elbodans

On 1/14/2023 at 12:18 PM, v3cruiser said:

did you know of may cruisers who just took a taxi to and from the old city?

 

Last time we visited cartegena there was a water taxi from port to the old city but that is no longer offered. we want to do our own thing and afraid HOPO tour would limit our time in places. 

Yes. Many people I spoke to took a taxi and my BFF I was traveling with took a taxi back--rather than waiting for the return bus offered by her excursion. So yes, I'd say a taxi both ways is the best option. It's not far; the traffic will be crazy in the morning but without traffic it is 15 minutes from the port area to the old city. 

On 1/19/2023 at 7:08 PM, LindySD said:

Are the aerial trams covered or pretty much open air?

They are entirely open air on the sides. The top I believe has a cover. But it's not enclosed in any way. 

There are photos of the tram vehicles in birdnutty's comment above--you can see them in the second to last photo. 

On 1/15/2023 at 11:02 PM, Birdnutty said:

Thank you for doing this review.  As you said, these ports are vastly under-reported.  We went on this same tour, and I'm glad to have my memory so excellently refreshed.  We are nature enthusiasts, and were highly disappointed to see to hear not even one bird on the aerial tram, although the scenery was beautiful.   We did see one toucan on the rainforest walk waaaaaaayy far away and some feasting on berries right outside the lunch pavilion. It was beautiful, however, and we enjoyed everything.  The canal ride was very cool.  We saw sloths, herons, monkeys

and the coolest tiny little bats hanging from the supports of a bridge!

Here are some of my pics: in no particular order.  Sorry they're all smooshed together - I don't know how to separate them.  

 

And this one, from the bus - a novelty...  Yes, that is a toilet sitting atop a shed roof.

I don't know which I love more--the teeny, tiny bats or the shed roof toilet!

Thank you for sharing these photos! And yes, we saw no wildlife at Veragua. I had read about that here--possibly that was your post? Someone provided a review and mentioned that if you want to see wildlife, you should do the canals in addition to the rainforest. And so I did. If that was your advice--thank you! 

Hello all! I semi-recently returned from an MSC cruise which stopped in Puerto Limon. I wrote about every port day, as these ports seem to get little attention as they are lesser-visited (the ship also went to Cartagena and Colon.) But I contend that cruising Central America (and South America) ports on a Caribbean cruise is amazing. 

Anyway--I wanted to share the experience of my port day, which was an MSC ship sponsored excursion to Veragua Rainforest and a short cruise on the Tortuguero Canal. 

Enjoy post on my ad-free, non-revenue generating blog (I get nothing from you reading this other than helping you possibly learn about a port you are visiting. I used to be a teacher and old habits die hard.) 

https://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/a-port-day-in-puerto-limon-costa-rica-veragua-rainforest-and-the-tortuguero-canals/

On 12/12/2022 at 10:12 PM, cruisintwinsmom said:

On my many cruises, I have usually explored on my own or hired a private guide. I'm having trouble finding info on exploring Puerto Limon on my own. I see many suggested private tours. Are they the only way to see the area?

 

Thanks in advance.

You can walk out of the port. There's a very small town park and a local shopping area. Beyond that it's a road leading out of town past some grocery stores and schools--your typical suburban strip mall sprawl, but in Costa Rica so smaller and less at odds with the landscape. If you walk into the town itself there is a church and some restaurants and bars--but note that this is Costa Rica so it won't feel commercial at all. There's no Margaritaville. 

It's not possible to rent a car on a port stop (I checked) as the closest rental place is at the airport and most port days in Limon are on the short side; time just doesn't allow it. 

There were tour options available in the port the day of, but they looked pretty limited. 

On 1/14/2023 at 8:46 AM, phred119s said:

Thanks for posting! 
 

We did a partial transit on another line last month. Like you, we did the ferry to the Pacific. It looks like we transited on the same ferry. 😁 Our day was also LONG! It was 7:30-8 getting back to the ship — the ship departure time was supposed to be 7. We weren’t the last excursion back. 

Yeah, the whole ship was kind of mad at us, as we had something like six busses coming back and the ship had to wait for well over an hour. And THAT is why that experience is only possible via cruise line sponsored excursion1 

On 1/12/2023 at 8:02 PM, njhorseman said:

It looks like you didn't find the Costa Rica board. Under the Ports of call heading click on "Caribbean and it will list the individual islands of the Caribbean as well as countries or parts of countries with a Caribbean coastline. Or you can just follow this link:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/120-costa-rica/

 

 

Thank you! I actually found the Colombia one and then had to go to work and have not had time to return here since. I'll re post the CR one when I can. Thank you for the link! 

