Panama Canal Agent Recommendation Needed

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Gus39

Hello
I’m going sailing from Miami to China
(Crossing Panama Canal) on a 33 ‘ Watkins
I thought that the only to cross the canal was by an hiring an agent here in Miami
Is it possible to just show up at the canal avoiding the agent??
What is the procedure?
How much is it?

In post #22 in this thread I posted links to some detailed info on transiting without an.agent.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Mikado

Hello CF,



We are going to be transiting the canal this spring from Atlantic to Pacific.



I've read everything that I can find on the forum regarding agent -vs-no agent, etc. I think we are going to go with an agent.



Since this is our first passage, it seems that an agent can help with the learning curve but the main reason I'm thinking of going with an agent is that I have heard that they have canal contacts that can help get you scheduled thru earlier. It would really suck if we had to wait 4 weeks, so any option to get thru sooner has me interested.



Do any of you have any agents that you could highly recommend along with their contact information? What are the typical costs for an agent?



I have Pat and John Rains Cruising Ports book with recommendations but I was looking for other options.



Thanks in advance for your input !!



Jeff

The Wynns have recently posted about their Panama Canal crossing without an agent - seemed like no issues at all to do it without an agent. Take a look at gonewiththewynns.com.