Panama Excursions?

[kathynorth]

We recently returned from a canal transit on the Celebrity Infinity, which included a port day in Colon before the transit. We arranged a tour with Roberto Whitaker and Robtad's Tours. In fact, I formed a group of about 24 on the roll call board and everyone raved about how good he was. I recommend him highly. His contact info is: e-mail: robtads2@hotmail.com; phone: (507) 442-2499 office; (507) 6725-7563; mobile.

 

Roberto was born and raised in the Canal Zone. His first language is English. He does tours on the side; his primary occupation is as an engineer with the canal. He knows his stuff and is incredibly nice.

 

Does Roberto have a website that explains what's included in his tours, cost, etc? It tried to google Robtad's Tours but a different vendor pops up.

Edited January 5, 2014 by kathynorth

[PCWalton1]

Does Roberto have a website that explains what's included in his tours, cost, etc? It tried to google Robtad's Tours but a different vendor pops up.

 

We didn't see a website. We just emailed him and he sent the tour options. We selected #2 but I think you can modify them if you like.

[trabeler]

The last Royal Caribbean trip I took added about $125.00 for port charges and Fees, but looking at Princess, it added $310.00 for fees. That seems to balance because I found somewhere online that the Panama canal charges about $134.00 per bed (person?) to the cruise line to cross the canal. Given that this includes crew as well as passengers, I can see why the huge jump in fees. We are also paying to carry the crew that serves us to cross as well. The cruise lines are generally pretty tight lipped about exactly how much those costs are, but I suspect they are not gouging us like we think they are. Sure, they're making a profit, and why shouldn't they, that's their business, but I dont' think they are making a killing like we think they are. Its a lot of work.

 

Just completed a transit on the Celebrity Century. The official from the Canal Authority who was on board for commentary said that the canal fees for our transit were $333,000. Century had around 1800 guests plus around 700 crew... so that's around $133 per passenger. Since the guests have to cover the crew costs, that $185 per paying passenger.

[afto]

Has anybody used Mario's Tours in Panama, and does anybody have his contact info or website.

Thanks

lance32/aka Jon P

 

We were on the Equinox December 9th. A cc member booked a group of us on the "Rainforest + San Lorenzo Fort + Canal" tour with My Friend Mario tours. Here is the link to the tour description:

http://www.myfriendmario.com/shore-excursions/rainforest-colonial-fort-canal

 

Great experience! We travelled in a clean well-maintained air-conditioned 23-seat bus, with very professional guide Mario (Mario number 3 - there are several people named Mario associated with the company). We had torrential rain that day, but Mario adjusted the timing of our visit to the Fort so that we were able to dodge a downpour. We opted out of the 30-minute rainforest walk because the paths were rivers of muddy water and the rain kept coming, but Mario made several stops along the way to the fort, so that we were able to see three sloths (including a baby), howler and capuchin monkeys, and a good variety of birds, including toucans. We stopped at a viewpoint where we could see ships waiting to enter the canal from Gatun Lake, and we crossed the canal itself twice - once by a little water-level bridge near the locks and once by ferry. We also saw an old US armed forces base, the new lock gates waiting to be installed at the extension. And we visited the Gatun locks visitor centre, where we had enough time to watch a big freighter pass through the locks. The covered viewing area sheltered us from the rain. During the tour, we were provided with water, soda, or beer and plates of delicious fresh fruit. Best day of the entire cruise; I highly recommend My Friend Mario.

[RobC1116]

We also just completed a cruise on the Celebrity Century through the Panama Canal, and we booked a full-day tour out of Colon with Roberto (Robtads) that included a visit to the Gatun Locks and a drive to and walking/driving tour of Panama City. This is one of the best tours we have ever had (we are experienced cruisers and seasoned travelers). Roberto is excellent; the experience of seeing the canal from the small visitor center at the Gatun Locks, combined with Roberto's commentary, really enriched the whole experience after having transited the canal the day before. Roberto then "treated us" (our small group of six) to a close-up of four of the giant doors that will be placed in the new locks. We had an excellent tour of Panama City, including the former canal zone and the old and new cities, and Roberto really made the history as well as present-day issues come alive. I would recommend him most highly to anyone who has a day to spend in Colon. (At this time, he can only be reached via email; he is working on a website that he hopes to have ready sometime in January.)