Cruise

There are tons of cruise-posts on my blog: just click on the categories at the right. . .

It started in 1968.  I was pastor of a little all black church in a Puerto Rican section of the South Bronx.  Holland America Line’s offices were at Pier 42 on the Hudson River.  I started filling in for Protestant Chaplains who cancelled at the last minute.  My first cruise was on the old ROTTERDAM for 19 days.  Back in ‘68 cruising on the ROTTERDAM was quite the experience!  A table for two in the La Fontaine dining room was attended by a waiter and a busboy who just took care of your table!  Every meal was presented on a huge silver platter.  Well I did lots of cruises.

 I watched as groups of friends and from various organizations sailed together and saw how much fun they had, so eventually I started taking church groups on cruises.  In Milwaukee I worked with a local travel agency and the owner soon discovered I knew a whole lot more about cruising than he did, so he got me to start working with his agents teaching them how to sell cruises.

 Eventually, when we ended up in California, we decided to open a cruise only agency.  This was when cruising was just catching on and we were one of the first “cruise only” agencies.  At first no cruise line would give us the time of day, except Carnival.  My Carnival sales rep was a young woman who was eager, energetic, and delighted to help us get started.  Princess wouldn’t return our phone calls!  As things worked out we became a top producer for Carnival, Holland America, Princess and Sitmar.  When Princess and Sitmar merged we became the number one Princess producer between LA and Santa Barbara.  My Carnival sales rep went on to become the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Carnival!

 We had the cruise business for 15 years and I went on lots of cruises and inaugurals.  I tell people I’ve been on over 100 cruises . . . actually, I think the real number now, is more like over 200, but I’ve stopped counting.

Four years ago I started sailing with Holland America again as Chaplain.  About a year ago I started lecturing on ships, first on Celebrity and later on Holland America.  My goal as a lecturer is to entertain and educate, something called “edu-tainment”, hopefully a far cry from the old days when professors would come on with dog-eared yellowed course notes and put their audiences to sleep!  I talk about exploration, the Canal and life in Panama, piracy, slavery, rum and tequila . . . and it’s lots of fun.

Since I frequently lecture on Panama Canal cruises and live in Panama, I get lots of questions about Canal cruises.  So here are . . .

FAQs About Panama Canal Cruising . . .

Confused About Which Trip

I’m confused on which cruise to take. I really want to see the Canal, so should I take the shorter cruises which appear to only see part of the Canal, or take the longer ones that go all the way through? Will I really get to see what I want to see on the shorter cruise?

You’re right, there are generally two types of Canal cruises.

The roundtrip, mostly Fort Lauderdale, trips go through the first set of locks into Gatun Lake and disembark guests for Panama shore excursions, and then those guests are picked up in Colon after the ship makes it’s way back through Gatun Locks. You experience Gatun Locks, and frankly, the locks on the Pacific side are pretty much the same process. You will miss sailing through the entire Canal and sailing through Gaillard Cut and under the Centennial Bridge and Bridge of the Americas. BUT, you will have the opportunity to get off the ship at Gatun Lake and explore part of Panama. I recommend doing that since the trip back through Gatun Locks is the same thing as you experience in the morning coming into the Canal.

Most of the transcanal, generally repositioning cruises, just barrel through the Canal without providing the opportunity to get off and see Panama. There are some exceptions. So on the complete Canal cruise you see the entire Canal, but generally have no opportunity to see Panama.

On the partial transit there is a shore excursion offered on a ferry boat that does take you through the rest of the Canal including Gaillard Cut, under both bridges, and out along AmadorPeninsula. Then you take a bus back to the Caribbean side to rejoin your ship.

It really depends on what you want . . . ideally you’d take both!!

What to do with 12 hours in Amador?

We are on a cruise that is spending an entire day in Amador. We would love to see the authentic Embera Indian village, but that tour is not offered by the cruise line. What do you think? We would like to see the Miraflores visitor center and the old as well as the new city of Panama. Do you know of any independent tour guides? Is it safe to hire someone from the pier to take us around? We have no idea how far Panama City is from Puerto Amador where we tender into. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Cruzer

