Info on Colon, Panama please

[irish_scouter]

I am interested to see Colon again, I was stationed there 30 years ago and it was a dump then, houses leaning against each other. ect. I am taking my D/W on our 30th Anniversary and want to show her Gutan Locks. I was stationed at Ft. Dais when I proposed to her.

 

Irish :cool:

[minncruisers]

I am assuming your are going on the Enchantment out of Colon on her return to FLL. There's a ton of places to stay in Panama City. So far the problem seems to have been is that RCI has not finalized any of their pre cruise hotel and tarnsportation arrangements, or at least made them public at this time. Panama City is about an hour and a half from Colon over what can be best described as a challenging piece of road. There is a lot of construction on the road complicating the drive. As far as hotels in the Colon area.... pretty limited. There is one outside of Colon, about half way to Gatun Locks, which seems to be a nice facility. It's operated by Sol Melia Hotels, (sorry don't have the web site handy, go to their site and look under Panama). I have not stayed there but I have stayed in one of their other hotels in Spain.

 

I think the best thing to do is wait and see what RCI is going to offer in the way of hotels, transfers etc. Using Colon as a homeport is all new and this maybe the reason things are not in place yet.

The Sol Melia is a very nice hotel. Quite a nice upgrade from when my DH and I lived down the street from it (back then it was the old School of the Americas) 20 years ago when he was stationed at Davis with the Army.

I am interested to see Colon again, I was stationed there 30 years ago and it was a dump then, houses leaning against each other. ect. I am taking my D/W on our 30th Anniversary and want to show her Gutan Locks. I was stationed at Ft. Dais when I proposed to her.

 

Irish :cool:

We went back 3 1/2 years ago to reminence about the old days when DH was stationed at Davis with the Army. Sadly, Colon is still a mess and our memories are tarnished after seeing the sad state Ft. Espinar(formerly Ft. Gulick) is in. Our old house is now occupied by locals and looks so much different. DH and I brought our girls with us so we could show them where mom and dad lived before they were born.:rolleyes: We rented a taxi for the day and the driver took us wherever we wanted. He was even brave enough to take us out to Ft. Sherman and drive us all the way out to Ft. San Lorenzo. That was the best part of the tour even though we were afraid the car was going to break down from all the potholes.:D Have fun!

[irish_scouter]

We went back 3 1/2 years ago to reminence about the old days when DH was stationed at Davis with the Army. Sadly, Colon is still a mess and our memories are tarnished after seeing the sad state Ft. Espinar(formerly Ft. Gulick) is in. Our old house is now occupied by locals and looks so much different. DH and I brought our girls with us so we could show them where mom and dad lived before they were born.:rolleyes: We rented a taxi for the day and the driver took us wherever we wanted. He was even brave enough to take us out to Ft. Sherman and drive us all the way out to Ft. San Lorenzo. That was the best part of the tour even though we were afraid the car was going to break down from all the potholes.:D Have fun!

 

Was it still 4th Bn, 10th Inf? You guys where there in the 80's? I was stationed there from early 1976 to late 1978.

 

Irish :cool:

[Sparky333]

dst -

I was on the Celebrity Constellation. It was only a few months ago but I'm sorry I don't truly remember how long the ride was to the canal -- I want to say maybe 20 minutes. Not too long.

 

I think there were certain taxi drivers that are somehow "official" and you want to take one of them. Probably some more research on this forum would tell you how to tell the difference between them - some kind of ID or certain color taxi - can't remember.

 

It would be a shame to stop and not at least see the canal but I think a fair number of people never left the ship the day we were there. Good luck deciding and have a great cruise.

[Richard in Panama]

Most of the "official" cabs in Panama now need to be yellow. To be on a ship, call at Colon without going into the Canal, and not get off the ship and see some of Panama, and at least see the Canal if you've never done it before is . . . "loco"! I've got a lot of stuff about Colon and your day in Panama on my blog at www.richarddetrich.wordpress.com Start with Cruise Q&A . . .

 

Regards, Richard

[dst]

dst -

I was on the Celebrity Constellation. It was only a few months ago but I'm sorry I don't truly remember how long the ride was to the canal -- I want to say maybe 20 minutes. Not too long.

 

I think there were certain taxi drivers that are somehow "official" and you want to take one of them. Probably some more research on this forum would tell you how to tell the difference between them - some kind of ID or certain color taxi - can't remember.

 

It would be a shame to stop and not at least see the canal but I think a fair number of people never left the ship the day we were there. Good luck deciding and have a great cruise.

 

Thanks so much, we will be getting off ship to see the sites a bit just need to do some more research and I think we will start with Richard's blog :)

 

How did you like Celebrity, that is one line we have not tried yet.

[dst]

Richard: Love your blog and reading about your home -I'm not sure I would have been as calm as you seem to have been :)

 

I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I have rdone some reading; and I am still confused about how the pier works. We are traveling on the Carnival Freedom and we stop in Colon. Is Colon parts of the locks, is it possible to see the Canal from the Pier, could we walk over to the Canal or should we hire a driver? Once we are at the Canal is there some place to grab a local lunch/beer, or is it just the Canal and then off to some place else for lunch?

 

I know these are a lot of questions (and some probably silly) but I have tried to research and I am really lost. Our day in Colon will be spent seeing the Canal, some of the local atmosphere, grabbing lunch/beer and then back to the ship. We are not big shoppers or anything like that we just liked o get a feel of the area and see the sites.

 

Please help......

[BillB48]

I'm not Richard and I don't play him on TV, but I have been to Boquete!:) I can answer a few of your questions....

 

Is Colon parts of the locks, is it possible to see the Canal from the Pier..... No, Colon is not part of the Locks and you can not see the Locks from Colon. The nearest Locks are at Gatun about 15 miles away or around a 30 minute drive. When your ship enters the breakwater going into Cristobal/Colon, that is actually part of the Canal. The ship will leave the main channel of the Canal and go to Carnival's dock in Colon.

 

Could we walk over to the Canal or should we hire a driver? Do not leave the pier area without a tour group or at least a taxi driver. Colon is truly just a gritty port... trying to be kind here. I know you can get a driver, I'll let someone else fill you in on more current info on hiring a driver.

 

Don't judge Panama by what you see in Colon, it has lots to see, it's just that Colon in not what you came all this way to see. Gatun Locks is wonderful. As far as grabbing a local brew, I'm sure driver can help you out . While I have not been to the Carnaval dock I'm sure it is set up similar to the Cristobal pier where they have some shopping as well as places to taste your new favorite brew. Some of the ones I remember are.. Panama, Soberana, Atlas and Balboa.

 

Hope this helps and enjoy your cruise.....

[Richard in Panama]

BillB48 . . . next time you're in Boquete we must meet!

 

There is a lot of confusion between the ports of Cristobal and Colon, both of which are in Colon and I'm putting together a blog on all this . . . but in the meantime this might help some folks . . . Regards, Richard

 

[BillB48]

Sounds like a plan! Actually the last time I was there was about 20 years ago, had lunch at the Panamonte. Spent most of my ramblings in that area on the other side of the mountain around Bambito and Cerro Punta. I would love to make a return visit for a look around. I guess a lot has changed by now, except in Colon!:D

[dst]

Richard/Bill: Thank you both for the information & map! I am looking forward to our day in Panama, after all we decided on this cruise only because it went to Panama :)

 

Richard do you know if there is a place to get something to eat at the Gatun Locks or near by?