Panama Canal Cruise Excursions

[MaxFan]

Hello, my husband and I are taking the Classic Panama Canal Passage cruise in December. 

 

I was wondering if anyone has any particular shore excursions at any of the ports along the Panama City-Ft. Lauderdale that you've taken or heard were good. There are so many to choose from! There are two involving Gatun Lake in Colon and they both sound nice. We're also wondering about some of the snorkeling ones, like Belize or Cozumel. Anything in Roatan or San Jose. Just wondering if anyone has any insight or experience with any of them. Thank you!

[Liz Masterson]

Absolutely loved an independent tour I booked with this family-run company to their sloth hangout. 

 

https://monkeyandslothhangout.com/site/our-excursions/

 

[MaxFan]

Thank you! Sounds lovely. It seemed like a reputable tour operator? We've always done the Viking ones (so far).

[Liz Masterson]

7 hours ago, MaxFan said:

Thank you! Sounds lovely. It seemed like a reputable tour operator? We've always done the Viking ones (so far).

I do not hesitate to recommend them based on my experience. Also, check out their Trip Adviser reviews.

 

 

[travelbug11]

We just got off the ship and found many drivers to take us out for the day. Very reasonably priced and good tours

[MaxFan]

Thank you both!

[CCWineLover]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:02 AM, MaxFan said:

 

Hello, my husband and I are taking the Classic Panama Canal Passage cruise in December. 

 

I was wondering if anyone has any particular shore excursions at any of the ports along the Panama City-Ft. Lauderdale that you've taken or heard were good. There are so many to choose from! There are two involving Gatun Lake in Colon and they both sound nice. We're also wondering about some of the snorkeling ones, like Belize or Cozumel. Anything in Roatan or San Jose. Just wondering if anyone has any insight or experience with any of them. Thank you!

We did this cruise last December.

If you are adventurous, I can highly recommend the cave tubing excursion in Belize.  Exceeded expectations by far!  A totally unique experience.  Not for any mobility challenged, however.

 

[MaxFan]

Is that the Exhilarating Cave Tubing Experience (TM 😀) (I mean "trade mark")? I'm a little scared of caves and confined, dark spaces. Was it like that? Was it a bit scary? Was it dark or was there sunlight? Did it seem safe?

[CCWineLover]

43 minutes ago, MaxFan said:

Is that the Exhilarating Cave Tubing Experience (TM 😀) (I mean "trade mark")? I'm a little scared of caves and confined, dark spaces. Was it like that? Was it a bit scary? Was it dark or was there sunlight? Did it seem safe?

MaxFan - I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you, but if you are not into caves and dark spaces, this will not be the excursion for you.

For us we really enjoyed it, it wasn't scary, we used headlamps and it was dark no sunlight.  That is what caves are.  It felt very safe.

Here's a shot I took while on the tube.

 

[MaxFan]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

MaxFan - I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you, but if you are not into caves and dark spaces, this will not be the excursion for you.

For us we really enjoyed it, it wasn't scary, we used headlamps and it was dark no sunlight.  That is what caves are.  It felt very safe.

Here's a shot I took while on the tube.

 

Oh my gosh! Thank you for sharing that! It looks freaky for me, but my husband will probably want to do this even more after he sees this pic. 😀

[MaxFan]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

MaxFan - I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you, but if you are not into caves and dark spaces, this will not be the excursion for you.

For us we really enjoyed it, it wasn't scary, we used headlamps and it was dark no sunlight.  That is what caves are.  It felt very safe.

Here's a shot I took while on the tube.

 

Also, were you sitting in a chair-like tube with your legs out of the water, or were your legs hanging down in the water (like an inner tube)? I did show my husband this picture and he's really interested now. Thank you for all the answers!

 

[Mackdogmolly]

I did this on a land excursion years ago and it was really fun 

[MaxFan]

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I did this on a land excursion years ago and it was really fun 

Which excursion was it?

[Mackdogmolly]

10 hours ago, MaxFan said:

Which excursion was it?

The cave tubing in Belize 

[MaxFan]

8 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

The cave tubing in Belize 

Hi there, did you use the Viking excursion or did you pay for a private?

[Mackdogmolly]

3 minutes ago, MaxFan said:

Hi there, did you use the Viking excursion or did you pay for a private?

Neither. I went cave tubing in Belize years ago on a land trip, so opted out this time. It’s probably available as a private excursion though