Celebrity Beyond - December 20th 2023 - Panama

[Irish clare]

Hey, I am doing the Celebrity Beyond in December this year - i just have question on the Panama section of the trip . ..

on the itinerary it shows as 26/12 - Panama Canal ( Cruising)  / 26/12 Colon Panama 

does the liner go through the canal and turn around and come back and dock ?

I though it took hours for the liners to go through the canal 

How long do you get in Colon ?

thanks in advance 

 

[cruisestitch]

Yes this cruise is not a full transit.  The ship goes into the Canal, then turns around and docks.  It is scheduled to be in Colon from 5 PM to 9 PM

Edited May 16, 2023 by cruisestitch

[jelayne]

No that sailing does no go through all the locks.  It is a partial transit.

Edited May 16, 2023 by jelayne
Typo

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Irish clare said:

How long do you get in Colon ?

thanks in advance 

 

 

May I suggest you head over to the Panama Canal forum (link below) where you will find a great deal of information about Panama Canal cruises  -- partial as well as full transits.

 

On a partial transit, the stop in Colon is not really a port call in terms of shore excursions, etc., it's for the ship to pick up guests who got off in the Canal to take ship-sponsored tours (the only ones you can take from there), including, for example, taking a small vessel through the locks on the Pacific side that you will not have transited on your own ship.

 

A partial transit from the Atlantic side will go through the locks on that side (I think the Beyond may be too big for the original, historic locks and will use the new locks), and then enter Gatun Lake, where guests who have chosen to do shorex will get off for those.  Guests may also opt to remain on board and go back through the locks they have just transited, staying on the ship to Colon, where the ship will await the guests returning from shore excursions. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

I hope that's helpful.

[patterson3]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

May I suggest you head over to the Panama Canal forum (link below) where you will find a great deal of information about Panama Canal cruises  -- partial as well as full transits.

 

On a partial transit, the stop in Colon is not really a port call in terms of shore excursions, etc., it's for the ship to pick up guests who got off in the Canal to take ship-sponsored tours (the only ones you can take from there), including, for example, taking a small vessel through the locks on the Pacific side that you will not have transited on your own ship.

 

A partial transit from the Atlantic side will go through the locks on that side (I think the Beyond may be too big for the original, historic locks and will use the new locks), and then enter Gatun Lake, where guests who have chosen to do shorex will get off for those.  Guests may also opt to remain on board and go back through the locks they have just transited, staying on the ship to Colon, where the ship will await the guests returning from shore excursions. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

I hope that's helpful.

This is very helpful! I always wondered what the difference between a partial and full transit were.

[sptrout]

42 minutes ago, patterson3 said:

This is very helpful! I always wondered what the difference between a partial and full transit were.

 

About 50 miles different. A full transit is the best if possible, but is usually a longer cruise than people can take for either time or money. If doing a partial transit make sure to take a tour of some kind to see more of Panama. A trip to the Pacific side of Panama is interesting since you you see among other places the old U.S. Canal Headquarters.

 

We have been to Panama 5 times or so and the first time was a full transit. It was a 14 day cruise from San Diego to San Juan. Cruise ships were not allowed to disembark passengers at that time, nor did the ships actually dock anywhere. A long day that was mostly just sitting in Gatun Lake waiting for our turn to pass through the final set of locks. A long day, but unforgettable.

 

If docking in Colon do not roam off by yourself more than the area directly visible from your ship. Colon is an industrial port city and is not a tourist destination. A ship's tour to about any place would be better than roaming around on foot through the city.

 

[Turtles06]

20 minutes ago, sptrout said:

A ship's tour to about any place would be better than roaming around on foot through the city.

The OP’s itinerary shows the ship in Colon from 5-9pm. This is to pick up pax returning from shorex begun after the Atlantic locks.  I highly doubt there will be shorex leaving from Colon at those hours. 
 

Your advice is spot on not to leave the immediate port area. Everything I’ve read in the Panama Canal forum about Colon is that it’s not safe. 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, patterson3 said:

This is very helpful! I always wondered what the difference between a partial and full transit were.

Glad it was helpful. I strongly suggest reading David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas” before your trip. You will appreciate the Canal even more. 

[Essiesmom]

Edge partial transit April 3, 2023.  Agua Clara locks

 

 

[Irish clare]

thank you @Turtles06 

would you mind if i ask an other question ... there are excursions on the Celebrity site for Colon ... if you do these do you miss going through the canal ?

