Panama Canal Tour with a Toddler?

[floridian1]

Hello, I will be going on a carnival cruise and one of our stops is Colon Panama. I was interested in doing the 8 hour Panama Canal Tour. Is this a tour that could be done with a toddler that is 2 year old? Someone that has done this tour please give me your feedback, where there other younger kids on the ship?

[flyboyswife]

What about with a 3.5 year old? Worried about leaving DD on the ship if we take a long excursion. On the other hand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I really want to see the canal. Thoughts? Suggestions?

[tmitchell82]

I assume you are talking about the excursion where you board a boat and sail through part of the canal to the Pacific ocean. We did this on our cruise last month. Basically you are on a small ferry boat that goes through the canal. There is no reason a toddler could not do this. Basically involves a bus ride and sailing on the ferry. It is a long trip and you do spend a fair amount of time waiting at the locks for another ship to join you. If you child likes to be active and have stuff to do, you might want to bring stuff along to keep the kid entertained. They did serve is lunch which was okay, but with a kid, I would definitely bring more food along. Also, it can be very hot to. There were no kids on our tour, but then again, there was about 6 kids on the cruise in total. It is a great way to see the canal and the locks and you will really not get this perspective on the other tours. Would I do it again, no. Once was enough to experience it, but I would recommend it as a great way to see the canal.

[aussiegirl]

I did this trip last month (April) from the Island Princess and I probably would not recommend it for a toddler. It involves two lengthy bus rides (nice buses, but long rides and your child would have to stay in his/her seat). Then there is a several-hour trip on the ferry which is small and offers little-to-no space except for sitting outside to go through the locks. The seating area is covered, but it was really hot even in the shade. Your child could move around some, but there's no place to play. You would definitely want to bring your own food for your child. (The food was OK for adults, but there wasn't a great amount of choice.)

If you are going all that way to Panama, I would recommend the trip for an adult, but I think you and your toddler would both be a whole lot happier if you left your toddler in daycare on the boat.