Although they have not canceled the project, the company Aventuras 2000 has announced that it will restructure the business to try to make it viable.
One possibility is to rent a smaller boat to make the crossing, but this has not been confirmed by the company, which does not yet have a date for the second season of the ferry that connects the city of Colon in the province of Bocas del Toro and the port of Cartagena in Colombia.
“… Augusto Terracina, CEO of Aventuras 2000, said they have not canceled the project, but announced that they are restructuring it to make it more viable. One change would be to rent a smaller boat, leaving out the freight segment, which in the first season had little movement due to the lack of infrastructure in Isla Colon, where travelers had to be transported by boat because there is no port. ”
Prensa.com reports that “… Since the last administration there has been talk of a need to build a terminal for cruise ships in Isla Colon, but to date there is nothing definite, even though the work is part of the tourism master plan 2007/2020. Terracina agreed that they needed to increase product promotion in Colombia and in other markets in the Southern Cone, but said that incurring these costs, would make the ferry option not viable.”
Source: Prensa.com
Hope you will keep us apprised of information about the colon – cartagena express. We never were able to get any concrete information about schedules and costs to see whether it would be practical for us when we are in Panama. Are there other cruise ships that serve Panama at this time and can Panamanian citizen and expats take cuises to Panama? Would seem like people would be interested in more info on this. Thanks. We enjoy your blog and all the dramatic pictures you put into it. You are doing a good job selling the sizzle of Panama!