Need help deciding which canal excursion to take

[Nieuwcruiser]

We'll be on the Equinox which doesn't go through the canal. Just in the port of Colon for the day. Celebrity offers a few different tours:

Panama Canal tour - board a ferry boat and venture into the canal... 8 hours long

 

Grand tour of panama - journey through the heartland to discover the Panama Canal, with Embera Indian dance performance. Board a boat for lake exploration. 5 hours long

 

Or

 

Expansion oh the Panama Canal the present & the future. - discovering the workings. Appears to be from a platform. 5 hours long.

 

We're in port for 10 hours.

 

Any suggestions?

[cruisead]

We loved the Panama Canal tour that is 8 hours long. You get a great perspective of the canal.

[4774Papa]

We did the Panama Canal transit, which was great. If you don't transit on your cruise, take the most comprehensive tour you can find.

 

Also, recommend reading the book, "Path Between the Seas."

[jelayne]

We did the Panama Canal transit on the Century-going through the canal was great. I would go with the 8 hr Panama Canal tour if it was me.

[chemmo]

Would recommend the Celebrity 8 hour tour. We did it a few years ago and really enjoyed. Make sure you take clothing that will protect you from the sun (hat, shoulders...).

 

Although we are fond of independent travel with the length of tour we decided to stick to Celebrity. I am glad we did. We saw groups running back to the ship and we believe a group missed the ship and rejoined at the next port.

[wallie5446]

We were on the Equinox 11 day last yr and took the CO26 tour, 8 hour.

DO IT! One of the best experiences on a history type tour in 25+ years.

We were close enought that we got to touch the sides 20 feet down!

 

Yea, I know, kinda cornie, but for us older folks that understand what a engerning feat building it was, this was cool.

 

On a side note:

Only book it thru the ship. There was a mis-communication between the tour operator and the canal Piloit! He was over an hour late, so we ended up being over 2 hours late getting back to the Equinox:eek: being a ship tour, the Captain waited for the 300 of us on the tour. 4 others were not so luckie, as they came running up a minute after we pushed away:o

Edited July 26, 2015 by wallie5446