Accessable Transportation in Colon, Pa??

Does anyone have a contact for an accessable taxi or minibus-with-lift in Colon, Panama?

I have contacts for these in Cozumel and Aruba but have not yet found any for touring the locks.

Any help would be greatly apprectiated.:)

Joe O and Lila Jean

We were on the Island Princess in April with my wheelchair bound mom. The only way we were allowed off the ship was with a Princess excursion and the couldn't guarantee wheelchair accessability on any of their excursions. We ended up staying on the ship. By the time we got to Colon, there wasn't enough time to really go anywhere.

Good luck!

WBLEVIN....Thanks for the input. Not too encouraging for Princess.

We've sailed with Celebrity and RCCL since my DW has been completely w/c bound and they both have been marvelous.

A lot of personal attention from both of them. They've stopped lines of people getting on or off the ship to assist us. We tool around the port shopping areas with her electric w/c and the only thing stopping us is whether we should take a trip or a nap.;)

Thanks again. BTW it seems as if Celeb and RCCL have a little more accessability capability than Princess. Both in the size of rooms and the number of cabins for handicapped people.

Joe O

lol - we have been cruising for a number of years with mom. Actually, we found Celebrity (Millenium) one of the least WC friendly ships for mom - joints in floors were harder to maneuver, etc. HAL has probably been their favorite to date with NCL and Princess close behind.

And that's why they make chocolate and vanilla icecream.

P.S. My signatures list of cruise lines we've sailed with shows our strong preferences. Again...thanks a lot.

Joe O

I do not know if there is accessible transportation in Colon. We have been there twice while on cruises (Celebrity and Carnival) and both times were told that there were no accessible excursions.

They were wrong. The aerial tram is accessible if you can find accessible transportation. In fact when I went there (leaving my husband on the ship), our guide was upset that I had been told that. Not only are the entrance to the tram and the tower ramped, but he said that they have an accessible tram. In addition, the butterfly and reptile houses seemed to be accessible also.

If you can not find accessible transportation, there is a shopping area across from the ship which has an elevator. Its not great, but it would get you off the ship for a while.

Del67....Thanks much for your reply.

We were in Colon right after the port/shopping area was built and before my wife became incapacitated. The shopping area was brand new and I hoped it would improve. Perhaps its still too new.

Del:

Well technically the cruise line was right -- they did not have any accessible shore excursions, as the shore excursion not only includes the attraction but also accessible transportation to the attraction. I don't know of any accessible tranportation providers in Colon. It's slim pickings in some parts of the Caribbean.

Candy

You're right Queenie2 that they were technically correct since the transportation was probably not accessible. Howerer, at the time my husband could get onto a bus with a lot of help. But when questioned about the accessibility of the aerial tram, I was told by both Celebrity and Carnival that there were steps and that the trams could not accomodate a wheelchair, even folded up, both of which were not true.

On one of these cruises, we also went to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. When questioned accessibility of excursions, Canival's excursion desk said that the Canal tour was accessible, but there was no accessible transportation. You can imagine how we felt whyen, after struggling to get my husband into a bus, we noticed that the bus across the way had a handicap symbol on it. I'm sure that they could have switched buses if Carnival had asked them to do so.

The bottom line is that I believe that the cruise lines have not made any real effort to truly understand what is accessible and what is not. What I find especially frustrating about this is that even if they did not want to assess each tour themselves, some questions or a few minutes research on the web would often provide some needed information. Given the number of wheelchair/scooter passengers I see on almost every cruise these days, I would think that they should make some attempt to do so.

I just E-mailed the Colon Chamber of Commerce requesting info re: accessible transprtation.

Let's see what happens.

Joe O

P.S. the e-mail was just rejected with an invalid address (supplied by the Chamber itself!!??)

More to come.

Well i agree Del, the cruise lines could make an effort to learn more about the access of their tours. But to be fair, the shore excursion staff knows relatively little about *any* details of the tours (beyond the brief explanations included in the brochures). I can't even begin count the number of shore excursion employees (even managers) who have not even taken the time to go on the shore excursions they are selling. I think that should be required. That way they would be able to answer those "beyond the brochure" questions. But that's not the way it usually works.

As far as (cruise lines) finding access information on the internet, well that can be risky too if you don't investigate it and check it our personally. (and I don't think they are willing to do this). I can't count the number of places that have told me they are accessible (and don't have any steps) and when I arrive, well guess what I find.

Actually even able-bodied passengers should research the ports (although not for access). That's the only way to get the real scoop on things to do. I guess it always has amazed me to see travelers arrive at their destination knowing relatively little about it. I mean how in the world are you going to know what you want to do if you don't really understand your choices? But I (again) digress.

Candy