La Guaira

[SWS]

I have not heard good things about this port, in fact some rumors that Princess will divert from it many times....any one got any info?

 

Scott and Barb

New Gloucester, Maine

[crisp1]

The Golden has not been to La Guaira since early December and has officially changed the port of call to Guamache- Isla Margarita ( at least up to our cruise in April). You can't book excursions on-line, but there is a list that will give you an idea of what will be available on Princess' site. If you check the Ports of call board Caribbean-other, there are a few threads about the island/change.

[tkubi7]

I was on the Golden in January 2005 and we stopped at Isla de Margarita not Caracas. We were told by Princess reps(2 days before cruise) that Caracas was still scheduled, but when we got to the terminal, we were given a notice of change in itinerary.

[Howlev34]

We're on the 4/24 Golden and we just received a letter from our TA telling us that Caracas has been officially dropped in favor of Guamache (Isla Margarita), in port from 7AM to Noon. Also, port time in Grenada has been increased from 9AM to 5PM.We originally signed on because of Caracas but all the wonderful Princess cruisers have advised us that it didn't matter--the Golden is a great ship and we will have a great time. We are so looking forward to this cruise.

[Pam in CA]

It's true that La Guaira is not an appealing port -- it's a commercial port with no redeeming features. You would not get off to go to the beach, for instance. However, from La Guaira, you would go to Caracas, an hour's drive a way. Caracas is an international city that is historical and interesting. That said, I believe all cruises are going to Isla Margarita instead, a Venezuelan island off the coast.

[LARGIN]

La Guiira is our favorite stay on the ship port. Great views of the hill squaters and their garbage.. :rolleyes:

[doctrd]

We were notified by email that we are going to Isla Margarita (as expected)instead of La Guaria for March cruise. From what I've been reading, most people do not know of the change until they get on board.

Been reading recently that people say beach is nice...but few months back all reports were of a dirty beach. So not sure what to expect.

[pcumberl]

For our 3/13 Cruise, we found our Cruise Personalizer had changed 24 days out from La Guaira to Guamache. As crips1 said, we can't reserve any shore excursions on-line or over the phone. Even though it's a short time time being there, there's one excursion I'm looking forward to: La Restinga Lagoon Tour. There's another thread in here that talked about it and it sounded GREAT, so we'll be seeing if we can sign up for it once on board. As an aside, I found the following hand-drawn map of the Guamache area which shows where the beach and vendors are in relation to where the ship docks: http://www.casatrudel.com/map-of-guamache.htm

 

doctrd: If you're on our 3/13 sailing, we have a roll-call going if you're interested: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=72511

 

~Paul

[cruisingfreak]

It was real fun when we had our excursion bus stopped at the entrance of the park going to a cloud forest, by the Army carrying machine guns, wanting to see our passports. NOW THAT WAS SCARY!!!!

 

 

Minette

[pcumberl]

It was real fun when we had our excursion bus stopped at the entrance of the park going to a cloud forest, by the Army carrying machine guns, wanting to see our passports. NOW THAT WAS SCARY!!!!

Was that at La Guaira or Isla Margarita?? Was it a ship sponsered tour? Did everyone have their passports? Need details..

 

~Paul

[cruisingfreak]

Was that at La Guaira or Isla Margarita?? Was it a ship sponsered tour? Did everyone have their passports? Need details..

 

~Paul

 

This was in La Guaira, going to the Rancho Grande Cloud Forest, in Rancho Grande National Park, on a Princess excursion. They told us beforehand to bring our passports. It was still scary seeing the men outside the bus, carrying machine guns. I'll never forget it.

 

 

Minette