Panama Canal Cruise

[artronkat]

Just need advice which is the best way to see the operations of the Canal

locks:

Excursions purchased from Princess cruise or hire a local operator?

Which is a decent tour agency in Panama?

Since we will have only a partial passage through the canal (Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale itinerary) I am not sure how to book a best tour.

[AZbeachboy]

It has been a while, but I believe on a partial transit you have to use your cruise line tours until you get back to the docks, which could take hours. When we cruised the canal, we were picked up by excursions boats and some of the life boats from the ship. But they told us the only ones that could get off there were confirmed excursions and we had to have our tickets. Maybe that changed.

 

With the possibility of having a problem, that is one of the times I would tour through the ship.

[garlinn]

Just need advice which is the best way to see the operations of the Canal

locks:

Excursions purchased from Princess cruise or hire a local operator?

Which is a decent tour agency in Panama?

Since we will have only a partial passage through the canal (Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale itinerary) I am not sure how to book a best tour.

When we took this cruise you could only book excursions through Princess. The ship anchors in Gatun Lake and you tender to catch the excursions. Then the go back through the locks and meet the excursions in Cristobol.

 

We took the excursion that went the rest of the way through the canal on a small boat. It was a totally different perspective being on a small boat.

[cruiserking]

Definitely book with the ship and make sure you choose the Panama Railway excursion. You travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific side, visit the Miraflores Locks and see some other sights as well like the Bridge of the Americas.

 

These are beautifully restored rail cars made to look like the Orient Express. You will see the locks in action as well. We did this tour in 2006 and it was one of our all-time favorites.

 

Jonathan

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

There is no choice -- you have to book your Panama excursion through the ship. That is the only way you can get off the ship via using tenders to go ashore.

Don't worry about the tenders being crowded -- people are called to the tender area according to the time listed on your tickets for departure to go ashore.

[cb at sea]

You will see everything from the ship! There's no real need to get off during the passage. However, you don't want to plant yourself in one place on the ship....you'll need to wander front to back, side to side, and to different deck levels....It's amazing how different things look from the top deck to the promenade deck! So, wander about, and see the locks operating from the ship!