Colon (Cristobal) Panama Canal Excursion Excursion Reviews

Hired a driver for private tour for about 15 p.p. very nice, informative, comfy a.c. van, went to Canal for about an hour, that was a nice site. Stopped and saw a yatch club and where the U.S. used to be for military housing. The big disappointment was the center of Colon and its shanty town, that was a gross site, and that the cruise took us on a Sunday which meant the Merchant zone was closed for shopping. Phone calls and internet is super cheap here and easy to find and use. Bought a calling card at the supermarket (super clean) and spoke to the U.S. for 1 hour for a dollar.

Provider: Independent Operator

The small boat gave a great prospective to the canal and contrasted nicely with the view we got from the Coral Princess going through the Gatun locks. The guide and his narrative was excellent.

Provider: Princess Cruises

The Panama Canal was pretty much the reason we chose to go on this cruise. We really don't have the time (or money) to cruise for more than about 10 days, so we chose to take the excursion that goes all the way through the locks to the pacific ocean. After our ship passed through the Gatun locks, we were tendered ashore to pick up a motor coach to the ferry that would bring us all the way through the locks. Our tour guide was okay. She was an older woman who supplied us with some basic information about the area on the way to the ferry. It was an on again off again rainy day, so we chose seats on the ferry under the roof and directly on the back of the ferry. We were protected from the rain and had a great unobstructed view from the back. Some friends we had met on the cruise were calling the ferry "the African Queen". It really wasn't that bad. It was an older boat, the bathrooms had some issues, but it was clean and appeared to be completely safe, if a little "well loved". The ferry boat captain narrated the trip. a small buffet lunch was served and a local woman was selling molas and other souvenirs upstairs. (If you want to buy the molas, they reduced the price toward the end of the trip.) You were able to touch the sides of the locks on several occasions if you chose. It was very interesting getting a closer view of the locks than we got on the Island Princess. We were able to see much of the work being done to widen the canal for the future locks that are being constructed. It was amazing to pass under the two bridges that pass over the canal. Not bridges that I would want to drive over! We boarded our same motor coaches for the trip back to the ship. This time we traveled on the relatively new highway and arrived in about 40 minutes. Our coach's sound system went out and for some reason, our guide put on a Spanish sitcom instead. Many people grumbled about it, but she explained later that she thought all people enjoyed laughing and that she thought we might enjoy it. The Colon area was not somewhere I would feel comfortable wandering around. There is a small shopping mall about 5 minutes from the ship, but those I talked to who went there were not real impressed. I would definitely recommend this excursion.

Provider: Princess Cruises

Long bus trip to Panama City side of Panama. Stopped and saw the Miraflores Locks, saw a movie on the construction of the locks, took photos. Got back on bus for trip to Old Panama city passing through some of the worst areas of Panama City you can imagine. Even the tour guide who was from Panama said he wouldn't walk in the area...he called it the red zone. Old Panama City was like a bombed out area of Germany after WW2 but they are doing reconstruction. Was similar to Cartagena but in total disrepair. Would go on Embera Indian tour Gatun Lock tour if we did this again. The city of Colon where the cruise port is sucked. A real sewer of a place with garbage all over the streets.

Provider: Princess Cruises

We took the tour on the small boat through the rest of the Panama Canal and really enjoyed seeing the locks from a "small boat" perspective after going through on the first couple on the big ship. It was a long day but was an excellent tour. We really enjoyed seeing how the canal worked and hearing all the history.

Provider: Princess Cruises

Colon, Panama - the main reason we picked this cruise. This was Freedom's last cruise on this itinerary. Our whole group booked a Carnival excursion to tour the canal. Colon was decidedly 3rd world, lots of trash everywhere and nearly all the buildings were barred. We took a 1-1/2 hour bus ride to the Pacific side near Panama City, which from the mouth of the canal looked to have a skyline rivaling Chicago's or many other large cities. We then boarded an excursion boat to tour the locks. We went about 3/4 of the way through the canal, ending at Gatun Lake. The 8-hour tour was informative and interesting for about the first couple of hours, but then just became tedious and hot. The plastic chairs were uncomfortable and the lunch was awful. The debarkation from the excursion boat was extremely disorganized, with many elderly folks standing in the hot sun for 1/2 hour waiting to re-board the buses.

Provider: Carnival Cruise Lines