Venezuela and the ABCs

[vermonter16]

We just came from the ABC Islands last month.  We talked to a couple of locals on Aruba and Curacao.  Both said that they are having immigration enforcement problems because of Venezuela .  People are coming in on boats at night or trying to sneak in other ways.  There is obviously concern there for the residents and its impact, but as far as affecting tourists - you won't even know it.

[BarbinMich]

22 hours ago, oceangoer2 said:

 

We were in Cartagena last March...never saw a soldier or anything military.  It was an overnight so 2 tours involved.  Roamed an old quarter, church, sat on a park bench, never felt unsafe.  Now with the close proximity to V....makes me wonder.  Travelling to C again in a few weeks...not taking any tours this time and intended to explore the port.  We'll see how it looks after docking.

Happy to hear.  There is so much of interest to see there:  lovely 17th buildings, Las Bovedas which was a prison, now turned into a place to buy souvenirs, the cathedral (Iglesia de San Pedro Claver), the castillo up on the hill overlooking the city, etc.

[Oceangoer2]

45 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

Happy to hear.  There is so much of interest to see there:  lovely 17th buildings, Las Bovedas which was a prison, now turned into a place to buy souvenirs, the cathedral (Iglesia de San Pedro Claver), the castillo up on the hill overlooking the city, etc.

 

I think these are some of the sights we enjoyed last March...also did a horse drawn carriage tour around the old part of the city which was great.  No military anywhere.  What I meant by 'we'll see' is after this Ven. problem perhaps it won't feel as safe.

[BarbinMich]

On 1/29/2019 at 2:37 PM, oceangoer2 said:

 

We were in Cartagena last March...never saw a soldier or anything military.  It was an overnight so 2 tours involved.  Roamed an old quarter, church, sat on a park bench, never felt unsafe.  Now with the close proximity to V....makes me wonder.  Travelling to C again in a few weeks...not taking any tours this time and intended to explore the port.  We'll see how it looks after docking.

I think perhaps our visit in 2008 was during the worst time when the drug cartels ruled, so to speak.  Or some other kind of unrest.

[Kingofcool1947]

On 1/28/2019 at 3:11 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

The last time I was in the port for Caracas, on the QE2, I started down the gangway.    At the bottom of the gangway there were two young soldiers with large assault rifles, I immediately turned around and stayed on the ship.   I was not comfortable with a port where heavily armed soldiers were needed to guard the ship.   Why don’t the ABC islands welcome all of the refugees?   Many in the U.S. expect us to open our borders to all refugees.   The people in Venezuela are starving and they deserve our compassion.

 

So, why do you think two armed soldiers with assault rifles were needed to guard your ship?  From who?

And you want to open the US borders to all refugees?  

[jsf]

We visited Caracas on the Zenith back in 1996 and we were warned back then to be very careful on shore, with some of the stories we heard about the port we only stayed on the pier and visited the shop's without going onshore. I remember seeing the city rising up out of the ocean  sailing into port, the city is built on the side of mountains and I think it is was  home to 11 million people back then.

J.

[DENIE]

We were just in the ABC's in December 2018. Felt very safe.  Our tour guide said there is great concern over what is going on in Venezuela, but they are holding their own.  Willemstad seemed to be very bustling, and was very clean.  We found pretty much the same experience in Aruba and Bonaire.  I would certainly go there again.

 

As for Cartagena, Columbia, we were there on an MSC cruise in 2014.  We did see a LOT of poverty, but also a large modern city.  The old walled city portion was immaculate and gorgeous, very European-like.  Have wanted to go back...

 

 

[pa-annie]

Two French cruise ship passengers were attacked in a violent robbery while sightseeing in Antigua, where their vessel had docked. One of the passengers was stabbed in the incident, which took place in Hatton.

 

According to the Antigua Observer, Joel Richards, 20, and Anderson Garcia, 19, are charged with aggravated robbery after they allegedly targeted the two tourists who travelled to the popular Caribbean island on an MSC cruise ship.

 

Jacques Colbert, 72, and Christiane Marcelle Drouth, 62, were attacked at around 11 a.m. on February 1 as they explored the sites in Hatton. Colbert was stabbed in the abdomen and the thieves made off with Drouth’s black leather handbag, the Observer reported. The stabbing victim was taken to hospital but did not have life-threatening injuries. The bag was later recovered.

 

MSC did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Cruise Law News reported that just a few days before the latest robbery, a British man was beaten with an object and robbed of his wallet containing $100 while sightseeing at St. John’s Cathedral in Antigua.

 

[Lastdance]

A good friend of mine shared that her parents moved from Aruba last year, and now reside in Florida... they just felt safer living in the States and have dual citizenship...everyone's situation is different...and they are in their early 70's.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Lastdance

[BarbinMich]

On 2/9/2019 at 9:54 AM, pa-annie said:

Two French cruise ship passengers were attacked in a violent robbery while sightseeing in Antigua, where their vessel had docked. One of the passengers was stabbed in the incident, which took place in Hatton.

 . . .

MSC did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Cruise Law News reported that just a few days before the latest robbery, a British man was beaten with an object and robbed of his wallet containing $100 while sightseeing at St. John’s Cathedral in Antigua.

 

Does anyone know where Hatton is?  I've just looked at a Google map of Antigua and couldn't find it.  This is bad news for tourism in Antigua.  We were there in Jan 2017 and did a ship's tour to Dow's Hill Interpretation Center and English Harbor.  On a prior cruise years ago we walked around St. John's and visited the Cathedral.  Sad that doing so is no longer a wise thing to do.  Are the beaches still a safe option?

Edited February 10, 2019 by BarbinMich

[hcat]

On 1/28/2019 at 9:18 PM, George C said:

There was loads of poverty on my cruise in 1983 , loads of shacks one on top of another with no running water or electricity. City of Curaçao was beautiful. 

Been that way since I was there in the 6os or 70s ,,.also very tense back then!

 

Our Aruba guide last yr  mentioned taking  shopping trips to Ven  for all sorts of household goods..Guess that's not happening anymore!