Cruise to Fuerte Amador / Panamá (Panama)

Terminal at the Pacific entrance to the Canal

Fuerte Amador is on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal in Panama. The modern cruise terminal is located on Isla Perico, one of the islands along the Amador Causeway. Panama’s tourism authority reported the terminal’s opening in March 2024 and described it as a new cruise home port at the Pacific entrance to the Canal. This distinguishes it from the commercial port areas of Balboa and the Flamenco Marina: although they are also in the Amador area, they are not the same cruise terminal.

The Amador Causeway extends from the mainland into the Pacific, connecting Naos, Perico and Flamenco. The tourism authority gives the road’s length as six kilometres and describes it as a green space built from rock excavated during the construction of the Panama Canal. Visitors arriving at Fuerte Amador are therefore not in downtown Panama City, but on Isla Perico along the Amador Causeway, which connects the city with several offshore islands.

The Panama Canal and a visit to the city

A shore excursion can be planned around one of two themes: the Canal or the capital. At the Miraflores Locks Visitor Center, guests can experience the Canal at a location where ships are raised and lowered between different water levels. A visit to Casco Antiguo, by contrast, takes you to the historic center of Panama City. Both destinations are outside the terminal and offer different kinds of excursions—engineering and shipping on the one hand, architecture and urban history on the other.

Panamá Viejo is another distinct point of interest: the ruins of the older city are different from the colonial-era Casco Antiguo. If you have limited time ashore, you can focus on one of these areas rather than stringing together brief stops at the Canal, the old town and the ruins. The key to choosing is whether you are more interested in the engineering of the Canal or the city itself.

The Amador Causeway and its islands

The causeway offers a coastal alternative to excursions into the city center. As you travel along it, the mainland, the islands of Naos and Perico, and Flamenco follow one another; along the way, views open up over the Pacific and the Panama City skyline. The causeway is both the connection to the terminal and a destination in its own right.

For travel to and from Panama City, Albrook and Tocumen are useful landmarks. Albrook is home to the national bus terminal and the terminus of Metro Line 1; Tocumen International Airport lies well beyond the Amador area. For a cruise call, the confirmed terminal location on Isla Perico is therefore the reliable starting point for planning the right excursion and your return to the ship.