Island Princess Partial Canal Cruise

[Travelrd]

I'll be on this cruise in two weeks and have a question for someone who has already been on the partial canal cruise, either Island or Coral.

 

What goes on the day of the canal transit? I know we go through the Gatun Locks and then how long is the ship in Gatun Lake? If I'm not doing an excursion off the ship, what happens next? How long is the ship sailing the lake? After the excursion passengers leave the ship, does the ship go back through the locks and wait somewhere for the excursion passengers to rejoin the ship? Where does the ship wait? While it's docked, is there anything to do or any reason to get off the ship? Is there anything special happening on the ship or is it just like a normal sea day after leaving the canal?

 

Thank you in advance for your answers and/or advice.

[jfv379]

I'll be on this cruise in two weeks and have a question for someone who has already been on the partial canal cruise, either Island or Coral.

 

What goes on the day of the canal transit? I know we go through the Gatun Locks and then how long is the ship in Gatun Lake? If I'm not doing an excursion off the ship, what happens next? How long is the ship sailing the lake? After the excursion passengers leave the ship, does the ship go back through the locks and wait somewhere for the excursion passengers to rejoin the ship? Where does the ship wait? While it's docked, is there anything to do or any reason to get off the ship? Is there anything special happening on the ship or is it just like a normal sea day after leaving the canal?

 

Thank you in advance for your answers and/or advice.

 

I have never done a partial transit, but my understanding is that the only way to leave the ship is on a Princess tour.

 

I have looked at the tours and I think I would take the tour that continues on, by boat, through the locks to the Pacific. One way on a boat, the other way by bus. I've heard it's a long day.

 

JMHO

[Travelrd]

jfv379...

looks like you'll be boarding the island after i disembark. and you're from arizona too! how far do you take the island? san diego? los angeles?

i have looked into the excursion where you continue through the canal on a smaller boat. it would be interesting, i'm sure, but haven't made up my mind about it. that's why i've posted here to see what happens if you just stay on the ship. if you take the excursion to go the rest of the way, does the bus bring you back to colon/cristobal?

[jfv379]

jfv379...

looks like you'll be boarding the island after i disembark. and you're from arizona too! how far do you take the island? san diego? los angeles?

i have looked into the excursion where you continue through the canal on a smaller boat. it would be interesting, i'm sure, but haven't made up my mind about it. that's why i've posted here to see what happens if you just stay on the ship. if you take the excursion to go the rest of the way, does the bus bring you back to colon/cristobal?

 

LA coming back, it then goes on to Vancouver. We are renting a car in LA and driving to San Diego, then driving back to Phoenix.

 

I'm don't know the specifics of the tour. When we first considered the PC we looked at the 10 day and doing that tour. Then just decided to do the full transit.

 

Enjoy your cruise, I know I'll enjoy mine.:D

[azbirdmom]

Hi from Scottsdale. We did this cruise last year and got off the ship to take the smaller boat to the Pacific. We highly recommend it as it is a totally different way to experience the canal. You can really feel the movement and can actually touch the walls as the water lowers. The minus is the bus ride to the boat over some very nasty roads through some less than desirable areas. But we are very glad that we did take this excursion.

 

The Island goes through the Gatun locks, anchors, lets folks who have signed up for Princess tours tender off, and then gets in the queue to go back out. It then docks at Cristobal and you will not be able to leave the dock area - a good thing since the town isn't the best but the dock area is very safe. I think the ship is only there for 2 - 3 hours, depending upon timing out of the canal. Anyway, in the cruise terminal, there are a lot of shops, at least one bar / restaurant, and many craft tables selling native wares. In fact, there are some "naked Indians" selling some of these wares (and if you attend any shows the night before, there will be jokes about buying t-shirts from naked Indians).

 

The Island is just perfect for this trip, and no matter what you decide, I know you will have a wonderful experience.

[Travelrd]

azbirdmom.....thank you very much for your advice. i've read so many wonderful reviews and opinions about the island/coral ships, i'm really looking forward to just being on the ship as well as seeing the ports of call.

 

thanks again.

[grandmato4]

i have looked into the excursion where you continue through the canal on a smaller boat. it would be interesting, i'm sure, but haven't made up my mind about it. that's why i've posted here to see what happens if you just stay on the ship. if you take the excursion to go the rest of the way, does the bus bring you back to colon/cristobal?

