panama canal

[pieshops]

Has anyone done the Panama Canal by Ferry excursion recently, the last posts I see about it are 5 years old.\

[Budget Queen]

I did the add on tour in March.

[Shynook11]

We did last March on the Pearl. The cruise only did 1 lock and the ferry took us all the way to the pacific side and got to see the other locks. Let's put it this way....we paid 800 for 4 people and the cruise line ended up refunding everyone on the excursion the FULL amount. It was so poorly run and the ship was delayed sailing because we were 2 hours late returning from the excursion. We sat on the buses for 1 1.2 hours waiting to board the ferry after an hour ride on the bus to get to the ferry...no bathrooms, men were peeing in the fields while we waited to board. Not all the buses had A/C. I felt badly for the older people on the trip, not comfortable. When finally we got on the ferry it was okay...but it took so long to actually get on that the excitement was gone. Big ferry ended up full and some passengers had to get on a tiny ferry that literally looked like the African Queen, which had only 1 tiny porta potty bathroom and listed to one side. You will sit on a plastic chair for the duration. Tough for many of the older guests. I would not recommend unless you are hardy and can handle long waits and sitting. 7hrs turned into 9 and we were all exhausted and furious when we reboarded the ship.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Shynook11

[pete_coach]

We did last March on the Pearl. The cruise only did 1 lock and the ferry took us all the way to the pacific side and got to see the other locks. Let's put it this way....we paid 800 for 4 people and the cruise line ended up refunding everyone on the excursion the FULL amount. It was so poorly run and the ship was delayed sailing because we were 2 hours late returning from the excursion. We sat on the buses for 1 1.2 hours waiting to board the ferry after an hour ride on the bus to get to the ferry...no bathrooms, men were peeing in the fields while we waited to board. Not all the buses had A/C. I felt badly for the older people on the trip, not comfortable. When finally we got on the ferry it was okay...but it took so long to actually get on that the excitement was gone. Big ferry ended up full and some passengers had to get on a tiny ferry that literally looked like the African Queen, which had only 1 tiny porta potty bathroom and listed to one side. You will sit on a plastic chair for the duration. Tough for many of the older guests. I would not recommend unless you are hardy and can handle long waits and sitting. 7hrs turned into 9 and we were all exhausted and furious when we reboarded the ship.

We have stopped in Colon twice and each time the excursions were awful. Colon is a dangerous place and the Ships Captain even announced not to go into town.

 

On one, we took the train to Panama City and listened to the guide complain about how poorly the Americans have treated Panamanians and this guide was even in the American Army. And on the way back...on an old non air conditioned bus. On the other excursion, to the rain forest, same as you, the bus was late, non air conditioned and the stops were not prepared for the people (3 bus loads of cruisers). Long lines and ran out of even water. In my opinion, Panama, nope , not a good place to tour, stay on the boat.

[roger001]

If you have the time, I recommend the full transit on the ship, 14 day cruise. We've done it twice, both ways. And do read A Path Between the Seas first.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

We did a similar excursion on HAL in April and all 4 of us loved it!

I’m not sure if NCL uses the same tour company, but it seemed like there was only one Company running all of the busses and ferries when we were there.

 

Anything specific you’d like to know? I’d be happy to answer if I can!

 

It’s a long day, but this whole cruise (for us) was planned around the Canal Experience, and we enjoyed waking up in the Atlantic and finishing the day in the Pacific!

Our boat had a fantastic historian who narrates along the entire tour, and it was great to experience the size and scale of the locks ... especially with a MUCH larger cargo ship following us through!

 

Lunch, soda, and bottled water was served all day, and there were plenty of photo ops along the way. Be sure to get pics of your party touching the slimy Canal walls! HAHA! Even Mom and Dad got on on that action! [emoji4]

 

We would do that cruise again in a heartbeat, but probably no need to do the tour more than once, as we always like to try something new when we cruise.

[Budget Queen]

I went in March 2018. is the above Skynook report from then?

 

There are always going to be "waits" with this tour. No way around it.

 

I did not have anything even remotely similar to Shynook, in experience. The tour was well organized, and enjoyable. The ferry was crowded with some people thinking they could take up 2 seats, one for them, other for "stuff". You kind of had to be firm with some people. Food was OK, There was plenty of water, but no sugar free beverages except water.

 

This tour was well worth the time for me.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

If you have the time, I recommend the full transit on the ship, 14 day cruise. We've done it twice, both ways. And do read A Path Between the Seas first.

 

 

GOOD suggestion on the Book!

There are also some great videos to watch about the Canal before a cruise there.

The book and videos helped us appreciate what we were experiencing along the way!

:)

[Shynook11]

We went last March I think the dates were 13-23rd on the Pearl. I cannot remember exact dates. Had the tour left on time and we did not have 1 1/2 hours plus sitting on the buses with limited AC and the African Queen as the second option for the overbook, I would have been fine with it. We are in our 40s and well prepared to deal with glitches. Our kids were 13 and 10 at the time. The actual excursion itself on the ferry was fine...it was everything else that went wrong. We loved seeing the additional locks and the huge container ships. The fact that NCL had a huge line at the excursion desk after and refunded everyone who complained...tells me this probably wasn't a usual situation. It is a way to see all the locks....I am glad we did it...I just am equally glad due to the giant delay mess...we were refunded. The elderly people on this excursion were livid....and rightly so. It was exceptionally long and difficult for some patrons with health concerns.

All I had to do was be inconvenienced and tell my girls not to look at all the men whipping it out in the fields of the park because the bathrooms were locked while we waited for the ferry to finally arrive almost 2 hours late.

[Budget Queen]

We went last March I think the dates were 13-23rd on the Pearl. I cannot remember exact dates. Had the tour left on time and we did not have 1 1/2 hours plus sitting on the buses with limited AC and the African Queen as the second option for the overbook, I would have been fine with it. We are in our 40s and well prepared to deal with glitches. Our kids were 13 and 10 at the time. The actual excursion itself on the ferry was fine...it was everything else that went wrong. We loved seeing the additional locks and the huge container ships. The fact that NCL had a huge line at the excursion desk after and refunded everyone who complained...tells me this probably wasn't a usual situation. It is a way to see all the locks....I am glad we did it...I just am equally glad due to the giant delay mess...we were refunded. The elderly people on this excursion were livid....and rightly so. It was exceptionally long and difficult for some patrons with health concerns.

All I had to do was be inconvenienced and tell my girls not to look at all the men whipping it out in the fields of the park because the bathrooms were locked while we waited for the ferry to finally arrive almost 2 hours late.

 

So it was 2018???