Ferry through the Panama canal?

[bessinfl]

I posted this on the Panama Canal port site but got only one response. Can anyone help?

We will be on the Equinox stopping for the day at Colon, Panama, next April. I would very much like to take a ferry through the canal since the ship does not go through the canal. I have heard recommendations for Almiza Tours (My Friend Mario) or Robtad's, but neither one has a website that specifies exactly what their tours do. Are those on ferries (or are people just using the word ferry to refer to small boat tours)? Has anybody been on one of those small-boat tours of the canal, or on another company's boat tour, and how did you find it?

Thanks for whatever info you can give.




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[rua642]

I took the Celebrity excursion where they took us through the locks on a ferry. A light buffet lunch was included. It made for an enjoyable day.

[eandj]

We booked the X excursion a few years ago. The ferry was modern with an inside a/c area. It filled up quickly so you should do that asap, if interested.
We enjoyed it, especially DH who's a mechanical engineer.;) The narration was excellent. Scenery beautiful. I remember a box lunch along the way. Dress cool as it's very hot and humid obviously. We chose this one because it was pretty much all day with bus tour included. But like stated, it was actually sold out before the cruise date.

[youwash]

We took Celebrity's tour on the ferry through part of the canal. Check that excursion on Celebrity's website and you will find reviews there. In my opinion and I have read others saying it--do NOT do a private tour for this. Because of the nature of travel through the locks you may be late returning to the ship. With a ship excursion they will wait for you. We were almost one hour late returning.
Wonderful excursion but warm. Food was really good. Wish I was going again!

[Cruise a holic]

We did this on the Equinox a few years ago and it was an excellent tour. I highly recommend it. You go through a few of the locks and if your guide is as good as ours, you get a lot of interesting information about the building of the canal.

The ferry has restrooms and you can get a drink if you like. Worthwhile-

Enjoy your cruise! A great trip! We will do it again someday.

[Essiesmom]

We were on a full transit, but in Colon we took a tour to Gatun Locks and the expansion construction. They took you right up to the side of the lock, with an observation platform you could climb up for a more lofty view. There was a visitor center at the expansion site, and views of the site. Two years later, it would make much more sense, and even more by next April. Go to this site and pay particular attention to the expansion cam pictures.
[url]http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Miraflores[/url] EM

[wallie5446]

We did the 'CO26' tour thru Celebrity last Nov when we were there on the Equinox. Made for a long day, 8 hours, but very excellent tour.

I would not recommend any ferry tour to the canal except one thru the ship. We were almost 2 hours late getting back, so they held the ship, well there were close to 250 of us on the tour!:D

But there were 4 people not so lucky as they came running down the dock just after the ship pushed away.:(

[Desertbelle]

We also did the Celebrity excursion through the locks and it was very enjoyable.

[ClaudiaB]

It's a great day but you don't want to use a private tour. We do private tours exclusively all over the world, but because going through the locks is "first come first served" it could run way long. When we did it, there were probably 5 or 6 buses of us from the ship going to down to take the ferries. It was about a 90 minute (at least) trip from the ship to the ferry, and we had to even wait in the bus about half an hour before boarding.
Our tour was fabulous, albeit hot. Wear light clothing and expect rain at some point. Wear a hat and bring sunscreen and bug repellant. There will be food and drink on the ferry. We had to wait for two big ships ahead of us which put us way behind, but it was interesting and we got lots and lots of commentary all day.
Our tour ended past the time we were supposed to be on board :eek: and we were about 3 hours late getting to the ship. No worries. About 300 other people were late too and the ship just left half an hour after we all got on board.
It was a great day. Besides going through the Gatun and Miraflores locks, and routing through the city of Panama City on the way back, it was an interesting ride to Colon passing through the well-guarded gates and seeing a truly 3rd world country.
I won't forget passing through the canal. On the ferry you can literally touch the sides. Read the famous book before you go. I forget the name, something about between the seas.

[Cruise a holic]

[quote name='ClaudiaB']It's a great day but you don't want to use a private tour. We do private tours exclusively all over the world, but because going through the locks is "first come first served" it could run way long. When we did it, there were probably 5 or 6 buses of us from the ship going to down to take the ferries. It was about a 90 minute (at least) trip from the ship to the ferry, and we had to even wait in the bus about half an hour before boarding.
Our tour was fabulous, albeit hot. Wear light clothing and expect rain at some point. Wear a hat and bring sunscreen and bug repellant. There will be food and drink on the ferry. We had to wait for two big ships ahead of us which put us way behind, but it was interesting and we got lots and lots of commentary all day.
Our tour ended past the time we were supposed to be on board :eek: and we were about 3 hours late getting to the ship. No worries. About 300 other people were late too and the ship just left half an hour after we all got on board.
It was a great day. Besides going through the Gatun and Miraflores locks, and routing through the city of Panama City on the way back, it was an interesting ride to Colon passing through the well-guarded gates and seeing a truly 3rd world country.
I won't forget passing through the canal. On the ferry you can literally touch the sides. Read the famous book before you go. I forget the name, something about between the seas.[/QUOTE]
Agree 100% The ship sponsored tour was great and safe!

[bessinfl]

Thank you all so much. I was leaning toward a private tour because of the expense, but you have convinced me to take the ship's tour.


