Panama Canal Excursions - FLL RT, December 7-18, 2013, Coral Princess

[TrnrMom]

Since there's been a few questions regarding excursions on Panama Canal itineraries, I thought it would be useful to summarize what we did in one post, instead of embedding them in a traditional trip report (which will follow).

 

We used the Roll Call to join and set up independent excursions in all the ports, except for canal crossing day. We were overwhelmingly pleased with the independent excursions, and very underwhelmed with the ship offered canal transit by ferry. More on that later.

 

Aruba - this was our first port stop, and also our first visit. Since we aren't big beach people, we took the advice of another poster and contacted Sonny Binns for an island tour. He got right back to us, and let us know he was available for a morning or afternoon tour, minimum persons required was six (for a 24 passenger minibus), no prepayment required. Itinerary included a drive through Oranjestad, north past an industrial area. Sonny told us about Aruba economics, climate, a little language, cost of gas, languages, geography, politics and more as we rode along. We stopped at the rock formations (name fails me), California light house, drove past Palm Beach, stopped at the natural bridges, and the Little Chapel, essentially driving around the island. We all agreed that it was a great tour of about 3 hours, leaving us time to do a little shopping. Tip - free wifi is at Starbucks on the bottom floor of the mall associated with the Casino at the north end of the Main Street.

 

Cartegena - one of our party contacted Marelvy Pena Hall through her website. She met us at the end of the dock with the minibus, parasol aloft. This tour exceeded expectations and busted any preconceived notions we had about Columbia. Our tour included a city tour, driving though the Manga district which is closest to the dock area. We then toured the cathedral which looks down on the whole city, including the fort and old town. We then went to the fort, but did not climb the hill to enter it. This is by Marelvy's choice since she feels her tour would leave other historic things out, if she spent time in the fort. We did walk the front of the fort as she discussed aspects of its history. The vendors her are particularly aggressive. We then drove to the Old Town, and did a walking tour there which included a tour of the Museo del Oro Zuni, before finishing with a stop at a shopping area. The organizer of our group found Marelvy easy to work with, responding quickly and able to accommodate a few requests we had. No deposit was required, and we all paid in cash at the end of the tour. She also gifted us each with a poster designed by her husband to celebrate the centennial of the city.

 

Next up on our itinerary was the Panama Canal transit. Princess requires passengers to use their excursions, perhaps with good reason. The infrastructure, distances and logistics are such that getting back to the ship on time can be an iffy proposition. We chose the Panama Canal transit by ferry since we wanted to go through to the Pacific and see the difference in the locks and the geographic challenges involved with the Pacific locks. For some, if you've seen one lock, you've seen them all.

 

That said, consider carefully your reasons for doing this excursion. Panama by definition is hot, humid and the ferry does not have the same priority going though the canal so your excursion might be lengthy. For various reasons ours was - we left the ship about 10:40AM and returned close to 8:30 PM.

 

This excursion was simply not up to Princess' standards, even allowing for the the above. The Fantasia del Mar listed to the port the whole trip. It seemed there were too many passengers for the capacity, since some people were forced to sit outside in the sun unshaded most of the time. The air conditioning units, PA system and lighting did not work or did so only sporadically or poorly. The fire extinguishers were rusted and the bathroom doors did not all work.

 

Food was provided but there was not enough of it and was pretty basic - ham & velveeta on wonder bread, small chicken kabobs, banana muffins, fruit. This problem sounds like whining, but it is what it is. Once lunch was over, there was no food available, which could have been problematic for the diabetics on board. In short, you will be "roughing" it on this excursion, so be prepared. There was water, soda and beer (local, for sale).

 

When we expressed our disappointment to Princess (in a letter signed by ten of us) regarding the safety issues and the quality of the excursion, they did respond promptly, and we were refunded half the cost of the excursion. We were satisfied but hope that headquarters will investigate the issues we brought up. As one passenger (not with our group) asked, "when is the last time someone from Princess took this excursion"? We heard other excursions also had issues but I can't comment on what those were.

 

Limon - back to private tours. One of our group arranged for a private group with Mario's Greenway Tours. We selected the 6 in 1 tour since it seemed to maximize our time in Limon. We booked online, and were able to arrange a group discount due to our numbers. We were met at the end of the gangplank by our guide Jackie. Since it was raining we did not initially see the sign, but got sorted out quickly.

