Fuerte Amador- still a tender port by Oct 2021

[Essiesmom]

She doesn’t transit until Wednesday 

 

 

[Turtles06]

Thank you @Essiesmom and @BillB48 for the interesting screenshots. 

 

So, the question remains -- is the cruise terminal actually finished, or are we looking at an incomplete structure in the image above? 

[Essiesmom]

Unfortunately there are no Live From threads on either Viking nor NCL forums.  I left a message on the Viking Star roll call for the cruise that boards today, as someone posted 17 hours ago.  Asked if they could come here and post about the terminal, pics welcomed.  EM

 

Actually, there is an active roll call on the Encore, so I have left a message there, too.  EM

Edited November 7, 2022 by Essiesmom

[BillB48]

My contact has not gotten back with me about the status of the terminal as yet.  He has been off work since it was a big 4 day weekend down there celebrating Panama's Independence from Colombia.  Maybe something will pop up in the local media announcing the event.

 

[BillB48]

https://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/llegan-panama-mas-2000-turistas-bordo-cruceros-viking-star-y-norwegian-encore-n5799248

 

Found the above, really doesn't tell you anything about the facility.  There is a picture of the Viking Star and then if you scroll down a little more there is a short video and an interview with General Director of Ports.  With my rather limited Spanish he basically detailed the differences between the stops of the two ships, the Star being a home port operation and the Encore providing just a port call.  He also noted the difference in the local spending of a home port passenger and an in transit passenger, $300 and $100 respectively.  They also spoke of the number of "reservations" for the upcoming 2022/23 season.  I assume they are referring to vessel reservations.

 

If anyone can extract a better summation, it is more than welcomed!

Edited November 7, 2022 by BillB48

[Essiesmom]

Got a reply on the Encore roll call.  ‘Not even close’!   EM

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Got a reply on the Encore roll call.  ‘Not even close’!   EM

Disappointing news. Thanks for asking them. 

[BillB48]

Details are rather sketchy at the moment,  but it has been reported that 7 people were hurt when a gangway collapsed at the Ft. Amador Cruise terminal.  The gangway was being used on the Norwegian Encore.

[BillB48]

Not much to add except I found a report that stated some of the injuries were bruises and others were transported to a hospital.  The Norwegian Encore is presently in Cocoli Locks.

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by BillB48

[Turtles06]

There is now a thread in the NCL forum about the Encore gangway collapse; Twitter posts and photos from someone aboard, as well as a news article.  Sounds like a number of guests were not only injured, but also unable to continue on the cruise.  Hope everyone makes a full and speedy recovery.

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

We're scheduled to be in Fuerte Amador this coming Nov 24/25, onboard HAL's Oosterdam.

 

Hopefully, there will not be any more new construction bugs effecting our stay. Rather unfortunate for the passengers who had to be disembarked from the cruise. 

[v3cruiser]

On 11/9/2022 at 4:33 AM, BillB48 said:

Not much to add except I found a report that stated some of the injuries were bruises and others were transported to a hospital.  The Norwegian Encore is presently in Cocoli Locks.

 

are they going through the canal at night? or is this a stop?

[v3cruiser]

On 11/7/2022 at 8:49 AM, Essiesmom said:

She doesn’t transit until Wednesday 

 

 

Looks like construction still going on. The most recently article said this complex should be complete by mid 2023. Boarding here in february should be interesting!

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, v3cruiser said:

are they going through the canal at night? or is this a stop?

This picture was taken at about 5:30 am . Sunrise in Panama City is currently a bit after 6 am .

It's a daylight transit. The Cocoli locks are the first on the Pacific side of the Canal so the transit had just begun and you would have seen the first hints of daylight a few minutes after the picture was taken.

[Turtles06]

For those who might not be following the thread in the NCL forum about the gangway collapse, here's a post from someone on the Encore (comment 82 in that thread)

making clear that the cruise terminal at Fuerte Amador is nowhere near finished:

 

"We were on this sailing and it was a sh!t show from the moment we docked there. Crew didn’t know where to set up the normal dock stuff (towels, pop ups etc). They had buses that needed to take you on and off the pier as the port center is still being built and a full on construction site.  .  .

 

overall this port should not be utilized. Or at least not in this way. The huge tour busses on this pier gave me anxiety over the 5 pt turns they needed to make and any wrong turn or step of the gas would have sent us all overboard. The 20mins it took to get out of the cruise site was horrible as it was all dirt/mud to drive thru. Honestly 1 day here was bad but 2 days was ridiculous in the condition this port was in."