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[Cruise a holic]

[quote name='bessinfl']Thank you all so much. I was leaning toward a private tour because of the expense, but you have convinced me to take the ship's tour.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Good call. My friend was just on the NCL Breakaway and people missed the ship. I do not think it is fun to be left at a port-

[Cindy]

[SIZE="3"]We're on the Equinox in March, and that's the one excursion that we booked through Celebrity. I've talked to others who have taken the tour that it's a very long day, and it seemed best to stick with the cruise line for the ferry trip.[/SIZE]

[ChiGal1962]

[quote name='bessinfl']Thank you all so much. I was leaning toward a private tour because of the expense, but you have convinced me to take the ship's tour.
[/QUOTE]

Good call :) I did the ship's tour several years ago, but do remember enjoying it immensely. It was full, but not packed so tight that you couldn't move around. Really fascinating to see the canal from that vantage point!

[Muushka]

[quote] Read the famous book before you go. I forget the name, something about between the seas.[/quote]The [I]Path Between the Seas[/I]: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 [David McCullough]

My husband is an information nerd. Loves to read. Extremely technical (aerospace and software engineer) did not like this book! He read the whole thing (because he never starts a book and not finish it) and said it was a painful read! Too wordy, too much info, not enjoyable.

Take that with a grain of salt. He is the only person I have ever heard say that they did not like the book.

Hmmmm, is it an Emperor's New Clothes type of thing???;)

[UniPac]

To all who booked the tour through Celebrity:
Did you pre-book it online or once on the ship?

I'm not sure yet what to do and I got some OBC to spent so I might wait to book it onboard. However, as this tour is popular, I'm afraid that it might be fully booked before we will be onboard?

Any experiences? Thanks!

[Cindy]

[quote name='UniPac']To all who booked the tour through Celebrity:
Did you pre-book it online or once on the ship?

I'm not sure yet what to do and I got some OBC to spent so I might wait to book it onboard. However, as this tour is popular, I'm afraid that it might be fully booked before we will be onboard?

Any experiences? Thanks![/QUOTE]


I'm already booked even though I have a ton of OBC. I have heard it can sell out and I didn't want to run the risk.[emoji4]

[RICCruisers]

We have booked this tour for the Jan 11 Equinox cruise. When I booked there was a warning that only a few spots left. If you believe that, I suggest you book ahead of time.

[BillB48]

[quote name='UniPac']To all who booked the tour through Celebrity:
Did you pre-book it online or once on the ship?

I'm not sure yet what to do and I got some OBC to spent so I might wait to book it onboard. However, as this tour is popular, I'm afraid that it might be fully booked before we will be onboard?

Any experiences? Thanks![/quote]

While it is possible for the cruise line to sell out of the online excursions, they retain a portion for on on board sales. I would book that shore excursion on boarding day to be sure you have a spot.

[wallie5446]

[quote name='UniPac']To all who booked the tour through Celebrity:
Did you pre-book it online or once on the ship?

I'm not sure yet what to do and I got some OBC to spent so I might wait to book it onboard. However, as this tour is popular, I'm afraid that it might be fully booked before we will be onboard?

Any experiences? Thanks![/QUOTE]

[quote name='BillB48']While it is possible for the cruise line to sell out of the online excursions, they retain a portion for on on board sales. I would book that shore excursion on boarding day to be sure you have a spot.[/QUOTE]

We pre-booked last Nov, and [B]IT DID PRE SELL OUT[/B]. This is the one we were told not to take a chance on. There were friends that did not get on because they waited so as to use their OBC.

You can always go to the casino and make a cash draw against your ship board account, ( OBC ) for a 5% charge

[eandj]

We had our agent at the time we booked the cruise, call X and reserve it for us. We were advised to book that one as soon as we could as there was only one ferry boat used. Not sure if that is still true. But it is surely very limited and I know it was sold out onboard when we looked. Many excursions can be expanded with another bus. But this is really a specialized one. If your really want to do it, no use waiting. Edited September 1, 2015 by eandj

[port msp]

My all-time favorite excursion! I'd wanted to go through the canal since studying it in 7th grade geography class. Book the ships tour ASAP! It sells out quickly. I wouldn't risk a third party tour. Like others, our tour got back to the ship at least an hour late. Dress for sun, heat, and humidity!

[UniPac]

Thanks for the information, if we decide to do the panama canal tour I will book it in advance!

[doublemm16]

We took the ship's tour and it was very good. Very informative. But it is a very long day. I would not risk doing this one on your own.

I will tell you that we received a note in our cabin the day before warning us about food quality on this tour. Apparently some passengers on the cruise before ours got food poisoning from the buffet. That said, we were very careful about what we ate. They do have fruit, etc. And there is a woman selling snacks. I bought her out of peanuts.

Water and soda are included and there is plenty of it. We did not hear any reports of illness on our excursion. Go and enjoy this fascinating day!:D

[ClaudiaB]

We also had the food warning. We just didn't eat anything that had a sauce on it or a cream/mayonnaise-base. I was also a bit concerned about the fruit as they might not have washed the skin properly and then slicing through it would contaminate the fruit. (I got VERY SICK as a student on a trip to Mexico years ago that involved cutting into fruit) I don't remember what we ate, but probably not a whole lot. We had been forewarned so we had a pretty good sized breakfast on the ship. I remember drinking lots of bottled water.