Opinions about train excursion along the Panama Canal

[longterm]

We're going on the Panama Canal cruise in March, so I'm starting to plan our excursions.

 

Has anyone done the Panama Canal Railway excursion? I know that it's a one-way train ride and the other way will be by bus; any info on how the excursion would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Bob

[oakridger]

I suggest also reading and posting your question on the Ports of Call Forum for the Panama Canal.  You will get more targeted information from people from other cruise lines who also took the train excursion.  Their experiences should give a general idea what the excursion on Viking is like.  Have fun!

 

Panama Canal Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

[Mimiya11]

Would be nice to get some Viking cruisers who have taken the Panama Canal cruise to provide their input/experiences on Panama Canal excursions offered by Viking.   

I personally found the Ports of Call Forum for the Panama Canal not of great help in this regard.   

 

 

[longterm]

1 hour ago, Mimiya11 said:

Would be nice to get some Viking cruisers who have taken the Panama Canal cruise to provide their input/experiences on Panama Canal excursions offered by Viking.   

I personally found the Ports of Call Forum for the Panama Canal not of great help in this regard.   

 

 

I've been reading in the Panama Canal forum for the last hour, and have a lot more information than I had before:

 

Partial vs. Full Transit

Most people who have done both recommended a full transit; however, looking at ports of call for the partial (Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale, which we're doing) versus full transit (Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles), we prefer the partial transit. 

The other point that was often made was that although most who have done both transits prefer the full transit, the partial transit is a great experience and well worth it.

Most of the people who commented said that if you ARE doing the partial transit (as we are), the ferry excursion gives you the entire transit experience. It's a full day, but we're definitely going to choose this excursion.

 

Train ride

The train ride is also a full day, but a lot of the time it's not near the canal and more for railroad buffs than for those who want to see the canal.

 

Embera Indians excursion
The excursion to see the Embera Indians sounds great, and had good reviews, but we can only do one, so we're going to go on the ferry excursion.

 

Here's a link to the Panama Canal forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

Bob

Edited September 9, 2022 by longterm

[oakridger]

Thank you for the summary of your research. @longterm  Have a great time and maybe report back on your ferry through the locks excursion if you can.

 

~Nancy

[Mimiya11]

Thanks Bob

I have been looking at the Panama Canal forum but was hoping to hear about people's experiences with actual Viking excursions.   All good, pretty much decided what we want to do in each port. 

See you on the ship.   

 

 

[The Other Tom]

I haven't looked at excursions that Viking offers, but when we did the partial transit with NCL a few years ago, they had an excursion where you transferred off the ship in Lake Gatun and were bussed to a point about halfway through the canal, where you boarded a smaller ship and sailed all the way through to the Pacific.  Then you were bussed back to the ship in Colon.  Well worth in, IMO.  Seeing the canal (and actually touching it) was quite the experience from the small ship.

[Busybeeva]

On 9/8/2022 at 9:27 AM, longterm said:

We're going on the Panama Canal cruise in March, so I'm starting to plan our excursions.

 

Has anyone done the Panama Canal Railway excursion? I know that it's a one-way train ride and the other way will be by bus; any info on how the excursion would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Bob

Bob, what did you decide to do and dos you enjoy it? We are going in January. Trying to decide about our port day in Panama City. TYIA

[20Cruise20]

Cruise: Viking Star - Panama Canal & Central America - Feb & Mar of 2023

 

If the excursion that you are referring to is: The Panama Canal Railway - Connecting Two Oceans, I can share my perspective. We enjoyed the excursion and are not train buffs. Most of the train ride was close to the canal. The ride provided a much different perspective than what we experienced on the ship. Was it non-stop viewing of water? It was not. However, there was plenty of canal viewing. A light snack provided on the train as well as some history from the guide.   

 

I spent a fair amount of time at the open area at the rear of the train car. Snapped a few photos, watched many ships of varying sizes that we passed, and enjoyed a closer look at the landscape and visible birds. Coming close to the Bridge of Americas was stunning. Much more so than the ship experience.

 

Upon completion of the train portion and arrival at the train station, a rest room stop before boarding the bus. (There were several Viking passenger train cars.) Lunch was at a local restaurant. (Pretty sure that we were seated at tables for four.) A served buffet with a choice of drinks. It was very good. 

