Panama Canal Tour w/o ship tour$$

Our ship will dock in Colon. We will be there about 9 hours.

Is there a good way to see the canal either by train or boat without using the ship tours which run $118 to $154 PP?

At most ports we have used Independent Operators recommended on this board or done our own thing. What about seeing the Canal?

We will be on the Horizon.

Many Thanks

PricePerformer

Hello,

I have been trading emails with the owner of a tour company in Panama called Goldcoast. They offer quite a few tours for people on Cruise ships. They had a policy of paying in full which i was not to comfortable with for obvious reasons. The owner emailed back after reading my concerns via email and said i could send a 20% deposit. She was quite accomodating. In the roll call section Ihave posted all my emails with them for others going on the same cruise to read to see if anybody else is interested in using them with us I will post that link for you to read also. I have prices listed for there tours and the info to contact GoldCoast also. Hope this helps you out.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=2268136#post2268136

Hi AllenF,

I am begining to think more about that ship tour on the small boat at $154pp.

Our ship docks at Colon (Celeb Horizon). They bus you to the pacific then you ride a smaller (ferry) boat through the locks and the cut back to Gatun. You do not go through the Gatun locks. They bus you back to the ship from the Gatun docks on the Lake.

I have been reading about thr canal and found that all the locks are essentially the same. Also compared to the price a full transit cruise (only way to see Pacific side locks and go through the Calabra cut) the $154 does not seem that bad.

What are your thoughts? Does Gold Coast offer a transit cruise on a small boat. For what they offered, they did not seem to much of a bargain...

But, I guess I would rather pay $150 to go through the canal than $99 to ride around it.

Take Care,

PricePerformer

I just returned fro a full transit canal cruise. The locks were interesting and doing them on a boat seems like the only way to experience it. All of the locks are the same, so once you have done a set, the only advantage of of contining on is to be able to say you went from ocean to ocean. I personally would try to see if any tour will take you by boat through the Gatun locks and then head somewhere else, maybe the Umbara indian village, or somewhere to actually experience Panama itself. The Gatun locks are by far the most dramatic height change, the others not as impressive. If you have any questions I will try to help.

Hi VikkiGarcia

In prep for the Panama Canal tour, which is a primary reason we picked this cruise, I hase been reading on the history of the building of the canal.

This is where I got the info that all locks are essentially the same. The 3 Gatun locks raise the ship 85 feet in 3 steps of 25 to 30 feet each. This raises the ship to the level of the lake. The 3 locks at the other end of the canal do the same ... except that their is a distance of several miles between the San Miguel Lock (1) and the Miraflores locks (2).

The big difference is going through the Culebra Cut... where they had to cut through a mountain (continental divide). Going through the Culebra cut is what I saw as the difference... and the history that went with it.

I am surprised that you felt so much difference in the height except that doing it 3 in a row may feel more impressive. What was your impression of sailing through the cut? I assume you stayed on board.

Since our cruise is also stopping at Costa Rica I do not see the reason for seeing the local culture in Panama since I have been fascinated by the canal since I was a kid.

By the way the original plan was to build the Pacific end locks at the entrance to the canal and the San Miguel locks where they are now. It was later decided to move the first set of Pacific locks 4 miles inland to better defend them and other reasons. At that point it made sense to build all 3 locks together like the Gatun locks. However, by this time the locks at San Miguel were approved by congress and engineering done... so they left the San Miguel as planned.

Please let me know your reaction to this and if you feel strongly about other things to see. I would prefer an independent (of the ship) tour if available. That is what we are doing in Costa Rica.

