OhMyLard Posted August 4, 2019 #1 Share Posted August 4, 2019 I am thinking about doing a partial World Cruise with Cruise & Maritime Voyages on the Columbus, embarking in Colón (Panama) and disembarking in Auckland, NZ. My concern is flying from Tampa, Florida to Panama City, Panama via Copa Airlines, over night in Panama City and taking a taxi to the ship the next day to Colon. Should I be concerned with respect to safety with Copa Airlines, Hotel in Panama City and Taxi to the ship the next day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted August 4, 2019 #2 Share Posted August 4, 2019 I'm curious why you're concerned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhMyLard Posted August 4, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted August 4, 2019 11 minutes ago, clo said: I'm curious why you're concerned. Read the question. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted August 4, 2019 #4 Share Posted August 4, 2019 21 minutes ago, OhMyLard said: I am thinking about doing a partial World Cruise with Cruise & Maritime Voyages on the Columbus, embarking in Colón (Panama) and disembarking in Auckland, NZ. My concern is flying from Tampa, Florida to Panama City, Panama via Copa Airlines, over night in Panama City and taking a taxi to the ship the next day to Colon. Should I be concerned with respect to safety with Copa Airlines, Hotel in Panama City and Taxi to the ship the next day? Copa (a Star Alliance partner with airlines like United and Lufthansa) has one of the world's best safety records. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhMyLard Posted August 4, 2019 Author #5 Share Posted August 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said: Copa (a Star Alliance partner with airlines like United and Lufthansa) has one of the world's best safety records. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted August 5, 2019 #6 Share Posted August 5, 2019 My only concern would be Panama City to Colon in a taxi, but there are other transportation methods that will work fine including the train and bus transfers. It is about 90 minutes in a bus and a couple of hours on the train. I would not worry about the hotel in Panama City as long is it is with one of the major brands and not some mom and pop place. Panama City is very large, in fact probably larger than Tampa so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted August 5, 2019 #7 Share Posted August 5, 2019 44 minutes ago, zqvol said: so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts. And Panama City is considered safe. I'm curious why OP even wonders. I'm almost positive that there are far more dangerous cities in the US. Chicago? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new_cruiser Posted August 5, 2019 #8 Share Posted August 5, 2019 I wouldn't worry about safety taking a taxi from Panama City to Colon, but you should do some research on the price beforehand & negotiate the price with the driver ahead of getting in. You can ask on the Panama board about hotel recommendations. We stayed at the Wyndham an were happy with it. We arranged for a half day tour & drop off at the Colon cruise terminal with Vincent Scott (vscott03@gmail.com) and were very happy with it. He took us to Portobello, but if you prefer, there are other options such as the Visitor Centers at the locks. At $250, the cost wasn't much more than our Cruise line wanted for a transfer for two. We also did an evening walking tour with him the night before. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted August 5, 2019 #9 Share Posted August 5, 2019 (edited) Having spent time in Panama City, Panama we might be more concerned about out personal safety in some US cities than we would in Panama. Edited August 5, 2019 by iancal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted August 5, 2019 #10 Share Posted August 5, 2019 The most dangerous part of your trip will be the drive to the airport in Tampa. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach1213 Posted August 5, 2019 #11 Share Posted August 5, 2019 No, no concern. Copa is safe...I have done work with them before (on top of flying them a few times) and they're a pretty well run airline. Have spent some time in Panama City too and never felt concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzaholic41 Posted August 5, 2019 #12 Share Posted August 5, 2019 13 hours ago, clo said: And Panama City is considered safe. I'm curious why OP even wonders. I'm almost positive that there are far more dangerous cities in the US. Chicago? The OP isn’t flying to Chicago. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted August 5, 2019 #13 Share Posted August 5, 2019 15 hours ago, zqvol said: My only concern would be Panama City to Colon in a taxi, but there are other transportation methods that will work fine including the train and bus transfers. It is about 90 minutes in a bus and a couple of hours on the train. I would not worry about the hotel in Panama City as long is it is with one of the major brands and not some mom and pop place. Panama City is very large, in fact probably larger than Tampa so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts. A great worldwide web resource for checking out average costs of private transport is mozio.com. At the very least, you'll get an idea of average cost (at least among the providers that subscribe to their service). That said, I'd still do personal research to find the best quality/price combo. And, depending on your foreign location, there may also be Uber. However, with any transport service, note that if you regularly use PayPal for things like Uber with your transport purchases being almost exclusively within the US, a first ever PayPal charge for Uber while abroad may be denied as "suspicious" (happened to me in London). And there's no mechanism (yet) at PayPal to alert them that you are traveling. So, be prepared to add a CC number to your Uber account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted August 5, 2019 #14 Share Posted August 5, 2019 2 hours ago, Zach1213 said: No, no concern. Copa is safe...I have done work with them before (on top of flying them a few times) and they're a pretty well run airline. Have spent some time in Panama City too and never felt concerned. Another international flier that has a great safety record and decent bizclass prices is Philippine Air (PAL). