What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• worth doing it! very special experience

  Sightseer44367027986,Mar 24, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  great but little bit to long but has to do with the locks and the boats coming through

• Excellent journey through the Panama Canal

  amandabX6343PA,Mar 23, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Informative excellent journey through the canal and locks with a massive container ship. Great lunch great experience.

• Front seating in adequate

  brenda o,Mar 23, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  3.00

  Dont leave your front seat empty. Prople will stand on the seats to see the locks and when its raining the seats are a mess

• great way to experience the Panama Canal firsthand

  aerach,Mar 22, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We thoroughly enjoyed our southbound partial transit ("Tránsito Parcial en Dirección Sur") of the Panama Canal. The tour was well organized, and for me personally, it was a much more interesting way to experience the Canal vs. the Miraflores Visitor Centre (which honestly looked underwhelming as we sailed past it). Don't be put off by the description of a 'partial' transit - it's a full day's activity (approx. 7 hours including transfers?), and I think the full transit would have been too much for my attention span. The upper deck is covered for shade, but you'll need sunscreen if you plan to hang out at the bow or the stern for any length of time. Lunch onboard exceeded my expectations (which admittedly were low) - it was tasty and pretty good quality. One small item to be mindful of: the email confirming our pickup location & time was sent by PMA but was never delivered to my mailbox. (We overheard that multiple people on the tour experienced this issue.) I reached out to PMA directly the evening before ([email protected]) and thankfully someone responded quickly with all the details, so all good in the end.

• Great Tour of an Engineering Wonder

  Paul R,Mar 21, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  I was skeptical about this but really enjoyed it! The experience in the locks - being close to a huge ship, seeing the mechanics of the doors, the tugs, railroad engines. Unless you’ve spent time around container ships you have no idea of the scale. Our guide was great but the audio system could use some maintenance. Lots of birds throughout the transit and several white tailed deer on the right after Miraflores locks. The Pacific Queen is a great old ship and the A/C kept the main level comfortable. The food was better than I thought it would be. Rice, veggies, salad and chicken was filling but a bland. Overall I think it’s a good value and if you’re a fan of ‘How it’s Made’ or engineering oriented its a great experience.

• Bucket list trip, COMPLETED!!

  KimberlyMiller,Mar 20, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  This was EVERYTHING I expected. The guides were very knowledgeable about the canal, the cities along the canal and all of the effort that goes into daily operation. The food at lunch was awesome and all of Logistics for a smooth sailing process made the day so worthwile.

• Great experience on the Panama Canal

  Peter A,Mar 20, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  We absolutely loved this experience! What a unique experience and we are able to cross this off of our bucket list! It was interesting, educational and a once in a lifetime opportunity! Be prepared for a long day and bring sunscreen and a rain jacket. The narrator explained the trip as we went and we were able to move all around the boat to watch all areas. We were served a lunch which was simple but plentiful and good. There is a bar where you can purchase drinks and additional snacks if you need. Overall, we recommend this opportunity.

• Great Experience A Bit Long

  TJim60,Mar 19, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  Spoiler Alert: This tour is not for those short of patience. It is however an excellent tour if you want a “master class” in the Panama Canal and experience the operation of the locks. The broadcast narration was extensive and informative accompanied by bits of humor. Various aspects/considerations re construction, operation of the locks, safety measures, description of the commercial vessels transiting the canal. Water usage on the old canal and improvements on the new canal to save water. Prior to visiting Panama we had no idea how dependent Panama is on rainfall to keep the canal in operation. Actually passing through the locks gives a much better idea of what’s involved than a verbal explanation. The buffet lunch was ample and filling. Reasonably good quality for a trip like this. So what is the caveat about patience? The Canal is a commercial not tourist/holiday waterway. Cargo vessels have priority. Water usage for the locks is significant –especially on the old Canal which CMA’s tours use. Passage through the entire Canal some 50 miles requires a total transit time of roughly 8 to 10 hours for the typical cargo vessel. Most of that distance is over man-made/augmented lakes not in a canal These pay a fee which is at least 60x and usually many more times than the US$3,500 CMA pays for its passage through two locks. What this means is that the Canal Authority tells PMA when its tours can depart. Tours don’t depart until a suitable cargo ship is transiting. CMA’s vessel has to fit in the lock with the cargo vessel. If the next vessel in the queue is too large, CMA has to wait for one that isn’t. Safety measures in the locks means that slow moving cargo vessels have to move even slower in the locks to avoid damaging them. So the time from departure to docking depends on how fast that vessel moves. Opening and closing the chambers in a lock is not a matter of a few minutes. Communication with PMA was excellent. Pick up and return fast ane efficient. I'd rate this 4.5 e - which is a very good rating given my lack of patience. But TA doesn't allow that option.

• Great trip

  Patrick H,Mar 16, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Great staff...very knowledgeable and very nice. There was a lot of waiting for other ships but passing thru the locks was amazing. Really enjoyed the trip.

• Great Experience!

  Stephen C,Mar 15, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  All staff were friendly, polite and cordial. The tour guide explanation of the process through the Panama Canal locks system was clear. My husband and I learned a lot.

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