 

Literally driven across the street from the restaurant for a photo stop with some great water views and a couple of small shops.

 

The last component was the bus ride through Colon to return to the ship. While it was interesting to see Colon and hear some additional history, nothing extremely notable on the bus ride. 

 

Would I recommend? Yes. If your purpose is to truly experience a different canal perspective and understand more about the Canal, it's a good choice.   

 

A few other general cruise observations along with background perspective: We are both active adults without any limitations. We have cruised 3.5 times with Viking. (Partial Trans-Atlantic when "the world" shut down due to the pandemic onset, Med Odessey, and Homelands.) We found this cruise to be a really nice mix of sea days to enjoy the ship as well as excursions to enjoy the ports. Similar to the original poster, we researched partial versus full transit and settled for the partial based upon the schedules as well as the ability to spend a bit of time in Florida before and after the cruise. (Not snowbirds, simply wanted a winter getaway from PA.) We had no regrets that we selected the partial.

 

My advice for the ship transit experience, try to get to different places on the ship for the lock entry and exit. High deck, low deck, front, back, and each side. If you have questions about the ports or other excursions, please ask. Happy to provide my input for your consideration.     

 

  

[Squawkman]

2 hours ago, 20Cruise20 said:

Lunch was at a local restaurant. (Pretty sure that we were seated at tables for four.) A served buffet with a choice of drinks

 May I ask exactly what is a “served buffet”? Never heard that term before. TIA

[oakridger]

@Squawkman My interpretation of "served buffet" is that as you walk through the buffet the staff puts your choices on a plate and hands the plate to you.  The customers/passengers don't touch the serving utensils and can't handle the food and then put it back!!  That is how I think all buffets should be!

 

@20Cruise20 is this what you meant?  Thank you for the Panama Canal excursion information.

 

~Nancy

 

[longterm]

20 hours ago, Busybeeva said:

Bob, what did you decide to do and dos you enjoy it? We are going in January. Trying to decide about our port day in Panama City. TYIA

We decided to cancel the Panama Canal cruise, and instead did a Rick Steves tour in Tuscany. I do wish I could've seen the Panama Canal, but there were just too many sea days for us. One of these days we may try a cruise with lots of sea days, but that doesn't appeal to my wife, so we've held off for now.

[20Cruise20]

Squawkman:

 

Nancy summarized the served buffet. As we walked the buffet line, the staff asked for input on the items we preferred as well as the portion size. In this particular experience, our drinks and dessert were ordered directly from a table menu.   

[Squawkman]

4 hours ago, 20Cruise20 said:

Squawkman:

 

Nancy summarized the served buffet. As we walked the buffet line, the staff asked for input on the items we preferred as well as the portion size. In this particular experience, our drinks and dessert were ordered directly from a table menu.   

Thanks for the heads up 😊

[Mimiya11]

On 12/2/2023 at 2:16 PM, Busybeeva said:

Bob, what did you decide to do and dos you enjoy it? We are going in January. Trying to decide about our port day in Panama City. TYIA

We were on this cruise in March and did the Flora and Fauna excursion in Panama City which was great.   

 

 

[Cienfuegos]

I appreciate the overview of the Panama Canal Railway trip above,  it was very similar to our trip.

 

My wife and I enjoyed the Panama Canal Railway trip in 2018. This was via Celebrity.

 

Transferred in Gatun Lake to a launch which took us to buses shore-side. The buses went directly to the Colon railway terminal. On the edge of a busy freight yard, with many containers, etc. We boarded the train, but had an opportunity to view the brightly colored buses on the other side of the fence.

 

The outbound trip was interesting, the guides pointed out places to expect tropical birds, the decaying wreckage of many Canal Zone facilities. At the Panama City end we were bussed to the Miraflores locks where we saw a ship moved through. The buses then brought us on a panoramic trip through modern Panama City, and back to the train.

 

There was a sorting, as some guests boarded the train, and others got back on the buses for a ride back to Colon.

 

On arrival in Colon train station, the buses took us on a quick tour of this third world, very impoverished looking city. The ship was now at a dock. Cruise passengers left the buses and proceeded through a passageway of crowd control barriers with local residents offering a wide range of items for sale through the barrier. Heavily armed security folks were present. It wasn't an especially comfortable situation for me.

 

I don't know how the low lake levels and limits on lock use would affect current cruise operations into the lake, and back out.