 

Jackie was amazingly informative, funny, and educated us as we went. We did a city drive, a wagon ride through a rain forest, with a short treetop walkway, a canal ride, a banana plantation, a coastal drive, before being dropped off for shopping in the "safe" port area. Although, maybe. I the best of Costa Rica, we all agreed this was probably the best tour we had had a a group.

 

Grand Cayman- last port stop before Fort Lauderdale. Acting on a CCr recommendation, we booked the 3 stop tour with Captain Marvin. It was great - Stingray City, a reef, and coral gardens. Booking was online and easy, as was finding the office. There were only 16 of us on a boat that could have handled much more. We were the only ones from Princess with the others being families and couples from huge Carnival ship. There were drinks on board, and a small bathroom. Also a photographer, but there was no obligation to purchase from him. Foggy was very helpful with advice on obtaining good shots. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with this outfit. One of the crew also brought up some conch shells, from which he removed the inhabitants, so that the shells could be taken back with us. Not sure how kosher this is, but we now have a great souvenir.

 

If you have any questions about the above,you can email me at jhchong (at) me (dot) com. Hope this helps! We had a great cruise and will write a trip report soon. The CCrs we met we great!

[wilfros]

 

Next up on our itinerary was the Panama Canal transit. Princess requires passengers to use their excursions, perhaps with good reason. The infrastructure, distances and logistics are such that getting back to the ship on time can be an iffy proposition. We chose the Panama Canal transit by ferry since we wanted to go through to the Pacific and see the difference in the locks and the geographic challenges involved with the Pacific locks. For some, if you've seen one lock, you've seen them all.

 

That said, consider carefully your reasons for doing this excursion. Panama by definition is hot, humid and the ferry does not have the same priority going though the canal so your excursion might be lengthy. For various reasons ours was - we left the ship about 10:40AM and returned close to 8:30 PM.

 

This excursion was simply not up to Princess' standards, even allowing for the the above. The Fantasia del Mar listed to the port the whole trip. It seemed there were too many passengers for the capacity, since some people were forced to sit outside in the sun unshaded most of the time. The air conditioning units, PA system and lighting did not work or did so only sporadically or poorly. The fire extinguishers were rusted and the bathroom doors did not all work.

 

Food was provided but there was not enough of it and was pretty basic - ham & velveeta on wonder bread, small chicken kabobs, banana muffins, fruit. This problem sounds like whining, but it is what it is. Once lunch was over, there was no food available, which could have been problematic for the diabetics on board. In short, you will be "roughing" it on this excursion, so be prepared. There was water, soda and beer (local, for sale).

 

When we expressed our disappointment to Princess (in a letter signed by ten of us) regarding the safety issues and the quality of the excursion, they did respond promptly, and we were refunded half the cost of the excursion. We were satisfied but hope that headquarters will investigate the issues we brought up. As one passenger (not with our group) asked, "when is the last time someone from Princess took this excursion"? We heard other excursions also had issues but I can't comment on what those were.

 

 

I thank you for your report and you do have me concerned. We are booked on the next cruise with Coral and have reservations for this excursion. I am now seriously considering canceling.

 

I have read all the books and bought any video I could find as I love the history of this wonder, but my wife does not do well in heat and humidity and I have always assumed the air conditioning on the boat would be good enough. Now I am having second thoughts.

 

Thanks for making me have a second sober thought.

[sweetsleep]

I took the Princess ferry boat excursion on the 10/24 sailing.

Overall, as someone who does not have mobility issues, it was fine. However, I felt very sorry for the many passengers on this cruise who did have canes,walkers and wheelchairs,particularly for this excursion and Princess needed to be VERY honest that this ferry boat was not at all ADA compliant regarding access issues! There was no elevator to the top deck and the stairs up to it were steep.The bathrooms did work just fine, at least for the ladies room. The tour guides were really nice on this very long tour which for us did arrive back at the port on time. The nasty passengers on our tour were another issue entirely-saw a snotty couple actually refusing to let some elderly passengers sit in the covered top deck so they could have room on an empty chair for their FOOD TRAYS! Really? Don't think they paid for 4 tickets to do this!

Most foreign countries,Europe,Britain,etc are not ADA compliant like the US is so be warned about this-cobblestone streets,narrow and uneven sidewalks and hills(with no elevators) are the norm outside the US.

