New and Bewildered.

[shepp]

Yet another vote for the Embera Indian excursion. I too felt it was the best of the (admittedly few) Princess excursions we've booked. (That and the Juneau floatplane to Taku Lodge.) It's really not offered?

I find it hard to believe that Princess wouldn't offer any shorexes on Gatun lake. All that lost revenue....

 

I do feel it's shame that Princess has virtually eliminated Panama City from their full transit itineraries. Great place to spend a day.

[Daffydilly]

We were on a 10-day FLL round-trip on Caribbean Princess this past January.

We opted for a tour to the new visitor center which included a very informative coach tour of the Canal Zone prior to its return from the U.S. to Panamanian control. Thoroughly enjoyable, as the guide was very knowledgeable, but the highlight to me was the ability to view up close, from the visitor center, the passage of a freighter through the New Locks! They’re of a different mechanism than the old locks, and it was exciting to see the precision with which the tugs positioned and guided this huge freighter through.

[kitkat343]

The Panama Canal authority controls what time ships can pass through the canal. Therefore, there is no guarantee of what time you will dock in Colon, or what time the Panama Canal Authority will allow independent passengers to disembark/embark the ship. We have traveled all over the world with our small children starting at the age of 2, and successfully visited St. Petersburg and many other European and South American cities thanks to independent tours. The one and only cruise ship tour we took was in Panama, and it was an utter disaster. We deliberately chose a shorter tour - lake cruise and Gatun locks - so our 2 year old would be able to return to the ship early and take a nap. Unfortunately, we were not informed until the day before Panama when it was too late to switch tours that there would be a substantial gap between when our tour ends, and when we would be allowed to reboard the ship. We were told at the end of the tour that we would be allowed back on the ship in an hour when it docked. The ship arrived on time one hour later, but no one was allowed to board for another hour, and the Panamanian authorities would not tell us when we would be allowed to board. That led to two very long hours standing outside of an elevator at the port in Colon with a screaming toddler who needed to nap. If we had known about this gap ahead of time, we would have either chosen a longer tour with the Embera Indians or simply disembarked in Colon and taken a cab from Colon to the nearby Gate locks (although if you are planning this, please check the operating hours at Gatun locks, since I don't know what time they close, and the docking time for the Princess boats at Colon can vary based upon canal traffic). People without children who take short Princess tours in Panama are not likely to experience significant problems with the delay in reboarding the ship, since there is a very affordable supermarket and several restaurants with free wifi in the Port of Colon.

Even though this tour was a disaster for us logistically, it really is recommended that you see the locks in action (either from Gatun or Miraflores) to get a different, interesting perspective on the Canal. Since this cannot be guaranteed due to the lack of control Princess has on what time they dock in Colon and let off independent travelers, it might be worth booking a tour there, especially one with the Embera Indians.

It's a bit out of date (the two year old is 7.5 now) but my signature line has a review with a description of all the independent tours we did, and they all were excellent. There is also directions to the secret viewing platform on the Coral Princess.

And don't feel badly about being confused - this was my third cruise and I still screwed up the excursion in Panama, since I didn't realize the reboarding issue until I was on the ship. It is highly unusual for independent passengers to be dropped off at a different location (there are a few other places where this happens - near Geiranger and in Santorini with some cruise ships but not all) so it's very confusing.

This was a wonderful cruise, and I hope you enjoy it - Cartagena was one of my favorite cities and was so beautiful!

[BarbinMich]

Y....

I do feel it's shame that Princess has virtually eliminated Panama City from their full transit itineraries. Great place to spend a day.

 

When we did an EB full transit from LA on the Coral five years ago, we had a long time in Amador (Pacific port before the entrance to the Canal). At least it was long enough to do a interesting walking tour of "Old" Panama City. So from what you say this doesn't happen anymore.