Fuerte Amador, Panama Overnight on Ship

[iluvthe-c]

We (6 adults) will end our 11 night cruise on the NCL Joy with an overnight stay in Panama.  We stop at several Caribbean islands on our way from Miami so we want this stop to be all about the Canal.  I am reading Path Between the Seas now.

Any recommendations for what we should do for those 24 hours to make the most of maybe the once-in-a-lifetime visit?

Monday, December 4 Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising)

Tuesday, December 5 Fuerte Amador, Panama7:00am

Wednesday,December 6 Fuerte Amador, Panama Disembark

 

 

[Turtles06]

Take a look at suggestions made in other threads. There are a number of options. You could, for example, go to the Miraflores Visitors Center, and (if a properly timed visit) see ships coming through the locks and wander through the exhibits (which I hope will be open). You could take a ferry-sized vessel back through the original Pacific locks, which might be of special interest to you since the Joy will have gone through the new locks. 
 

You might also want to consider seeing some of Panama City itself, such as Casco Antiguo. 
 

Glad you are reading The Path Between the Seas, that’s the best preparation!

 

Enjoy your trip! 

[nansi]

We are 2 couples traveling on this same cruise with you. We found this very interesting private tour to visit the Embera village for the day. For details go to www.emberavilliagetours.com. For 5 or more people the cost would be $145 pp. We are still up in the air about doing this. We've already done the locks tour and the Panama City tour a few years back with HAL, so trying to find something else to do. Let us know if you find anything else interesting.

[RenoDuck]

11 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Take a look at suggestions made in other threads. There are a number of options. You could, for example, go to the Miraflores Visitors Center, and (if a properly timed visit) see ships coming through the locks and wander through the exhibits (which I hope will be open). You could take a ferry-sized vessel back through the original Pacific locks, which might be of special interest to you since the Joy will have gone through the new locks. 
 

You might also want to consider seeing some of Panama City itself, such as Casco Antiguo. 
 

Glad you are reading The Path Between the Seas, that’s the best preparation!

 

Enjoy your trip! 

I Love the C - We are on the same sailing as you, and these are basically the ideas we came up with as well. Given the issues with the cruise terminal, I'm wondering how easy it will be to get off the ship and grab a cab / uber first thing in the morning to the Miraflores locks in order to see the morning transits.  After the visit to the locks / exhibits, we will then check out Casco Viejo (also called Casco Antiguo).  At least that's the plan at the moment.

Edited May 26, 2023 by RenoDuck

[iluvthe-c]

Thanks @Turtles06.  Can you tell me how to plan for the ferry ride back through the locks?  Is it something that has to be booked ahead of time?  

[Turtles06]

10 minutes ago, iluvthe-c said:

Thanks @Turtles06.  Can you tell me how to plan for the ferry ride back through the locks?  Is it something that has to be booked ahead of time?  

 

I've never done it, just read about it often here on CC.   (Sometimes these small-vessel transits are booked as shorex by folks doing partial transits of the Canal, so one reads about them that way.  The vessel goes through the locks that the cruise ship did not.)

 

Hopefully, someone with personal knowledge will reply to you.   (I would think it would have to be booked in advance, to guarantee a spot.)  In the meantime, take a look at the offerings on Trip Advisor, you might find something to look into.  (Obviously, I'm not personally recommending anything, having not taken any of these tours.) 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Products-g294480-d299921-Panama_Canal-Panama_City_Panama_Province.html

 

(I've transited the Canal four times, all on cruise ships.  I personally think it would be interesting to have the perspective from a small vessel, too.  Keep in mind, though, that it's a long hot day, and may be especially tiring or too much after you've just done a full transit.)

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

[BillB48]

15 hours ago, iluvthe-c said:

Thanks @Turtles06.  Can you tell me how to plan for the ferry ride back through the locks?  Is it something that has to be booked ahead of time?  

