Celebrity Cruises and the Panama Canal

We are planning an 11 night cruise on the Celebrity Equinox, that docks in Colon...I would like to hear from anyone who has done this cruise before and has done the ship's excursion into the Lake and down to Panama City...We would like to see the Canal and surrounding area, but not sure which excursion to take..

Not sure which tours you are referring to... if you are speaking about the tour that is a partial transit of the Canal through Gaillard Cut and the Pacific Locks... that tour will give a good up close look at the Canal and some of the country side. The tour won't really take into Panama City other than get a glimpse of the skyline. Most all the various tours provided by the cruise lines are similar, what changes usually is the title of the excursion. Which ones are you thinking of?

Not sure which tours you are referring to... if you are speaking about the tour that is a partial transit of the Canal through Gaillard Cut and the Pacific Locks... that tour will give a good up close look at the Canal and some of the country side. The tour won't really take into Panama City other than get a glimpse of the skyline. Most all the various tours provided by the cruise lines are similar, what changes usually is the title of the excursion. Which ones are you thinking of?

I was just trying to get a feel of which ship tour would be the best...maybe thinking of doing the tour on the ferry boat

I would also ask about this on the Celebrity Board just because many don't always check back on this board.

Keith

The tour on the ferry will give you a good up close view of the Canal. There are advantages in passing through the locks on a smaller vessel such as the ferry. The huge passenger ships can in some ways "overpower" the locks, you will get an up close perspective. The passage through Gaillard Cut where the bulk of the excavation for the Canal took place is not changed in anyway by transiting on a smaller vessel. The ride to and from the Pacific side to board the ferry will give a nice look at the country side.

The tour on the ferry will give you a good up close view of the Canal. There are advantages in passing through the locks on a smaller vessel such as the ferry. The huge passenger ships can in some ways "overpower" the locks, you will get an up close perspective. The passage through Gaillard Cut where the bulk of the excavation for the Canal took place is not changed in anyway by transiting on a smaller vessel. The ride to and from the Pacific side to board the ferry will give a nice look at the country side.

Thanks for the info!