I am a diabetic and flame me if you wish but I chose to take croissants and bananas from the ship for this trip-sorry but my health is my priority and since we were not given a menu in advance I had to do this-so I did not eat the food on the buffet. From what I did see I was glad I did this. We did consume what we brought off the ship so no, I did not damage any" fragile" ecosystem by doing this. There is always plenty of garbage and litter by locals anyway(from what I have seen on many tours) so this is not an issue.

Water and sodas(NO diet or sugar free ones, I might add) were all free and I witnessed a nasty couple from Boston loading up their backpacks with water bottles-how tacky is that?

I did not check into whether or not beer was free or an up charge.

Overall I thought this excursion was a good one for Princess-I knew in advance though that it would be long,hot,humid and that we might get rained upon-yes, all of these happened. I did not venture downstairs to the enclosed air conditioned area except to use the restroom but it seemed fine to me when I did.

So, the excursion for us would have been very nice if those really nasty and unpleasant passengers had not been on this excursion! I was actually told by a woman that I "had" to move my chair forward for her husband who had long legs so he would have more room! He wasn't even present when she said this! I ignored her.

This is not an easy excursion nor is it particularly a comfortable one for most people. I think the passenger mix can truly make or break it though.

[wilfros]

.

This is not an easy excursion nor is it particularly a comfortable one for most people.

 

"NUF" said!! Just called Princess and canceled the excursion.

 

I am very disappointed BUT I would rather miss an excursion rather than be mad at every little thing that happens. This is too expensive an excursion for it not to be almost first class!

 

It certainly doesn't sound like it is, thus I will stay on Coral and enjoy the first class treatment I get there. I will also have a second chance to view Coral transit the Gatun Locks, hopefully with less crowds than during the morning passage.

 

While sad to hear your posts I do appreciate your honesty. As a result I am guaranteed of a great day rather than being almost 400 dollars out of pocket and disappointed on to of that. Imagine the drinks I can have on Coral for the $400 I just saved!

Edited December 29, 2013 by wilfros

[Orangefan]

Since there's been a few questions regarding excursions on Panama Canal itineraries, I thought it would be useful to summarize what we did in one post, instead of embedding them in a traditional trip report (which will follow).

 

We used the Roll Call to join and set up independent excursions in all the ports, except for canal crossing day. We were overwhelmingly pleased with the independent excursions, and very underwhelmed with the ship offered canal transit by ferry. More on that later.

 

Aruba - this was our first port stop, and also our first visit. Since we aren't big beach people, we took the advice of another poster and contacted Sonny Binns for an island tour. He got right back to us, and let us know he was available for a morning or afternoon tour, minimum persons required was six (for a 24 passenger minibus), no prepayment required. Itinerary included a drive through Oranjestad, north past an industrial area. Sonny told us about Aruba economics, climate, a little language, cost of gas, languages, geography, politics and more as we rode along. We stopped at the rock formations (name fails me), California light house, drove past Palm Beach, stopped at the natural bridges, and the Little Chapel, essentially driving around the island. We all agreed that it was a great tour of about 3 hours, leaving us time to do a little shopping. Tip - free wifi is at Starbucks on the bottom floor of the mall associated with the Casino at the north end of the Main Street.

 

Cartegena - one of our party contacted Marelvy Pena Hall through her website. She met us at the end of the dock with the minibus, parasol aloft. This tour exceeded expectations and busted any preconceived notions we had about Columbia. Our tour included a city tour, driving though the Manga district which is closest to the dock area. We then toured the cathedral which looks down on the whole city, including the fort and old town. We then went to the fort, but did not climb the hill to enter it. This is by Marelvy's choice since she feels her tour would leave other historic things out, if she spent time in the fort. We did walk the front of the fort as she discussed aspects of its history. The vendors her are particularly aggressive. We then drove to the Old Town, and did a walking tour there which included a tour of the Museo del Oro Zuni, before finishing with a stop at a shopping area. The organizer of our group found Marelvy easy to work with, responding quickly and able to accommodate a few requests we had. No deposit was required, and we all paid in cash at the end of the tour. She also gifted us each with a poster designed by her husband to celebrate the centennial of the city.