 

In the past the "ferry" through the Pacific Locks and Gaillard Cut is an excursion that would be offered by your ship.  Now the same company that provides the "ferry" to the cruise ships also offers partial transits and occasionally full transits of the Canal for the local tourist industry.  These transits have usually been on the weekends.  Even if your overnight on the ship coincided with one of the weekend dates, quite often the excursion operator devotes the assets to the cruise line.

[iluvthe-c]

Thank you.  I am now rethinking the ferry.  Since the Joy will do a full transit (from Colon to Panama City) and we only have one day in Panama I wonder if our time would be better spent going to the Visitor Center to watch ships go through the locks from there.   

Also wondering if we can hire a driver for 6 of us for the rest of the day.  Very seldom do we get to spend evenings in port so looking forward to that.  Something else for me to research!

[9tee2Sea]

I too have an overnight in Panama ( Fuerte Amador) after doing the complete transit.  The ship docks at 8pm, and leaves 3pm the following day.  Is there any night life in Panama City that should not be missed?  Not a foodie, so don't care about great restaurants.  Are there night tours of Panama City?  I do plan on doing the Hop on Hop Off during our day stay.  Would love to somehow get out to some of the Islands and see if I could live in such a remote location ( Been watching too many Beachfront Bargin shows).

[Essiesmom]

There is a fast ferry from Fuerte Amador to Taboga.  It looks to take 30 minutes.  Tabogaexpress.com.  Apparently it is a beach getaway…. EM

[BillB48]

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

 Is there any night life in Panama City that should not be missed?

IMO you can miss it very easily!😉  Seriously during my time there, there was not any widely renown entertainment that would have been considered a "must see."  Don't think that has changed.

[iluvthe-c]

What time frames are we looking at?  If we start the passage around 5:30 a.m., when will we be able to disembark?  Not sure if we will dock or tender.  Visitor's center is not open in the evenings.  Nor does the Hop on Hop Off Bus run in the evening.  Have no idea what time our flights are as we booked through NCL, so trying to do as much as possible the day/night of the transit.

[Turtles06]

18 minutes ago, iluvthe-c said:

What time frames are we looking at?  If we start the passage around 5:30 a.m., when will we be able to disembark?  Not sure if we will dock or tender.  Visitor's center is not open in the evenings.  Nor does the Hop on Hop Off Bus run in the evening.  Have no idea what time our flights are as we booked through NCL, so trying to do as much as possible the day/night of the transit.

 

The time for a full transit varies, given the traffic, sometimes mechanical issues, etc. A full transit transit can take 8-12 hours.  Even if your ship docks that evening at Fuerte Amador on Dec. 4 (and it's not clear if or when it will from your itinerary), don't expect that you will have time for doing much of anything that evening.  Don't you have a full day there the next day, Dec. 5? 

 

If you want to see ships going through the Miraflores Locks, your best bet will be to get to the Visitors Center early on Dec. 5, when ships that are transiting northbound will be making their way through the Pacific Locks.

 

Also, keep in mind that no one knows yet what condition the cruise terminal at Fuerte Amador will be in by early December. Hopefully, finished, with cabs available, etc.  But if Panama runs into more construction delays, you might find yourself needing to take a shuttle bus to a central location  I hope not.

 

 

[BillB48]

The way I read your schedule is... you will transit on Monday the 4th.  Upon completion of the transit your ship will leave Canal waters and go far enough off shore to be in international waters in order to open the $hops and ca$ino.  On Tuesday the 5th you will arrive back at Ft. Amador by 7AM.  Since you won't have to leave the ship until Wednesday the 6th your ship will be your hotel for the day/evening of the 5th.  Since the ship won't be very far from Ft. Amador when it clears the Canal, there should not be any issues delaying the 7AM arrival.  You should be able to head off the ship shortly after that time and tour for the entire day.

[iluvthe-c]

Yes!  I didn't have my days straight.  We do get a full day in Panama after the transit.  The visitor center and the HOHO Bus will be my suggestion for the day to the other couples with us.  If there is something we want to go do/see in the late afternoon & evening we will look into hiring a driver.  

I will be keeping a close eye on the progress of the FA Terminal completion.

Thanks for all the help in planning our time at the PC!