Panama Canal Domed Train Excursion

[98Charlie]

Can anyone share recent experiences with the Domed Train Excursion? We are booked for it for next March.

 

The information available on the X web site is very limited.

• Is it train both directions or bus one way?
  
• Any food service?
  
• Can you see parts of the canal or is it mostly countryside and rainforest?
  

 

Regardless of the answers, we are going to take the excursion. I'd just like to know more about it before we go.

[ldparker]

We did the Celebrity-sponsered train excursion last Thanksgiving in Panama. The train does go both ways, to Panama City and back to Colon. Each way is about 45 min to an hour. Once in Panama City, we transfered to a bus for a tour of the city and a few brief stops, then on to one of the locks. A ship was not passing through the lock while we were there, but we did watch a video that was interesting. We spent about 30 min at the lock, then back on the bus to the train station and return to Colon and the ship.

 

There was a snack provided on the train and there is a guide describing all aspects of the country and the canal system and politics. Along the route, you can see the lakes that form the canal system and you also travel through the rain forest.

 

We throughly enjoyed this excursion, very informative and interesting lecture by the guide. One hint, the train consisted of about 5 old-style and restored rail cars, of which only one was a DOME car. The dome car costs alittle more and did not seem worth the extra cost. We could see plenty of the rain forest and countryside from the regular car.

 

I think you will really enjoy this excursion.

[ClaireP]

We did the panama train trip in march this year, from the Summit. It was an excellent trip and I would agree with the comments from IDPArker - other than one - we did go in the dome car - it was much higher up and had a great view - plus a view above you - so would say it is worth the money. For the bus part of the trip, you are just with the other train guests and the tour has changed and did not go to the lock when we went - which was disappointing but still well worth the money

[98Charlie]

Thanks IDParker and ClaireP

 

I thought I had seen that the stop at the locks had been discontinued. Too bad but I'm sure we will have a great time.

 

I am no fan of bus rides. My big concern was that it would be a one way train and a couple of hours by bus back to the ship.

[fierball]

We were on the Zenith last Feb and were going to book the train but as I remember the train did not run on the day we were in Colon. I think it was Sunday. We took the bus trip and it was a very good tour. We went across to Panama City by bus and and got on a ferry and went throu the locks. You get to see the contential divide and saw ships going throu the canal .By going throu the locks on the ferry you get to see the size of the locks and how they work. It was a very good trip and I would do it again. Hank

[Bev]

Hi

 

DH and I were on the Dec. 7/03 Celebrity Zenith Western Caribbean cruise, with a stop in Colon, Panama. DH is a mega train buff so the Two Ocean Railroad excursion was a natural for us. We had a great time on this tour.

 

We paid extra to ride in the dome car and were not disappointed. The railroad had bought a former Union Pacific dome car which had been turned into an ice cream parlour (approx. price $250,000) and spent even more (approx. $750,000) to refurbish it. They did a terrific job! The windows go from table level up and around to the middle of the ceiling, giving everyone terrific views. (Tip: there's only one dome car on each train and tickets for it sell out quickly - if you can purchase them before the cruise, it might be a good idea.)

 

The train trip from Colon to Panama (and reverse) takes about an hour - we estimated the train was traveling at about 60-70 mph. We would have liked the train to go a bit slower but the ride was still a terrific experience. The tracks follow the canal and you can see ships, boats etc on the canal. You can also see birds, animals and plant life all along the trip. There was a conductor for our car and he gave commentary throughout most of the trip from Colon to Panama - facts about the Canal, about Panama the country, humorous stories about the area etc.

 

Once we got to Panama City, we were taken by air conditioned bus to the Panama Canal - the Miraflores locks, and were lucky enough to see several ships pass through them. We spent a fair bit of time outside watching this - it's fascinating. Then our group went in to the theatre to see a short video on the history of the Canal and to see the Canal web cam focus on different points along the canal. The lady in charge was able to focus the web cam in on a small boat going through the locks "on the coat tails" of a much larger ship - we all recognized people on board - it was another of the ship's shore excursions where you traversed the entire canal by boat (approx. 8 hours). It was a hot humid day and they didn't look like they were having much fun - and they were just entering the canal, they had a lot further to go!

 

Our tour also included a bus tour of Panama City, the Bridge of the Americas and Fort Amador (sp) - the former American military army base. They were very accommodating about stopping for photo opps.

 

Then it was back to the train for the return trip. We all received a box lunch, which was actually very good. The conductor gave us some commentary on the way back, but obviously not as much as given in the morning.

 

We enjoyed this excursion very much - it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for us. It was probably one of the best ship's excursions we've ever taken, and that's quite something, given that our preference is for independently arranged tours which we have been doing for the last few years.

 

Bev

[98Charlie]

Bev: Thanks for your review of your excursion on the domed train. We booked this excursion through X for March Horizon cruise. We're hoping we made the right choice. Have read posts from some who have taken the ferry through the Pacific coast lock who remarked about the heat.

 

In 7 cruises (with #8 coming up in 7 days) we've never been much for organized tours. However, we lived in W. Berlin for 2 years ('69-71) and enjoyed seeing the landscapes by train very much as we traveled out to Frankfurt and on to Bremerhaven and Amsterdam.

 

Sounds like we've made a good choice for this excursion.

Dianne

[Cqis]

We took the Two Ocean Train tour.The train tour was great. Once we got to Panama City and boarded the bus, the dissapointment started. We were suppose to get a guided tour of the Metaflores lock, that did not happen. We also did not go to Panama City, we went around town. We complained when we got back to ship. We were refunded 30% of the cost because the published documents, stated a guided tour and visit to the city. Ship the Galaxy 11/1/2004.

 

Cely

[dplusd]

The two ocean railroad excursion is excellent. The bus segment tour in Panama City and the Millefloures lock was not as comfortable but very informative and still enjoyable. I highly recommend this one.

 

David