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Thanks! Which tour did you take? I contacted Roberto and he sent me back so many different options! I'm looking at the Grand Tour that includes both sets of locks and Panama City.

2 hours ago, luv2plan said:

Have you been able to fine any food tour?  This is what I am looking for also as we have done them in the past but there does not seen to be much on this site about them. I found one company that offers them called cartegena concierge but did a search on cruise critic and found nothing.

I found Cartagena Culinary Tours and booked with them. This is what they sent me prior to booking:

Thank you for contacting Cartagena Culinary Tours!  Sorry for delay in replying, but had some issues with wifi maintenance.  We have two tours available for lunch at 12pm, both in the Historic Center, SANTO DOMINGO  tour with 3 restaurant stops, duration of 2.5 hour at US$89.00 + tax and SAN DIEGO tour with 4 restaurant stops and a duration of 3.5 hours with a price of US$110.00 + tax and since your cruise ship leaves port at 3pm we recommend the later tour or Santo Domingo which for Cruise ship passengers we start one hour earlier at 11am and we will get you in a taxi at 1pm at the latest so you can be in port an hour earlier before departure.  Private tours have an additional cost of US$30.00 pp and it will only be for passengers from same cruise ship and usually our clients help us post ad on Cruise Critic board.  We have a pick up courtesy for private tours which have a maximum of 8 people.   As soon as you confirm we will be sending a PayPal invoice.

We will be arriving in Cartagena on board Celebrity Summit and was wondering if anyone had done a food tour while there. We have done them in many different cities and found them to be a great way of learning about a place. 

Any reviews would be appreciated.

TIA

I decided to book for my birthday, July 13, rather than Richard's. 

We're on September 11. Enchantment was the first ship we ever sailed on and we got hooked!

We did the small tour with Best Guides and there were only 7 of us, my husband and me along with a family of 5 from the same ship. We were able to get in and out of places quickly and didn't have to wait in any lines. I highly recommend them!

We were on the same cruise and really enjoyed it as well.

We were in an oceanview cabin on deck 4, which is a great location when getting on and off the ship.

Our only complaint was with the diamond lounge and its concierge. The room is small, an area that they created by blocking off an area of the Viking Crown Lounge, and didn't have nearly enough seating for all of the people who chose to use it. We arrived one night and there were no seats. When I mentioned it to the concierge (Francisco) he didn't even know as he'd been at his desk on the computer with his back to the room. I asked if he could open the door to the VKL, but he said he couldn't, it was company policy. He then walked us out of the room and blocked the entrance. Later in the week we saw him open the door to the VKL for another group. He was very disappointing and nothing like any of the other diamond concierges we have had before.

We had a 5 night specialty restaurant package and ate twice each in Chops and Izumi and once in Giovanni's. All three restaurants were excellent, and we enjoyed them as a break from the MDR. We had a table for 2 for late seating and were seated at the very back of the room, where there were several 2 tops. Our servers were excellent and we found the food to be very good.

There were a lot of kids on board but we found most of them to be well behaved and supervised. As this is a very port-intensive cruise, I think they were always pretty busy.

We thought the orchestra was exceptionally good, the singers and dancers not nearly as good as we've seen (and that's being polite!), the headliners fabulous (particularly Pete Matthews and Beatle Maniacs), and Cruise Director Mike outstanding!

We used Best Guides in St. Petersburg and were fortunate enough to share our tour with a wonderful family of 5. Our guide, Olga, was great at providing us with information and getting us through any crowds easily. Our tour, St. Petersburg Grand, included lunch at sit down restaurants both days and they were great opportunities to try Russian food.

In Helsinki and Copenhagen we took local food tours, which provided us with a walking tour of each city along with nice food tastes. We walked around on our own in Tallinn and Skagen, and took the HOHO boat in Stockholm to the VASA and ABBA museums, then walked around the old town and ate in a restaurant on the square.

This was our first visit to Amsterdam and we absolutely loved it. We had the same experience as Sue with the train tickets- we thought it was because our credit cards didn't have pins to go with the chips. We took a train out to Zaanse Schans to see the windmills, and did a food tour and red light district tour, as well as the Anne Frank house.

Wow! Awesome job!

We used ATMs in Barcelona with no problem. In planning for our Baltic cruise, my husband has been unable to find an ATM in Amsterdam that is reciprocal with Bank of America. We don't want to have to pay ATM fees as well as the exchange rate. Guess we'll order them at home.

Hi. We had c707 so not quite at the back I do remember walking past the rooms with the balconies and felt I was walking through someone’s room. Not exactly private but not too bad. No sunshine at all tho. All under cover. Not sure I would be going for it. Our cabin was a mini suite and it was perfect. There was a bit of vibration which in itself was not a problem as it was constant and quietly always there. The thing that did worry me was the "knocks" created by the vibration . I pushed a face washer between the tv and the wall which fixed the main one. Someone had jammed a toothpick in the woodwork on the ceiling ....lots of little creaks and rattles which were fixable and sometimes made me laugh. I did read all the reviews of this ship before we booked and it amazed me how some people are very negative about small things. We did not know the ship before refurbishment and I was a little worried but it was a fabulous voyage and cruise. Well balanced sea days and excursions . We really enjoyed the whole cruise. Only downside was the food. It was ok but not the usual standard of princess we expected. Almost like the kitchen staff were told to economise and save money. The menu choices were less extensive and the food itself was a little underwhelming. Not cruise destroying and not complaining just that with princess we were used to "outstanding" not just "ordinary".