Many Thanks,

PricePerformer

PricePerformer,

We are using GoldCoast for a kayaking tour on the Charges River just below the Gatun Locks. When we return I will write a full review on Goldcoast. What i like so far about them is are tour will be a small one so far just 6 people and only room for 8 plus the guide. It is an out door nature type of tour which again suits what i am looking for. I would suggest you email Jill at GoldCoast and see if she can arrange the type of tour to suit your needs.Personally I would ask myself do I wish to take a tour with 50 people or more and be at the mercy of the masses or take a more private tour that is done at my pace and not a large groups. It appears prices vary on tours of the locks depending on what you do. So email Jill tell her what you want and see if she can arrange it. Does not hurt to ask.

Hi AllenF,

I have sent a message to Jill. We will be in Colon Panama on Jan 5 2005.

We set sail on the Dec 30. Will you ber back by then.

Many Thanks.

PricePerformer

PricePerformer,

Yes we get back on Dec. 22nd. Jill has been very helpful and quick to reply to any questions I had. I was concerned on paying in full so she agreed to a 20% deposit which I did. I sent a check to a bank in the washington DC area it cleared and Jill confirmed it today. Hope they can arrange a tour for you.

Price: Gatun was neat because of the three locks in a row. You could see the ship ahead of you make the height change, on a big ship it is hard to tell you have even moved at all. The cut was interesting seeing the new bridge but not very pretty. What is really beautiful is when it opens up into Gatun lake. It was nice to anchor there for lunch. The one thing I did notice is that the track for the Ocean to Ocean railroad is very far off from the canal itself. I thought it might run next to the canal for good viewing. It only got close to the canal in two spots. I know the Pacific side has nice museum and viewing platform at the first set of locks ( my sister-in-law visited in July) At Gatun there is a much smaller viewing platform. If you are really interested in the canal I would recommened a transcanal cruise. We had 4,hour long lectures leading up to it. Two "experts" on board. Everyone got a certificate in their stateroom after the crossing. They showed a few documentaries before the crossing. And a bunch of people were on board reading the same book. The title slips my memory, but a thick book about the canal construction. For us as a family the neatest part about the whole canal was how everyone on our cruise was so excited about it. The canal was the reason most booked the cruise. Everyone getting up at 5 am to get spot at the rail, waving at all the vistors at each lock, cars pulling over at the side of the road to watch us pass by. It was memorable..

I'm concerned about the heat. Yesterday the temp there was 84 but it said it felt like 94! The ferry does not look air conditioned. Please let me know. Oh, also, should I take a seat cushion like you do to footbAll games? Thanks

Folks, we just did the Canal last December. I read on the boards about taking the $154 trip, and I was glad I took folks advice. There is nothing like going through the locks and reaching out and touching the side and just being part of it all. When we went through the Miraflores locks, there were two other shore excursions there watching us transit the locks... sucked to be them. Yes, there can be alot of people-yes, seats can be at a premium-yes, i'd probably take a cushion. There was both indoor (i.e. A/C) and outdoor seating on our boat. After about a 1/2 hour into the trip, things settled down, everyone had a seat and it was just fine. Yes, it did get a bit hot, but also we were in the shade at all times with the boat and it worked out well.

Folks, there is nothing like crossing through the Galliard Cut or going under the Bridge of the Americas or seeing Panama City from the water... or the boats all lined up to enter the Canal. If you take the train, you don't get to see half of that.

Pay the money, it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Thanks Tiffo! This is exactly what we plan to do! This may be our one and only chance to see the Panama Canal and since our ship only goes to Gatun Lake, we thought we'd better take the opportuntity to do the Locks by Ferry so we can experience the entire canal, not just gatun. Although $154 is a lot, I figured, that would be cheaper than having to book a whole other cruise to see the whole canal! Your review makes me glad we've signed up! Thanks.

We are taking the Legends on Jan. 9 and will be going through the canal. This is the San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale trip. We were thinking it made no sense to take an excursion through the canal when we can just stay on our ship and watch it that way. Does this not make sense or will we not get the full extent of the canal.

Thanks, Bill

maclac: We did Legend 10/03/04 same route. Stay on the ship. The only people who got off were passengers who had done the canal on previous trips and wanted something different.