Panama City in the evening

[roman70]

Hi

 

Our ship will be in Panama City overnight. The scheduled time is from 8:00 PM Wednesday evening to 3:00 PM Thursday. We have booked an excursion for the day. However, we would like to go into the city in the evening after docking. What do you recommend? We would like to stroll around the old town, have a drink and maybe a bite to eat? Is there anything going on? Are there taxis from the cruise port to the old town? I've heard that the cruise port is still under construction.

 

Roman and Daniela

[BillB48]

As for the Ft. Amador cruise terminal, the pier is operational but the terminal seems like it has become a project without end.  The last mark on the wall for completion was December, the December we are now in.  I have not heard a thing on its status and I suspect with all political brouhaha of late in Panama, I feel sure the mark on the wall is just another missed mark.

 

El Casco Viejo has come a long way since I had any close contact with it.  There are some very nice small hotels and restaurants that have opened up and many of the buildings have been restored.  However, I can't offer any suggestions, maybe someone in your roll call might have some ideas.  You should be able to get a cab to El Casco, here again can't offer any info on where exactly they are located due to the terminal not being finished.  In the past they have offered shuttle service through the construction... so who knows??

 

While I think it is perfectly safe for you to take a tour of El Casco in a cab on your way to or from wherever you choose to eat, a stroll around that part of town late in the evening would not be my choice.  The area in general probably has more security than most other places in the city as there are a number of notable residents, to include the President of the Republic.  Still the area is surrounded by less prosperous areas and the flavor of the neighborhood can change rather quickly without you realizing. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by BillB48

[whitbob]

When is your cruise?  If you are arriving shortly I would not count on taxis waiting at the port.  We embarked at Amador Cruise Port yesterday.  The  building isn’t finished, so we were processed in tents on the pier.  Once at the pier, we learned they did have a shuttle from the pier taking you into town.  Unsure if that was Viking arranged or the city. Our all aboard was 11:30 pm.  
 

The roads around the port are unfinished gravel, not pavement.  We used Uber and we were stopped 4 times at noon to inquire where we were going.  The driver had a conversation each time convincing people we were boarding the ship.  Some were security stops, other appeared to be construction staff managing traffic into the area.  We saw no waiting taxis, so I would imagine you would need to prearrange a pick up.  
 

We used Uber into old town on Wednesday around noon.  The traffic was heavy and stalled entering and exiting the area, so you need to allow time.  As Billb mentioned, old town itself was lovely and crowded, but the surrounding areas would be concerning to walk through if you were not aware of where you are going.

[roman70]

Thank you for the detailed answers.

 

Our cruise on the Norwegian Bliss departs from Miami on January 27th and we will be in Panama City from the evening of January 31st to February 1st.

 

If you can call an Uber that would be good for us too. With shuttle buses, it would of course depend on where they go from.

[whitbob]

Bliss is heading to Panama City today.  We passed them in GATUN Lake.  Joy was here Wednesday as they had a large pre cruise group at our hotel.  You might want to write into one of their Roll Calls to see if someone can let you know if Norwegian has been providing shuttles on the over nights in Panama City.  
We took 4 UBERS while in PC for 2 nights.  All were clean, timely, averaging 2 to 10 minutes for pick up.  Reasonable pricing.  One cancelled us after asking if we wanted to go to the airport rather than the cruise port.  When we said no, they cancelled, but another accepted immediately.  
Again, the actual port facility isn’t ideal.  We could see the ship, but the driver missed the turn to the port as it wasn’t well marked, and disappeared behind buildings and  trees.  It would be worse after dark.  
 

Good luck with your planning.

 

[9tee2Sea]

21 hours ago, roman70 said:

Thank you for the detailed answers.

 

Our cruise on the Norwegian Bliss departs from Miami on January 27th and we will be in Panama City from the evening of January 31st to February 1st.

 

If you can call an Uber that would be good for us too. With shuttle buses, it would of course depend on where they go from.

Im on the same cruise and had the same thought ( walking around the city at night).  Doing research, it seems like it's about a 40 min ride by car into the " Old town", and parts of town can be a bit concerning for travelers.  I decided to stay on ship at night, and take an NCL Excursion for the day.  Maybe one day, I will fly into Panama City and really experience it ( stay in a hotel, and explore)