"Panama Canal & Locks Transit By Boat" Excursion

[liberty176]

Hi, My family is scheduled to sail on a FL-CA full transit cruise on the Emerald Princess in December--super excited.  I'm aware that this ship uses the new locks due to size.  This will be our first transit, and this is the cruise that works with our schedules.

 

Since this is westbound, we have a stop in Fuerte Amador the day after the full transit.  One of the excursions offered is called "Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat."  Would it be worth it to take this excursion to have a chance to use the old locks, since our full transit is through the new ones?  Or will it be too similar to the previous day?

 

The excursion sounds like it's some sort of ferry boat, so I assume it uses the old locks.  Description says that the boat goes through the Miraflores Locks then Pedro Miguel Locks to get to Gatun Lake, crosses the continental divide and travels through the Gaillard Cut, and concludes at Gamboa (and then bus back to the ship).  

 

Thanks!

[liberty176]

Oh, and if it makes a difference, we're a family of 4 (two kids under 10), the adults will definitely be reading "Path Between the Seas" before our trip.

[HBCcruiser]

We did this and did not enjoy it. Yes, seeing the old locks was nice (once you go through the first locks it gets redundant) BUT the "boat" they used was basically a barge with lawn chairs and an awning for covering. There is no air conditioning onboard. The food they served was not very good (breaded chicken patty and salad) and they started to run out of the free waters. They had a woman who sold beers for $2 but she only had one cooler worth and they were all gone in the first hour. What was supposed to be a 6-7 hour tour turned into 10 hours! You are at the mercy of the Panama Canal operators. The bus ride there was an hour and 15 minutes and the return ride was an hour and 40 minutes so keep that in mind as well. Your children will get very bored, hot and thirsty IMO. We wish we had just stayed on the ship! 

Edited March 2, 2023 by HBCcruiser

[BillB48]

2 hours ago, liberty176 said:

Would it be worth it to take this excursion to have a chance to use the old locks, since our full transit is through the new ones? 

I think it would be worth it, of course you may have to factor in that this is coming from a real Canal aficionado that loves all things Canal, particularly Panama Canal.  Being perfectly honest you will retrace some of the same portions of the Canal that you just transited the day before.  Gaillard Cut will be the largest portion of what you will be seeing again.  IMO I think there is enough to see more than once.  You will certainly get a another narration about what you are viewing, that too can be a plus.

 

What will be different is you will be locking through the original locks as well as passing through the associated channels and additional artificial lake that you bypass on your transit the previous day.  There are several vessels that can be used for these transits and one of them does look like a ferry although most of the other vessels look like those you would find on a harbor tour in any major port.

2 hours ago, liberty176 said:

Description says that the boat goes through the Miraflores Locks then Pedro Miguel Locks to get to Gatun Lake, crosses the continental divide and travels through the Gaillard Cut, and concludes at Gamboa

 

Just be aware that the excursion can and does run in the opposite direction, either direction is equally rewarding.

 

The original locks are somewhat different from the new locks.  The original locks have twin sets of locks and use locomotives (mules) to assist the ship through the locks.  Although your vessel will not use the "mules" since it is really too small.  There is certainly much more visual interest and from your vantage point of a smaller vessel it gives you a better sense on just how big the locks really are.

 

Reading the "Path" is a splendid idea.  Even though I think you can appreciate the Canal without having done any reading or research prior to your transit, it will be more meaningful after reading McCullough's book.

[Turtles06]

5 hours ago, liberty176 said:

Would it be worth it to take this excursion to have a chance to use the old locks, since our full transit is through the new ones?  Or will it be too similar to the previous day?

 

Having just returned from B2B cruises in which we transited the Canal for our third and fourth times, through the original locks, I don't think you would find going through those locks too similar to your previous day.  (In fact, since our turnaround day was in Fuerte Amador, our two transits of the Canal were separated by just a day, and I found the second just as fascinating as the first.) 

 

I also think it would be very interesting to go through the locks in a ferry-sized vessel, something we've never done. 

 

All that said, you mentioned that you have two kids under the age of 10, and I wonder how well they would hold up on that second day.  The full transit of the Canal, which you will have just done, is a long, hot, and humid day.  Would they be up for doing some of it again the very next day?  Would they even be interested?   Only you can assess that.

 

I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to do that day, and of course I hope you enjoy the full transit!

 

As it happens, on our southbound transit last month, we followed the Emerald Princess through the Culebra Cut.   Here she is passing under the Centennial Bridge, and then approaching the Cocoli Locks.