WARNING: Colon Cruise Port - Security Officer Scam

[Duck Down]

If you think the official port security officers are there for protection, then you are in for a surprise.

 

We were in Panama last week on the Carnival Freedom. This was our second visit to Panama with the kids. On our first visit we booked a tour in advance with one of the non-ship tour operators that is well know to the boards. We did the San Lorenzo and Gatun Locks tour and had a great experience.

 

For this visit we decided we would walk off the ship and find a tour operator or taxi to take us back to the Gatun locks so that we could spend time watching the ships go through. There was not too much information on the boards about finding something on your own but we did figure out that we could hire a yellow taxi for a few hours.

 

When you walk off the ship, you are in the area where the ship tours depart. To get to the non ship tours and the taxis, you need to enter the terminal building, go up one level, over a covered pedestrian bridge (to the other side of the street), and then back down to ground level. The non ship tour operators and taxis are not allowed on the bridge and must wait on the ground level across the road.

 

We walked off the ship just after 7:00 am and moved passed the ship tour area heading towards the terminal building. We passed an official port security officer in a white shirt and wearing a port identification badge around his neck. He asked us if we were on a ship tour and I replied that we were going to hire a taxi or find a tour operator. The officer said to let the security officer on the terminal bridge know.

 

Once we got on the bridge we met another official port security officer with the same white shirt and wearing a port identification badge around his neck. He also asked if we had a tour booked. We again mentioned we were going to hire a taxi or find a tour operator. He asked us where we were planning on going. He suggested that we go to the Pacific side as it was much better and the canal viewing was much better. He then said he knew of a reliable tour operator that would take us on a tour for $50/adult and $30 kid.($160 total). We did not have to pay until the tour brought us back. We decided to give it a try as the security officer sounded reliable and worked for the port.

 

The security officer made a call and brought us down to the street level and introduced us to the tour guide who was wearing plain clothing. He was not wearing an ID badge that you normally see with a tour operator. Even without an ID badge, the tour operators normally wear a shirt with a logo. We decided to see what he was driving and followed him to his vehicle which was inside the complex. When I saw it was a private vehicle, I asked him if he was a licensed tour operator. He said “It is ok. You come with me.” which set off further alarm bells. I asked again if he was licensed and again got “It’s OK, Its OK”. I then told him we would not go with him and we headed back to the sidewalk ad were surrounded by taxi drivers and tour operators while the unlicensed guy stood around.

 

On the bright side, we did end up going to the Gatun Locks and Portabello with a local taxi driver who spoke excellent English. He knew where to go and knew what he was talking about. The total cost was $130 + tip.

 

I did find out that these are official port security officers. They regularly try to scam tourists BEFORE they can make it to properly licensed and insured tour operators and taxi drivers. These unofficial rides can often be dangerous as you do not know who you are going with and can often lead to further problems.

 

Apparently the port management is aware of what their security officers are doing but are not doing anything about it. It was suggested that port management may have financial incentives to look the other way but you will need to draw your own conclusions.

 

We did run into the security officer after we returned. He was still on the pedestrian bridge and asked us how the tour was. I told him we did not go with his guy and we took a LICENSED and INSURED TAXI. He was all smiles and said we should have gone with his guy. When I said again that he guy was unlicensed, he said that many people have gone and it was OK.

 

The day worked out for us in the end but we do have some suggestions if you take a yellow city taxi.

 

These yellow taxis are the ones that transport locals when the ships are not in town and will have special taxi license plates.

 

1.) Make sure the driver speaks good English

2.) See the taxi before you agree on a tour and price. Many of the taxis are run down and may not bee in great shape. Often the taxis are compact size so they will not accommodate 4 adult passengers.

3.) Agree on a tour and price only after step 1 and 2.

 

Good Luck

 

Rob

[Lvs2Cruise2]

Great advice! I think you have to be "on your toes" and "use your head" in any port. Just good ole' fashioned common sense!

[cruisin'tex]

If you think the official port security officers are there for protection, then you are in for a surprise.

 

We were in Panama last week on the Carnival Freedom. This was our second visit to Panama with the kids. On our first visit we booked a tour in advance with one of the non-ship tour operators that is well know to the boards. We did the San Lorenzo and Gatun Locks tour and had a great experience.

 

For this visit we decided we would walk off the ship and find a tour operator or taxi to take us back to the Gatun locks so that we could spend time watching the ships go through. There was not too much information on the boards about finding something on your own but we did figure out that we could hire a yellow taxi for a few hours.

 

When you walk off the ship, you are in the area where the ship tours depart. To get to the non ship tours and the taxis, you need to enter the terminal building, go up one level, over a covered pedestrian bridge (to the other side of the street), and then back down to ground level. The non ship tour operators and taxis are not allowed on the bridge and must wait on the ground level across the road.

