Beware booking tours in Panama.....!

[BillB48]

Hi milagarcia,

 

As someone who has used both independent tour operators as well as the ship's tours, Panama is one place I would recommend the ship's tour. Not that Mario does seemed to do a stand up job according the folks that post on this section of CC, he would come well recommended, no direct knowledge, however. The reason I think ship's tours are better in this case is primarily Panama City is a good distance from Colon. They have a new road open and that alone should make the trip much more pleasant. However Panama City is a big city, more than a million people, five million cars and one traffic light! Ok, a little exaggeration there, but the point is the City is prone to traffic jams of horrendous proportions. Getting stuck in one could very well delay your return to the ship. In this case it is much better to be on one of the ship's tours and that way you won't have to play beat the clock.

 

As far as the robbery incident goes, tradgic and scary no doubt and perhaps they will have gone back and have the police or guard in the vicinity for the tour buses. I don't know if this will make you feel any better or not, but that area has always had maliantes (bad actors) there even before I left the area. They sort of spoiled the scenic overlook of the dam. However in light of the robbery more effort will be made to ensure the safety of the tourists. Panama is reasonably safe and there is safey in numbers. Just be aware of your surrondings and leave any really valuable items on the ship, good advice for any port.

 

You'll have a great time!

[milagarcia]

Hi milagarcia,

 

As someone who has used both independent tour operators as well as the ship's tours, Panama is one place I would recommend the ship's tour. Not that Mario does seemed to do a stand up job according the folks that post on this section of CC, he would come well recommended, no direct knowledge, however. The reason I think ship's tours are better in this case is primarily Panama City is a good distance from Colon. They have a new road open and that alone should make the trip much more pleasant. However Panama City is a big city, more than a million people, five million cars and one traffic light! Ok, a little exaggeration there, but the point is the City is prone to traffic jams of horrendous proportions. Getting stuck in one could very well delay your return to the ship. In this case it is much better to be on one of the ship's tours and that way you won't have to play beat the clock.

 

As far as the robbery incident goes, tradgic and scary no doubt and perhaps they will have gone back and have the police or guard in the vicinity for the tour buses. I don't know if this will make you feel any better or not, but that area has always had maliantes (bad actors) there even before I left the area. They sort of spoiled the scenic overlook of the dam. However in light of the robbery more effort will be made to ensure the safety of the tourists. Panama is reasonably safe and there is safey in numbers. Just be aware of your surrondings and leave any really valuable items on the ship, good advice for any port.

 

You'll have a great time!

 

Bill, thanks. I am going to book with the cruise line. Question, I am on the Panama Canal cruise that goes to Cartagena, Puntarenas, Acapulco

[milagarcia]

Bill, sorry got cut off midway, what i was going to ask is do you know if these stops are good for private tours or better served by cruise excursions? I have private tours planned at each of these but am now considering doing all of them via the cruise line. What do you think?

[BillB48]

To be honest in those ports I have only used the cruise line's tours. I had never been to any of these places before and until I am a little familiar with the area I'll go with the easiest. I use the same criterea however, if the tour is much more than an hour away from the port, I'll usually go with the ship's tour. For example in Puntarenas there was a tour to San Jose via the ship's tours, that's one I definitely go through the ship.

 

If you have a good recommendation of a tour operator in those ports I would not be concerned about safety as I am in getting back to ship without looking at my watch!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I also use a criteria to book ship vs independent tours. If the tour or area I want to go to is less than an hour away from the ship, is a well traveled "touristy area" and the independent operator is well recommended here on CC with a excellent reputation I will usually choose independent. Otherwise I will go with the ship tour. On my last cruise to the Southern Caribbean where all our stops were on small islands with many local operators who are well known here on CC I did all private excursions. On my planned PC cruise I will most likely stick with ship tours in Costa Rica & Panama at least. Mainly because I will be looking at longer tours and travel farther from the ship. That being said, I also select my ship tours carefully & have had some excellent ones.....not overly crowded, either.

[BillB48]

I think we are on the same page:).

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I think we are on the same page:).

It seems to be a good formula. I also consider ship tours when we tender into a port with a limited time frame as it seems to make the best use of time in that port. Ship tours are the first off the ship so shore time is maximized. So, in that circumstance I will look at the ship tours first. Of course there are always exceptions to every rule and I balance what my research shows per port. I am not one to say "only ship tours" or "only independents".

[Ivy86]

Best thing to do on this port is stay on the ship!!!! :eek: or just book with the cruise line.

[klam_chowder]

I'd never considered the criteria for booking ship tours so really appreciate the guidelines other use.

 

Curious, what others think is a good amount of money to take on excursions. I was thinking $10 each but then someone said everyone had to put in a $5 at the police blockade to keep going...what if we didn't have enough? :confused:

 

I am interested in booking our own excursions not primarily because it costs less but because of the smaller group size and the freedom to stop where we wanted to take pics, etc. We're active and it's frustrating for us when on cruise line excursions it seems we spend a lot of time waiting around to re-group. Also don't like the mandatory shopping stops.

 

cheers,

:flower3:

[Sunny AZ Girl]

As far as cash is concerned be sure to bring enough to tip your tour guides and driver. I will, on the average, tip the guide $10 plus $5 for the driver. I also want to bring enough cash for any souveniers, food & drink or unexpected expenses. How much depends on what I plan on spending, but will usually carry an extra $50 - plus my credit card for emergencies. You never know what you will encounter on shore. Just don't go flashing around wads of $100 bill!:eek:

[Florida_cruisers]

I was thinking of booking an independent tour with Lee in Cartagena but all of this reading on robberies made me second guess. So what do you say, go independent or use the cruise line for Colombia?

[klam_chowder]

Thx a mint for the reply, Sunny AZ Girl :)

 

This thread was very interesting to me. I am still going to look at independant tours and then weigh the pros and cons for each excursion/locale, and make my decision that way.

 

cheers,