First, lucky you! 12 hours to explore Panama, and with a couple of “Zonians” to explore with you, it will be a great day. Amador is the causeway between the Canal and the Bay of Panama that was created with dirt dug out to make the Canal. There were a couple of existing islands and the causeway connects them. This used to be Fort Amador and when the US controlled the Canal Zone was strictly off limits. At one time there was even a Hawk missile site near where the ships dock today. They are working on making a full scale cruise port, but for now the big ships must use tenders.The Amador causeway is popular with locals. It’s a great place to jog, bike, walk or just sit and take in the fantastic view of Panama City. At night the view is spectacular. There are restaurants and clubs and shops. There are some major developments under construction and the new museum of biodiversity designed by Frank Gehry (who did the Seattle Music Project and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA) is also under construction. There is a major conference center and, if you know where to look, the bombed out remains of Noriega’s headquarters.With 12 hours you can go to the Embera Village. There are several villages that are used.   Anne Barrigon [http://www.emberavillagetours.com/] does conduct independent tours to the authentic Embera Indian village at Rio San Juan de Pequini. You can contact Anne directly for information. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Amador with traffic to Nuevo Vijigaon Madden Lake, and then an hour ride by dug out canoe across the lake and up the river.

If there’s a ship . . . there are cab drivers. The going rate in Panama City to hire a cab is $12-15 an hour. Of course some guys will try and rip you off for more, but you should be able to negotiate down to $12-15. Most gringos who live in Chiriqui do not drive when they go to Panama (In Panama “Panama” means Panama City). They just hire a cab for $12 an hour, it’s like having your own driver. So the cabs are used to that.

I’d go to Old Panama (the ruins of the original city that were destroyed during Morgan’s raid) and there is a nice craft market there to buy Embera and Kuna crafts. I’d see Casco Viejo (the French city, now being restored and reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans) and the Opera House, the Golden Altar, and the Panama Canal Museum. I’d go to Miraflores locks and the Miraflores Visitor Center. Your driver can call and see when there will be big ships in the locks, and you can plan your day around that schedule. On the way to Mirafloresyou will pass Fort Clayton, which is now the City of Knowledge. Your friends might want to drive through since most of the other old forts aren’t open. If you have time you might want to drive a little further to Pedro Miquel Lock and Gamboa. And you might try for lunch or dinner at a place called “Jimmy’s” that’s inexpensive and popular with locals.

You should have a great time!!! Let me know!

Panama City Taxi Rates

Taxi rates are regulated. Here are the current (August 15, 2008) rates. Since taxis are one of the primary means of getting around, the rates are complicated, but the schedules will give you an idea . . . that they are probably MUCH lower than you would expect. Going in, knowing what locals pay, should give you some leverage against being overcharged since taxi drivers the world over are . . . well, taxi drivers! By law taxis must now be yellow with checkered stripe. [Click on Thumbnails for full size version]

Panama City Taxi Rates

Taxi rates are regulated. Here are the current (August 15, 2008) rates. Since taxis are one of the primary means of getting around, the rates are complicated, but the schedules will give you an idea . . . that they are probably MUCH lower than you would expect. Going in, knowing what locals pay, should give you some leverage against being overcharged since taxi drivers the world over are . . . well, taxi drivers! By law taxis must now be yellow with checkered stripe. [Click on Thumbnails for full size version]

Riding the rails?

I booked the Panama train months ago and now they are telling me the train trip was is no longer available! Anyone know anything about the train? Blinky

The route of the original Panama Railroad followed the Chagres River, which of course is now under the Canal.  The present Panama Canal Railroad is a lineal descendant of that first railroad and somewhat follows the Canal.  You will catch occasionalglimpses of the Canal and rain forest, of course at 50 miles an hour.  The rolling stock is all sixties from the States including nicely restored Pullman cars.  The current railroad exists primarily to ferry shipping containers back and forth across the isthmus, often faster and cheaper than going through the Canal itself.  There is one passenger train that makes a single trip in the morning from Panama City to Colon, and a return trip in the evening.  During the day, if a ship is in port, it’s chartered by the tour companies, so forget booking it on your own.  Frankly, unless you are a train buff . . . and want to say you rode on the Panama Canal Railroad, or want a trip that isn’t at all strenuous. . . there may be better ways to invest the short time you have in Panama. I’d take a look at the other excursions being offered and, again unless you are a railroad buff, you won’t miss a whole lot. The rail trip gets some glimpses of the Canal, but . . .