 

Once you are in Gatun Lake those taking Princess excursions will be tendered to land and take their buses to their excursions. Time will vary depending on when you get through the locks and into Gatun Lake but this will be about 9:30 a.m. Those remaining on the ship will usually hang out in Gatan Lake for a while and then the ship will return back through the locks to Cristobal Pier around 12-1 p.m. but again this timing will vary on different cruises. There is some good vendor shopping and usually some native entertainment in the large terminal at the pier. The pier is in an industrial area and not a place to go wandering outside the pier area.

 

Those that have taken Princess excursions from Gatun Lake will be returned to the Cristobal Pier at the end of their excursions to return to the ship. If I remember correctly on our cruise we sailed from the Cristobal pier at about 7 p.m.

 

We did the Embera Indian Village excursion through Princess when we did this cruise in 2009 and enjoyed it very much. We heard good things from those doing the small boat excursion further through the canal and then returning to the ship via bus with the exception that it felt like a very long day's excursion for some of them (not everyone we spoke to felt this way). I suspect part of the reason for this feelling comes from the fact that you will start your day quite early that morning so you can view the canal from a distance and not miss a moment of entering the canal and getting that first sight of the locks. In our opinion that best place to get those first views are on one of far forward decks on Baja and Caribe. After you enter the locks its a great idea to move to the aft or other places on the ship to get other views. The Captain will announce the night before what your anticipated time for entering the canal will be the following morning so you'll know how to plan for the next morning. We can't wait to do the full transit this coming year Los Angeles to Ft Lauderdale.

 

Hope you enjoy your partial transit as much as we did!:)

[Travelrd]

grandmato4....thank you for your advice. my cabin is on dolphin deck near the rear, number d706. i'll remember what you said about going to a forwar deck when entering the canal and then i can view the rest from my cabin or the aft viewing deck areas.

 

thanks again.

[jfv379]

We'll be right down the hall, D712

[waterbug1]

I would like to thank NorthPhoenixGuy for posting his questions and Grandmato4 for the very detailed response. We are thinking of taking the Monkey Watch and Canal Nature Cruise. I had been trying to research just when and where we would connect with the ship again. Now I know. Thanks :)

[FlKittyKat]

NorthPheonixGuy - Thanks so much for posting this question. We are on the same sailing as you and are taking the excursion to the Pacific. We were also curious where we meet up with the ship again.

 

Does anyone know if the excursion permits some shopping time or just at the port upon return to the ship?

[azbirdmom]

NorthPheonixGuy - Thanks so much for posting this question. We are on the same sailing as you and are taking the excursion to the Pacific. We were also curious where we meet up with the ship again.

 

Does anyone know if the excursion permits some shopping time or just at the port upon return to the ship?

 

Yes, we had at least 45 minutes to an hour to shop after returning from the "Panama by boat" excursion - and we were even late getting back due to other ships ahead of us letting passengers off in Panama City. If you are on that excursion, there's also some trinkets for sale on the boat, but the shopping is much better at the cruise terminal.

 

NorthPhoenixGuy - Did you feel the quake? I was sitting at my computer and thought my husband had awakened from his nap and snuck up behind me to shake my chair. Then no hubby behind me and I looked out the window and the pool water was sloshing out. Never a dull moment around here!

[Travelrd]

i didn't know there was quake until i turned on the news at 5:30pm. i was sitting out by my pool at the time of the quake and the water wasn't sloshing around at all! i was listening to clasical music and reading " the path between the seas" which i doubt i will finish before the cruise. so, i guess its all in where you live. i iive in tramonto, carefree hwy and 17.

[senior lady]

Hey David, If you stay on the ship, head up to the front and it's an awesome view. Then hurry to the back of the ship and watch the gates close and the water either rise or go down.

We did the full transit cruise and it was one of the best we've done. You'll have a great time.

 

Hope you've been well, since we met on our Mexican cruise on the Star.

[Travelrd]

karen....

its so nice to hear from you. hope you've been well. i'm fine and looking forward to this cruise very much. in fact, i booked this cruise while we onboard the star using fcc. yes, i really do book far in advance. i have to because of my work's silly vacation bidding schedule. in fact, when i was on the alaska cruise last september, i booked my cruise for 2011 with fcc from hal.

thanks for your advice about the viewing place. i've always wanted to see the canal and take a caribbean cruise, so this will accomplish both things. i am leaning on taking the full day cruise through the canal and bus back to the ship since so many people have said its really worth it, even though it will be a long day.

