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Question about Ocean to Ocean Train excursion

lyttleone1977

By lyttleone1977,
in Panama Canal

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Keisele

Keisele

Posted
Posted
Yes there are washrooms. It is a beautiful train ride. We just took it on January 25th and it was a beautiful fully equipped train.

 

Being you just returned from the same cruise ship and itinerary that we will be going on have you posted a review anywhere? If not, how about sending me your opinions on the ship and the excursions you took. Looking forward to hearing all about it!

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DonMar

DonMar

Posted
Posted

We just returned from the Western Caribbean (Panama, Costa Rica and Belize) and took the Two Oceans by Railroad excursion. Since we like to explore on our own, I tried to book the train myself, but they will not do it. So if you want to take the train from Colon to Panama City you must book through the cruise line.

 

We only booked this excursion through the cruise line as it was the only way to ride the train. If we were to return to Panama, we would try to hire a car and driver for the day.

 

 

I hope to answer a few of the questions posted about this excursion.

 

1. Yes, there are bathrooms.

 

2. You do get to see the canal. You do not see the locks on the train, but you can see ships traveling on the lake. If your excursion includes Miraflores, you will go the visitor center and possibly see ships going through the locks.

 

3. Try to reserve the Dome Car and sit on the top level - you can see so much more!

 

4. On our excursion there we so many people!!!! They took us to Miraflores which was a highlight for me.

 

5. They took us to a shopping center - go figure - to buy trinkets. Not my favorite thing to spend time on when we only have a few hours in port. I wanted to see more of Panama not shopping.

 

6. Be aware that Colon is not a tourist city. On the tour, everything is very safe. The bus ride to the train is an experience as stop signs and traffic signals are up for decoration only. Makes for a good story!

 

7. Bring food. You will not have the opportunity to eat anything until you get back on the train and at that it is chips and crackers.

 

While we enjoyed the experience, we only booked through the ship because it was the only way to take the train and we were uncertain of the driver options in Colon.

 

For the remainder of of Ports of Call we booked private excursions which were much better and more exciting! (I really do not like cruise line excursion because I feel like they are herding us from one location to another.)

 

Hope this helps!

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Tom-n-Cheryl "Live from...." Rare

Tom-n-Cheryl

Posted
Posted

We did this tour in November, you can find pics of the train (inside and out) on our smugmug link, just go to cruises... legend Nov 06.

 

We are doing this same cruise next month but we are looking into another tour since we will have two 14 year olds with us and honestly the train is great for adults but I saw a lot of bored kids.

 

 

Cheryl

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Lvteks

Lvteks

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Forget it for kids....in fact this was a costly mistake for us and we are all adults. On the Dome car our "conductor" Mike was a monologue of distracting, incessant and often useless chatter. . For example, as we passed the birding center, he commented on the high price of rooms etc. but zilch on the birds and such seen there. If you interrupted his script, most answers to flora and such questions were vague. We booked it because one of our party had a recent back injury and this was safe.

 

The real excitement of the trip is to experience in hours what had been the "impossible dream" for centuries. Read McCullough's Pathway Between the Seas" (memory here, not sure if title is exact.) This CC site will help you choose better options for children.

 

FWIW, before I'd book another excursion, I would consider remaining on the ship and seeing more of the canal activity from there. Better bathrooms too.

 

Blessings.

Gail

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Tom-n-Cheryl "Live from...." Rare

Tom-n-Cheryl

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Yes, that is the correct title. We read it before our November cruise, it puts more meaning to everything! Still looking around for options, guess I need to get the kids input this week as the cruise is coming up quick!

 

 

Cheryl

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Vanessa L

Vanessa L

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Here are a few photos from our excursion.

 

The 4 person "booths" will be on the Canal side - that is the side to sit on!!

 

112710170-L.jpg

112710213-L.jpg

112709986-L.jpg

112710110-L.jpg

112710130-L.jpg

 

Tom

 

Thank you so much for the pics, Tom!!! My best friend and I and our DHs are taking the Miracle on the 8 day western exotic on December 1st and were thinking about taking this tour. I think you've just cinched it for us. I've read so much lately about the crime in Costa Rica and Panama I was beginning to get worried about this trip altogether. How long is the tour? I notice that we are in Panama until 5.

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Tom-n-Cheryl "Live from...." Rare

Tom-n-Cheryl

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Tom,

 

Sent you and Cheryl an email with a few questions about the train. Don't know if I got the right email from your profile. If you don't see it, let me know and I will post questions here.

 

Thanks!!

 

Yep - I got it... hope my reply answers your questions OK...

 

Tom

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