Ok, thanks very much. So, what would you recommend? PACruisers

Recommend: I’d do the Embera Indian village tour, especially if it is one of the longer tours. There are no guarantees which village you will go to, but you may get lucky and go to the village at Rio San Juan de Pequini.  We never know which village will be used as it depends on many factors including the depth of the water in the rivers.  All the villages are authentic, some moreso than others.  The day bus tour they usually offer that goes to Casco Viejo(the old French section), Old Panama (the original city until sacked by Morgan), and the new tower-city gives you at least a glimpse of Panama, if requiring a long bus ride, but the bus ride is through the jungle and somewhat parallels the train route.There are usually a couple of rain forest trips around the Lake Gatun area. One goes and has lunch on a house boat docked off the rain forest. I haven’t done, but it looks interesting.Portobello is interesting if you are familiar with the history of Portobelloand like old Spanish remains. The town itself is very poor and “Caribbean” (somewhat dirty), but if you get a good guide it is interesting from a historical perspective.

The ferry boat through the other locks gave a different perspective on the Canal and allows people doing a partial transit to see the entire Canal, the Pacific locks, and from a distance, Panama City. The ferry boats aren’t fancy and the lunch is very basic, but it is a nice day without a lot of walking. The best way to see the entire Canal is to book a repositioning cruise with the onboard cruise consultant for next year and do it right!

The way things are set up you really can’t go off on your own. Traffic between Colon and Panama (here “Panama City” is always just “Panama”) can be terrible especially during the time you’d be trying to get back to the ship, so it’s best to stay with the ship tours . . . or come back to Panama and spend some time!!

Best time?

What is the best time of the year to go through the Panama Canal? We are thinking about late April of 2008. CAkings

April is great! April early May is still in the “dry” season – this doesn’t mean it won’t rain at all, but generally there is very little rain and you will have a great trip.

I assume from the timing that you are looking at a repositioning cruise which lets you go from sea to sea but doesn’t allow the opportunity to get off and explore Panama, but does give you the complete Canal experience.

Where to have a beer at Cristobal?

We are 4 couples on Celebrity’s Constellation, stopping at Cristobal Pier. What can we do other than a shore excursion off the ship? Canal tour? Good shopping? Place to have a beer? Ideas? Freespirits

The pier itself has places to eat and drink and is nicely done with lots of Kuna and Emberaselling their crafts. I would strongly suggest booking a tour through the ship. Reasons: 1) Make the most of your time in Panama and see something; 2) There is nothing outside the pier area itself that is worth seeing, and like most pier areas, it’s not the best place to wander around; 3) Traffic in Panama can be unbelievable especially on the only 2 lane road between Colon and Panama City which is currently under construction. People who live in Colon generally work in Panama City and people who live in Panama City generally work in Colon: go figure! But the result is nightmare traffic. If you book through the cruise line the ship is not going to sail until all the buses are back. If you book on your own . . . good luck. If you get stuck in traffic, or the cab has a flat tire (since many of the tires are bald anyway) . . . you’ll get a really great shot of the ship as it sails away!

Embera Indian Village tour?

Has anyone done the Embera Indian Village? Is it worth it? When do you get back to the ship (Jeez, we can’t miss a meal, can we?)? We booked on line and I need to know if I should keep it or change it. Maywest

First, I live in Panama, in Boquete, up in the mountains, about 6 hours driving time from Panama City.Second, I lecture on several major cruise lines, sometimes about Panama and the Canal.Third, I’m good friends with a group of the Embera Puru who frequently sell their items at the pier in Colon.Fourth, I wouldn’t BE in Panama if it weren’t for this tour. I was Chaplain, not lecturer on a cruise, and my wife wanted to take the tour. It was $150! I said, “It will be hokey, touristy, and costs too much, but if you want to do it . . . fine.” She did it and loved it. I on the other hand opted to go ashore to the “Gatun Lake Yacht Club” (a real laugh!). The cruise line charged to go ashore and basically get your photo op (Men: bare-breasted Embera Indians – Gals: Embera guy in a loin cloth), they sold baskets, and did some dancing. Somehow I got talking with one of the Embera guys who turned out the be the “chief” of their little village. The cruise line, I guess because this was such a lame “excursion”, began giving away free beer, which I generously shared with my new Embera friends. 5 hours later we were all old friends. I’d given away my 24 Hour Fitness gym bag and T-shirt (They would have got the shorts too but I didn’t think the cruise line would appreciate the Chaplain coming back on board in a loin cloth!). My wife arrived back to find me and my new Embera friends. They wanted me to visit their village (3 hour drive from Panama City, then dug out canoe across Madden Lake and up into the Chagres National Park for 1.5 hours). In trying to research the Embera I accidentally “discovered” Panama and the benefits of living here, and here we are.I have visited and stayed at their village, and they have visited and stayed several times at my very “gringo” US-style home in Valle Escondido, Boquete.

