Monkey Watch excursion on Celebrity?

[cjw]

Has anyone done this excursion? How was it?

[Arubalisa]

Anyone?

[jperkin1]

Has anyone done this recently? Would love to hear what you thought!

[navel1ring]

Also interested in the monkey watch through RCCL

 

Wendy

[Allis154]

I am also looking at this excursion for September. Does anybody have any info?

[LuAnn]

Wendy...where does RCCL offer it? LuAnn

[ltdedorc]

Just returned from our canal cruise from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale Feb 12 - 26th and did the monkey watch excursion. While we did see two species of monkey's (Howler and Capuchin), a sloth, iguanas, no birds to speak of, and a crocodile the trip was NOT as described in Celebrity's literature.

 

The 30-minute hi-speed boat ride turned out to be a 2-hour van ride one way to Gamboa where you then boarded a boat for an 1 1/2 hour RT ride to see the monkey's before you return for another 2-hour ride to Cristobal Pier. Most of us on the van were very displeased on the ride out there since it was not as described on the Celebrity website as well as in their literature. I may still email them my displeasure and ask for a refund because I would never have selected this excursion if I new it involved 4-hours of travel time vs the 1 1/2 hour looking of monkeys.

 

We were fortunate that the guide provided us with a lot of info about the country and the boat driver knew where to go and fed/attracted the monkeys to/onto the boat before the other boats arrive and the monkeys were then not as interested in eating and shied away from the other boats, still visible but not climbing onto the boat.

 

That's how it went down for us...Harvey

[jperkin1]

We also went on this excursion from Celebrity. I wouldn't do it again. It wasn't awful, but it really wasn't that great. Our tour guide was wonderful & had so much information about Panama & it's government and really seemed to know a lot about everything (that certainly helped make it not a complete bust). We did end up seeing a few monkeys in the trees, but nothing much really. The "snack" they served was kind of a joke. Two rolls with a possibility of a piece of turkey, but I wouldn't swear to that, & a banana muffin. Plenty of carbs anyway..

 

Most people that we spoke to had good things to say about the canal by ferry. It's seems that that's one excursion that gets consistently good reviews anyway.

 

Have a great trip!