 

Next up on our itinerary was the Panama Canal transit. Princess requires passengers to use their excursions, perhaps with good reason. The infrastructure, distances and logistics are such that getting back to the ship on time can be an iffy proposition. We chose the Panama Canal transit by ferry since we wanted to go through to the Pacific and see the difference in the locks and the geographic challenges involved with the Pacific locks. For some, if you've seen one lock, you've seen them all.

 

That said, consider carefully your reasons for doing this excursion. Panama by definition is hot, humid and the ferry does not have the same priority going though the canal so your excursion might be lengthy. For various reasons ours was - we left the ship about 10:40AM and returned close to 8:30 PM.

 

This excursion was simply not up to Princess' standards, even allowing for the the above. The Fantasia del Mar listed to the port the whole trip. It seemed there were too many passengers for the capacity, since some people were forced to sit outside in the sun unshaded most of the time. The air conditioning units, PA system and lighting did not work or did so only sporadically or poorly. The fire extinguishers were rusted and the bathroom doors did not all work.

 

Food was provided but there was not enough of it and was pretty basic - ham & velveeta on wonder bread, small chicken kabobs, banana muffins, fruit. This problem sounds like whining, but it is what it is. Once lunch was over, there was no food available, which could have been problematic for the diabetics on board. In short, you will be "roughing" it on this excursion, so be prepared. There was water, soda and beer (local, for sale).

 

When we expressed our disappointment to Princess (in a letter signed by ten of us) regarding the safety issues and the quality of the excursion, they did respond promptly, and we were refunded half the cost of the excursion. We were satisfied but hope that headquarters will investigate the issues we brought up. As one passenger (not with our group) asked, "when is the last time someone from Princess took this excursion"? We heard other excursions also had issues but I can't comment on what those were.

 

Limon - back to private tours. One of our group arranged for a private group with Mario's Greenway Tours. We selected the 6 in 1 tour since it seemed to maximize our time in Limon. We booked online, and were able to arrange a group discount due to our numbers. We were met at the end of the gangplank by our guide Jackie. Since it was raining we did not initially see the sign, but got sorted out quickly.

 

Jackie was amazingly informative, funny, and educated us as we went. We did a city drive, a wagon ride through a rain forest, with a short treetop walkway, a canal ride, a banana plantation, a coastal drive, before being dropped off for shopping in the "safe" port area. Although, maybe. I the best of Costa Rica, we all agreed this was probably the best tour we had had a a group.

 

Grand Cayman- last port stop before Fort Lauderdale. Acting on a CCr recommendation, we booked the 3 stop tour with Captain Marvin. It was great - Stingray City, a reef, and coral gardens. Booking was online and easy, as was finding the office. There were only 16 of us on a boat that could have handled much more. We were the only ones from Princess with the others being families and couples from huge Carnival ship. There were drinks on board, and a small bathroom. Also a photographer, but there was no obligation to purchase from him. Foggy was very helpful with advice on obtaining good shots. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with this outfit. One of the crew also brought up some conch shells, from which he removed the inhabitants, so that the shells could be taken back with us. Not sure how kosher this is, but we now have a great souvenir.

 

If you have any questions about the above,you can email me at jhchong (at) me (dot) com. Hope this helps! We had a great cruise and will write a trip report soon. The CCrs we met we great!

 

Great job Judy ! I knew it would be. Miss you !

Sali

[Orangefan]

"NUF" said!! Just called Princess and canceled the excursion.

 

I am very disappointed BUT I would rather miss an excursion rather than be mad at every little thing that happens. This is too expensive an excursion for it not to be almost first class!

 

It certainly doesn't sound like it is, thus I will stay on Coral and enjoy the first class treatment I get there. I will also have a second chance to view Coral transit the Gatun Locks, hopefully with less crowds than during the morning passage.

 

While sad to hear your posts I do appreciate your honesty. As a result I am guaranteed of a great day rather than being almost 400 dollars out of pocket and disappointed on to of that. Imagine the drinks I can have on Coral for the $400 I just saved!

