Cartagena Question

[Jalex63]

Our upcoming cruise includes a stop at Cartagena, Columbia and I cannot seem to get much information on the exact set-up there regarding the dock area, etc. I have read thru many of the reviews posted elsewhere on Cruise Critic, but still have not had any luck in finding answers to my questions.

 

After reviewing all the comments from former HAL visitors it appears that the excursions offered by the ship are poor at best, most if not all not being recommended. So we are thinking about doing our own thing, but it appears to me that the ship may dock far from anywhere interesting within walking distance. We are thinking maybe about taking a taxi tour or a taxi somewhere interesting.

 

Anyone with experience able to help us out with this one?

Edited September 10, 2014 by Jalex63

[cruz chic]

I can't help out too much but I did one tour with HAL years ago. I wasn't too impressed. Seems to me we went to a fort, church and then to a place that was old that was converted into shopping. As you can see my memory isn't that great. Cartagena was a stop on my April panama cruise. I was quite content to stay by the pier. They had some internet, nice gardens, some fancy birds and some shopping. While I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea I enjoyed it much more than the tour.

[sp2]

Cruz chic, did you feel relatively safe just getting of the ship as opposed to doing a ships tour?

[DaveOKC]

I am looking at this as well and cannot find much on the HAL tours that I like so far. A friend of mine said that the old city was 5 miles from the port. Further, she said she would only do it with a guide or tour.

 

DaveOKC

[iflyrc5]

Go to the Ports of Call section - you will find several highly recommended private tours at very reasonable prices. We are booked with Claudia in Feb 2015.

[sail7seas]

There are actually some very attractive buildings to see in Cartegena. Parts of the city are worth viewing. I would suggest ports of call and other internet research to find a private tour operator you could make arrangements with in advance. I would not be that comfortable just getting any old taxi and asking them to take you around.

 

Last time we were there, the soldiers with their automatic weapons slung over their shoulders made me nervous but they were there protecting tourists rather than anything negative toward the cruisers/tourists. They kept anyone away from harassing or bothering any of us in certain areas where we could have been pestered.

 

Edited September 10, 2014 by sail7seas

[serendipity1499]

This is the Ports of Call board for Cartegena.. There are many discussions about this port ..

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=500

Edited September 10, 2014 by serendipity1499

[Hlitner]

We really enjoyed our most recent visit to Cartegena which has come a long way in the past 15 years. Just walking around the central part of town, browsing their large market, enjoying a café, etc. made for a very nice day. There are plenty of taxis at the port (it is very organized) or you can also find various tour opportunities. Getting a taxi back from downtown was quite easy although the traffic can be horrendous on a week day. The taxi drivers will also give you a driving tour, but many of the drivers speak little or no English.

 

Hank

[cruz chic]

Cruz chic, did you feel relatively safe just getting of the ship as opposed to doing a ships tour?

 

Yes, but I stayed at the pier. I felt completely unsafe taking a ships tour last time (maybe about 5-6 years ago) that's why I wasn't really interested in another one. I thought the pier area was lovely.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You are docked in the freight area.

There is nothing great within walking distance of the pier area.

Have you checked what others on your ship/cruise date are doing for private tours? That is the best option.

Once you get from the ship to front of the area where the buses meet for tours, there are taxis there. But be forewarned -- you do not want to go out on your own. If you can a couple of other people to join you on a tour, that will be better to get a van.

If you have problems walking -- there a shuttle bus that runs back and forth in the dock area to get you to the front of the terminal which is also the area where there is a building for people getting off and on other cruise ships and ferries. Luckily the last couple of times we were there -- no other cruise ships. One time when we were there, an NCL ship was also there. They must have brought every bus from the surrounding areas to the pier -- packed solid with buses -- and we didn't even attempt to leave the ship until all the buses were pretty much gone.

The first time we were there we did the tour which included the fortress, a couple of churches, both the old and new cities. We enjoyed. We stopped at a major shopping area and were warned to be careful.

Since then we also did the bay cruise on what they called a pirate ship -- I would never recommend this -- the boat barely moved in the water as you saw the sights and it was horribly hot!! DH got sick from the heat.

The last number of times we have been there, the people have been much friendlier than our early years there. But you still have to be careful.

I would taking a ship's tour or a LARGE private tour.

[SilvertoGold]

Took a 2 hour taxi tour for a reasonable price.

 

Loved the old city area - beautiful buildings. Taxi drivers are very happy to wait while you shop or wander around.

 

The best part was that the taxi was air conditioned. We would never have been able to endure the heat for long otherwise.

[mrbucky]

We took a tour. Left ship early as it gets hot. Walked out and found a tour of what we wanted to see. Bus held approx. 20 ppl. Guide was a retired school teacher. She was great! Wanted to teach us more than some wanted to learn. Industrial pier. Take a tour.

[bcd2010]

I took a private tour via Mr. Emerald - extremely satisfied and impressed with all we saw (and learned). Lots of info in this blog entry: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/926Cartegena.pdf (link to Mr Emerald is in this blog post).

Edited September 10, 2014 by bcd2010

[MAHLO]

We took a tour with Claudia Vidal when we were in Cartagena and would highly recommend her.http://www.toursclaudiavidal.com:):)

[carri cruiser]

I took a private tour via Mr. Emerald - extremely satisfied and impressed with all we saw (and learned). Lots of info in this blog entry: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/926Cartegena.pdf (link to Mr Emerald is in this blog post).

