by LoisQ
Must do the full canal ferry excursion! Outstanding, but the lunch, not so much, bring some food. They provided plenty of water and soft drinks.
Visited: Apr 07, 2017
by LisaAndFam
This one is hard to rate. The process through the new locks was, in fact, rather boring. We paid $189 per person to go through the entire canal, thinking it was one of those Bucket List things, like snorkeling in Iceland. Sadly, the excursion took almost 12 hours of our day. The bus ride was rather long, taking us to a launching point to board a ship that held a couple hundred people. The bus stopped at a gas station, along with 7 other buses from the ship!, for what reason I wasn't entirely sure, but we went into the convenience store and ordered some food, just to sample something different. Prices were VERY inexpensive. After this stop, we continued to the boarding point and then were held captive for about 9 hours. The tour guide yammered the entire time, sometimes repeating things he had already said. He just would not shut up. At times, the boat was travelling so slowly you could hardly tell it was moving and the progress was excruciatingly slow. Painfully so. When we actually got to the old locks, now that was something. We were able to touch the sides of the locks and were able to see a ship in the adjoining lock, sitting 20 some feet higher than we were. I think the old locks tell more of the story about how amazing this is. Since the process to the Pacific took so long, we didn't have any time at all to shop and got back to the ship very late. In retrospect, I'm glad we went on this excursion because of the ultimate accomplishment of passing through the entire canal. Was it worth nearly $800 for the 4 of us -- no, it wasn't. LIke I said, a tough call.
Visited: Nov 20, 2017
by Lmoff62
It was interesting to approach the locks, see the bridge under construction, hear the wildlife on the shore at dawn. The locks are just like any set of locks in North America, so once you do the first set you've been there, done that. Gatun Lake is pretty, but not much to see if stay on the boat all day. We did an excursion to Panama City (Pacific coast) and the old Mira Flores locks & museum. The guides Manuel and Giovanni were great. Very interesting and funny, even managed to control the obnoxious passenger in the front row. Once again loved the differences between the old Panama City and new modern skyline. Artisans here were true artisans, and were not pushy at all. Guides made sure we took restroom breaks, and all stops were clean and modern. Lock museum was well done and interesting. Buy the book here, much cheaper than the cruise ship store. Boats for the ferry boat excursion were in the locks while we were here, and they were jam packed with people, did not look comfortable, also they had to wait quite a while for transport ship to join them in the lock before it would lower.
Visited: Nov 20, 2017
by SusieQ02
We did the ferry. It took way too long after the final lock, to get back to the bus. Buses were comfortable and the ride was about an hour, which we also expected.
Visited: Dec 23, 2019
by mphpjh
We did the Fort San Lorenzo and New Locks Excursion. I can not remember our tour guide or driver, but they were excellent. The bus ride to the Fort was a little long and the roads were very bumpy, but Fort San Lorenzo was interesting. We truly enjoyed seeing the Monarch butterflies, Howler monkeys and 2 toed sloth. It was a thrill being able to see a huge ship going into the new locks. I wish there was more time and shopping options on this excursion. The gift shop at the new locks did not have a lot to offer.
Visited: Nov 26, 2019
by TheCOPeeks
We stayed on the ship and got up early to watch the passing through the locks portion. We couldn't find an excursion worth our wild based on reviews, with a 3 year old and 5 year old what sounded like four hours in boat, bus, car or train, they would have been miserable. So we had fun on the ship, enjoying the view.
Visited: Mar 12, 2018
by BooBooFlorida
Go to the Gatun Locks & Expansion.
Visited: Mar 10, 2015
by flynnc25
Really enjoyed transit through the Gatun Locks. We took an excursion from here to visit the Embera Pura villagers. What a fantastic experience! Our guide had built up a great relationship with the villagers and was very proud to share his knowledge with us. The villagers were warm and friendly and some spoke excellent English as well as Spanish. They rely on visits to help raise funds for their community eg to help send students to college to become teachers etc who they trust will return to the village to pass on their skills to the next generation. We travelled to/from the village by motorised canoe through the beautiful rainforest. I’d highly recommend this tour but make sure you go prepared as you may get wet.
by Willyjohn
Top notch. Full day. Great Guide, Geronimo was his name. Definitely a must to see the engineering
Visited: Mar 08, 2018
by whiterockmaury
Amazing to learn about the construction, the difficulties, the lives lost, the function of the old and new canals and the huge economic benefit to Panama. Our ship paid $550,000 for a partial locks cruise.
Visited: Apr 01, 2018
Find a Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal) Cruise
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency, and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners (travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on external web sites.
Upload photos
Select category
or
Drag and drop photos any time.
We are uploading your photo now.