 

take care:)

[tetons]

I guess it depends on which sailing on the Island. Just off and our cruise did not offer any excursions while going through the locks. At the end in Cristobal if going from Acupulco to Ft. Lauderdale west to east coast, we were allowed to get off for a few hours and go to the market.

[grandmato4]

I guess it depends on which sailing on the Island. Just off and our cruise did not offer any excursions while going through the locks. At the end in Cristobal if going from Acupulco to Ft. Lauderdale west to east coast, we were allowed to get off for a few hours and go to the market.

 

The full transits of the canal do not have excursions that you can take from Gatun Lake, only the partial transit (FLL to FLL) have those excursions.

[grandmato4]

grandmato4....thank you for your advice. my cabin is on dolphin deck near the rear, number d706. i'll remember what you said about going to a forwar deck when entering the canal and then i can view the rest from my cabin or the aft viewing deck areas.

 

thanks again.

 

You guys are going to love your cabin locations being so close to the aft open deck area. Its such a great viewing area while going through the canal and at other times during your cruise. Not many people realize its there so it really is a great place to hang out. We did our cruise on the Coral but I'm sure the Island is just as wonderful.

 

Do be prepared for the roads in Panama. Always under construction, many vehicles and more potholes than you'd ever imagine could exist. Your ride back to the Cristobal pier will likely be an adventure in itself. Treat it as an adventure and you'll be just fine.

 

 

We were so glad that we'd taken the time to read "the Path between the Seas" as knowing exactly what it took to build the canal made seeing it so much more exciting.

 

We booked the cruise to see the canal which we really enjoyed but we also loved our day in Costa Rica and fell in love with the City of Cartegena which is so beautiful and full of history. The beaches on Aruba aren't bad either;):D

 

Hope you all have a great time!

[jfv379]

i didn't know there was quake until i turned on the news at 5:30pm. i was sitting out by my pool at the time of the quake and the water wasn't sloshing around at all! i was listening to clasical music and reading " the path between the seas" which i doubt i will finish before the cruise. so, i guess its all in where you live. i iive in tramonto, carefree hwy and 17.

 

 

I was at work and DW called and said she thought someone had been in the pool. Water splashed all over the cool deck.

 

We are at Pecos and Higley. Way south of you by 50 miles.

[azbirdmom]

One other great place to be while going through the Gatun Locks is the Promenade deck as you'll be much lower and also away from the crowds. We moved to a couple different locations during our transit, but if you're doing the smaller boat the rest of the way, you probably don't need to go that low on the Island.

 

We're at 100th Street and Cactus, and I was surprised to feel the earthquake so strongly. Maybe it was because I was up on the second floor, but I've been here almost 20 years and never felt anything like that. My husband still can't believe that he slept through it.

[dshefter]

Thanks for the information. We are on the 10-day Coral partial Panama Canal itinerary in November. We'll probably do the Panama Canal by Boat excursion.

[kkorman]

azbirdmom.....thank you very much for your advice. i've read so many wonderful reviews and opinions about the island/coral ships, i'm really looking forward to just being on the ship as well as seeing the ports of call.

 

thanks again.

 

 

We love this class and just got off a full transit on the island. I highly recommend the boat ride to the Pacific... the "other" side is a lot more interesting the Colon side.

[Travelrd]

kevin....thank you for responding. the excursion to view the rest of the canal is looking very good to me now. wow! another person from phoenix posting here.

 

thanks

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

The Caribe deck or Baja deck are great viewing points at the front. Make sure you get there early. By 6:30 am on our cruise in March they were already 2 deep on both decks at the front.

 

grandmato4....thank you for your advice. my cabin is on dolphin deck near the rear, number d706. i'll remember what you said about going to a forwar deck when entering the canal and then i can view the rest from my cabin or the aft viewing deck areas.

 

thanks again.

[kkorman]

We knew someone on our cruise that stayed D706. We were on emerald in the back and loved it... a bit of rocking and vibration, but we like that.

 

A less used viewing area is emerald or dolphin in the back. Great vantage points, especially on the down part of the locks.