Have you viewed Gatun Locks from Land Tour

[JoeO]

Can anyone describe the Gatun Locks Observation facility at Colon?

 

I understand there are 79 steps to the visitors viewing area. Is this true?

 

Can the locks and ships passing thru be sufficiently observed ( and photographed) from the land level without climbing the steps?

 

Any description will be gratefully accepted.

 

Joe O

[melandjay]

Your information sounds correct. I do not remember the number of steps but it was a pretty good climb. I have a couple of photos that will give you a clear idea of the climb and the view from the viewing platform. The view is pretty good but it is luck of the draw if a ship is actually in, or approaching the platform at the time you arrive. We happended to go up when the lock was empty and a ship was approaching. We were then allowed about ten minutes on the platform before we were moved on to make room for the next group. We visited the locks while in Panama on the Celebrity Millennium and simply walked outside the terminal and quickly found someone to guide us over and through the locks. I'm not sure how to include the photos here and your profile does not allow emails, so if you would like to see the photos, email me and I will send them to you.

 

Jerry

jrgaller1@comcast.net

[panamaguides]

Sorry About That, But To Those Of You That Cant Climb That Many Steps , There Is A Plataform Next The Loocks Are, Where You Can Take Your Pics And Also Hear All The Info Coming From The Speakears Sistems At The Visitor Center...... That Means Even That You Dont Climb The 83 Steps You Gonna Be Able To See, Hear, And Take Your Pictures At The Gatun Loocks.

Jupitera

[deaconlar]

I will be on the HAL 1/25/05 partial canal.

I am confused about the excursions offered from Gatun Lake. Will I miss to much if I do not stay on the ship and exit back out the Gatun Locks? The Canal is what I am coming for and I do not want to miss anything connected to it.

If you think an excursion is good wouln you please recommend some to choose from, like the train etc.

I appreciate any help.

My e-mail is

deaconlar@aol.com

Thanks Larry

[MJEasley]

We just came back and did the Lock Tour and Eco Cruise. After the ship passes through the locks into Gantun Lake only those passengers with scheduled tours are allowed to get off the ship. You are tendered to land where you pick up your tour. The best place to see the passage is definetly at the front of the ship. The steps at the locks are really not that bad its not 80 steps straight up. The Lock Tour and Cruise was ok after you have viewed going through the locks on the ship its not much different watching it from land and the descriptions given on the ship are excellent so you will be explained the same process from the viewing platform. The Eco tour is just a bus ride through the rain forrest to Chagres River (which is beautiful) on a scale of 1 to 10 I would say a 5. My son and his wife did the Embera Indian Village and raved about the whole experience so that tour got a definite 10. Have a great time

[cruislovin]

If you get off the ship at Gaton Lake to tender to shore for an excursion, do you have the opportunity to photograph YOUR ship going through the locks? Or does the ship stay at Gaton Lake for a period of time and then return to the locks?

 

Any help on the timing of all this would be very helpful! We cannot decide if we want to stay on the ship to go through the locks in both directions OR get off the ship and take an excursion.

 

My concern is that if we stay on the ship we cannot get any pictures of the ship at the Canal. But, perhaps this is not possible anyway... Can anyone describe the sequence of events?

[theorion]

I did this trip a few years ago aboard HAL Rotterdam. While the ship was passing through the locks into Gatun Lake there was someone onboard talking about the history of the canal as well as the engineering aspects. It was very good - over the loudspeaker on the decks so that if you were walking around getting different views as I was, you could still hear what was being said. Once we were in Gatun Lake, the pax on the excursion were tendered ashore. There was really nothing as far as stores, facilities etc. at the pier. We boarded a bus/van and drove around, but honestly the only thing I remember about that bus trip was that we drove through (or over?) one of the locks to get to the viewing area (all the steps) and had to wait until the water was cleared until we could pass. We may have stopped at a fort, but I might be confusing that with a different port. (There seems to be no lack of forts or churches to see in Central America.) I think the fact that I can't remember the bus trip says a lot. I walked up all the stairs to the viewing area and frankly didn't see anything that I couldn't see from the ship. We were lucky enough to be there when there were other ships going through, a car cargo ship complete with a ramp off the stern to load/unload the cars as well as a tiny sail boat (30'-40' but still tiny by comparison) It was fascinating.

 

The viewing area was the last thing we saw, then it was back to the ship (no tender - just drove up to it in the bus). While we were driving around Panama, the ship turned around in the Lake and went through the locks again back out into the ocean. If I had to do it all over again, I'd stay on the ship, as the reason I took the 10 day cruise was to see the canal. There are plenty of other ports to see churches and forts, and the wildlife is great in Costa Rica, especially on the hike we took in the rain forest, but there's only one place to see the canal and in my opinion, the best place to see that was from the ship. Hope this helps, and have a wonderful time. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed in the Panama Canal.

[theorion]

For the person who asked about photographing their ship in the locks... I think if you take the land tour it may be impossible to see your own ship, as it is passing through the locks the second time while you are someplace else on the land tour. The viewing area was our very last stop before rejoining the ship. To be sure, you might want to wait to book the excursion until you are onboard that first day and ask one of the crew. The people at the shore excursion desk may not know, but if you can find an officer off duty at lunch, they might be able to answer for you.