10 day panama canal excursion

[veralopes]

need help deciding which excursion to take on the panama 10 day cruise to see more of the locks

[Drewt]

You can take the small boat through the rest of the canal but be warned it can take a long time. You're at the mercy of larger ships and this can delay your passage through the second set of locks. It is beautiful though. The bus ride back is a 90 minute bumpy nightmarish adventure.

[HappyJan]

We took the Coral Princess (Oct 13-23, 2006) 10-night voyage to the Panama Canal last year. This voyage was a partial-transit through the canal. We did not take any excursions.

We arrived at the canal just before 7am. It took about 90 minutes for the Coral Princess to pass through the three locks and enter Gatun Lake. (It seems each lock takes 30 minutes). We anchored in the lake until about 4pm. It was almost 100 degrees and sunny. Then we returned through the same three locks and docked at Colon, Panama until about 7pm.

At dinner, many of our tablemates had taken excursions. One couple said they wouldn't do it again. The trip was hot and uncomfortable (they may have been referring to the "nightmarish bumpy ride"). They said the best view was from "our own balcony".

I did not post this to discourage you from taking any excursions. My husband and I felt fully satisfied with our Panama Canal experience.

Maybe next time we will complete the canal trip and exit the Pacific side.

HappyJan
Carnival Liberty February 10, 2008

I have recently posted photos from this trip on the Photo Gallery

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3979

[watchurdiet]

Those were really nice pictures, HappyJan. My husband and I took the same cruise in Oct. We went the end of Oct. We were in stateroom B519 on the Coral. We enjoyed it so much. In December, we're cruising on the Diamond Princess to Hawaii for Christmas and the New Year. We waited the whole year for this cruise and I'm getting more and more excited as the days go by. I had to go take out our pictures of the coral after looking at yours.

VW[/b]

[Drewt]

Yes, those pictures bring back such good memories. The Coral princess was a beautiful ship and that Panama Canal itinery was wonderful. I looked through my pictures last night as well. I can almost feel the heat of that sun when we hit Gatun Lake. Hey VW, that itinery to Hawaii sounds great, you must really be excited. That's our dream cruise and we will do it 2010 I think. I hope you can post a few pictures when you get back.

[LisaK]

are you doing a full or partial canal transit? We did the full canal transit which i highly recommend. Its one of those trip of a lifetime adventures.

[gregz]

We are going on this cruise on January 6th. Did you already go - and if so, what tour did you take in Panama?