Panama canal jungle eco cruise?

Will be on Pearl 11/28-12/8. I'm looking at the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake jungle eco cruise. Has anyone ever done it? I can't find a website but it's offered through Trip Advisor and Viator. Don't know if they pick you up at Port. It says it leaves from Central Panama City. Sounds like a fun tour. Wish they had it through NCL.

It looks like your cruise is a partial transit cruise, in that case you will not be able to do private shore excursions in Panama. When the ship reaches Gatun Lake after locking through Gatun Locks, only passengers who have purchased shore excursions through the ship are permitted off. If you elect not to take a shorex you can get off the ship when it docks in Colon, however there is not enough time for any excursion.

Edit: I looked at NCL for your sailing and they offer two Eco cruises on your sailing... eco cruise and Gatun Locks or eco cruise on Gatun Lake and Monkey Island.

It looks like your cruise is a partial transit cruise, in that case you will not be able to do private shore excursions in Panama. When the ship reaches Gatun Lake after locking through Gatun Locks, only passengers who have purchased shore excursions through the ship are permitted off. If you elect not to take a shorex you can get off the ship when it docks in Colon, however there is not enough time for any excursion.

 

Edit: I looked at NCL for your sailing and they offer two Eco cruises on your sailing... eco cruise and Gatun Locks or eco cruise on Gatun Lake and Monkey Island.

Shoot. Thanks for the info!

Bill

Could you please tell me where you got the info regarding "only ship excursion" from Gatun. Thank you

I don't know about Bill but I was on this cruise in November and that is a fact. You cannot get off the ship unless you go in excursion. After they go back through the canal and port in Colon, Panama you can get off. Hope this helps.

Bill

Could you please tell me where you got the info regarding "only ship excursion" from Gatun. Thank you

Bill

Could you please tell me where you got the info regarding "only ship excursion" from Gatun. Thank you

I believe there are Panamanian regulations on the topic, but it has been my experience, and MANY others on this board, that the only pax that can get off in Gatun Lake are on cruise line excursions.

Conversely, there have been no reports by anyone that I have seen that state someone has successfully done a private tour, or gone off DIY when tendering ashore at Gatun.

Bill

Could you please tell me where you got the info regarding "only ship excursion" from Gatun. Thank you

This is a long standing policy, regulation or perhaps law... doesn't really matter as that has been the manner in which ship's passengers were permitted to disembark in Gatun Lake. All cruise lines that offer partial transits (and occasionally northbound full transits provide disembarking in Gatun Lake) only permit you to go ashore if you book through them. This dates back to the days the US ran the Canal and it is based on sound logic. Where the ship tenders you ashore sounds good, the Gatun Yacht Club, there is no commercial area, no shops, no town, no taxis, the railroad used to run by there, but now it has moved away as well. Even the GYC is just a shell of its former self. The point I am trying to make is... if for some reason your DYI tour guide did not show up, your only transportation would be the shoe leather express!:) You could just imagine the blowback that would occur if something happened to any passengers that ran into any difficulty because their private tour provider failed to show.

I know a lot of people avoid ship's excursions like the plague, but really at this stop it can be a blessing. Most all of the excursions involve considerable distance from the port, sometimes dicey traffic conditions as well as being in remote areas where cell service is scant or non existent.

Will be on Pearl 11/28-12/8. I'm looking at the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake jungle eco cruise. Has anyone ever done it? I can't find a website but it's offered through Trip Advisor and Viator. Don't know if they pick you up at Port. It says it leaves from Central Panama City. Sounds like a fun tour. Wish they had it through NCL.

Did you ever get an answer? Princess offers this excursion on our full transit on Island Princess 02/03/17 to 02/18/17. I'm wondering if it is worth the $109.95 pp price tag. Are there any private tour companies offering this and if so is it safe? I can't seem to get any current postings on the subject. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place as others have mentioned?

Did you ever get an answer? Princess offers this excursion on our full transit on Island Princess 02/03/17 to 02/18/17. I'm wondering if it is worth the $109.95 pp price tag. Are there any private tour companies offering this and if so is it safe? I can't seem to get any current postings on the subject. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place as others have mentioned?

The answers were right under my nose.

This is a long standing policy, regulation or perhaps law... doesn't really matter as that has been the manner in which ship's passengers were permitted to disembark in Gatun Lake. All cruise lines that offer partial transits (and occasionally northbound full transits provide disembarking in Gatun Lake) only permit you to go ashore if you book through them. This dates back to the days the US ran the Canal and it is based on sound logic. Where the ship tenders you ashore sounds good, the Gatun Yacht Club, there is no commercial area, no shops, no town, no taxis, the railroad used to run by there, but now it has moved away as well. Even the GYC is just a shell of its former self. The point I am trying to make is... if for some reason your DYI tour guide did not show up, your only transportation would be the shoe leather express!:) You could just imagine the blowback that would occur if something happened to any passengers that ran into any difficulty because their private tour provider failed to show.

 

I know a lot of people avoid ship's excursions like the plague, but really at this stop it can be a blessing. Most all of the excursions involve considerable distance from the port, sometimes dicey traffic conditions as well as being in remote areas where cell service is scant or non existent.

We are doing a full transit and will be docking at Fuerte Amador. So in your opinion we should do an excursion thru the cruise ship instead of an outside tour company? I usually don't like the cruise ship option but I would rather be safe than sorry.

We are doing a full transit and will be docking at Fuerte Amador. So in your opinion we should do an excursion thru the cruise ship instead of an outside tour company? I usually don't like the cruise ship option but I would rather be safe than sorry.

As far as I know there is nothing that is particularly unsafe about engaging a non ship tour operator in Panama, I am not aware of any catastrophes. Most of my comments were predicated on a ship's excursion is your only option on the partial transit. There is a bit more of a time crunch on tours starting in Gatun Lake since many of the tours must take you to the Pacific side of the Isthmus, conduct the tour and then return you to the Atlantic side to rejoin the ship. The stop at Fort Amador will have you closer to many of the shore excursion destinations, so that is a little extra cushion.

There are still some tours that do take you some distance from the from the ship such as the Embera Indians. So it really depends on your comfort level, again I have not heard of any horror stories. If you have a tour operator that you would like to use, I would not think there would be an issue.

Fort Amador is a tender port so you will have to allow time for that. Of course there are not any restrictions here about non ship excursions going ashore via the tender.

Thank you BillB48 for your quick response and answer to my question. I feel better about using a non-ship excursion.

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