I always recommend the tour! There are numerous Emberavillages in the area of Panama City, and some are more “authentic” than others. Typically the companies that provide shore excursions to the cruise lines will use one of four or five villages. Most of these go to “authentic” villages in the sense that, as defined by the tour operators, the people actually live there and are Embera. The determination is made in part by the Embera village chiefs, who like to spread the “wealth” and in part by accessibility considerations. Some of the “most authentic” villages can only be reached when the water in the rivers is deep enough and are unreachable, except by hiking on dried up river beds, sometimes in the dry season.

The villages each have their own organization and slightly different traditions and neither you nor the ship will have a choice whi ch village you visit.  But, I’d still recommend taking the Embera tour to get  a feel of this unique culture.

At Rio San Juan de Pequini in real daily life, when tourists are not visiting, the men wear shorts. Loin clothes are highly overrated! But the women dress the same way, mostly bare breasted. When Zueleka, wife of the chief at Rio San Juan was visiting our home and cooking with my wife in the kitchen, she asked, “Nikki, how do you stand all these bras and shirts and stuff so tightly wrapped around you?” It’s all a matter of cultural perspective.

Whatever, if you are in panama, and if you have the opportunity, TAKE A TOUR IN PANAMA! (I know that’s “shouting” but it is important advice.)  When I’m on Holland America my advice is “Get off the Dam ship!”  And if possible, visit the Embera. You will meet some wonderful people who are struggling to preserve a lifestyle that goes back to the days before Columbus arrived!You will have opportunity to purchase their crafts. Because the area in which these people live has become a National Park they are not allowed to farm or have animals so their only source of income is from tourist activities and sales of crafts. A word about “bargaining.” It is not done in Panama the way it is in some other countries, maybe like Mexico. It IS appropriate to ask, “Is this your best price?” or something similar. It is NOT appropriate to make some dumb low ball offer. You will feel MUCH better paying 90% of the asking price, or even the full price, and then not contributing so much money to the casino on board when you get back to the ship!

Authenic Embera Indian Village Tour or on your own?

We have a day in Amador and the ship is not offering the Embera tour. Is there any way we can do it on our own?

Understand that the tour is a full day tour. You can only do it on your own if you are spending a full day on the Pacific side at Amador, or on the Caribbean side at Cristobal or Colon. If you are on a ship that lets passengers off in Gatun Lake you must book a shore excursion through the ship.

Anne Barrigon [http://www.emberavillagetours.com/] does conduct independent tours to the authentic Embera Indian village at Rio San Juan de Pequini. You can contact Anne directly for information. Hers is an interesting story. In 1956 five missionaries were killed in Ecuador and their story was immortalized in a book written by the wife of one of the martyred missionaries called, “THROUGH GATES OF SPENDOR.” In 2004 a Christian movie company decided to make a movie about that story and used the Embera village of Rio San Juan de Pequini as a setting for filming, using the Embera to play the role of the Ecuadorian Indians. The movie was eventually released in 2006 as “THE END OF THE SPEAR.” Anne Barrigon worked on the film . . . and ended up falling in love with and later marrying one of the Embera men.

And and her husband live in Panama City and she conducts tours to the village. Prices depend on the number of participants, but for 6 to 8 people run around $75-80 per person.

Finally, some “insider” advice . . . .

Tourism is relatively new in Panama and is a very small part of the economy. When you go to Costa Rica, where tourism is the major industry, you will see a well-developed tourist “machine” at work. But tourism is their major industry and they have been working on it for twenty years. Tourism is growing in Panama, but has a long way to go. Generally we don’t have the newest or fanciest tourist buses. Guides and tour operators are learning. The infrastructure around Colon is under construction. The road between Panama and Colon is “the road from hell” with construction and traffic. And Colon’s primary business is being the second largest free port in the world, not cruise ships or tourism. Colon is hardly the most “beautiful” or “typical” Panamanian area. So if you are on a ship stopping in Colon understand that tourism in Panama is a “work in progress.”

I get lots of questions about the difference between the two ports. He’s a primer:

The ports of Cristobal and Colon (Caribbean side):

Cristobal Pier: I actually prefer Cristobal to Colon 2000 because the pier at Cristobal has more to offer. There are small shops, places to sample Panamanian food, bars, and, best of all, lots of Embera and Kuna Indians selling molas, baskets and carvings.

