When you transit the Panama Canal, can you get of the ship?

[Teodor]

For example in itinerary like this:

Day 4 Wed Jan 17 Cartagena/Colombia Arrive 7:00 am Depart 2:00 pm

Day 5 Thu Jan 18 Panama Canal

Day 6 Fri Jan 19 Cruising

Day 7 Sat Jan 20 Puntarenas/Costa Rica Arrive 8:00 am Depart 5:00 pm

Can you get off the ship at Panama Canal and do some activities/shore excursions?

[matymil]

I had one booked for 2018 and I'm almost positive you cant get off the ship but I could be wrong.

[chengkp75]

When doing partial transits, the ship anchors in Gatun Lake and they have shore excursions to view the canal and continue the transit in small tour boats. Typically only ship sponsored excursions. For full transits (Atlantic to Pacific or vice versa), they will not let anyone off the ship as the schedule is rigid for the transit.

[mpdog42]

If you talking about Panama City, Why would you want to??

 

Mpdog42

[WPTNGirl]

We have an 8 day partial transit booked for April and there are no excursions listed for Panama Canal day and not even a note stating there will be any. I think I read on another thread that Carnival no longer does excursions from the lake like other lines might do. Anxious to hear from someone who had done the cruise and can verify.

[Jamman54]

We have an 8 day partial transit booked for April and there are no excursions listed for Panama Canal day and not even a note stating there will be any. I think I read on another thread that Carnival no longer does excursions from the lake like other lines might do. Anxious to hear from someone who had done the cruise and can verify.

 

We did a partial transit on the Pride in March, and there were no excursions offered. :cool:

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We did a partial transit on the Pride in March, and there were no excursions offered. :cool:

 

Yes but we had the option to jump off the ship onto the Canal itself, and technically stand in Panama. I'm guessing the negative would be not making the jump, but seeing the inside of a Panama jail could be worth it! ;p

[evandbob]

If you talking about Panama City, Why would you want to??

 

Mpdog42

 

My 1st cruise to Panama we docked in Colon and I took a ship's excursion to the locks and several spots in Panama City. I liked it so much that I've gone back spent several days on different land vacations in Panama City. The City has an amazing skyline, it's architecture rivals and surpasses most USA cities, there's a great history and engineering feat in the Canal itself, the Gold Church, ruins, casinos,and pirate stories.

 

We went to a Riu Hotel up on the Pacific coast in Rio Hato for a week and found a brand new condo building next to that hotel. We'll be going back and renting a 1 bedroom unit there for the months of February and March for about the price of 1 week balcony cruise. We'll be eating local foods, fruits and produce, and locally caught fish for these 2 months, what's not to love?

[bar1068]

We did a partial transit on the Pride in March, and there were no excursions offered. :cool:

 

Hmmmmm...was that the Pride relo cruise from Tampa back to Baltimore? We were that cruise, seems I recall the partial transit of the canal WAS the excursion!!!

[bar1068]

We have an 8 day partial transit booked for April and there are no excursions listed for Panama Canal day and not even a note stating there will be any. I think I read on another thread that Carnival no longer does excursions from the lake like other lines might do. Anxious to hear from someone who had done the cruise and can verify.

 

Not sure which cruise you could be referring to, but on the Pride's relocation cruise from Tampa back to Baltimore in 2015, the Pride docked somewhere in Colon and we boarded a bus that took us to a town, Comboa I think. There we boarded a ferry and did the partial transit from there to the Pacific. After reaching the Pacific, we boarded another bus that took us back to Colon where to board the Pride. So for at least that Carnival cruise, we did not do the partial transit from Gatun Lake.

[Essiesmom]

The Pride repo in Feb/March this year did not offer any excursions, and there is a reason for this. the ships that do partial transits and offer excursions tender their passengers off in Gatun Lake. they then pass back through the Gatun Locks and dock in Colon for a few hours, only to pick up the excursion passengers. The Pride did not dock in Colon, but went straight to Aruba. Thus there would have been no opportunity to pick up excursion passengers. So far as I can tell from the schedules, this is what all of the Carnival partial transits will do. And yes, I was on that cruise. EM

[Retired_to_Cruise]

The October 28th, 2017 partial transit of the Panama Canal cruise on the Freedom DOES NOT have any excursions that can be booked for the day of transit. I believe it will go through the esclusas de Gatun just past Colon and do some sailing in Gatun Lake and then come back out through the esclusas de Gatun. I do not believe there is any chance to get off the ship legally and get back on.

[jsglow]

Cruises that dock at Colon treat Panama like any port. We visited the Canal as part of our time in the country. Very cool. At that time, the new larger locks were under construction.

[Ocean Dancer]

My 1st cruise to Panama we docked in Colon and I took a ship's excursion to the locks and several spots in Panama City. I liked it so much that I've gone back spent several days on different land vacations in Panama City. The City has an amazing skyline, it's architecture rivals and surpasses most USA cities, there's a great history and engineering feat in the Canal itself, the Gold Church, ruins, casinos,and pirate stories.

 

We went to a Riu Hotel up on the Pacific coast in Rio Hato for a week and found a brand new condo building next to that hotel. We'll be going back and renting a 1 bedroom unit there for the months of February and March for about the price of 1 week balcony cruise. We'll be eating local foods, fruits and produce, and locally caught fish for these 2 months, what's not to love?

Welcome to the world of "Snowbirding" We do south of Myrtle Beach each year.:D The condo reminds us of an aft balcony of a cruise ship but a lot cheaper!!

[meanjean80]

I did a full canal transit and there was no stop. Years earlier I did an itinerary that stopped in Colon and offered exursions through the canal. Essentially the ship treats the canal transit like a day long excursion. (FWIW, that transit remains my favorite cruise so far).

[Essiesmom]

The October 28th, 2017 partial transit of the Panama Canal cruise on the Freedom DOES NOT have any excursions that can be booked for the day of transit. I believe it will go through the esclusas de Gatun just past Colon and do some sailing in Gatun Lake and then come back out through the esclusas de Gatun. I do not believe there is any chance to get off the ship legally and get back on.

 

Actually Freedom will not be going through the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake. She is too big for Gatun Locks, so will use Agua Clara Locks into Gatun Lake.

 

At the canal entrance, you will take the channel to the left:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you will go back out the same way. EM

[evandbob]

And as an aside to the main topic, in 2013 it cost about $135 per passenger bed on a cruise ship to transit the full length of the Canal

 

That's about $425,000 for a 3,100 passenger ship.