Railroad is the first transcontinental train in the Americas. The Railroad was certainly vital in the construction of the Canal. For someone who has an affinity for trains, this excursion would certainly be of interest. However, if you are hoping to see a lot of the Canal from the Railroad, that really won't be the case. There are some parts of the train trip where you will be close to the main channel and you may be able to see some ships transiting, but this is a not a large part of the train trip... and you have to pick the correct side of the train to fully enjoy the Canal portion. A large part of the train route skirts the edges of Gatun Lake and is not that close to the main channel.

To sum it up... If you are on a full transit cruise, you will be covering a good part of what you will have experienced on your ship's transit of the Canal if you opt for the ferry excursion. On the other hand if you are on a partial transit cruise/port call in Colon, the ferry excursion would give you the most exposure to the Canal.

If your ship is going into the canal, you really don't need another excursion, unless you are REALLY interested in all things canal!!!

If you DON'T go into the canal (either on a partial or full transit), then an excursion is your only option.

Thank you. My understanding is that the ship is going into Gatun Lake and drop off passengers going on excursions and then on to Colon to pick them up. Does this sound right? My guess is we will do the ferry since we have never been to the Panama canal but I am concerned about it somewhat. Will let you know what we decide. Thanks again.

Thank you. My understanding is that the ship is going into Gatun Lake and drop off passengers going on excursions and then on to Colon to pick them up. Does this sound right? My guess is we will do the ferry since we have never been to the Panama canal but I am concerned about it somewhat. Will let you know what we decide. Thanks again.

You have exactly right. After your ship locks through Gatun Locks you will tender off and go by bus to join your shore excursion, either shore excursion you select. While you are on your excursion the ship will lock back through Gatun Locks and dock in Colon where you will rejoin the ship.

By doing the ferry excursion you will have experienced a large part of the Canal. I think the ferry excursion gives you a unique opportunity to experience going through the locks on your large passenger ship and then being able to view it all from the smaller ferry. Two very distinct experiences as your ship can seem to overwhelm the locks and then the ferry will be swallowed up by the locks.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

We've done both and preferred the ferry. The ferry is 2 or 3 decks with seats. When you go thru the locks you can touch the side of the canal. The train runs along side of the canal but you don't see quite as much as we thought we would. Both have commentary which, at times, gets to be a bit too much and is hard to tune out. Ferry has a buffet lunch usually chix kebab, salad, rice and some sweet. It's OK but last time they ran out of food. Train has a snack box. At the end of the ferry trip you are bused back to the ship. Last time the ferry was very late due to canal traffic. Ship waited for us or they would have left 400 or so of their passengers in Panama. If you do the ferry take the ships tour. Train starts or ends at the pier with a bus ride in one direction.

What ever you decide, enjoy!

We finally made a decision. We have signed up for the ferry excursion. Thanks for all your help.

Great! Thanks for touching base... really hope you enjoy:)!