Island Princess Panama Canal Cruise excursion
 

I have booked a ship's excursion at Punta Arenas in February. It is a Rain Forest Aerial tram and a nature walk-7 hours. There is a 10 hour trip that includes a river cruise. I am leary about the length of that tour. Is it worth the extra time? What can I expect from the weather, bug situation, etc? I would appreciate input from those that have done these excursions.

Can't comment about the lenght of the tour though its pretty long to me. As for the weather we were there in Feb. 2009 and it was warm but not oppressive, sunny and bright.

Expect rain, after all, the name "rain forest" is a dead giveaway. You probably have 1/3 chance of a sunny day. And yes, there are mosquitos. Wear long sleeves shirts.

Details of your excursion and approximate time breakdown are as follow:

Travel time: 01:15
Transport type:Air Conditioned Motorcoach
Transport Capacity (Normal Use):50
Time at site:01:30 Inside Visit :Yes
Walking distance (yards):55
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes

Buffet lunch at Rain Forest Aerial Tram Café
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:01:00 Inside Visit :Yes
Walking distance (yards):27
Total number of steps:3
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes

Free time for shopping at the Rain Forest Gift Shop
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:00:15
Free Time at Site (minutes):15

Nature Walk
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:00:30 Inside Visit :No
Walking distance (yards):27
Total number of steps:3
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes
Shopping available?:Yes
Currency accepted:USD Credit cards accepted: Yes

Depart for the guided tour of the Tárcoles River
Details:
Travel time: 01:30 Transport type:Air Conditioned Motorcoach
Transport Capacity (Normal Use):50
Time at site:02:00 Inside Visit :No
Walking distance (yards):27
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:No

Re-board your motorcoach and return to your ship
Details:
Travel time: 02:00 Transport type:Air Conditioned Motorcoach
Transport Capacity (Normal Use):50

eschew, thank you, how do you know all these details?
the trip doesn't sound all that appealing with rain and mosquitoes? Is it worth it? I am not going to do the river portion

ita, they are listed on the Princess web page ... We always check on varies cruise line's excursion before we make up our own and approach a tour company. If no one can come close to the itinary, price and convenience, then we book with the ship.

The details from above is on this link. You have to click on show all details.
http://www.princess.com/find/excursi...5&t=T&exType=S

And this is the link to the excursion index.
http://www.princess.com/learn/excursions/index.jsp

For our Panama cruise, we packed rain poncho, wide brim sun hat (or buy a real Panama hat), sun blocks, Deet bug replellent, long sleeves shirts and long cotton pants. We have short tees and shorts but mainly for in the ship and non rain forest stops. (We stopped at Aruba and a few other places other than the canal)

You have to decide if you think it is worth it or not. Panama Canal is inside a hugh tropical rain forest. You will be lucky if you get a day without any type of cloud or rain when you go through the canal zone.

Everyone has different likes and dislikes and is very hard to say "is it worth it?". DW loves city tours (and shopping) and see different cultures. I like to see history (and old ruins). We generally don't do zip lines and beaches. We both appreciate natural beauties and the nature.

We went to San Jose (the capital) when we were in Costa Rica and the city is beautiful. We stopped at the museum, the opera house and a few other places. We stopped at a plantation along the way. We had a gerat time and the National opera house is spectacular. But then, we hated the boring long bus ride there and back despite the guide tried to make it sound intersting. It was a trade off.

Here is the deatil for your excursion without the river cruise.

Depart from ship for an aerial tram ride through the rain forest
Details:
Travel time: 01:15 Transport type:Air Conditioned Motorcoach
Transport Capacity (Normal Use):50
Time at site:01:15 Inside Visit :Yes
Walking distance (yards):55
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes

Buffet lunch at Rain Forest Aerial Tram Café
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:00:40 Inside Visit :Yes
Walking distance (yards):27
Total number of steps:3
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes

Guided walk through the rain forest
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:01:00 Inside Visit :No
Walking distance (yards):1000
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:No

Free time for shopping at the Rain Forest Gift Shop
Details:
Transport type:Walking
Time at site:00:15 Inside Visit :Yes
Walking distance (yards):27
Total number of steps:3
Wheelchair accessible?:No
Restrooms available?:Yes
Free Time at Site (minutes):15 Shopping available?:Yes
Currency accepted:USD Credit cards accepted: Yes

Re-board your motorcoach and return to your ship
Details:
Travel time: 02:00 Transport type:Air Conditioned Motorcoach
Transport Capacity (Normal Use):50

ita, here is the link to RCL excrusion, same excursion as the one you are cosnidering from Princess.

Notice that the itinarty is identical but the descriptive used are different. The Princess site also have videos on some excursion so you can have a "sample" feel but it really is advertising and enticement.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreE...tionCode=T.PAN