Colon-Tour of old and new canal

Sailing Nov 2014- Celebrity Equinox which docks at Colon - I have been to Panama Canal before and gone through completely but on this sailing wanting to just tour New canal at the Observation Center along with tour of existing lock and their center hopefully with a guide. I would like to hear from anyone that has taken the Celebrity tour of both canals and let me know about it. I am hoping to not get in huge buses and carted around to shopping and hotels which happened before. Or also anyone that has taken an Independent tour of both canals. Can you recommend a operator and your review.

I have not taken the tour offered by the ship, when I took a tour of the new Atlantic Locks observation center it was part of a non cruise visit to Panama. The offerings at the Gatun Locks are fairly basic... observation platform with someone providing narration at the upper level of the Locks. In the middle level some equipment/machinery displays. The main attraction is of course seeing the ships go through the Locks from shore side. The new observation center for the New Locks is a very modern facility with video presentations and an area to purchase refreshments along with an excellent view of the construction site, Gatun Lake and the Atlantic entrance of the Canal. When I was there they had someone explaining what you were looking at as well as you could ask questions. Don't how easy it will be to ask questions of the guide that is providing the narration since it probably will be very crowded with a ship in port. When I was at the Observation Center it was not crowded at all.

As far as big buses going to hotels and shopping, I don't think there will be much of that. You could have a big bus, but the ride to Gatun Locks and the new locks Observation Center is not a long ride from Colon. There is not that much in the way of shopping in the Colon area outside of the shopping mall that is connected to the pier where you dock. The Celebrity tour is only scheduled for 4 hours so I don't think there will be much time for anything but the stops at the two locks.

Not much help in the private tour department, since the person I was using mainly was just providing transportation. I'll throw out a few names that I have seen on this board. No recommendations... just a starting point:).

http://www.junglelandpanama.com/#!panama-tours/chd8

robtads2@hotmail.com or robtads@hotmail.com

Thanks for info but in my question about bus going to hotel or shopping. That happened to me on taking ship tour to Gatun Locks. I thought it was just a trip to Locks and back and if you wanted to shop they would stop. Well what happened is due to many busses at Lock (my feeling not a fact) they took us to a hotel for one hour with nothing to do. They had a pool but no one has a swim suit as we were not told to bring one. The bar was just being set up and just a waiter with no bar experience was tending. A complete waste of time and the last thing on all of our minds was touring hotel grounds. Then after the lock viewing (which I really enjoyed, hence why we are going back) tour guide took bus group to his "cousin" shop to get the best deals. We were trapped. Needless to say this was upsetting. I would of rather been at locks the whole time. I really do not think just getting off ship and playing it by ear to get to both locks is the way I want to go from Colon port.

Admittedly I can only provide some anecdotal evidence as to how the tour is run. During the time the excursion to Gatun Locks and the New Locks has been operating, I can't recall anyone on this forum reporting they had any unannounced stops as you have experienced. I suspect that they may have been staggering the buses as you suggested or perhaps they were trying to plus up a tour that may have been a little light in content. When I took ship sponsored excursions in Panama they held fairly close to their itinerary, which did include a planned shopping stop.

I understand your reluctance to just grab a cab and head over to the Locks, but you could still keep that as a plan B. There is a taxi "dispatcher" at the mall adjacent to the pier and the cabs are plainly identifiable. Just tell what you would like to do and agree on a price beforehand. Also stress that you want a driver that speaks good English. While Colon is not the garden spot of the Caribbean, there is not anything inherently unsafe in taking a cab out to the Locks.

I have not taken the tour offered by the ship, when I took a tour of the new Atlantic Locks observation center it was part of a non cruise visit to Panama. The offerings at the Gatun Locks are fairly basic... observation platform with someone providing narration at the upper level of the Locks. In the middle level some equipment/machinery displays. The main attraction is of course seeing the ships go through the Locks from shore side. The new observation center for the New Locks is a very modern facility with video presentations and an area to purchase refreshments along with an excellent view of the construction site, Gatun Lake and the Atlantic entrance of the Canal. When I was there they had someone explaining what you were looking at as well as you could ask questions. Don't how easy it will be to ask questions of the guide that is providing the narration since it probably will be very crowded with a ship in port. When I was at the Observation Center it was not crowded at all.

 

Not much help in the private tour department, since the person I was using mainly was just providing transportation. I'll throw out a few names that I have seen on this board. No recommendations... just a starting point:).

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Excellent starting point for my cruise in the Spring 2015 - Thank You. I've traversed the Panama Canal several years ago but the new canal was just a large "ditch". As an Engineer, I'm excited to go back and see the observatory and museum for the new canal and re-visit the operations at the old canal. I don't shop (my DW handles this for me - no joke - I hate shopping) so pleased that the ship's tour was all about the canal operations.

One word of caution, taking clearly marked cabs from the Rio airport (Brazil) is quite dangerous as some just shake-down passengers. I would research and make certain that taking a cab in Colon was safe (by selecting the right cab company or tour group). My first-hand knowledge of Colon is that it's a rough, port town. I'd recommend continuing to research cab companies (or tour providers in the port area) that you can trust. If anyone can give a recommendation, I'd appreciate it.

 

One word of caution, taking clearly marked cabs from the Rio airport (Brazil) is quite dangerous as some just shake-down passengers. I would research and make certain that taking a cab in Colon was safe (by selecting the right cab company or tour group). My first-hand knowledge of Colon is that it's a rough, port town. I'd recommend continuing to research cab companies (or tour providers in the port area) that you can trust. If anyone can give a recommendation, I'd appreciate it.

Fortunately this type of chicanery that you describe in Rio, has not made its way up to Panama as yet that I am aware of. The area in Colon where you would engage a cab is in a semi controlled area and all cabs are yellow with appropriate signage making it a little more difficult for a "gypsy" operator to work their trade. Even though many cruisers avoid ship excursions often times they are the easiest since many times good private tour operators can be hard to find. One will spring up that everyone is pleased with and then "poof" they are nowhere to be found.