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Should I Be Concerned? Safety

OhMyLard

By OhMyLard,
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OhMyLard

OhMyLard

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I am thinking about doing a partial World Cruise with Cruise & Maritime Voyages on the Columbus, embarking in Colón (Panama) and disembarking in Auckland, NZ.  My concern is flying from Tampa, Florida  to Panama City, Panama via Copa Airlines, over night in Panama City and taking a taxi to the ship the next day to Colon.  Should I be concerned with respect to safety with Copa Airlines, Hotel in Panama City and Taxi to the ship the next day?

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Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

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21 minutes ago, OhMyLard said:

I am thinking about doing a partial World Cruise with Cruise & Maritime Voyages on the Columbus, embarking in Colón (Panama) and disembarking in Auckland, NZ.  My concern is flying from Tampa, Florida  to Panama City, Panama via Copa Airlines, over night in Panama City and taking a taxi to the ship the next day to Colon.  Should I be concerned with respect to safety with Copa Airlines, Hotel in Panama City and Taxi to the ship the next day?

Copa (a Star Alliance partner with airlines like United and Lufthansa) has one of the world's best safety records.

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zqvol

zqvol

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My only concern would be Panama City to Colon in a taxi, but there are other transportation methods that will work fine including the train and bus transfers. It is about 90 minutes in a bus and a couple of hours on the train. I would not worry about the hotel in Panama City as long is it is with one of the major brands and not some mom and pop place. Panama City is very large, in fact probably larger than Tampa so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts.

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clo

clo

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44 minutes ago, zqvol said:

so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts.

And Panama City is considered safe.  I'm curious why OP even wonders.  I'm almost positive that there are far more dangerous cities in the US.  Chicago?

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new_cruiser

new_cruiser

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I wouldn't worry about safety taking a taxi from Panama City to Colon, but you should do some research on the price beforehand & negotiate the price with the driver ahead of getting in. 

You can ask on the Panama board about hotel recommendations. We stayed at the Wyndham an were happy with it.

 

We arranged for a half day tour & drop off at the Colon cruise terminal with Vincent Scott (vscott03@gmail.com) and were very happy with it. He took us to Portobello, but if you prefer, there are other options such as the Visitor Centers at the locks. At $250, the cost wasn't much more than our Cruise line wanted for a transfer for two. We also did an evening walking tour with him the night before. 

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Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

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15 hours ago, zqvol said:

My only concern would be Panama City to Colon in a taxi, but there are other transportation methods that will work fine including the train and bus transfers. It is about 90 minutes in a bus and a couple of hours on the train. I would not worry about the hotel in Panama City as long is it is with one of the major brands and not some mom and pop place. Panama City is very large, in fact probably larger than Tampa so as with any large city there are good parts and bad parts.

A great worldwide web resource for checking out average costs of private transport is mozio.com. At the very least, you'll get an idea of average cost (at least among the providers that subscribe to their service). That said, I'd still do personal research to find the best quality/price combo.

 

And, depending on your foreign location, there may also be Uber.

 

However, with any transport service, note that if you regularly use PayPal for things like Uber with your transport purchases being almost exclusively within the US, a first ever PayPal charge for Uber while abroad may be denied as "suspicious" (happened to me in London).  And there's no mechanism (yet) at PayPal to alert them that you are traveling. So, be prepared to add a CC number to your Uber account.

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Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

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2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

No, no concern. Copa is safe...I have done work with them before (on top of flying them a few times) and they're a pretty well run airline. Have spent some time in Panama City too and never felt concerned.

Another international flier that has a great safety record and decent bizclass prices is Philippine Air (PAL).

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clo

clo

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1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

The OP isn’t flying to Chicago. 

 

You must know my point.  Why Panama?  Recently on the South America board someone was talking about how dangerous Buenos Aires is.  Well, it's not  And a quick google will tell us that and more.

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Zach1213

Zach1213

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32 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Another international flier that has a great safety record and decent bizclass prices is Philippine Air (PAL).

 

The one time I flew PAL (LAX-MNL, unexpectedly because Cathay Pacific cancelled my LAX-HKG flight that was connecting on to MNL) we ended up having to divert to Honolulu partway across because of mechanical issues. Can definitely happen with any airline, and one data point does not an airline make, but I always kinda laugh that they have a 0% success rate with me 🙂

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clo

clo

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24 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Well then just answer the op’s question and set his mind at ease. It would be so much better than going straight to argument mode like you do in so many threads. 

First I tried to get some clarification and she got rather inflamed (deleted) but then I made the same point as others here.  There are more dangerous places in the US.  So if the OP had expanded on her question she'd get more accurate info.

 

In addition I'm figuring that there's a certain segment of people who cruise who may not be the most adventuresome.  So fear of the unknown may kick in sooner.

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SRF

SRF

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COPA used to be a partner of Continental.  Same paint scheme, except the world grid on the tail was white instead of gold.

 

I have flown COPA several times, and have no issues with them.

 

OTOH< TACA was HORRIBLE.  They have now merged with Avianca.

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John Bull

John Bull

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7 hours ago, DENIE said:

Just be careful in/around Colon.  It is not a safe city.  If you can get directly to the port, it would be best.

 

 

Yes, Colon is one of the mot dangerous cities in the Caribbean, on a par with La Guaira, Venezuela.

Not a place to go a-wandering.  

So I'd very definitely be inclined to take a car transfer from Panama City to the ship rather than bus or train.

The port area in Colon is very safe, no problem crossing to the bars & cafes opposite the port gate for a sensibly-priced drink & free wifi, but don't wander further.

 

If you choose your Panama City hotel location with a little care, no problem there..

 

This from a guy who's not risk-averse .

 

JB :classic_smile:

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evandbob

evandbob

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It's disheartening, but many folk in other countries are now asking the same question about traveling to the United States.  About 30 different countries have issued official travel warnings for their citizens visiting America.

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snowskier

snowskier

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No concern with safety but a tip for flying Copa -- should have known this but didn't even think about it.

 

We paid for an "emergency exit row seat" -- no kids allowed in this row is the reason. Didn't even think about the fact that one has to speak Spanish to sit in the exit row. Just like U.S. based airlines require people in this row to speak English. Lesson learned. Flight attendants have the option of moving you if you don't speak fluent Spanish. If there is an emergency all instructions will be in Spanish.  

 

We spent a couple weeks in Panama, including Colon with no problem and didn't see a reason for concern. Doesn't mean it is 100% safe but we were never uncomfortable. 

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