Partial transit from Colon

[DENIE]

My apologies if there is a thread out there already (please point me to it if there is).  Around 2014 we were on an MSC Divina cruise that stopped in Colon, Panama.  We booked an MSC-sponsored tour that took us from Colon by bus (we realized we would NEVER wander around Colon!) to Lake Gatun, where we boarded a 150-passenger ferry that took us the rest of the way through the Pacific Locks, into Panama City, where we met the same buses that took us back to the ship in Colon.  Lunch and drinks were available, along with English narration of all that we were seeing. We loved the experience of going through the locks and seeing them close-up rather than competing with thousands of other cruise passengers.  It was a memorable, amazing experience. 

 

Fast forward to November 2020....we are going on another cruise and taking SIL with us.  We are on the Celebrity Reflection, and will again be docking in Colon.  So far, the ships excursions do not have a similar offering, and I cannot find a private tour operator out of Colon that offers this sort of thing.  I am hopeful that Celebrity will add offerings as we get closer, as I prefer this to book this long of trip via the ship, rather than privately. 

 

Is anyone aware of a tour company that offers this sort of trip???  Many thanks!

 

 

[BillB48]

I  would say just give it some time for that tour you are referencing as well as other tours will show up in Celebrity's offerings.  I just don't see the possibility of Celebrity not offering one of the most popular tours at Colon.  To answer your question about a tour company offering that trip, Panama Marine Adventures does scheduled partial and full transits of the Canal throughout the year.  However when a ship calls at Colon, they are the ones that provide the partial transit tours to the cruise lines.  As a result they usually suspend their scheduled tours and use their assets to serve the cruise line.

 

Even if you could arrange for a partial transit excursion on your own, it really would not be a good idea.  Panama Canal schedules and timetables are more of a wish list (particularly for smaller vessels like the tour boat) delays are not uncommon and it would be a roll of the dice that you would make it back to the ship in a timely manner. 

[CruiserBruce]

Agree...this is pretty far in advance for Celebrity to have all their tours up.

[DENIE]

Kind of what I was thinking (and hoping).  This is the first cruise we have booked this far in advance.  Will continue to be patient and wait.  BillB48, agree as well...would prefer an excursion like this be done directly from the cruise line due to the distance and logistics. We had such a terrific experience in 2014 that we want to repeat. 

 

Thank you both for for your responses.