 

I was on the same cruise as Judy and had dinner with her and her husband when they returned fro the ill fated excursion. They had plenty of reasons to be upset. I had decided not to take the excursion. I wanted to experience the locks in both directions and was not disappointed. Ken Williams from Vancouver was the port lecturer and very good. They have different lecturers so I don't know who you will have. To really experience the canal, go around the ship to different vantage points. Go all around deck 14 and listen to the lecturer throughout most of the day. He will tell you all about what you are seeing. After you enter the canal on the left you will start to see some of the construction of the new locks. On the left side you will see 4 mammoth lock doors. They are so big it looks like an apartment building. After you go through the locks and the people going on tours leave,the Coral will stay in Gatun Lake until given permission to re enter. We were surprised that it happened sooner rather than later. You want to make sure you check out the front of the ship as well as the lock experience in the back of the ship. A number of decks ( I think I went to 9,10 and 11 ) have a door to the balcony in the very front and the rear of the deck. You think you are going to the crew area but you aren't. I loved my experience through the canal as well as all my creature comforts and also talking to the port lecturer several

times.

Sali

[georgiacat]

We were on the Coral for the Oct. 24 partial transit. We took the all day excursion to old Panama City and the Miraflores locks. We actually saw enough of the lock transit from the front of the Coral on deck 10, but my husband thought he might need more (thus the trip to the Miraflores locks). It was a long day, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The bus had great air conditioning (1.5 hr trip each way), thankfully. We carried granola bars (and ate them) as lunch was not served to us until 3 pm (on bus, bag lunch) and husband is diabetic.

We found the weather (temperature & humidity) to be much better than expected. Of course we are used to summers in Georgia and Florida. It was no worse than here. We were very pleased, and ship AC was great. (We do like our AC cold.)

Be prepared: we always carried extra water (2 or 3 bottles), granola bars, hat, and a "sweat rag" (wash cloth that we wipe our faces with; it really helps to cool off, especially if cool.)

Don't be afraid of the weather. We had no hurricanes, bugs, or sunburn.

[Loonbeam]

I'm not recommending the excursion per se (I enjoyed ours but thought it was way too long and in hindsight think others might be better uses of time!) but have to point out a good part of the expense is the canal fees the tour boat pays per head on the way out to the pacific. We were told it was about $70 per passenger right there, not counting any other operating costs.

 

As I said at the time, if this is a bucket list item and you don't expect to do a full transit at some point in the future, its something I would do once so you could say you crossed the whole canal. If you plan to do a full transit later , look at other excursions.

 

 

"NUF" said!! Just called Princess and canceled the excursion.

 

I am very disappointed BUT I would rather miss an excursion rather than be mad at every little thing that happens. This is too expensive an excursion for it not to be almost first class!

 

It certainly doesn't sound like it is, thus I will stay on Coral and enjoy the first class treatment I get there. I will also have a second chance to view Coral transit the Gatun Locks, hopefully with less crowds than during the morning passage.

 

While sad to hear your posts I do appreciate your honesty. As a result I am guaranteed of a great day rather than being almost 400 dollars out of pocket and disappointed on to of that. Imagine the drinks I can have on Coral for the $400 I just saved!

[TrnrMom]

I was on the same cruise as Judy and had dinner with her and her husband when they returned fro the ill fated excursion. They had plenty of reasons to be upset. I had decided not to take the excursion. I wanted to experience the locks in both directions and was not disappointed. Ken Williams from Vancouver was the port lecturer and very good. They have different lecturers so I don't know who you will have. To really experience the canal, go around the ship to different vantage points. Go all around deck 14 and listen to the lecturer throughout most of the day. He will tell you all about what you are seeing. After you enter the canal on the left you will start to see some of the construction of the new locks. On the left side you will see 4 mammoth lock doors. They are so big it looks like an apartment building. After you go through the locks and the people going on tours leave,the Coral will stay in Gatun Lake until given permission to re enter. We were surprised that it happened sooner rather than later. You want to make sure you check out the front of the ship as well as the lock experience in the back of the ship. A number of decks ( I think I went to 9,10 and 11 ) have a door to the balcony in the very front and the rear of the deck. You think you are going to the crew area but you aren't. I loved my experience through the canal as well as all my creature comforts and also talking to the port lecturer several

times.

Sali

Thanks, Sali...I tried to be balanced here. I agree that Princess should be more upfront about the rigors of this excursion. For some, it is likely a bucket list item. For those who are unprepared, it be an expensive ordeal. I was surprised that those with mobility issues were allowed on board since the ferry was a so crowded & the PA system did not work in our section. We heard zero commentary unless we went outside. Can you imagine what chaos there would have been in case of an emergency? Come to think of it, there was no safety advisory when we set sail. Yes, it's not the US, so one can't expect everything to be to. US standards, but it seems like its reasonable to expect either a heads up or minimal standards.