I understand that the port stop in Colon is only a few hours and by the explanation above its to pick up people that did excursions ... 

so do people get off the boat at the start of the canal ... do excursions ... and get back on in Colon ?

thanks in advance 

 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, Irish clare said:

there are excursions on the Celebrity site for Colon ... if you do these do you miss going through the canal ?

 

The itinerary you posted above shows the ship is in Colon from 5pm-9m, not earlier.  The ship will have done its partial transit before that.  Could you please post the description of those excursions, and their times?  Thanks.

[sptrout]

Just now, Turtles06 said:

 

The itinerary you posted above shows the ship is in Colon from 5pm-9m, not earlier.  The ship will have done its partial transit before that.  Could you please post the description of those excursions, and their times?  Thanks.

I am not Turles06, but in their absence I will answer your question. Ships that do a "partial transits" enter the Canal through the first set of locks (1 of three locks at least in the old lock system) and then stop/anchor in Gatun Lake. At this time any passengers that have ship booked tours (and only ship booked tours) will disembark and be transferred over to a docking area on land via tenders or (Port provided tenders?). At this time you will join your tour and then later join your ship that is now docked at the Port of Colon. 

 

You will only go through the first of locks and do not sail any farther than a couple miles into Lake Gatun for disembarking tour passengers. Later the ship will pass back through the locks and then sail over to the Port of Colon, which is close by. Any passengers on tours will not join their ship until it is docked in the Port of Colon. I highly recommend that you take a tour otherwise you will spend all day just waiting on the ship, but able to view the return trip through the docks. Probably a boring day for many folks that would otherwise be able, if capable of, a land tour.

 

A "partial transit" is kind of a play on words. The Panama Canal is over 50 miles; a partial transit will be around 5 miles. Therefore, without some kind of land tour you will miss most of not only the Canal, but of the country of Panama. Kind of like sailing into the Port of Miami, sitting in place for a few hours then sailing back out. Did you actually see Miami in this made-up scenario? 

[Irish clare]

@sptrout - thank you for the very clear explanation ... I will now look at booking a trip . ... i just did not want to miss the "experience " of going through the canal 

 

[Munsterguy]

So has anybody here booked any excursions when we arrive at Colon? We have booked the Panama Canal Locks and Culebra Cut Cruise, got it for $176 (for 2) during the recent flash sale.

Still haven’t decided if we will actually do this excursion, weighing up the pros and cons. 

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, Munsterguy said:

So has anybody here booked any excursions when we arrive at Colon? We have booked the Panama Canal Locks and Culebra Cut Cruise, got it for $176 (for 2) during the recent flash sale.

Still haven’t decided if we will actually do this excursion, weighing up the pros and cons. 

This is best asked on the Roll Call rather than the general Celebrity board 

[hcat]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:59 PM, Turtles06 said:

Glad it was helpful. I strongly suggest reading David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas” before your trip. You will appreciate the Canal even more. 

i agree..a must read.It is a lengthy book but you have time to digest it all.

Excellent history and canal facts.  Does not include the  expanded locks but lots of info available on that too!

 

Memory  fades,? but I recall we took a Celeb excursion that left from the ship in Lake Gatun   It went a far distance to high up  viewing platforms  with spectacular views of the area.  Very worthwhile and well done. 

 

We saw alot of widlife too, esp a stop to see a butterfly house..good refreshment stop as well..we  returned to ship at a lovely shops area.. local crafts, clothing entertainment and  snacks.  Hope I remembered this correctly..one of our fav cruises and ports!

 

Suggest you check out ship excursions . If you are delayed, bus breaks down,etc they will send help or wait!

Edited June 23, 2023 by hcat

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 

 

Suggest you check out ship excursions . If you are delayed, bus breaks down,etc they will send help or wait!

If you take an excursion, it must be through the ship.  No independent excursions are allowed.  I believe this is a requirement of the canal authority or Panama.  If you choose not to take a celebrity excursion and stay on the ship back through the locks to Colon, you might try for a taxi to take you touring, but it’s not recommended.  EM

[miched]

I seen this cruise advertised as a  Fast Deal. Not on Celebrity but looks like a very good price

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[mlparker]

We are on this cruise (12/22-1/2) and booked a private journey through Celebrity. Super excited!