Review: Panama Canal by Ferry

My wife and I recently enjoyed our day in Panama and took the ship sponsored excursion titled Panama Canal by Ferry. We booked this tour (through the ship) because the Celebrity Galaxy was doing a partial transit and it was the only way to get off the Galaxy (a ship sponsored tour) while in the canal zone.

We really enjoyed this trip.

We arrived at the mouth of the Atlantic side entrance to the canal very early in the morning (approximately 6:00am). The Galaxy entered the first lock chamber of the Gatun Locks a little over one hour later, and then went through the 3 lock steps to raise the 85 feet needed to enter Gatun lake. It took a little over an hour to go all the way through (we entered the lake at about 8:30am). It was fascinating to go through the lock chambers on such a large ship and watch as the electric trains helped guide us through. A canal employee boarded the ship at the beginning and provided narration on the way through the locks. Total toll to Celebrity for this partial transit of the Galaxy: approximately $120,000. We were also told the largest toll to date was for a cruise ship (I believe the Grand Princess) at about $230,000. The Galaxy entered the lake and set anchor very near by. This was only the beginning of our day.

We then got on a tender at 9am and headed to the near by yacht club, got on a bus, and headed out to Gamboa. Gamboa is port on the canal waters that is approximately at the end of Gatun lake and the ‘cut portion’ of the canal. Here we boarded a passenger ferry. The ferry could hold approximately 450 people, . . . and there were only 150 people on the tour. Needless to say, it was very roomy. Soda and water were in a large cooler and were provide by the tour operator along with a boxed lunch at no charge. There was also a cash bar available, as well as a local lady selling souvenirs.

We took off from Gamboa just in time. Just in time to see the last 2 Panamax ships (maximum size for Panama Canal ships) sailing through the cut portion from the Pacific side to the Atlantic side. The canal only allows one way Panamax traffic in the morning (Pacific to Atlantic) and one way Panamax traffic in the late morning (Atlantic to Pacific) through the cut portion. Panamax ships can only transit during these hours. Other traffic can then transit at anytime after these times (with 2 way traffic allowed). They are widening the cut portion to try to allow 2 way Panamax traffic at all times and are getting close. They are also migrating from a visual based navigation transit to an electronic based system. We could see all this work in process. This was a very interesting journey through the canal on the ferry. We could see the new bridge that has been build (but not yet opened). The continental divide cut area was very good. While on this ferry trip, we heard the train a couple of times but did not see it. We were told that the rails have been moved back from the canal to limit vibration and the amount of dirt that falls back into the canal. Hence, . . . I’m not sure that the train option of a canal tour allows one to see that much of the canal.

On to the Pedro Miguel Locks. Here is where we really go to see the locks up close and personal. In fact, it was very easy to reach out and touch the lock walls. Our ferry, one other passenger ferry, and 2 small yachts were in the lock. We were tied to the side of the chamber (yes, they had to let the tie lines out when the water went down). The water went down relatively quickly. Interestingly, there are lots of paint scrapings on the sides of the canal walls from the large vessels. Got some great pictures of this. The Panamax ships (and our cruise ship), must have to do a lot of touch up paint after a transit. In the ferry, we dropped well below the height of the lock walls. This was in stark comparison to how it looked on the huge cruise ship. You really got a sense that you were dropping (where on the cruise ship it was a very subtle rise). We then left the Pedro Miguel locks, passed through Miraflores lake and the Mirafloes locks and onto Balboa pier. In the distance, we could see the Bridge of the Americas. Once in Balboa, we boarded our bus again and back to Colon Pier where we could rejoin the Galaxy (the Galaxy had come back through the Gatun locks while we were gone).

What a great ride! We had a guide on board that discussed the canal and Panama all the way (both bus and ferry ride). A bit on the expensive side ($154/pp), but worth it to see the canal up close and personal. From what I can tell, I think this is the best way to ‘see’ and experience the locks and the canal if you are only doing a partial transit or simply stopping in Colon for the day.

Thanks so much for this detailed review. My family is doing the tour from the Horizon at the end of thiis month. It is very reassuring to hear that it is worth the cost. I love this sort of thing and am sure to enjoy this tour.

Was there shade on the Ferry? Was it really hot all day long? I am thinking about this tour. It sounds like a long time but you sound like you really enjoyed it.

My Husband, Mother And I Are Leaving Next Thursday For The 11-night Cruise And Are Seriously Thinking Of Doing The Canal By Ferry. We Sailed The Brilliance Last Year Through The Canal And Wanted A Different Perspective Of The Canal. Is There Any Time For Shopping After The Return To Cristobal Pier?

Excellent Review

Thanks

Barb

The ferry we were on had 2 decks. The lower deck was mostly enclosed and the enclosed area had AC. The upper deck (where most people sat), was ~75% covered with open sides and the back was open as well. Plenty of shade for all. It was not ultra hot this day (upper 80s, low 90s). Also, this was asked on another thread - there was not a lot of walking required (from tender to bus, bus to boat, boat to bus) and the only steps that I remember were on the boat. FYI, . . . this was also the 'dry' season which I think we were told lasts about 3-4 Months (Jan ~ April). During the dry season, they get a nice Atlantic -> Pacific breeze, and I recall that we did have this breeze this day.