By the way the, A/C units worked best on the bottom level, but you couldn't see out there, and the engine noise was so loud, you couldn't hear the PA.

Sorry to cause folks to cancel, but you should know what you're getting into. Fortunately no medical or emergency issues on the excursion, so hopefully we will laugh about this in a few months.

[wilfros]

Sorry to cause folks to cancel,

 

Please do not be sorry that I cancelled. It was my decision and mine alone.

 

Many posts earlier on have caused me to be in doubt, yours was just the final straw. This especially given the tone and the wording on your post. Nothing over the top nor angered in any way, just a statement of facts.

 

I am very happy with my decision and am now looking forward to a great relaxed day while enjoying our "on ship" experience of the Gatun Locks.

 

I really appreciate your help in helping me with a difficult decision. It had been a bucket list item but I am not willing to sacrifice everything else on our trip just to see the other end of what I am going to experience a Gatun.

[Sewbusy17]

We just came back from our Panama Canal cruise on the Coral Princess and it was fantastic! We had not booked an excursion for Panama prior to leaving, and the shore excursion desk mentioned that the last group who took the boat through the locks to the Pacific side were disappointed (although the excursion was sold out!) We ended up doing a tour of Old Panama City and that was great, we really enjoyed it. Our tour guide Josefa was excellent. Panama City is worth seeing in my opinion. On the way back, we stopped at the Miraflores Lock, saw a short video, and went to a viewing area to watch the boats go through the lock. A small box lunch was included.

[TrnrMom]

Please do not be sorry that I cancelled. It was my decision and mine alone.

 

Many posts earlier on have caused me to be in doubt, yours was just the final straw. This especially given the tone and the wording on your post. Nothing over the top nor angered in any way, just a statement of facts.

 

I am very happy with my decision and am now looking forward to a great relaxed day while enjoying our "on ship" experience of the Gatun Locks.

 

I really appreciate your help in helping me with a difficult decision. It had been a bucket list item but I am not willing to sacrifice everything else on our trip just to see the other end of what I am going to experience a Gatun.

 

If your wife can't handle heat, the ferry is definitely not for her, the whole upper deck is open air, and covered with an awning. This is where the majority of the seats are. The aisles were very narrow, and the seats were placed in rows. Glad to have been of help. Sali & the others who stayed inboard really enjoyed their day.

Edited December 30, 2013 by TrnrMom

[wilfros]

If your wife can't handle heat, the ferry is definitely not for her, the whole upper deck is open air, and covered with an awning. This is where the majority of the seats are. The aisles were very narrow, and the seats were placed in rows. Glad to have been of help. Sali & the others who stayed inboard really enjoyed their day.

 

Thank you so much for your post. The decision has been made and the toour has been canceled. Now we are busy dreaming of what we will do with that day. I am looking forward to touring the outer decks of Coral as she returns to the Atlantic and getting great photos from different locations.

 

I will post some on this site when we return so you can see what a great day we had thanks to you. :D

[Loonbeam]

I will say a lot of people said they loved the Embera Indian experience, but heat and mobility would also be issues there.

 

Thank you so much for your post. The decision has been made and the toour has been canceled. Now we are busy dreaming of what we will do with that day. I am looking forward to touring the outer decks of Coral as she returns to the Atlantic and getting great photos from different locations.

 

I will post some on this site when we return so you can see what a great day we had thanks to you. :D

[wilfros]

I will say a lot of people said they loved the Embera Indian experience, but heat and mobility would also be issues there.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

We are traveling with my Sister and her Husband. They have booked the Embera Indian Experience and they are looking forward to that. I spent so much time reading and researching the history of the Canal and given my love of all things to do with shipping, I would not want to miss the experience of the Canal.

 

I will let those two go off on their own adventure and I will spend the day soaking up as much of the shipping activity as I can get.

 

I do, however, appreciate your recommendation.

[Loonbeam]

Bluntly, during the day the ship will sit at anchor in the middle of the lake. You won't see much other than container ships sailing by.

 

You might want to consider the shorter tour that includes the visitors center, where you can see the pacific locks in action. There is one by train and one by coach.

 

There's also a small boat tour that gets a little closer to the Gatun locks, and that one is only 3.5 hours or so.

