Panama Canal "port"

[kpgclark]

On the Panama Canal cruises is there a place within the Panama Canal that is an an actual port the ship docks at or is the time period listed on the itinerary just the actual sailing through the Canal? If it is a port, what town?

 

[seaulater]

No, it will take all day to go through the canal and through all the locks. If we were turning around and going back, then there would be a stopping point on Lake Gatun, but I am sure we won't have time since last year we entered at 6:30 a.m. or so and came out the other end around 6:30 p.m. It is a very slow process but so cool. The Disney ship will have an actual reservation time with the canal to enter the canal. The freight ships just sit and wait in a line for up to seven days (from what I've read) and get in when they have space (like in the middle of the night). There are two sets of locks, so our ship will be on one side and another ship will be in the other side right next to us. You can actually touch the PC docks (if that's what you call them). The workers were pretty excited to have us going through. I bet they will be thrilled to see the newest addition to the PC journey...It will be MAGICal!

 

[Tigfanjeff]

Originally posted by kpgclark
On the Panama Canal cruises is there a place within the Panama Canal that is an an actual port the ship docks at or is the time period listed on the itinerary just the actual sailing through the Canal? If it is a port, what town?

Its just the time sailing through the canal. You won't disembark the ship.

 

[Hygiene99]

got this from another thread ....


http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Enjoy...

 

[Bmwdsny]

Originally posted by Tigfanjeff
Its just the time sailing through the canal. You won't disembark the ship.

Oh, so we won't actually get off the ship to tour Panama?? I didn't realize the whole process takes a whole day!!
WOW!!!

 

[tap & dap]

Other cruise lines that transit the panama canal offer excursions on the day the ship goes through the locks.

As an example the Fort Lauderdale to LA cruise offers the following

http://www.princess.com/planner/sho...&resShipId=&resType=&source=&otherDepts=G501A

Hope that link works it is very long.

But they also only spend one day in the canal, so not sure why Disney would not offer similiar

 

[ivanova]

I'd been told you could disembark before we enter the canal - and then "catch up" to the ship later to re-embark. Something about "shopping" excursions .. which I think I'll pass on.

 

[Tigfanjeff]

Originally posted by ivanova
I'd been told you could disembark before we enter the canal - and then "catch up" to the ship later to re-embark. Something about "shopping" excursions .. which I think I'll pass on.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

[schrei]

Just wanted to let you know if you do stop in Panama...
since we lived in this country for nearly 3 years before the canal was turned back over to the Panamanians, I would share.

There are not a whole lot of things to see the beaches are NOT beautiful, clear or pristine like the Carribean, and Panama City itself is dirty, with lots and lots of poor people. The only thing worth seeing would be the rainforest IMO, the shopping is ok too, but it is pretty much below what you would get if you've been on any of the Eastern Cruises.

Happy Cruising and enjoy the transit. The locks themselves are pretty neat. Look to the right as you go through the 2nd lock and you can see where we lived (beautiful Ft. Clayton Panama, the past home of USARSO--US ARMY SOUTH).

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

See other links I was on a cruise that docked at the Western end of PC on an un advertised stop with 3 other ships all to refule, some people went to panama city.

 

[seaulater]

I talked to DCL today to confirm. The ship will not be stopping, it is a transit through the canal. It takes all that time to go through the whole canal.

From what we saw last year, there is really nothing to get off for, you enter at daybreak, and you exit at sundown. It is 51 miles or so and a very slow speed.

 

[TootyJane]

I've been through the Panama Canal twice. Once as a teenager and just this past February. It is a very interesting and educational process. The first time through (north to south) we did not stop anywhere in the PC itself. This past February (south to north), however, our ship stopped and we are able to get off the ship and visit a beautiful resort and rainforest in Gamboa. We were out of the PC by 10:30 pm that evening. Perhaps the reason for not stopping is the cost of transiting the PC. I believe cruise ships are charged a fee based on length and width of the ship itself plus a per passenger fee which at one time I heard was $175. Maybe there is an additional charge to stop. Now if you take $175 multiplied by 2600 passengers. That's a lot of $$$$.

 

[Bmwdsny]

Originally posted by seaulater
I talked to DCL today to confirm. The ship will not be stopping, it is a transit through the canal. It takes all that time to go through the whole canal.

From what we saw last year, there is really nothing to get off for, you enter at daybreak, and you exit at sundown. It is 51 miles or so and a very slow speed.

Ok, that is fine with me,,,It will be an experience to go through it anyhow!! I am not very big on getting off on ports anyway. I go for a few hours to tour around and that is it, except castaway Cay of course!!

 

[Greysword]

The canal is basically a one-way street. In the morning, all ships enter (from both sides) and wait in the lake. In the afternoon, they begin moving out from the lake to their respective oceans. That is why it takes all day, you simply wait your turn

 

[mvlmeco]

There are not a whole lot of things to see the beaches are NOT beautiful, clear or pristine like the Carribean, and Panama City itself is dirty, with lots and lots of poor people. The only thing worth seeing would be the rainforest IMO, the shopping is ok too, but it is pretty much below what you would get if you've been on any of the Eastern Cruises.

Our friend, Schrei, is correct. I went to Panama way back in the 70's and it's wasn't a place one would normally want to go. Although, I did take off on my own and go from Panama City to Colon via the train.

However, the Pearl Islands, especially Contadora, are exquisite. At that time it was a pristine resort island. I have no idea what is there now.

It is HOT HOT HOT: it rains like crazy in the summer and early fall, you practically steam bake. The sun is unbelievably strong. Remember gang, this is not the subtropics of Florida... This is the real tropics --- the Equator is not that far away. Sun screen, sun block, sun glasses, and a big floppy hat. Cottons and light silks.