Colon, Panama questions

[mnlovesdisney]

We will be on the partial canal cruise on the Jade the first part of February. We are debating what to do about getting off the ship or not. I know you cannot get off the ship in Gutan Lake unless you have a ship excursion but how about in Colon? NCL does not have any information I can find on getting off the ship in Colon. We want to be sure we set foot in Panama and have a chance to buy a souvenir from Panama but are not sure we want to do an excursion at Gutan Lake. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

[BillB48]

Normally you may get off the ship when it docks in Colon. There is a shopping mall connected to the pier with enough opportunities to get one more T shirt. While the town of Colon is not exactly a tourist haven, the mall is fine to browse. Since the primary purpose for docking in Colon is to pick up those passengers who are on shore excursions, the stop is brief when compared to other port calls... maybe 3 hours or thereabouts.

[newmexicoNita]

When we did Colon on HAL, yes, you could get off like BillB just posted. We did walk around the shopping center, hubby got a Panama Hat and we bought a few other things. We would not have thought about doing anything else and were advised by the ships management not to go any further unless we were on a ship's tour.

[The Other Tom]

I wouldn't exactly call it a mall, but there are "stalls" with things for sale. I'm pretty sure you're confined to that area and cannot go further into town. There were no ship's tours in Colon.

[BillB48]

OherTom, perhaps you are remembering the set up when the ships used to dock at the Cristobal piers. That is where they did have the stall type set up and it was rather difficult to leave the pier area. The Colon 2000 pier is connected to the mall complex in the background and attached to the Radisson Hotel, has many of the types of stores that you would expect to find in a mall. There is even a grocery store where you can stock up, just incase the ship doesn't feed you enough;)! The only huge disappointment may be when I was there last there was no Diamonds International, but then who knows, they may have established themselves by now!!:rolleyes:

 

There isn't anything stopping you from proceeding into Colon which surrounds the mall. Even if you have not received any advice on the ship about not venturing into Colon on your own, the locals will give you the same advice if you try to leave the mall proper. The walkway over the road on the left side of the pic connects to the pier.

 

[4774Papa]

We took an excursion from Colon and passing through that city convinced me that there was nothing for us there. I am glad the bus didn't break down on the way to the canal.

 

There is a mall where the ship docks, which has security, but I would advise not going beyond that mall.

[pete_coach]

We did a stop in Colon and went on an excursion. The Captain announced that if we were not going on an excursion, we should into go into Colon, it was not safe.

The "mall" is typical of any port town, trinkets and T shirts.

[floridian1]

We took an excursion from Colon and passing through that city convinced me that there was nothing for us there. I am glad the bus didn't break down on the way to the canal.

 

There is a mall where the ship docks, which has security, but I would advise not going beyond that mall.

 

I agree 10000% our tour bus drove through too and it was like something out of a movie. :o

[sns1009]

We are doing this same cruise in March. We have an aft balcony and thought we'd just stay on the ship. I'm glad to hear we can at least step off for a few minutes in Colon just to say we did :) We, also, try to get a key chain, shot glass and Christmas ornament from each country so the small shopping area will be perfect. Thanks for the info!

[BillB48]

I agree 10000% our tour bus drove through too and it was like something out of a movie. :o

 

Actually it was! The scenes that depicted Port-au-Prince Haiti in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace were filmed in Colon. Not something you would want to brag about if your town is dismal enough to be the stand in for Port-au-Prince:eek:. The sad thing was they did not go to any extra effort to make it look that bad.