Colon, Panama Carnival Shore Excursions

[Prairie_Gal]

We went on the Panama Canal excursion on the Miracle. Click on the link in my signature to read my review, with pictures. It was a once in a lifetime experience, especially if you are into history, engineering, etc. Very cool!

[shiloh25]

Prairie Gal - those are some great shots. Thanks for those. Did the Miracle sail on the Pacific side?

[vacruizer]

vacruizer -

For this tour - Two Oceans by Railroad - was there air conditioning on the train? Also, were there bathrooms on the train?

 

Thanks.

 

Yes - AC and bathrooms. VERY nice train cars - completely restored old cars. One side of each car has a four person "booth" style seating with a table and room for two on each side. The other side has seating for one on each side of the table. The seats are comfy and you don't feel at all crowded. They come around on the way out and serve complimentary coffee - you can also purchase sodas and snacks. On the way back we were served a "snack box" - think crackers, mints, cookies, some chips. Each car also has it's own guide.

 

My only advice is that since there is no lunch served to take an energy bar with your or something similar (pre-packaged items only allowed off the ship) so that if you get hungry you can take the edge off. We had an energy bar on the train, then just ate a late lunch around 3pm back on the ship.

[flgirl08]

Has anyone taken the Panama City Tour or Aerial Tram & Ecological Encounter?

Thanks!:)

[CassCruise]

My son (age 11) and I (age 34) went on the Panama Canal tour....oh boy, very informative, but very long. Read my review for this. Bring a seat cushion too...and make certain you get on the first bus out of the cruise port or you will be last onto the ferry...putting you at the top in the hot sun. Everyone tends to stand up the first time you get into the first lock. Just be patient and not get frustrated, bcs they all sit down eventually and everyone can finally see what's going on. By the time you get to the second locke, you will enjoy yourself. It is a very very very long day. 2 hrs on the bus, 2 hours on the canal, and 2 hours back to the ship...have fun, and bring your camera.

Would you mind telling me how your 11 year old went on this excursion - we would have our (then) 10 & 12 year old girls with us?

 

Thanks everyone for the great info

 

Jane

[jit199]

We did the 2 Oceans by Railroad, too. On the morning of the tours in Panama, we met in the theater where you were given a sticker according to the tour for which you had a ticket. Your number was not called until the buses were in place. From the gangway you walked about 20 steps to the buses. We were taken by bus through town to the train platform and each bus boarded a car. You stayed with that group the entire day. The train has a dome car but it was not opened for our tour. Someone said that Holland America charges extra if their passengers want to ride in that car. Carnival didn't offer that option. There was a/c. bathroom and snacks as stated. The canal passage is a large body of water that parallels the train tracks. Some have said you don't get to see the 'canal', you do, it is a lot of open water not just one skinny waterway. You pass the locks and you can see it from the train. Also, you go into part of the rainforest area and get to see the 'pretty' part of Panama. Once on the Pacific side (Balboa), you arrive at the train terminal, where there are more restrooms and they hand out water. Tee shirts and 'train' souveniers are for sale. You board an a/c bus and you are taken to the Miraflores locks. Very modern building with more restrooms, gift shop, and theater where a film is played about the history. When a ship is entering the locks, an announcement is made to inform all to go outside to view. The elevator will take you to a platform on the 4th floor and you have a perfect view of the passage. It is much quicker than you think. We were there about an hour. Then you are driven around to various places in Panama and back to the train. Our train had to wait on a side rail for about 45 minutes for a freight train to pass. This didn't leave much time to shop in Panama, about 45 min. but after 15 min. we were finished and headed for a late lunch on the ship. We were extremely glad to have taken this tour; we booked before we left home.

[hcomputers]

We took this tour in January 2009. There are some important things to know before taking this tour. I would NOT recommend it to everyone.

 

First of all, there is no mention of a 2.5-3hr bus ride each way. And since the buses have no restrooms, that makes it difficult for elderly passengers. Secondly, the buses did not take us to the Balboa Pier, but ran the tour in reverse, which should have been noted as a possibility. Thirdly, in looking at the description, one unfamiliar with the Panama canal would assume that it takes you from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans completely, when instead it only takes your through a small portion of the canal itself. This should be noted in the description as many people with us thought the same thing for the amount of money they spent. Had all this info been noted in the description, we would not have taken the tour. My complaint was noted with Carnival and they have done nothing to update the listing nor offer any compensation. They specifically said " They do not refund tours."

It gets awfully crowded, the food was cold and had flies on it, and no AC as well. Keep in mind, up to 6 hours of the 8 hours are on the buses. This leaves you only 2 hours to enjoy the canal. We actually arrived 45 minutes late to the port and the ship had to wait on us.

[MICHLEV1974]

Would you mind telling me how your 11 year old went on this excursion - we would have our (then) 10 & 12 year old girls with us?

 

Thanks everyone for the great info

 

Jane

 

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. We have pictures (not on the computer) of my son sitting with his hands over his head out of pure boredom! This really isn't an excursion that I would have booked with my son had someone told me how boring it would be for him. I wished I had just booked an excursion that watched the ships go thru one of the lockes.

 

He was so bored and couldn't wait to get back to the ship.

 

If your kids are active and don't like to sit for 2 hour blocks of time and listen to a history lesson while trekking down a slow moving canal, book the excursion that takes 1/2 the time and watches the ships go thru the lockes.

 

To me, it was an amazing experience and I will never forget it. For him, he wished his Nintendo DS has longer battery life.

 

Hope this helps and sorry if this puts a damper on your plans. This is an honest review. My $$ could have been better spent. If it were just me, I would have booked it based on this review, but if someone typed how boring it was for the kids, I would have booked something else.

 

Sorry,

Michelle

[CassCruise]

Thanks so much Michelle for you opinion - that's the beauty of these boards - only too pleased to have honest info to better make an informed decision!!! Hmmm I will rethink this one (part. seeing as my sister might be with us and her very active 4 year old!)

 

Jane

[MICHLEV1974]

Anytime Jane! Happy to help out. I wished I had found this site before my last cruise, it would have help tremendously. I am all over this site now!

 

There is a great section (if you haven't found it yet) for 'reviews' for 'ports of call', here's a link to the one on Panama...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/portreviews.cfm?EntryID=53380

 

...there is a lot of info on there too to help you decide.

 

Have a great time with whatever you decide! don't forget to write a review when you get back....:D

[junior 1]

To robinlbe, jit199 and Prairie Gal, Thank you ladies for the wonderful reviews. Between the 3 reviews I have the information that I need to anticipate the wonderful time that I will have going thru the Canal. I know that if I am close enough I will reach out to touch the sides and since there are only adults in my group and we are all excited about doing the Canal. Once again thank you!!!!!!:D

[MICHLEV1974]

Hello again. I found the pictures of the tour. I hope this explains my review that I gave on this port of call and the comments I made about the kids.

~$nama Canal 2008.doc

[CassCruise]

Hello again. I found the pictures of the tour. I hope this explains my review that I gave on this port of call and the comments I made about the kids.

Thanks Michelle, unfortunately I can't seem to download:confused:

 

Jane