taking kids to panama

[KIDS LUV CRUISIN]

we are going to the panama canal on the carnival liberty.

what is the best excursion to do.

are we better off with the ships trips or do a private trip?

[Sue L]

In Panama I would favor a ship's excursion because everything is pretty far and you are covered for a late running tour.

 

 

I would definitely take a tour that goes to the canal, or through the canal like the "canal by ferry" or whatever carnival calls it, since your ship does not enter the canal or I believe even go near it.

[GreenWave2]

I would disagree with using a ship sponsored tour. Most ship sponsored tours have VERY large groups of people. The children are not given time to ask their questions. We used http://www.myfriendmario.com for this Canal/waterfall/Embera Indian Village. When we were at the waterfall there was only about 20 people there. When the ship tour arrived, as we were leaving about 80 people showed up at one time. That makes the waterfall a little crowded. (Bring good watershoes, not flip-flops for the rocks). My 9 year old and 6 year old loved the waterfall and the Indian Village. My 6 year old was bored watching the ships pass through the canal. I would imagine her being EXTREMELY bored to actually be on a ship tour that passed through the canal. My 9 year old enjoyed watching the BIG cargo ships pass through the canal and listen to the explanations as to everything that was being done. I would not worry about missing the ship leave port. Mario bases his business on cruise ships and has a phone that if something were to happen, he could call the ship's agent. Due to some other passengers in our tour, we were required to make an emergency bathroom stop on the way back to the ship. This delayed us a good 10 minutes. We arrived at the pier at 3:35. You were suppose to be back on the ship by 3:30, but there was a HUGE long line for people to board. We decided to spend 8 minutes looking for some souvenirs before standing in the long line to get back on the ship. We were not worried at all the ship would leave at 4:00 without us. Also, I would suggest looking in the shops in the morning after checking in with Mario while other guests are still checking in. This gives you an idea of what to purchase at the end of the day and saves some time.