Britannia - Isla Margarita

I have not seen much about this port - any ideas? Is Britannia the only ship calling there this year?

I have not seen much about this port - any ideas? Is Britannia the only ship calling there this year?

We were there several years ago...lovely island.

Princess discouraged pax from exploring...there were few ship excursions and only a few souvenir kiosks at the pier.

Nevertheless, we left the ship and within 10 minutes the four of us were teamed up with a tour guide (good english speaker) and driver and four more passengers (lovely Canadians) for a day tour around the island in a brand new Mercedes mini-bus.

It was the highlight of our cruise on Princess.

We stopped at a couple of souvenir type places, the island is noted for Caribbean pearls. Had lunch on the beach at a nice resort, and easily completed the circle tour in time to board the ship before sailing.

The only bad memory we have of that port stop is the shabby treatment it received from Princess regarding its value for their passengers.

Since that time very few ships stop there....likely due to the political situation in mainland Venezuela.

We were there in 2007 on the Sea Princess. There was a man hand rolling cigars 2 US dollars each just outside the dock gates. My dad was very pleased with them [emoji3]

We stopped there on cruises in 2000 and 2001. It was pretty quiet there then but I guess it is a lot more developed now. We joined a taxi trip to a beach the first time but the name escapes me. The second time we did a trip to Labertino Tropical Gardens with a boat trip on the La Restingua lagoon which was very pleasant. But as I say they were not really geared up for tourism then although there was development in progress.

We were supposed to stop there on our very first cruise back in 2003 but as we boarded there was a letter in the cabin saying the stop had to be cancelled as their was local unrest and the Foreign Office was saying it was not safe - not been there since!

island

Please Note: According to the U.S. Department of State website " Credit cards are generally accepted at most upscale tourist establishments, but foreign exchange controls have made credit card acceptance less common than in the past. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express have representatives in Venezuela. Due to the prevalence of credit card fraud in Venezuela, travelers should exercise caution in using their credit cards and should check statements regularly to ensure that no unauthorized charges have been made. Most major cities have ATMs with 24-hour service where users may withdraw local currency, but many of these ATMs will not accept U.S.-issued debit cards."

We went in 2006, I absolutely loved it there. Found an American couple on here who did tours and booked them, brilliant!

We went with P&O in 2012 & they discouraged you from venturing out on your own. We booked a 4x4 jeep tour & had a brill day. Though husband was rather worried re state of the jeeps!!!

There is a small beach next to where ship docks. Port talk told us that there were lots of sand flies. Lots of crew wnet to the beach & 2 of our table mates did. They didn't get bitten

Thank you so much for your replies - still not sure how I feel about this port - but it sounds a beautiful island.

We were there in 2009 - after some busy days visiting other islands we took the opportunity of a quiet day. There were a few market stalls by the dock selling hand made goods. There was a large beach area where we sat and watched the pelicans diving into the water. Then we saw a couple of girls doing massages under a canopy on the beach - that was great. So relaxing and a fraction of the price for a massage on the ship.

A gunman shot dead an elderly German tourist on Venezuela's Margarita island on Friday, authorities said, in the latest incident illustrating the country's rampant crime.

Goldhahm Hors Kurt, 76, was killed outside a shopping center on the Caribbean island, the Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Venezuela's murder rate is one of the highest in the world, and the South American nation's reputation for violence is a big hindrance to efforts to develop tourism.

Venezuelan media said Kurt had arrived on a cruise ship and was shot during an attempted robbery.

"We're so sorry about the German tourist's death. The security forces are after the criminals," Tourism Minister Andres Izarra said via Twitter. He said another foreign tourist had been injured in the incident.

The murder last month of Venezuelan former beauty queen and soap opera star Monica Spear on a holiday to her homeland from the United States produced an outpouring of national mourning and galvanized attention on crime.

President Nicolas Maduro was due to unveil a new "pacification" plan at the weekend, but opponents say some 20 or so prior plans under him and predecessor Hugo Chavez have failed to address the roots of violent crime.

I have not seen much about this port - any ideas? Is Britannia the only ship calling there this year?

I am on the B604 Cruise in Feb and have been searching for info. One member of a PO Cruising the Caribbean (FB group) told me that there are 120 vendor stalls selling jewellery, art, T-shirts, and a great variety of handicrafts in nice palm-frond roof booths. All are selling their handmade wares in US dollars, pounds, or euros, so there is no need to change money into bolivars if you're planning to stay in the port area and not go to see the island. There is a cultural dance show in the morning in the main plaza. There is live music and other forms of dancing throughout the whole day. There are also a few bars and you can find refreshments easily.

There is also a small but nice and very clean beach for cruise tourists to enjoy. The access to this beach is absolutely FREE and it has clean restrooms/toilets.

You can rent shaded lawn chairs, jet skis, paddle boats, and banana boats there. You will not see local islanders on this beach - it is reserved for tourists on cruise ships.

I also found this website -

http://www.margaritasun.com/

Hi - That does sound rather nice, but I noticed on the website

"EL Guamache is a work in progress: the port is planning for even more activities for the season 2006-2007".

Cannot find much recent information on this port and would like to know whether other cruise lines will be stopping there.

Thanks for the many replies!

So we go to a nice Caribbean island, get off the ship and without leaving the port we can visit some local market stalls and sit on a beach surrounded by wire. Sounds like fun.