Panama Canal.....January

[oratheeexplorer]

Hi! We are booked on the 10 day panama canal cruise on the Island Princess January 9, 2019. First time for the canal and first time for ship size of Island Princess.

 

Does anyone have any advice of any kind for us first time Panama Canal/Island Princess cruisers?

 

What to expect. What the ports are like. Favorite tours at ports. Did you book tours through Princess or private tour companies? We are on Baja deck farthest back on the side, balcony.

 

Just looking for advice for anything really for this Panama Canal cruise.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Thrak]

If you are porting at Cartagena, Colombia I recommend a private tour with Dora. We had a van with 8 of us and it was great. Join the roll call thread for your cruise and hook up with some other folks there to book a tour. We booked early so we got Dora herself. She has staff that also do the tours and I've heard they are very good as well but it was nice having Dora.

 

If you've ever been to Mexico and thought there were a bunch of folks trying to sell you stuff you "ain't seen nothin' yet"! Cartagena has about a bazillion people trying to sell you stuff. They all know Dora and left us alone. That was really great.

 

http://cartagenatour.com/_index.php

[skynight]

Panama Canal:

Ship will enter the first lock around 6am and will take about 2 hours to get through all four locks. The best locations to view the transit are the open decks, 14, 15 & 16 where you can get 360 degree views. Also promenade deck. There may also be access to the forward area on decks 10 & 11. Walk the hall all the way forward and through the doors. There is no seating in these areas.

Once you clear the locks the ship will position itself in Gatun Lake, before it receives permission to exit the locks. During this time passengers on Princess tours are tendered ashore. Only passengers on Princess tours can go ashore, no one else. After the ship exits the locks it docks in Colon for a few hours. At that time you can exit the ship and wander around in the port side warehouse where vendors are selling items.

Cartagena - Popular tours are the old city. This port has a nice port side store and nature area.

Limon - You can walk around the town. It's kind of worn down, not really that nice. No beaches. Many tours are nature based.

Ocho Rios - Dunn's Falls is the main attraction. Lots of tours go there. I haven't been there is a number of years, but the ship may dock at the main pier or the James Bond Pier. The Bond pier is away from the main area. Many scenes from Dr. No were shot there.

Grand Cayman - This is a tender port. Lots of really nice beaches, boat and snorkeling and a nice town area. Also lots of banks. Sting Ray City is a popular tour.

Here is your roll call. Your fellow passengers may have booked some private tours. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2627357

[Guinness1000]

We are doing the same one over Christmas. I like to know more about what to do in ports as well.

 

It only takes 2hrs to go through the locks and they start at 6am? So, by 8am I could've missed it? For some reason I thought it was a whole day's affair.

[Thrak]

We are doing the same one over Christmas. I like to know more about what to do in ports as well.

 

It only takes 2hrs to go through the locks and they start at 6am? So, by 8am I could've missed it? For some reason I thought it was a whole day's affair.

 

Are you sure you are doing "the same one"? What ship are you sailing? If it's anything other than Island, Coral, or Pacific you will be going through the new locks which is not the same at all.

[shepp]

As is often the case with "what should I do?" questions like yours, it would be really helpful to know what your interests are. You like zip lining, scuba, shopping, looking at wildlife, lying on a beach drinking foo-foo drinks? Any budget parameters? Always take ship's excursions or more into exploring on your own? (Cartagena, for instance, is easy enough to explore on your own with a decent map, some tourist info, taxi fare, and sun protection. Been there three times, went on a pay-as-you-like tour once, once did a great Princess trip to a mud volcano that apparently is no longer offered. But mostly husband and I just struck out on our own, which suited us better than being shepherded through the old town in a group of 40 pax and paying for the privilege. YMMV.)

 

Because you pay a chunky premium for ship's tours, and we're pretty independent travelers not big on groups, we rarely take Princess shore excursions. And when we have, we've had some real winners and some big losers. But one Princess tour I will recommend, assuming it's offered on your itinerary, is taking the Embera Indian excursion from Gatun Lake. I've usually found those "let's go look at the natives" jaunts depressing, but that one was outstanding. And if you want a referral to an agency that does zip-line trips in Limon for a lot less than Princess charges....

Edited September 11, 2018 by shepp

[skynight]

We are doing the same one over Christmas. I like to know more about what to do in ports as well.

 

It only takes 2hrs to go through the locks and they start at 6am? So, by 8am I could've missed it? For some reason I thought it was a whole day's affair.

 

10 day partial transit. I have done this 3 times, the last time was January this year. Since you will be on the Island Princess you will transit the three old Atlantic locks into Gatun Lake. On every transit we entered the channel approach to the locks around 5:30am with a transit through the first lock around 6am. It takes about 2 hours to transit all three locks. By 8/8:30am the transit is complete and the ship anchors in Gatun Lake. At this time passengers that have booked Princess tours tender ashore. All other passengers must stay on board. The ship will then exit the locks in the reverse manner, and then docks in Colon. The exit time is controlled by the P.C. authorities, and you may arrive at Colon earlier than the projected time on the itinerary. Set your alarm, it's an early day, and if you take a tour, a long day. If you sleep in you will miss the transit. Schedules are provided in your cabin.

[Guinness1000]

Are you sure you are doing "the same one"? What ship are you sailing? If it's anything other than Island, Coral, or Pacific you will be going through the new locks which is not the same at all.

Same one on Island Princess, 12/20-12/30.:)

[Guinness1000]

10 day partial transit. I have done this 3 times, the last time was January this year. Since you will be on the Island Princess you will transit the three old Atlantic locks into Gatun Lake. On every transit we entered the channel approach to the locks around 5:30am with a transit through the first lock around 6am. It takes about 2 hours to transit all three locks. By 8/8:30am the transit is complete and the ship anchors in Gatun Lake. At this time passengers that have booked Princess tours tender ashore. All other passengers must stay on board. The ship will then exit the locks in the reverse manner, and then docks in Colon. The exit time is controlled by the P.C. authorities, and you may arrive at Colon earlier than the projected time on the itinerary. Set your alarm, it's an early day, and if you take a tour, a long day. If you sleep in you will miss the transit. Schedules are provided in your cabin.

 

Thank you for that! :)

[thinfool]

For some reason I thought it was a whole day's affair.

 

That would be the full transit voyage.

[daydreamer16]

I would second the recommendation for Dora's tour in Cartagena. We did her tour when we were on the Island in 2015, she gets you to all of the main sights before the big buses get there! We were on full transit so that's the only port I can help with.