bcummin

There are other good discussions about visiting Tunisia on the HAL thread “Just returned from the Noordam”

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1430614

And on “Best of Tunisia Excursion”

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1433811

Barbara

We were also glad to visit Tunisia on May 19. The ms Noordam was welcomed by camels, musicians, and a dancer, our only port welcome of the cruise.

We enjoyed the 8-hour HAL "Best of Tunisia" tour. Our guide made sure that we appreciated his Berber culture, which is not Arab. The atmosphere was peaceful and casual, even though there were soldiers and barbed wire around the previous leader's headquarters. Friendly people returned my smiles and welcomed us. Also, previous restrictions on photographing government buildings, etc. were history. I could photograph anything within reason.

We saw a lot at the Bardo Museum. I did not mind spending time in the carpet store, because we also had time to shop in the Souk.

Lunch near Carthage was nice. Sidi Bou Said was not only beautiful, but full of more shopping. I delighted in the sights and in their culture.

Our guide ended up thanking us for being brave enough to come visit his country -- after six months of unemployment there.

Although we felt safe, I would not have wanted to do Tunis on my own. It was a long distance from port in a far different culture. Our HAL travel guide Christina had given us lots of good tips, neither encouraging nor discouraging venturing out on our own.

Pay attention to current advice, because Tunisia is in the middle of change.

The nice surprise that we did not have time to explore was the cruise terminal's village of shopping stalls, complete with the camels.

You have a lot to look forward to at La Goulette, Tunisia.

Barbara

Thank you so much for sharing your marvelous cruise with all of us. You have sacrificed a lot of precious cruise time give us so much pleasure. You have carefully written a treasure for the world to enjoy.

Now we are especially looking forward to our cruise on the ms Amsterdam this fall.

Barbara