Aggressive vendors?

[jtdlmc]

I’m a little concerned with some of the posts saying how aggressive the street vendors are.  There is little I hate more on an excursion than being chased by vendors who don’t leave us alone after saying no thank you while we continue to walk.  Has anyone here been to Jamaica who can compare their aggressiveness?  Jamaica is the worst I have been too.  

[jtdlmc]

Just in case anyone else is wondering about this, I asked the same question on a travel group and the majority of respondents agree that the vendors are much more aggressive and threatening than in Jamaica and even more so the “rappers”.  I’m not exactly sure what rappers are but they say they are the ones who jump in a taxi or vehicle with you uninvited and then demand payment.  Some say a stern wagging of your fingers in a no gesture is enough to keep them away or no thank you, avoid eye contact and do not speak other than to say no thank you.  I’m thinking we will stay in the port area unfortunately.  

[baldilocks]

We did a Royal ship excursion which amounted to lot of walking. We had some time before we got on the bus back to the ship. We sat down on a park bench where many vendors were walking around. An older lady came up to me and asked if I wanted a massage. I said no, but just rolled my pants leg and began putting cream on my leg. She took off my shoes and socks to do my feet. By then I was hooked. She pulled my shirt up in the back to do that area. I have to admit I was ready to pack her up in a suitcase and take her with us. That was one of the best leg and back massages I've had in years. She asked for $40. I said $10. She said $30. I said $20. She took the $20. I asked our guide if that was a fair price. She it was fair all around. I spent the rest of the day feeling much better than when I sat down on that park bench.

[Markanddonna]

In Colombia, the vendors are a step more aggressive than in Jamaica. They will put a hat on your head and then demand payment. That sort of thing. I am on the ship in Cartagena right now and since I had seen the sites last time, just stayed in port at Port Oasis. I will report on what my table mates say this evening.

[Sunseeker11]

I was there in January.  We found them less aggressive than in Jamaica and St. Lucia.  A simple no gracias was enough

[JennKach]

We were just in Cartagena and they were very aggressive.  An older lady was in tears when one followed and then cornered her at the bus door.  Even I was getting tired of them near the old town square.  We only had 15 minutes to explore and it was impossible to enjoy the sights while getting blocked and pestered by the vendors.  To top it off our tour guide (through the ship) had his watch ripped off his arm and another passenger had their phone stolen while taking a picture.  It was not my favorite port.

[cluso]

Just spent 2 days in Cartagena off of Celebrity Constellation.  No problems.  A polite “no gracious” worked.

Edited March 15, 2023 by cluso

[Cruise till you drop]

We were just in Cartagena and if we ever go back, I would NOT get off the ship.

 

The vendors are THE WORST I have ever experienced.  Very aggressive and very abundant.  You can’t go anywhere without experiencing these aggressive vendors.

 

And the worst part was our tour (Avia) seemed to be taking us directly into these areas, basically on purpose.

[VintageCheap]

We walked all over.  Minimal problems.  No Gracias works.  We walk fast and do not engage in any drama. 

[LB_NJ]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:40 PM, jtdlmc said:

I’m a little concerned with some of the posts saying how aggressive the street vendors are.  There is little I hate more on an excursion than being chased by vendors who don’t leave us alone after saying no thank you while we continue to walk.  Has anyone here been to Jamaica who can compare their aggressiveness?  Jamaica is the worst I have been too.  

I have been to Labadee, Royals beach in Haiti.  Compared to that the street vendors in Cartegena are a little more aggressive.

[TravelFiend]

On 12/3/2023 at 9:24 AM, VintageCheap said:

We walked all over.  Minimal problems.  No Gracias works.  We walk fast and do not engage in any drama. 

This was our experience as well. No big deal, and a simple "No gracias" was all we needed. We certainly had plenty of people offering things, but no one was particularly pushy. And I had my two kids, 10 and 15, with us, and felt absolutely safe the entire time. Cartagena was actually our favorite port on our Panama Canal cruise, we absolutely loved it and thought it was so interesting! And we didn't do a tour, we just used Uber and got around on our own. 

[roman70]

The vendors was extremly pushy. Even 10 no gracias didn't stop them from besieging the people.

[Jillianr1976]

We stepped out of he port area and they tried to seperating my husband and I  trying to get us into cabs, it  was beyond scary.  Forced our way down the block because they wouldn't allow us to retreat, we went back into the bird thing and skipped everything else.  Complete loss.  Stick with a ship excursion.