Panama--what to do?

[jilly08]

We are booked on the 1-30-05 sailing of the Legend. I've been checking the Panama board but there is very little information about doing excursions that are not through the ship. I'm looking for an independent tour operator and wondered if anyone has a recommendation.

There doesn't seem to be an "Oscar" in Panama........

Jilly :confused:

[jebridan]

I have sailed to Panama on Princess not Carnival. Ours was not a full transit so I can only tell you what I know about that. On our cruise, if you did not book a tour through the ship, you could only get off the ship at the pier in Colon. If you booked a tour through the ship, you got off while the ship was anchored in Gatun Lake and you met up with it later in the day at the pier in Colon. At the pier in Colon, there are some shops but it is not a safe area to go any further than the few shops that are there. There are no tours you can book there. Princess did not recommend you going anywhere in Colon.

 

Can you tell me whether you are going partial transit or full? And what is the schedule? We went through Gatun Locks, anchored in Gatun Lake, at which time the tour people were tendered. All others stayed onboard and later in the day went back through Gatun Locks and docked in Colon where all tours ended. Hope I didn't confuse you!

[justme_123]

I went to Panama in February and we did the tour through the ship. We anchored in Colon and the ship(Carnival Spirit) recommended us to not go far from the shops in Colon at the pier. So we didn't. But we booked 2 oceans by rail through the ship for 158 dollars a person and it was excellent. Absolutely worth the money. After that we went and did some shopping at the pier because panama is the worlds second largest duty free shopping. Whatever you decide to do, you are guarenteed for a good time. But just be safe as it is a 3rd world country and once you see colon you will understand why.

[jilly08]

You didn't confuse me at all. Thanks for your reply.

We're going on the Legend. It only stops in Colon.

On the Panama Boards there is an older post that states a woman and her husband booked a jeep of some sort through a person that was near the pier. She didn't include a name though.

Carnival is offering quite a few excursions--I'll look into those.

thanks again,

Jilly :)

[judyf]

I'm on the same Legend Itinerary in March. I have/had the same questions. After reading this post I think we might also look into the CCL excursion at this port.

[jilly08]

Thanks for the info JustMe & Jebridan. We will book a tour through Carnival for that Port. We've arranged for independent tours in Belize and Costa Rica.

 

Also, I called Carnival and got prices for a few of their tours in Panama:

Two Oceans by Railroad $159 pp

Panama Canal Tour (Balboa Pier/Miraflores Locks) $173 pp

Grand Tour $144 pp

Portobelo & Gatun Locks $71.00

 

I hope someone from these boards will be on our cruise. I did a roll call but.....sigh....not one reply. I'll try again in a month or two.

 

This cruise just won't get here fast enough!!

 

Jilly ;)

[jebridan]

If I were you, I would book an excursion through the ship. Colon really isn't as safe and as nice as most of the other ports. We did one on Princess called "ocean to ocean". I'm sure Carnival offers the same thing but it may be called something different. We boarded a bus that brought us about halfway across Panama where we boarded a boat. It held about 300 people if I recall correctly. They served us a bag lunch (sandwich, chips, apple, soda). There was additional food/drinks that you could buy and a small gift shop. There were 2 levels on the boat, the upper one had an open area and a covered area. The lower level was enclosed. We went through the last 2 locks in Panama, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel and ended in the Pacific Ocean in Panama City. They dock there and you get onto busses for the ride back to Colon on the Atlantic side. It's a little over an hours ride back. The whole boat trip was a couple hours I think? It was a great excursion, one that I would highly recommend to anyone!

[COGirl]

We sailed on the Spirit Dec. 2003, me, my DH, son (11) and daughter (7). As we didn't have as much spending cash as we'd hoped, we had to forgo the expensive tours. We found our own taxi driver just outside the shopping area, worked the deal, and it was great. We first stopped at a small store, where he proceeded to buy the kids sodas, and a beer for him and my DH. We went to the Gatun Locks (sp?), drove around the city and surrounding area, the old military base, a small zoo, and a Hindu temple. All this for like $40. We felt safe the whole time, and had no problems.

 

If you do anything, remember not to give them the $ until after the tour. They understand this. Also remember, this is a third world country, so don't expect a perfect cab or a smooth ride.

[steveNcindy]

This is the part of our review dealing with Panama from our cruise in February on the Legend:

 

Colon Panama was quite the experience for me. I wanted to see the Panama Canal but did not want to spend all day on a bus, train or boat. A group of us decided to book a private van, see the Gatun locks, Portabello ruins and some beach time. One warning if you get a private tour in Panama, be ready to run the gauntlet of very aggressive taxi and van drivers. At one point we had 9 men in white shirts taking 9 of us in 9 different directions saying they were our guy. Finally, the driver we were looking for came up, shooed them away and we were off. Our first stop was the Gatun Locks where we watched a ship going thru and got some good pictures. After that, it was back to the van for the ride to Portabello. We stopped first at a supermarket where we loaded up a cooler with beers (Panama beer was much more malty than Costa Rican or Belizian beers but for 30 cents a can, it kept us happy). The ride to Portabello was one I will never forget and hopefully never relive. Be ready if you do this with a plastic bag handy as 2 of our travelling mates got motion sickness from the ride. It is up and down hills, around bends, over bumps and standard North American Stop signs and passing rules do not apply here. We arrived in Portabello after 45 hair raising minutes and toured the fort there were they fought off the Pirates coming to lout gold. After this it was back in the van and a stop at a beach for an hour. If you need to use bathroom at the beach, take money as they charge you to use it and charge you for TP also. After the beach, we made our way back to the port and the comforts of the Legend! We shopped a bit in the shopping area but really did not find any deals we were looking for. The one thing we really wanted to do in Panama was visit the Colon Free Zone but it was closed that day - not sure if it was because it was Sunday or because it was Colon Carnivale. This is a huge Duty Free area with many major manufacturers selling goods. Oh well, maybe next time. I did not hear much about other excursions from other couples but if you do not want to deal with the high pressure of the locals here, book a Carnival excursion as they bus you out before you reach the private drivers.

Any other questions, just ask!!!