Excursions on Coral - Panama Canal

[Princesshhi]

We will be sailing on the Coral this November and I was wondering if I should just stay on the ship for the return through the Gatun locks or take either the ocean to ocean or the railway journey excursion. What do you suggest?

[mii]

Princess we took the ocean to Ocean Tour and would highly recommend it. The boat which seats 200 passengers went to the other two locks on the Pacific Ocean side, then we were picked up by bus and saw views of Panama City, then the bus took us back to the place we then tendered onto the ship. It was a long day but extremely well worth it. Would highly recommend it. I talked to passengers on our ship that took the railroad trip and they said they enjoyed themselves.

 

Marilyn

[AmyinGA]

I agree--the ocean to ocean tour was great. My thinking was that since I went that far I had to go thru the full canal. Getting to the bridge of the americas was a wonderful sight. We had dolphins following along too. It is a long day and it can get quite hot, but there was an air conditioned part of the boat where you could go and cool off. My pics from the tour are wonderful and we look forward to going again someday.

[AlainBob]

On our cruise to the Panama canal in 2004 (Coral Princess), we took the "Gatun locks and Eco tour" and it was so great to see our own cruise ship going back thru the locks...

 

This tour takes 3 ½ hours and you have plenty of time to shop at the pier in Colon...

 

Alain R.

[Hello-Kitty]

hello, i am new to this site, i am just reading like crazy!! This place is great.

 

I do have a comment on the Panama Canal Railroad,i was there October 2004, it was awful!!!! i cant beleive i spent 300.00 for me and my husband to get off the ship onto a bus onto a boring train ride back onto another bus back to the ship, we had a brief stop at a mini mall which gave u no more then 20 minutes to go to the bathroom, u were stuffed on a bus with people who were just plain miserable b/c the tour was so bad!!! I think half our ship complained, hopefully they have improved it. The tour was just stuffed with alot of stupid talk to fill in the time.

 

Now i did here the coast to coast was great! Now i know for next time:)

[Babr]

We did the Ocean to Ocean off the Grand in December, 2004. Really bad. The tour was oversold so that there were not enough seats for everyone or even room to stand on the decks. People were constantly jockying for position- - clambering all over you, pushing to try to get the best spot for picture taking. Some were knocked off their feet as the boat hit the sides of the canal. Kids were hanging over the railings trying to touch the walls of the canal. I didn't see adequate life jackets. Don't know what they would have done in an emergency.

Overall a bad experience- - hot, uncomfortable, disappointed.

[Hello-Kitty]

oops i meant ocean to ocean not coast to coast!! lmao

 

sorry:rolleyes:

[Princesshhi]

Thanks for the info. Some of the tours are very expensive and I didn't want to make a mistake. You are all very helpful.

[lesharona]

We opted to stay on the ship and go back through the locks. It was much

more enjoyable the 2nd time as there were no crowds. And you could enjoy

the views from different areas with no problem. We talked to some

people on our sailing who said they wished they would've done the same.

They felt their tour was overpriced and did not enjoy it that much. I am

not sure which one they went on.

You will enjoy it either way.

[whale-watcher]

We opted to stay on the ship and go back through the locks. It was much

more enjoyable the 2nd time as there were no crowds. And you could enjoy

the views from different areas with no problem. We talked to some

people on our sailing who said they wished they would've done the same.

They felt their tour was overpriced and did not enjoy it that much. I am

not sure which one they went on.

You will enjoy it either way.

We are leaning towards this option as we are travelling with 3 kids, and I'm not sure they would tolerate the ocean to ocean ferry boat ride, especially if it is hot and crowded. Staying on board would give us more time to experience the locks, but also allow the kids (and parents) to swim or cool off indoors....and you can't beat the price!

 

AlainBob -- did you see a lot wildlife or interesting birds on your Gatun Eco cruise? Did anyone else take an excursion that was good for wildlife or bird watching?