Back from Galaxy partial-Canal cruise - stayed on ship

[trcori]

Just wanted to write up a few notes for anyone planning a "partial transit" cruise and wondering if they have to take one of those hugely pricey ship excursions to have a good time. My answer - NO! We had an incredible day staying on the ship and watching the Gatun Locks transit in both directions, then getting off for a while at the Colon terminal and browsing around (including a stop at its affordable Internet cafe').

 

If your ship goes through early in the morning, be sure to get up in plenty of time to watch the approach to the canal, not just the locks themselves. We were amazed at the sight of the lights from all the ships queued up just outside it, and then, as the sun started to rise, the beautiful jungle lining the waterway before the locks. We saw birds in abundance (I forgot to bring my seabird-identification book!) and heard howler monkeys roaring in the trees.

 

We decided to stay on "our" deck (aft public deck close to our inside cabin) for both directions. We stood in the corner by the side so we could closely watch the "mule" locomotives and other canal activity.

 

In the morning, we crossed as part of a group of cruise ships (Seven Seas Mariner before us, Coral Princess and Infinity after us) -- looking at them was OK but it was much more dramatic to watch the huge container ships that crossed back with us in the early afternoon -- everyone who got off the ship missed those AND the more impressive spectacle of the ship being lowered in the locks, to the point where the walls and the door-tops were ABOVE us on deck 8 -- even the mules were above us!

 

Once we docked at Colon (with Coral Princess) in mid-afternoon, we got off to nose around (the warnings about not leaving the dock area had spooked us, unfortunately, so we didn't). We followed signs to "Internet" and wound up in a small but nice row of computers in the "Business Center" area at the waterside of the terminal (you'll miss it if you don't know what you're looking for), $2/half-hour, certainly beat shipboard prices. As for the rest of what was for sale at the pier, we aren't shopping travelers so I can't tell you if anything was a deal - but a wide variety of items seemed to be available. We did buy several bottles of soda, as we love the taste of soda with REAL SUGAR as it's still made down there, VASTLY better than the corn-syrup junk now used in the US.

 

After we re-boarded, we sat outside for a while and watched the ship traffic (Colon pier is very close to the waterway entrance) till we pulled out in the early evening. Great trip overall (I've posted a full cruise review on the Celebrity board) ... TR

[snoe]

To each his own. Glad you had a great time. We also had a great time taking the train to the other side and viewing the scenery on the way and taking photos. We got to see Miraflores locks on the Pacific side and the Bridge of Americas. It was one of the best things we did on the cruise.

[ljwm67]

When you say "Colon" do you mean Cristobal Pier? We are on the Galaxy leaving on the 23rd and I am confused about this stop. Is it in Gutan Lake or outside of the lake on the Atlantic side? It says Panama Canal Cruising 5am-3pm Cristobal Pier 3pm -7pm. Do you go through the locks into the lake and back out again before making the stop at Cristobal Pier? What time did you make the return through the locks? We have done the canal before on a full transit and are thinking about the train trip but we do want to see the transit at least one way. The train excursion leaves at 9:30am and is about 5-51/2 hours.

I read your review on the Galaxy board. Thanks for posting it.

[trcori]

yes, this is the Cristobal Pier stop.

it's outside the lake on the Caribbean side.

basically what happens is:

*Galaxy goes through the Gatun locks

*Galaxy anchors in the lake VERY CLOSE to the locks (this part surprised me, I thought maybe it did some actual "cruising around," but the other ships that anchored in Gatun also did so VERY CLOSE to the locks, I believe the pier where people are tendered for excursions is pretty close, although I didn't watch the process -- once we got out of the locks, I took a nap, only got about four hours of sleep the night before!)

*after a couple hours, Galaxy goes back thru the locks (as I wrote in my review, this was even more spectacular to watch from aft than the other direction)

*Galaxy docks at Colon/Cristobal Pier/whatever they want to call it, which is surprisingly close to the entrance to the pre-locks waterway -- a big bright yellow building

 

Check the webcam archives, and you'll see, the locks transit is done by 8:30; then Galaxy turned around and headed back through the locks by noon.

 

And have a GREAT cruise, I would love to take that one again, bummer X is ending it after your run! -- TR

[sptrout]

ljwm67,

 

I agree with your plans to take the Train Tour; one of my all-time favorites. As trcori reported, the Galaxy will anchor in Gatun Lake, very close to the Gatun Locks. The cruise lines like to use the term "cruising the canal," but unless you consider sitting in the middle of a lake cruising, you are actually at anchor for most of the day.

 

After the Galaxy anchors, those with prebooked tours are allowed to tender ashore to meet their tours. If you do not have a prebooked tour, you will not be allowed to disembark. This is reasonable since the tender dock is in the middle of nowhere so there would be nothing to do except return on the tender.

 

It is at this time that you will meet your tour guide for the Train Tour (or other tours) and take a short bus ride to the train terminal. The Train Tour will take you to the Pacific side of Panama and will include a bus tour in the Pacific area before returning you to Colon (on the train) to rejoin the ship at Cristobal Pier.

 

In the meantime the Galaxy remains anchored in Gatun Lake until it is its time to go back through the Gatun Locks and then on to Cristobal Pier, which is located in the main channel leading into the Canal. There is one other docking area in Colon called "Colon 2000," which is very near downtown Colon and is used by cruise ships that do not enter the Canal at all.

 

I hope I have helped explain the Gatun Locks/Lake situation since it is confusing the way the cruise lines explain the Panama Canal experience for partial transits.