A few shops with the same stuff you see everywhere, no indigenous folks selling crafts - the highlight of Colon 2000 is that it has a Super 99 grocery store where you can stock up on the junk food you're missing and inexpensive (compared to the ship) soda.

The thing to do in Colon is take a tour and the easiest and most efficient way is to take a ship’s tour. Colon is not designed for cruise tourism and even Panamanians don’t consider it a safe city in which to wander. Ships advise that you remain within the confines of the Pier either at Cristobal or Colon 2000.

If the government had it’s tourist act together they would work to get jobs into Colon to raise the standard of living, and to use locals to clean up the place. Colon could be charming and a real tourist attraction if it were cleaned up. As it is, the new James Bond movie used it as a Haitian look-a-like. What kind of “recommendation” is that?

Local government in Colon could start by providing its citizens with decent trash collection. The lasting memory most cruise visitors have is the horrible “road to hell” connection with Colon and the rest of the country, and heaps of trash along the way.

 

The Ports of Amadorand Balboa (Pacific side):

Amador also known as Fuerte Amador. Ships call at the island in the foreground. Causeway links to rest of Panama City in the background.

Passenger ships can be accommodated on the Pacific side at either Balboa or Amador, both areas of Panama City. Balboa is a commercial port and there is rarely berthing available for passenger ships so most ships will call at Amador. Amador is the long causeway running between the Bay of Panama and the Panama Canal. The several islands here were linked during the construction of the Canal with dirt and rock removed to make the Canal. During the US days it was all forts and military installations. Today it is a popular area for Panamanians to stroll, jog, bike, walk dogs, and just sit and enjoy spectacular views of the city. There are bars, clubs, and restaurants and it is a very safe and pleasant area. You’ll also frequently see the yachts of the beautiful people and rich and famous at Amador.

Port At Balboa

Amadoris a brief cab ride from the old Casco Viejo(the old section of Panama City going back to the French days) and the towers, malls and casinos of the current Panama City. It’s just a little longer ride to the Canal, Miraflores Locks and the Visitor Center at Miraflores. Also worthwhile is the Old City of Panama, a UNESCO heritage site, where you can see the remains of the city as it was when the pirate Morgan attacked. There is also a great Embera, Wounaan and Kuna craft market at Old Panama.

“Get off the ship!”

My recommendation when I lecture on cruise ships visiting Panama or going through the Canal is, if at all possible, get off the ship! See some of Panama! If you just go through the Canal you really don’t see any of Panama. It would be a little like sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, never getting off the ship, and saying you’ve seen San Francisco!

What type of cruise to take? Here are the choices of types of cruises visiting Panama:

1. Southern Caribbean Cruises that call at Colon or Cristobal, but do not enter the Canal. Sometimes ships do this that are too large to fit through the Canal.

2. Southern Caribbean Cruises that enter the Canal, generally roundtrip from Florida. These enter from the Caribbean through Gatun Locks, discharge guests in Miraflores Lake for shore excursions, then retrace their route through Gatun Locks to the port at Colon or Cristobal to pick up guests on shore excursions and allow guests who remained on board a brief stop at the port. Holland America’s ZUIDERDAM is a good example.

3. New this fall a ship that homeports in Panama. Royal Caribbean’s ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEASwill sail roundtrip from Colon to Cartagena, Colombia; Santa Marta, Columbia; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; and Kralendijk, Bonaire starting in December 2008. Presumably RCCL guests can book pre or post cruise stays in Panama to see some of the country, although their Website design makes finding this information difficult.

4. Ships that transit the Canal but do not actually stop in Panama allowing their guests to get off and experience Panama. Most of the Spring and Fall repositioning cruises that move ships from Alaska to the Caribbean just transit the Canal. Most of the big cruise lines operating in Alaska and the Caribbean have ships doing this itinerary.

5. Ships that stop on the Pacific side of Panama visiting Panama City at the cruise port of Amador. Amadoris a relatively short cab ride from Panama City and the Miraflores locks and visitor center for the Canal. You can conveniently visit Old Panama (the original city), Casco Viejo (from the French Canal days), or the new booming Panama City with all it’s high rise towers.

6. There’s also a small ship cruise experience with Cruise West: a 10 day cruise between Costa Rica and Panama which includes Portobello, the San Blas Islands, the Canal, Coiba National Park as well as destinations in Costa Rica on a small ship called PACIFIC EXPLORER. A small ship cruise is a totally different experience focused on natural history. The ship holds 100 guests compared to the 2000 plus on most major cruise ships.