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2892794-encore-gangway-collapse-in-panama/

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Royal Clipper transited yesterday WB and is turning around cruises today at Fuerte Amador and transiting  back EB tomorrow.  She has not approached the terminal.  There are two tankers there…. EM

[BillB48]

According to the past track on AIS the Royal Clipper was at anchor all day just off the cruise terminal.  The tankers are still at the terminal pier.  Even though she only has a little over 200 passengers, that must have been fun tendering disembarking and embarking passengers.  Hopefully there were a bunch of back to backers.  Headed towards Miraflores at this time, 0756.

[Essiesmom]

Miraflores

Pedro Miguel

 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Essiesmom

[mcmarya]

I am currently aboard the Seabourn Quest, docked at the Amador Cruise Port.  The only thing about the facility that is finished is the pier itself.  The port building looks a long way from completion.  The really fun part about docking here is getting out of the port area.  There is no paved road once you off the pier itself.  So, to get out of the port facility you must bounce along a dirt road at 5 mph before getting on the causeway and being dropped off at the Flamenco Island building where tenders have left passengers in the past.  The Quest has no need for large buses that have difficulty navigating the pier area.  I've ridden a bus to or from the pier 4 times so far and have never been on a bus with more than 6 people on board.  Vans would have made more sense but perhaps the port facility makes the arrangements.

 

Anyway, yes, ships do dock here but personally I would have preferred tendering.  But, our first cruise ended here and the second started today, so tendering luggage and anything else needed to be taken off or on the ship would have been difficult.

[Turtles06]

38 minutes ago, mcmarya said:

I am currently aboard the Seabourn Quest, docked at the Amador Cruise Port.  The only thing about the facility that is finished is the pier itself.  The port building looks a long way from completion. …

Thanks for all the information you provided. Once the bus dropped you at the Flamenco Island building, were cabs available?  We have a turnaround day at Fuerte Amador on a B2B in early February, and I’m wondering about the best way to get into Panama City. 
 

Thanks and enjoy your second cruise! 

[BillB48]

Thanks for the update, it sure looks like they aren't ready for prime time yet.  I think the original completion date was 2019... and we are at 2022... holy stromboli!

[GeorgeCharlie]

13 hours ago, mcmarya said:

I am currently aboard the Seabourn Quest, docked at the Amador Cruise Port.  The only thing about the facility that is finished is the pier itself.  The port building looks a long way from completion.  The really fun part about docking here is getting out of the port area.  There is no paved road once you off the pier itself.  So, to get out of the port facility you must bounce along a dirt road at 5 mph before getting on the causeway and being dropped off at the Flamenco Island building where tenders have left passengers in the past.  The Quest has no need for large buses that have difficulty navigating the pier area.  I've ridden a bus to or from the pier 4 times so far and have never been on a bus with more than 6 people on board.  Vans would have made more sense but perhaps the port facility makes the arrangements.

 

Anyway, yes, ships do dock here but personally I would have preferred tendering.  But, our first cruise ended here and the second started today, so tendering luggage and anything else needed to be taken off or on the ship would have been difficult.

 

We are on the HAL Oosterdam, which was docked beside you yesterday, and we certainly needed the large busses!!

 

It took several hours to get the ship's shore excursions off the ship, which meant the people who were taking private tours (including ourselves) did not get off until late morning. Our guide was at Fiamenco Marina for the prearranged pickup time of 7am and we were fortunate he had waited for us. Some others were not as lucky. As it was - our tour ended up being a rushed half-day tour, rather than a full day tour.

 

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Kudos to the bus drivers who back all those buses onto the pier.  EM

[Turtles06]

41 minutes ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

It took several hours to get the ship's shore excursions off the ship, which meant the people who were taking private tours (including ourselves) did not get off until late morning. Our guide was at Fiamenco Marina for the prearranged pickup time of 7am and we were fortunate he had waited for us. Some others were not as lucky. As it was - our tour ended up being a rushed half-day tour, rather than a full day tour.

Ugh, what a terrible experience. Can you please post the name and contact info for your tour guide — we’ve had trouble finding one. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

[GeorgeCharlie]

43 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Ugh, what a terrible experience. Can you please post the name and contact info for your tour guide — we’ve had trouble finding one. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

 

Hi Judith,

 

The guide is an individual who works by himself and specializes in Embera village tours. 

 

Have a look at my posting to the roll call for our cruise.

 

 

Also have a look at the post #119, which gives some insight into what he is like as far as a guide goes. 

 

Bill