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

We are traveling with my Sister and her Husband. They have booked the Embera Indian Experience and they are looking forward to that. I spent so much time reading and researching the history of the Canal and given my love of all things to do with shipping, I would not want to miss the experience of the Canal.

 

I will let those two go off on their own adventure and I will spend the day soaking up as much of the shipping activity as I can get.

 

I do, however, appreciate your recommendation.

[hockeygal54]

I did a full transit almost 3 yrs ago and will do partial transit in March with a friend. I never had any interest in that high dollar excursion but was curious what it was all about. If nothing else, this post answered those questions and reinforced the idea that I could see all I needed to see from the confines of the Coral!!

[Wehwalt]

Interesting, the boat I took in 2011 was relatively small and uncrowded. We just filled a bus. This was on HAL but I am sure that the local tour companies deal with all the lines.

[akeasley]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience on this tour. I did the same tour last April and had a great time. If I do another Panama Canal cruise, I would probably see the Embera Indians, just for something different.

 

I do agree with another poster that if you don't do any excursion that day, you are sitting in a lake without much of a view.

[wilfros]

This excursion was to be my Christmas gift from my wife as we don't usually spend this kind of money of excursions.

 

With having not spent over 400 canadian dollars if I were to add another 500 we could get off Coral at the end of the cruise, walk across the building and check into Royal Princess for a week on her. That would even include the expenses for the change in airfare. Not a bad deal.

 

So our decision seems to be 8 to 9 hot humid hours on a little boat with many people and little shade and poor food OR an extra week immediately following this cruise but on Royal.

 

What do you think? I need to make the decision within a day or so.

[Wehwalt]

This excursion was to be my Christmas gift from my wife as we don't usually spend this kind of money of excursions.

 

With having not spent over 400 canadian dollars if I were to add another 500 we could get off Coral at the end of the cruise, walk across the building and check into Royal Princess for a week on her. That would even include the expenses for the change in airfare. Not a bad deal.

 

So our decision seems to be 8 to 9 hot humid hours on a little boat with many people and little shade and poor food OR an extra week immediately following this cruise but on Royal.

 

What do you think? I need to make the decision within a day or so.

 

I'd go for the Royal and plan to go on a full transit on the Island one of these years. Tendering into Fuerte Amador isn't fun, but at least once there you have options!

Edited December 30, 2013 by Wehwalt

[intriguedkp]

My DW and I are thinking of staying on during canal day and not taking one of the excursions. Does anyone know if MDR and/or pub lunch are available while in the canal?

[caribill]

My DW and I are thinking of staying on during canal day and not taking one of the excursions. Does anyone know if MDR and/or pub lunch are available while in the canal?

 

MDR will be open. I have no idea about the pub lunch.

[Redwing55]

Dang,

This really makes it tough. Our group really wants to experience the other locks. Taking the train excursion gets one to see them, but that experience is a bit lacking to us.

 

I wonder if we'll still roll the dice and stay with the small boat option? Could it improve over the next month or so? Especially with Princess hearing some comments? I guess I can try it and if it's not up to snuff, a visit to the Princess staff/and or a letter may be in store.

Thanks for the info by those that posted. Maybe others will chime in over the next few weeks with post December feed back.

[Wehwalt]

Dang,

This really makes it tough. Our group really wants to experience the other locks. Taking the train excursion gets one to see them, but that experience is a bit lacking to us.

 

I wonder if we'll still roll the dice and stay with the small boat option? Could it improve over the next month or so? Especially with Princess hearing some comments? I guess I can try it and if it's not up to snuff, a visit to the Princess staff/and or a letter may be in store.

Thanks for the info by those that posted. Maybe others will chime in over the next few weeks with post December feed back.

 

I've seen the Panama Canal on 2 1/2 trips through (the 1/2 being the canal boat) and will add another one in three weeks when the Pacific Princess goes through, though we do not stop. And I've seen it from the land with a couple of visits to the visitor's center at Miraflores Locks. You are quite correct, the water experience is far superior.

 

I doubt much can be done about the boat in time. Princess does not own the boat, it contracts on the excursions. This is the busy season, it probably is working most days right now. Even if Princess put her foot down about conditions, I don't see much happening until the spring.

 

I think the reason the boat trip seemed fine to me is that it was relatively uncrowded, only 45 people.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Wehwalt