Panama Canal Partial Transit - Official Operator

Once in a lifetime tour. Very educational - learned so much history about the canal as well as how it operates. Lunch was good too

We had a great time on the Panama Canal partial transit. The process of moving through the canal lock system was fascinating to watch up close. Yesenia was an amazing tour guide, the facilities were clean, and a lunch provided was very good.

Very positive experience. Guide gave a lot of information and spoke good English. He took questions through the tour and provided great info. It is a slow tour, lots of waiting, but they make it comfortable about the ship with Ari conditioned cabins and options to be in the open air. We had a great experience! Would highly recommend.

Excellent tour. We passed through two locks, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores. The experience was unforgetable. The boat was well kept and spacious and the crew was professional. Our tour guide, Vincent, was exceptional. Highly recommended.

This is a tour you must do with this company! Vincent is an extremely informed guide, with great and interesting facts and histories, and above all, great pride on what he does. The food was good, everything was always on time but most of all, navigating the canal…. Amazing! 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our guide Vincent is truly incredible! He educated us the entire tour. The canal history and construction is truly mind-blowing. I'm still processing the information along with the experience. Breathtaking views. Being inside the Panama Canal locks was amazing. The whole process is a site to see. Lunch was delicious. For any vegans planning to book this experience...the vegan food options were filling and very good (rice, salad, plantains and sauteed vegetables). Everything was seasoned to a T! The bus driver was excellent.

Great experience going through the Panama Canal! The entire tour was wonderful, and everyone was incredibly attentive and welcoming. I highly recommend this tour!

Everything was perfect, from the pickup. The guide was really warm and professional.

Ingenuity at its best. The French thought they could simply cut a ‘ditch’ through Panama as both the Atlantic and Pacific are at sea level. Seems good until you realize that their tides are different. Oops. Enter the United States - let’s make a large lake 80ft above sea level in the middle, use our experience from the Erie Canal, and build locks to reach the lake from both sides. It worked perfectly and over 100 years later we are still using the same locks sans minor updates. Ships hauling cars, natural gas, fruits, and up to 14,000 shipping containers fill the passage. Tiny by comparison, we joined the convoy on a ferry boat with 100 passengers. We were definitely not a priority on the canal. Ships pay millions of dollars in tolls based on weight (water displacement) and we are very light. Therefore, we had to wait for a moderately sized cargo ship small enough to join us in the locks as most ships maximize their space in the locks, leaving as little as 12 inches on all sides of their massive bulk. So wait we did, a lot. Unfortunately it’s just the nature of the beast. Although the locks are fast for shipping, it takes nearly an hour to pass through one lock. We had to traverse three. And we waited and waited. Without question, this is an experience of a lifetime and one not to be traded. However, the ‘half day’ trip was literal. Start to finish was nearly 12 hours, mostly spent waiting. Waiting for the bus to the dock, waiting for our canal captain, waiting for our position in the canal, waiting for our companion cargo ship, waiting for the ship ahead of us to clear the lock (3times), waiting for our bus after disembarking. We estimate 8 of the 12 hours were spent waiting. We strongly discourage anyone from taking a full day cruise and reconsider booking with children as they will bore quickly. Nevertheless, adults wanting to experience sailing the Panama Canal, this was still worth a one time trip. Our guide was exceptional, keeping us well informed on the history and technical details of the canal. He spoke both Spanish and English fluently changing his accent to properly match. Unlimited bottled water and soda was included, as was a hot lunch. Our advice to the tour operator is to replace the hot lunch with a boxed cold lunch. The food had to be kept warm for hours using sterno and warming bags. Food was cold when finally served cafeteria style. It was ‘meh’ and most passengers had to eat from their laps. Final verdict: okay, not great. Take the trip for their generous hospitality and the significance of the traveling through this amazing canal and its locks. If you’re looking to simply see the locks and some big ships, go to the visitor center at the locks and just watch. Glad we did it, but…

+2

Ingenuity at its best. The French thought they could simply cut a ‘ditch’ through Panama as both the Atlantic and Pacific are at sea level. Seems good until you realize that their tides are different. Oops. Enter the United States - let’s make a large lake 80ft above sea level in the middle, use our experience from the Erie Canal, and build locks to reach the lake from both sides. It worked perfectly and over 100 years later we are still using the same locks sans minor updates. Ships hauling cars, natural gas, fruits, and up to 14,000 shipping containers fill the passage. Tiny by comparison, we joined the convoy on a ferry boat with 100 passengers. We were definitely not a priority on the canal. Ships pay millions of dollars in tolls based on weight (water displacement) and we are very light. Therefore, we had to wait for a moderately sized cargo ship small enough to join us in the locks as most ships maximize their space in the locks, leaving as little as 12 inches on all sides of their massive bulk. So wait we did, a lot. Unfortunately it’s just the nature of the beast. Although the locks are fast for shipping, it takes nearly an hour to pass through one lock. We had to traverse three. And we waited and waited. Without question, this is an experience of a lifetime and one not to be traded. However, the ‘half day’ trip was literal. Start to finish was nearly 12 hours, mostly spent waiting. Waiting for the bus to the dock, waiting for our canal captain, waiting for our position in the canal, waiting for our companion cargo ship, waiting for the ship ahead of us to clear the lock (3times), waiting for our bus after disembarking. We estimate 8 of the 12 hours were spent waiting. We strongly discourage anyone from taking a full day cruise and reconsider booking with children as they will bore quickly. Nevertheless, adults wanting to experience sailing the Panama Canal, this was still worth a one time trip. Our guide was exceptional, keeping us well informed on the history and technical details of the canal. He spoke both Spanish and English fluently changing his accent to properly match. Unlimited bottled water and soda was included, as was a hot lunch. Our advice to the tour operator is to replace the hot lunch with a boxed cold lunch. The food had to be kept warm for hours using sterno and warming bags. Food was cold when finally served cafeteria style. It was ‘meh’ and most passengers had to eat from their laps. Final verdict: okay, not great. Take the trip for their generous hospitality and the significance of the traveling through this amazing canal and its locks. If you’re looking to simply see the locks and some big ships, go to the visitor center at the locks and just watch. Glad we did it, but…

+3