 

I can tell you something about Mr Emerald, He is a trustworthy person, he owns an emerald shop, and although I did not have a tour with him, I did buy a charm with an emerald in it, not expensive, but the emerald fell out of it at one point, not too long after wearing it, I contacted him, and he replaced the charm at no cost to me, and no postage, he was very honorable, if I go to Cartagena again, I WILL take one of his tours!!

[Himself]

I would not go off on my own in Cartegena.

[Jalex63]

I would not go off on my own in Cartegena.

 

I have the same feeling about the entire country of Columbia. This is why I was really surprised by these words which I copied directly from Trip-Advisor:

 

"Cartagena, a gorgeous fishing village on Colombia's Caribbean coast, has excellent beaches, a historic old town (that's entirely walkable) and beautiful colonial architecture. It's also one of the safest places in the country, so it's no wonder it's a popular port of call for cruise ships. Need a break from exploring the cobblestone streets? Stop at an outdoor café"

 

Since there is no Roll Call for this cruise, I guess I will attempt to make some sort of arrangement with a private tour company on my own as I really would like to see some of the sights. Perhaps with one of the companies recommended by previous posters on this thread.

[Himself]

I have the same feeling about the entire country of Columbia. This is why I was really surprised by these words which I copied directly from Trip-Advisor:

 

"Cartagena, a gorgeous fishing village on Colombia's Caribbean coast, has excellent beaches, a historic old town (that's entirely walkable) and beautiful colonial architecture. It's also one of the safest places in the country, so it's no wonder it's a popular port of call for cruise ships. Need a break from exploring the cobblestone streets? Stop at an outdoor café"

 

Since there is no Roll Call for this cruise, I guess I will attempt to make some sort of arrangement with a private tour company on my own as I really would like to see some of the sights. Perhaps with one of the companies recommended by previous posters on this thread.

 

The ship will have some good tours in Cartagena.

[take us away]

When we were in Cartagena we opted to go off on our own and hired a taxi. It was a ride of craziness sprinkled with moments of terror. Now I have had some unbelievable taxi rides in various parts of the world but this one was in the top 5. We did not stay out too long as people were following us and it made us uncomfortable even though there were a lot of military types wandering about. The city did have some beautiful parts so I would recommend a tour, not going off on your own.

[durangoscots]

I was prepared not to like Cartagena based on some comments I had read. Since I am a single, I did a ship's tour of Cartagena.... and I loved it. The only downer was the heat!!! I was really glad to get back to air conditioned comfort.

 

Susan

[Jalex63]

Well I just finished reading up on the security warnings by the State Department on all of the central American stops on this Panama cruise, which include Columbia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and NONE of them are really safe places:eek:. Even ships tours can be dangerous and in some of these areas tour buses have been stopped and everyone robbed. Taxi's it turns out can be just as dangerous.

 

I realize that the odds are all with us in that nothing is likely to happen, but I am not sure that the reward is worth the risk. My DW says she is not getting off the ship at these ports of call. I will probably talk her out of that position, but I am not sold on doing anything other than a ships organized tour, even if they are not rated high among previous passengers.:(

[durangoscots]

There is no safe place, as you know. I think that the ship's tours within the city (or citys) are pretty safe. Out in the countryside you are much more vulnerable. I felt safe walking with a large group through historic Cartegena where you are surrounded by lots of people. I am not sure I have felt as safe out of the downtown area.... you really should not miss all the stops. After all, you can easily be mugged in any American city also.... But there is safely in numbers.

 

Susan

[kangforpres]

We were just there in April for a West Bound Canal Transit on the Westerdam. The call was very short (I think just 6 hours) so we booked an excursion and ended up picking the wrong one. It was ungodly hot and humid so be prepared for the weather. I recommend just trying to see the old town and don't bother with anything else.

 

I think our tour was called "Cartagena Highlights" or "Best of" or something like that but it didn't include the old town it was a boat tour, and then bus trip to the "emerald" factory which is really just a store and a shopping trip and ended with a trip to the fort which was nice.

 

I never felt "unsafe" Cartagena is boom town and party town with lots of new high rise construction and lots of affluent Colombians with money at least that's the side I saw.

 

-Paul

[Jalex63]

Actually, it is the Old Town section of Cartagena that I am most interested in seeing. A few of you have stated that it is very walkable? Were there any difficulties regarding the vendors that supposedly can be overwhelming in some areas?

 

Another thought, I wonder if there are any private tour buses that hang out at the dock and take on cruisers for tours? I think it might have been last year in Aruba that we did this. There was a small tour bus, think it held about 20 and we paid $10. pp and it turned out to be an excellent tour.

[EatonDoolittle]

As was already suggested, why not take a look at the port of call board for Columbia.

 

There are many discussions and recommendations over there for seeing the sights. Dora, Claudia, and Lee Miles are all long time, safe, professional guides who are all pretty much equally recommended, both here and on TripAdvisor.

 

Yes of course it's hot; you are in South America, and much closer to the equator than at home.

However, this is a wonderful, not to be missed city. Dress in cool, loose fabrics, bring a bottle of water, and enjoy the sights.