panama canal tour by water with ferry

[teegeezfun]

was as boring as watching paint dry. the ferry went about 2 miles and hour up the canal in scortching heat.

 

don't waste your money. go to the gatun locks observatory and watch a few ships go through then spend the rest of your day site seeing elseware.

[CCruisin]

teegeez, thanks for the advice. We are going through in September and are trying to line up something other than staying on the ship through the canal but still see operations of the locks - maybe at Mira Flores. We would opt to get a driver or guide. Did you hear of any other interesting experiences in Panama from the other passengers?

 

Sorry about your experience on the ferry. We will not do that. The ship line does not offer much variety for shore excursions there.

 

Thanks - Patti :)

[whale-watcher]

To each their own... we thought this was a great excursion; we had read about the building of the canal in advance, and found it fascinating to see everything come to life. Even my children (ages 8-16) thought it was great.

 

Here is a review I wrote for another thread:

 

We took the panama canal by boat excursion, which was long but wonderful. This involves boarding a motorcoach for a 1.5 hour ride to a yacht harbor on the other side of gatun lake. You then travel by small boat through the rest of the canal, including the other 2 sets of locks. Although it was amazing to transit the Gatun locks on the coral princess, it was an equally wonderful but very different experience being in the smaller ferry for the second two sets of locks (we could actually touch the walls of the lock chamber and feel the temperature difference as the water level dropped). It really was the best of both worlds!

 

It really depends on what you are looking for, I suppose.

[wrp96]

I too had the exact opposite experience as the OP. The ride through the canal was fascinating and great.

[whale-watcher]

I too had the exact opposite experience as the OP. The ride through the canal was fascinating and great.

We actually selected this tour based in part on your review... thanks!:)

[wrp96]

We actually selected this tour based in part on your review... thanks!:)

 

 

You're welcome. Hope you had a great cruise!!

[dogsrule]

teegeez, thanks for the advice. We are going through in September and are trying to line up something other than staying on the ship through the canal but still see operations of the locks - maybe at Mira Flores. We would opt to get a driver or guide. Did you hear of any other interesting experiences in Panama from the other passengers?

 

Sorry about your experience on the ferry. We will not do that. The ship line does not offer much variety for shore excursions there.

 

Thanks - Patti :)

 

Have been through all the locks and after about an hour it is a snooze. I would not recommend this as an all day tour out in the heat. JMHO

[12B@C]

I am sorry that TG'sfun and Dogsrule did not think that seeing this magnificent creation by man and not appreciate the fact that, in our opinion, it should be considered one of the seven wonders of the world, was not to their liking.

Seeing the locks from shore (which I have not done) could not possibly be as exciting as being there when the locks close, the water from the lake above rushes in and the ship rises to meet this torent, and you realize that you are going from the Pacific Ocean to the Arlantic (or visa versa).

Too bad you guys. I am curious to know why you decided to go on these cruises?

[dansu]

Sorry OP didn't appreciate the canal for what it is. Not sure what they were expecting. Our ferry guide was informative, and even though we had been through a locking system many times...it was nothing like the Panama Canal locks. We went through with a huge tanker, so we got to see the canal workers and electric mules close up, and in action. Both hubby and I enjoyed it for what it was...a chance to enjoy a true wonder of the world, and a piece of history.

[mii]

Sorry tht OP did not like the excursion. We found it fascinating. Sure it is hot and humid but you know that ahead of time if you do research. We did go up to the top where it is open. We stayed in the covered area and was just fine. It is a long day before I am not sorry we did it.

 

marilyn

[Traceybell]

I am booked on this trip in mid March. It was a tough choice between the ferry tour and the train trip. I really hate being sticky hot but I chose this trip for the chance to traverse a portion of the locks.

 

A couple of questions - I'm guessing that there aren't any air conditioned parts of the boat? I think I read that there was some area that was shaded?

 

Is there a bathroom on the ferry? Is there an area to get bottled water on board? If there aren't drinks I guess I should bring my water from the ship?

 

Is it buggy?

 

What part of the trip is really "don't miss"?

 

Last question - if anyone feels strongly that we should switch to the train instead please speak (or write) up:D

 

 

Thanks!

[Beth Ann]

We did the ferry tour a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our ferry had three decks and the two lower ones were air conditioned. We stayed on the top deck and at least half of that was shaded. All of the water and soft drinks you could drink were included in the price of the excursion. There were bathrooms available on the lowest deck.

[DonLou]

The other good part about the ferry is that when it in one of the locks, it's tied to one of the sides of the canal and you can touch the walls of the canal as the water is slowly drained from the locks (kinda slimy). Also, watching the giant tankers pass you by in the canal while you're on a little ferry is quite an experience.

 

OK, it is slow and hot and long. But then again my imagination runs wild so I found plenty not to be bored with. :D Maybe next time we'll take the train to see how Panama City is but I have no regrets having taken the ferry.