We are booked in C706 for a cruise next year on the Island. I was wondering what you meant by feeling like you were walking past someone's room? Not sure I understand what you mean.

We were recently on the Ruby with the new menu and liked them, although many did not. Food is subjective, for sure, but I know what you mean about the changes in cruise line food.

Thanks for the info.

So excited to follow along as we are on the same cruise leaving Amsterdam on July 3. We fly direct to Amsterdam with two days before the cruise and plan to visit the local spots as well.

Can't wait to hear about the ship and the stops! Have a great time!

We had an excellent experience renting with Enterprise in Monterey as well. We walked to their office (it's about a mile and a half, but an easy walk) and got our car. When we returned, the agent drove us right back to the tender area. Very easy. We opted to pre-pay for gas, $20, but ended up wishing we had not. We drove the 17mile drive but didn't use that much gas. Not a problem but just an fyi.

Ship: Ruby Princess

Class:

Deck: Emerald (8)

Cabin # 630

Category Obstructed OV

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern

Connects With Cabin #

Accessible: No

Quiet: Not really (see below)

Balcony Size: N/A

View: Decent; no real obstruction out

Privacy Issues: None

Wind: N/A

Soot: N/A

Problems: When tenders are raised or lowered, there is a significant amount of noise. Also lots of noise at odd times from outside somewhere. There was also a constant sound, like a foghorn, that was regular throughout the entire trip.

Comments

Thanks for the review. We are on the Ruby next week and have a car reserved with Enterprise to do the exact same thing! I'll remember to look for the shuttle from the pier!

Thanks for the great review! We board Ruby this Saturday for the coastal cruise! Cannot wait!!!

We're both working and have been doing 3 a year (during school vacations as I'm a principal). Planning to retire at the end of this year and then, who knows???

We sailed that itinerary on Vision in 2015 and loved it! The ship is just the right size and the ports were fantastic! We did several tours with a family whose kids were 9 and 11 and they enjoyed it as well. Not sure how younger children would enjoy the stops tho.

Try El Siboney. Authentic Cuban food that is awesome. At the intersection of Catherine, and Margaret if I recall. Get there before the lunch rush, or the line will be out the door.

We eat at El Siboney quite often and think it's one of the most reasonably priced restaurants on the island, love their food.

We had lunch at El Siboney on Christmas Day and it was fantastic!! While a little pricey for lunch, we enjoyed everything we had. And the homemade sangria was delicious too!

We just visited Maya Chan for our third visit on December 27 and it was as fabulous as ever! Service and food were wonderful and we look forward to returning again!

Thanks for all the great information. We will be in Copenhagen on Brilliance of the Seas in July. After watching an episode of Delicious Destinations on Copenhagen, we are hoping to do a food tour to try what looks like amazing cuisine.

Any recommendations?

We were on the same cruise in an A2 Aqua cabin. I agree with the OP that the ship is in great shape and the crew is excellent. Our waiters and the sommelier in Blu were outstanding and the food was very good there as well.

I was surprised at the number of older teens on this cruise, and many babies in strollers, but no out of control kids around. This was a good itinerary for kids, as we stopped in 4 places. I did hear a few kids when we were opposite Harmony yelling across to friends over there that they didn't have a flow rider, but they seemed happy anyway!

Entertainment, in our opinion, was lacking, but that seems consistent with other holiday cruises. The large family groups who thought they were the only people on the ship were disturbing, but again this is to be expected on a holiday cruise. Only heard one very rude group in Blu when "their table" was given to another large family. Hard to deal with people who feel entitled!

All in all a lovely cruise in warm weather! Hard to come back to single digits!

SHIP: Silhouette

CABIN #: 1544

DECK #: 11

CLASS: AQ2

AREA: Forward, Starboard

BED NEAR: Balcony

QUIET?: Very

BALCONY VIEW: Full view, no obstructions

BALCONY SIZE: standard

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: This cabin is right off the forward elevators and under the hair salon. There was no noise heard from above and we only occasionally heard the ding from the elevator. Excellent location.

Thanks, Barb. We get on as you get off on Sunday! Enjoy the week.

Hi Norris,

Just wanted to thank you for the review and pictures, of this cruise and your others! I'm an avid reader!

We're off on Silhouette for the second time this Christmas and plan to re-read your review to refresh hubby's memory!!

Thanks again!

Hi all,

If any of you have toured with Joyce, you know what a great person she is and how much she loves her island. I finally heard back from her last night and she is well but lost the roof on her home, her office, most of her possessions and had damage to her vans.

If you are interested in helping her out, please let me know and I'll send you her contact info in Florida. Her brother lives there and is going to buy supplies and get them to her.

She truly asks that everyone send their prayers!