 

We walked off the ship just after 7:00 am and moved passed the ship tour area heading towards the terminal building. We passed an official port security officer in a white shirt and wearing a port identification badge around his neck. He asked us if we were on a ship tour and I replied that we were going to hire a taxi or find a tour operator. The officer said to let the security officer on the terminal bridge know.

 

Once we got on the bridge we met another official port security officer with the same white shirt and wearing a port identification badge around his neck. He also asked if we had a tour booked. We again mentioned we were going to hire a taxi or find a tour operator. He asked us where we were planning on going. He suggested that we go to the Pacific side as it was much better and the canal viewing was much better. He then said he knew of a reliable tour operator that would take us on a tour for $50/adult and $30 kid.($160 total). We did not have to pay until the tour brought us back. We decided to give it a try as the security officer sounded reliable and worked for the port.

 

The security officer made a call and brought us down to the street level and introduced us to the tour guide who was wearing plain clothing. He was not wearing an ID badge that you normally see with a tour operator. Even without an ID badge, the tour operators normally wear a shirt with a logo. We decided to see what he was driving and followed him to his vehicle which was inside the complex. When I saw it was a private vehicle, I asked him if he was a licensed tour operator. He said “It is ok. You come with me.” which set off further alarm bells. I asked again if he was licensed and again got “It’s OK, Its OK”. I then told him we would not go with him and we headed back to the sidewalk ad were surrounded by taxi drivers and tour operators while the unlicensed guy stood around.

 

On the bright side, we did end up going to the Gatun Locks and Portabello with a local taxi driver who spoke excellent English. He knew where to go and knew what he was talking about. The total cost was $130 + tip.

 

I did find out that these are official port security officers. They regularly try to scam tourists BEFORE they can make it to properly licensed and insured tour operators and taxi drivers. These unofficial rides can often be dangerous as you do not know who you are going with and can often lead to further problems.

 

Apparently the port management is aware of what their security officers are doing but are not doing anything about it. It was suggested that port management may have financial incentives to look the other way but you will need to draw your own conclusions.

 

We did run into the security officer after we returned. He was still on the pedestrian bridge and asked us how the tour was. I told him we did not go with his guy and we took a LICENSED and INSURED TAXI. He was all smiles and said we should have gone with his guy. When I said again that he guy was unlicensed, he said that many people have gone and it was OK.

 

The day worked out for us in the end but we do have some suggestions if you take a yellow city taxi.

 

These yellow taxis are the ones that transport locals when the ships are not in town and will have special taxi license plates.

 

1.) Make sure the driver speaks good English

2.) See the taxi before you agree on a tour and price. Many of the taxis are run down and may not bee in great shape. Often the taxis are compact size so they will not accommodate 4 adult passengers.

3.) Agree on a tour and price only after step 1 and 2.

 

Good Luck

 

Rob

 

Thanks for info...

[Compass Rose]

Yes...thank you for the information. We will be there in a week's time. This is good to know.

[Putterdude]

Thank you for taking the time to post this, I expect we will back in a year or two and this will be good information to have.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

Sometimes the fact of being in a foreign country intimidates some people.

 

In the end, it seemed you had a fabulous trip, and nobody tried to kidnap you or hold you for ransom.

 

The security officers and other employees at Cape Liberty, Bayonne, do the same thing on disembarkation day. They direct passengers to "taxis" and other forms of transportation that are not licensed and will take you to the airports or to Manhattan at a lower cost.

 

Anyway, some people consider New Jersey a foreign country, so maybe it's no different.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[golfer1966]

We did a Repo from Panama last year and we flew in a day early and we did a private tour of the Miraflores Locks and we had hired a transportation company to pick us up at the hotel, take us to the locks and then to Colon. When we got to Colon, we didnt waste any time getting into the terminal to get on the ship because we had also heard of scams and such, so we got on the ship as soon as we could. We had a group of 12 so we all had our eyes open for stuff...just in case. if you do want to get off the ship, MAKE SURE you have the correct credentials to get back on, travel in small groups, never alone... just to be safe. We personally didnt care for Colon, but we really didnt get a chance to explore as we were told these things too, so we went right on.

[Kangapong]

Thank you for taking the time to post this... We will be visiting the Panama canal in October, so I will file this information away for future use.

[Richard in Panama]

The day worked out for us in the end but we do have some suggestions if you take a yellow city taxi.

 

These yellow taxis are the ones that transport locals when the ships are not in town and will have special taxi license plates.

 

1.) Make sure the driver speaks good English

2.) See the taxi before you agree on a tour and price. Many of the taxis are run down and may not bee in great shape. Often the taxis are compact size so they will not accommodate 4 adult passengers.

3.) Agree on a tour and price only after step 1 and 2.

 

Good Luck

 

Rob

 

Rob, this would sound like good advice for any cruise port anywhere in the world. Regards, Richard