constellation at cristobal pier

[bermudagal56]

we will be on celebrity in november and docking at Cristobal Pier, Panama...the ship does not go thru the locks. Any suggestions of what we should do? We would like to see the locks and hear all about it and maybe go through part of it. What would be the best way to do this?

[tbelian]

We went on an excursion (celebrity excursion) to the locks on a previous Constellation trip. You can see the locks in action, and you get a lot of interesting information.

 

A trip 'through' the locks though, is not part of this excursion.

[lysolqn]

You're best advised to take a ship-sponsored shore excursion. The area beyond the cruise terminal isn't particularly tourist friendly, and having done several Panama Canal cruises, I can tell you that traveling between the pier and the locks, or the pier and Panama City, is not something you want to do on your own. I'm sure there are folks who arrange for their own independent tours but your best bet is to stick with ship excursions.

[bermudagal56]

tbelian,

do you know the name of that excursion? what all did you do? how long did it take? thank you for the advice.

[Hflors]

I will be on the same cruise in Jan 09. If you can book the tour with the train through Panama do it. When we did this trip the last time on our Rccl cruise it was great. We did the dome car and it was wonderful. Very interesting. The train runs along the canal thru dense jumgle and thenthey take you to the locks on the other side of Panama. When we went there was a huge (panamax) ship going through. There were viewing stands there for us to watch the ship go through. It was very interesting. We are thinking of doing the same excursion again in Jan.

[hugger]

Princess and took a ship sponsered excursion that took us all the way through both sets of locks to the Pacific and then a bus back.

 

It was one of the best expereinces I've had - see if there isn't a ship sponsered excursion that will transfer you to this smaller ship - then you sail through the locks and bus back. So worth it - I mean we were up close enough to the locks to actually touch the wall and saw them open and close a few feet ahead of the ship. SO COOL to see.

[eandj]

We did this same ferry cruise thru Celebrity about 3 years ago. My DH is an engineer and of course found it fascinating. I found it interesting and the views remarkable. What's nice is we traveled thru the locks with other boats and ships of all sizes. That was neat. To see up close how the large freighters did the routine. The narrator on board the ferry did an excellent job with facts and interesting tidbits. We had a box lunch and the ferry was modern with ac inside. The ride back to the ship took us thru interesting areas of the country that you wouldn't see on your own. We found it well worth the money and much better than just hanging out on the ship or shopping the Cristobal Pier area. It lasted about 6 hours.

[nnzz]

We have also done the cruise through the canal with princess and it took the entire day to pass through. It was definitely a fantastic way to experience the canal if at all possible. Excursions to the canal are great but don't compare to actually doing the entire transit through.

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

We did the same ferry boat ride nd it was fabulous! Go up on the top deck, dress lightly, hydrate and take your own box lunch! We were in the same lock as a fishing boat and freighter one time! AND to go all the way out to the Pacific Ocean, unbelievable! Enjoy this excursion and have a great cruise! Nancie and Jim:cool:

[Igggy]

Get into the rainforest on a tour if you can. Last year we did the lock, lake, and rainforest on a Celebrity excursion.