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted August 5, 2019 #15 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said: The OP isn’t flying to Chicago. You must know my point. Why Panama? Recently on the South America board someone was talking about how dangerous Buenos Aires is. Well, it's not And a quick google will tell us that and more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzaholic41 Posted August 5, 2019 #16 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Well then just answer the op’s question and set his mind at ease. It would be so much better than going straight to argument mode like you do in so many threads. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach1213 Posted August 5, 2019 #17 Share Posted August 5, 2019 32 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said: Another international flier that has a great safety record and decent bizclass prices is Philippine Air (PAL). The one time I flew PAL (LAX-MNL, unexpectedly because Cathay Pacific cancelled my LAX-HKG flight that was connecting on to MNL) we ended up having to divert to Honolulu partway across because of mechanical issues. Can definitely happen with any airline, and one data point does not an airline make, but I always kinda laugh that they have a 0% success rate with me 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted August 5, 2019 #18 Share Posted August 5, 2019 24 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said: Well then just answer the op’s question and set his mind at ease. It would be so much better than going straight to argument mode like you do in so many threads. First I tried to get some clarification and she got rather inflamed (deleted) but then I made the same point as others here. There are more dangerous places in the US. So if the OP had expanded on her question she'd get more accurate info. In addition I'm figuring that there's a certain segment of people who cruise who may not be the most adventuresome. So fear of the unknown may kick in sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted August 5, 2019 #19 Share Posted August 5, 2019 COPA used to be a partner of Continental. Same paint scheme, except the world grid on the tail was white instead of gold. I have flown COPA several times, and have no issues with them. OTOH< TACA was HORRIBLE. They have now merged with Avianca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DENIE Posted August 8, 2019 #20 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Just be careful in/around Colon. It is not a safe city. If you can get directly to the port, it would be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted August 8, 2019 #21 Share Posted August 8, 2019 7 hours ago, DENIE said: Just be careful in/around Colon. It is not a safe city. If you can get directly to the port, it would be best. Yes, Colon is one of the mot dangerous cities in the Caribbean, on a par with La Guaira, Venezuela. Not a place to go a-wandering. So I'd very definitely be inclined to take a car transfer from Panama City to the ship rather than bus or train. The port area in Colon is very safe, no problem crossing to the bars & cafes opposite the port gate for a sensibly-priced drink & free wifi, but don't wander further. If you choose your Panama City hotel location with a little care, no problem there.. This from a guy who's not risk-averse . JB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evandbob Posted August 8, 2019 #22 Share Posted August 8, 2019 It's disheartening, but many folk in other countries are now asking the same question about traveling to the United States. About 30 different countries have issued official travel warnings for their citizens visiting America. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blloydtbird Posted August 10, 2019 #23 Share Posted August 10, 2019 As others have mentioned, Panama City is quite safe. You should not be concerned at all in terms of general safety in the City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowskier Posted August 10, 2019 #24 Share Posted August 10, 2019 No concern with safety but a tip for flying Copa -- should have known this but didn't even think about it. We paid for an "emergency exit row seat" -- no kids allowed in this row is the reason. Didn't even think about the fact that one has to speak Spanish to sit in the exit row. Just like U.S. based airlines require people in this row to speak English. Lesson learned. Flight attendants have the option of moving you if you don't speak fluent Spanish. If there is an emergency all instructions will be in Spanish. We spent a couple weeks in Panama, including Colon with no problem and didn't see a reason for concern. Doesn't mean it is 100% safe but we were never uncomfortable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted August 10, 2019 #25 Share Posted August 10, 2019 We actually feel safer traveling in many European, Central American, and Asian cities that we do travelling in US cities. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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