[popcorngal]

This was one of the most amazing trips we have ever taken. I had transited the canal on a previous cruise, but the chance to be more up close and personal was fascinating. Yes, the lower levels are air conditioned and there was plenty to drink, and the lunch that was included was very good. Yes, it's a long tour, but when you stop and think of the engineering feat and the sheer size of the project, I consider it a "once in a lifetime" thing to experience.

[Len3]

We haven't done this one yet, but after reading the boards, it sounds like a "must do". After all, how many times are we going to get the chance to really experience this. Actually, we selected our cruise in order to take this excursion. It sounds remarkable and we're not the only ones who think so, it's sold out on our cruise.

[Sheik]

Actually, we selected our cruise in order to take this excursion.

 

We did the same thing and I'm really looking forward to see the canal by ferry in 4 weeks :)

[mumofsons]

We did this excursion last week and we both thought it was fantastic. To me, it was amazing that these Panamax ships go by. We also were lucky enough to see a submarine pass us, which is an experience in itself. The panama canal police surround the submarine with four boats. Our guide also told us that it is very rare to see them and that only a handful of the pilots can actually assist with them going thru. The story we were told is that they are blindfolded until they get to where they need to be and then again when they are leaving. If you would like to see some of the pictures I took on the canal they can be found on my webshots site - sorry there are a ton of pics.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/557940947PmKuNP

[Sheik]

Wow, GREAT pictures!! Thanks for sharing!

[Len3]

Thanks for sharing them. I'm really excited now. We sail on the Volendam on March 13th - can't wait.

[mumofsons]

Thanks - we really did enjoy this excursion!

[sportsnut]

Trying to decide if we are going to do the ferry through the canal or the train trip. This thread is helping me make the decision.

[stlrboo]

We, too, are booked on the ferry excursion thru the canal.. We've read about the canal, and how it was built, as well as the changes that will be made in the future!:) Popular Mechanics recently had a great article on the Canal! I'm sure we'll enjoy the excursion, however I'll report back in 6 weeks to update!

 

We have also been told that the 'beer' flows freely, so that will definitly be a bonus..:D

[stlrboo]

The "beer flows freely" at $2.00 a can... Probably a good thing, as the restrooms on the Ferry are 'iffy' at best, and there aren't any on the buses when booked thru Carnival. :( What a let-down after a wonderful tour to the Coffee Plantation in Costa Rica...:p

 

Our tour 'guide' must have been 'thrown into the mix' at the last minute, as he knew absolutely nothing about the country or the canal, and may as well have sat under the bus for all the 'guiding' he accomplished! :rolleyes: Was extremely disappointed...

 

FREE lunch was nothing more than a small cold turkey sandwich and a muffin + all the water/soda you could drink. Chips etc. were $1.00 a bag..

 

Our buses were detoured, due to a 'protest' in Panama City, so our 'get there' time on the bus was a little over 3 hours.. Stopped at a small beverage store, which was closed, for a potty break.. DW said she woulda' preferred "going behind a tree"!:eek: One bus was late getting to the Ferry...The Ferry left without them... HUH??

 

Excursion itself thru the Canal was really interesting... We had the Summit in front of us and the Radiance of the Seas behind us...! One of the group traveling with us had 'done the same tour/similar tour' while sailing a different line, and said the Ferry was 'different' and the travel times were less as well. Not sure of the circumstances..

 

I was actually 'expecting more' for the price we paid ($175.00 pp)... When the Tour Guide on the boat mentioned that 'tipping' was seperate for him, the boat crew, and the transportation people, we decided to 'stiff' them all.. Except the bus driver.. He tried really hard!! We thanked him, and 'gave him the green'! :D

[filmgirl]

Well I'm back from my cruise! We did the Panama City tour (through Carnival) and LOVED IT! I know this is about the locks tour, but we went there as well. It was definitely an all day tour, but we saw so much more of the countryside and how people really lived. The canal was fine at the beginning of the day, but the hour we spent there was PLENTY. The locks are really interesting, but I would never have wanted to spend a whole tour at the canal.

 

I have a slideshow of photos I took on the tour, although I left out the restaurant and some ruins of old panama we also saw. Feel free to ask me any questions! You can access the slideshow here: http://www.zoe-photography.com/PanamaSlide/

[SDN]

I have a slideshow of photos I took on the tour, although I left out the restaurant and some ruins of old panama we also saw. Feel free to ask me any questions! You can access the slideshow here: http://www.zoe-photography.com/PanamaSlide/

 

I liked your slideshow. I was on the same cruise as you and got some similar photos.

 

Panama is very poor, but the people we encountered were very friendly.

 

The Canal tour is long but was worth it to us to have done it. Next time I would like to do the Panama City tour.