Panama Canal tours

cruisetarp · February 5, 2008

When we cruise the Panama Canal the Jewel will only be going thru the Gatun locks. RC offers two tours which will take us over to the Miroflores locks, one by ferry and one by train. Both are all day tours - 7 hours in length. Has anyone had any experience with either of these tours and can give advice on choosing the train or the ferry. Would like to know the pros and cons on either.

Joanandjoe · February 5, 2008

We've done the ferry, not the train. It was an amazing experience going through the canal on a small boat. You could see the "mules" used to pull the ships, and still see the scars from cutting through the Continental Divide. An expensive, but awsome, trip.

The down side to either the ferry or the train: the long bus ride to get to the start of the trip.

sailingrose · February 5, 2008

Marylou I can only tell you about what our group said when they did it. They loved it!!! All would do it again.

The bus ride was long as Joe said. Also you are at the mercy of the Canal traffic. They had to hold the ship for them as they got held up and returned over 3 hours late. They had a really long day.

Sorry don't know about the train but I remember reading that the train doesn't stay next to the canal the entire trip, so you may want to do more research on it.

DebbieandJerry · February 6, 2008

MaryLou, we were extremely glad that we took the (ferry) tour through the canal. Yes, it did "eat up" most of the day. However, if you don't see yourself getting back to Panama in the not to distant future, it is worth every minute, every dollar, every picture. The tour we took through the canal provided complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, lunch and snacks.

P.S. The bus we took stopped at an exquisite rain forest resort prior to the canal tour. Great photo opportunities AND gift shop.

Enjoy your cruise!

cruisetarp · February 6, 2008

Thanks for the advice everyone. I know it will be a very long, hot day but also know this will be a once in a life experience.

Joan & Joe - thanks for confirming that it will be a great tour. I usually shy away from ship excursions but will definately be sticking with the cruise line for this one.

Rose - according to the very short description of the tour the train runs paralel to the Canal but then you take a bus back to the ship. I just thought it might be a little more comfortable in a A/C train but don't know if I would be content to just see the Miraflores locks or would prefer to actually go through them. I guess we are really leaning towards the ferry. When I have questions about a tour I generally wait to book on board when I can talk to someone from the excursion desk but really need to book this one in advance as I don't want to be left out.

Debbie & Jerry - What cruise line did you go on? Stopping at the rain forest and to SHOP sounds like a great bonus. We will be on Royal Caribbean. Thanks for the advice.

Joanandjoe · February 6, 2008

We were on Celebrity, and were docked at Colon. The ship didn't enter the Canal at all, so there was no time for the bus to stop in the rain forest or at shops. If your ship goes to Gatun Lake, the bus ride will be shorter, and there may be time for other things.

Our experience with timing was almost the opposite of Rose's. The buses were a bit late, so the ferry had to hustle to get within it's time slot. If we had missed the time slot, we probably would have had a long wait on the ferry, as Rose did.

cruisetarp · February 6, 2008

To those who have gone through the Gatun locks. About how long does it actually take to get through them?

sailingrose · February 7, 2008

Hard to say exactly Marylou. We had 3 ships in front of us and we were supposed to go through like 7. We ended up starting closer to 8 and were in Gatun Lake around 9. I know they started calling tours at about 9:15.

TheSkipper · February 7, 2008

It is not a fast process. We did the full transit and it took pretty much all day to get through both sets of locks and the rest of the lake and canal.