Yes, there was time for shopping after this tour on our cruise. We returned to the Colon area around 3:30. Our ship did not set sail until 7pm. Lots of shops right at the pier area. I should note that the duration of the tour is dependant on how things go in the canal when your are on the ferry. The tour operator can not control what happens there. We were fortunate in that we did not have to wait at the locks for any other boats/ships etc. We were told upfront though, that sometimes there are delays at the locks and they can only pass when the canal operators allow them to, . . . it all depends on the traffic for the day.

Total tour time ~ 6 1/2 hours, . . . of which 3 1/2 hours were on the ferry and the other time was for the tender from the ship and on the bus to and from the start (~ 1 hour) and end (little over an hour) locations. The busses were very nice and lots of AC. :)

Hope this helps!!! This really is a great way to see the canal up close and personal!

When you come to the other end of the locks can you actually see the Pacific ocean?, some of the people we are with have never seen the Pacific before.

When you come to the other end of the locks can you actually see the Pacific ocean?, some of the people we are with have never seen the Pacific before.

When we exited the Miraflores lock chamber, . . . we were then in the Pacific Ocean. Granted, it is a harbor that we entered and not the vast ocean. I really don't recall if you could see the vastness of the Pacific Ocean from the lock chambers or not. I was looking at the locks and not really looking forward. Here is a good map of the canal area for reference. You can see Gamboa which is where we started on the Ferry. You can see 'Balboa' which is where we got off the Ferry and 'CA-1' is the road that crosses via the Bridge of Americas. What looks like a river between Gamboa and Balboa is what I refer to as the ‘cut area’. We did not go under this bridge, but we were very close to its footings. Hwy 3 was the road we used to travel by the bus.

Panama Canal Map

This reminded me of something. One very interesting thing I noted during the tour was that the upper 2 lock chambers had very green algae spots. The lower chamber had the algae, but it was a different color (much toned down green). I assumed this was due to salt water in the lower chamber, but not in the upper chambers (or significantly diluted).

Thanks for the memories. We did the ferry boat trip but on Princess last year and it was the highlight of our trip. What is neat about it is you into one of the locks on the cruise ship and then transfer to ferry boat and go through the other two locks. At the time we went we had to share the lock with a HUGE tanker. Unbelievable the size of those tanks when you are just ahead of them. Thanks for bringing back memories.

Marilyn

Thanks brentp for all the info... I booked this tour today.

Ronda

Brentp - Thanks for the review. We are taking this tour and I am recommending people on our cruise read this review.

Brentp - Thanks for the review. We are book for this tour on March 23 and really enjoyed reading your comments.

I am going to be on the Carnival Liberty in November and there is a tour called the Panama canal tour aboard a ferry I am guessing this is the one or is there another that carnival uses?

Your review was very detailed and interesting. We booked it over a month ago for our 4/8/05 cruise on Brilliance and were delighted to read that it was well worth the expense. After all...only go around once in this life and who knows if we'll ever be here again. Live for the moment.

Ruthie

We visited Panama aboard the Carnival Legend on 3/24. This is the same tour as the one described by the OP. However, we started at Balboa and get off at Gamboa. This is a fantastic tour. It is, however, very long. We left the ship in Colon at 7:30am and got back at around 3:15pm. The Tour Operators cannot control how long you might wait to use the locks. We had a 30 minute delay to allow a Russian freighter to enter the Mira Flores locks and then another 20 minute delay to allow 3 yachts to exit the Pedro Miguel locks. Many people were disappointed that they had very little time for shopping after the trip. The ship was scheduled to leave Colon at 4pm and we left shortly after 5pm - about 20 minutes after the Panama City tour got back.

We just did this tour off of the Horizon. It was really great! The time is long but worth it. It is really neat rising in the locks. The only thing we didn't like was the low quaility lunch. :-)

Someone else on the ship did the Dome train and they were disappointed by train delays and not getting a tour of the locks. Both tours are expensive but the ferry seems more unique and interesting.

Hi Bigdoug, Your pictures were great.

I was wondering where you got off of your tour, it looks like you went under the Bridges of America.

Did you ?

Or did you get off right before the bridge?

We just returned from the Coral Princess and the port we got off in was very digusting, that why I was asking.

THANK YOU for a great read!!!

We are cruising on the Coral Princess in Oct. 05.

Can anyone tell me if there are restrooms on the motorcoach taking you back to the ship after the O2O excursion?

Great review of the excursion, I thought I would bring this back up to the first page for other cruisers interested in this excursion.

excursion - we went on it in Oct. while sailing the Coral. BTW our tour buses did have restrooms - the one's on the excursion boat were not operating properly. There were also restrooms available where you tender in from the ship to the bus. As well as restrooms where you get off the boat after transiting the locks.

We highly recommend taking this excursion - it is well worth the $ spent.

Hugger, thanks for the update, we are booked on this for our April cruise and am really looking forward to it.

We'll be on this tour in 2 weeks...after reading this I'm even more excited!!

You are going to love this excursion. We were also on the Coral and it was the highlight of our trip. Have fun.

marilyn

Thanks for the review. I just switched to the Brilliance and was debating booking this tour. I definitely will be doing this tour.

No flames please - this is a very long tour - 7 hours according to Carnival's website. Does anyone know what the smoking policy is on the ferry and at the various stops? I doubt you can smoke on the bus, but is there a "smoking section" on the ferry? Also, how long was the bus ride to get to the ferry? Thank you.

That's a good question, hopefully someone who's been on this tour can answer soon.