On 1/12/2023 at 6:32 AM, ready2cruzagain said:

Are you talking about the sailings that leave from Fort de France? If so then we have not sailed that itinerary with MSC. We do not fly so leave from US only. Wish they had those ports from Miami. We did  most of those ports many years ago on a 21 day cruise that was a Carnival 80s throw back cruise. I think that was in 2015 and they no longer do those.  You will love those islands. It was a great experience and would sail on a cruise to those in a heartbeat. Like I said, I wish MSC went to more ports than the same ones over and over.

Yes, that's the one I'm referencing. Good to know that's a worth itinerary. Thanks! 

7 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

Very interesting, thank you! We did this itinerary twice 4 years ago and thinking about doing it again this year. Love the Divina! 

I would totally do this itinerary again! I didn't know this itinerary existed prior to this year. I was on the Meraviglia in Feburary 2020 (we were the last ship that sailed that actually went anywhere; at the time we had no idea what was to come) and that was my first MSC cruise. I'm intrigued by MSC's unique southern Caribbean itinerary. Have you done that one? I'm looking at it for next winter. 

6 hours ago, mnpurple said:

Thanks for such a thorough and detailed blog. Your timing is perfect for us! My husband and I leave on the 1/27 sailing.  When I booked, it sounded exciting, but when I started further research, I kind of wondered what we were getting into.  We've been to Ocho Rios, but it was 30 years ago for our honeymoon. We ended up booking mostly ship excursions (except in Costa Rica we went based on another recommendation for a private tour) because we just weren't sure about the ports, which is something we don't normally do.  We're trying a rum tasting in Jamaica because the falls are maybe more intense than I am able to do anymore.

 

I appreciated your comments about the HOHO in Cartagena. Initially I had read a review about a couple that hired a cab for a tour and we were going to do that, but I got nervous and booked a food tasting excursion. I may reconsider and go back to my initial thought.  Do you feel it was fairly easy to get a cab at the port and work through language barriers as we don't speak Spanish.

 

Same as you, we heard Panama Canal was a LONG day, but we also figured we might not get the chance again.  We'll just need to be prepared for a full day!

 

I also loved your comments on Ocean Cay! One of the reasons I also booked this itinerary is because we want a nice, peaceful and relaxing beach. I don't want a theme park. I'm surprised so many people just have no idea what they are heading into.

 

Any thoughts on the ship/experience itself? We'll be in YC, so can avoid crowds. I have seen many, many people that love Divina and I'm sure we will as well.

I felt the exact same way! I booked pretty last minute--like two weeks before sailing--and when I did was very excited. And then I was like: oh my what have I done?? But all of my fears were unfounded. It was an amazing trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I also booked all ship excursions for this reason. If I hadn't been traveling solo I would have gone with a private company in Limon, but when I reached out there wasn't availability to join an existing tour. 

I would 100% get a taxi in Cartagena. Locals don't have much English and I have very little Spanish, but I wouldn't worry about the language being an issue getting a taxi. On port days, taxi drivers are taxiing cruise passengers. If you get in a taxi in town and say "puerto" that's all you really need. Decide where you are going from the port and learn the local words for that and you should be fine. A taxi into town should be around $5 USD. A taxi back will be more than that. Like possibly $20 USD. 

Excellent choice in the canal cruise. And Ocean Cay is one of my favorite relaxing locations. I don't have any MSC cruises booked at this time, but I'm becoming and MSC fan so I know I will return. I hope you love it! 

The Divina surprised me. I had zero intention of ever sailing on her, as I've seen some bad reviews on YouTube. But I really, really liked the Divina. She's an older ship and I like that. The older ships have more of a...ship feel? I like to feel like I'm at sea when I'm at sea. The Meraviglia (and the one Royal ship I've sailed--I don't recall which) felt like a mall. I also really liked the smaller lounge spaces for evenings. I'm usually always outdoors when cruising--I've closed more than my share of aft pool bars--but I actually enjoyed the live music on board the Divina. My balcony cabin was between forward and mid ship on the starboard side and I had no complaints about that either. The shower setup was kind of brilliant actually. I would not hesitate to sail the Divina again. 

It should be noted that we were at half capacity on my sailing and it was still difficult to find a lounger on sea days, because pool chair saving is a real thing. The aft pool was really great though. 

 

On 1/6/2023 at 7:24 AM, The Med said:

 

Questions: Is it still easy enough to get a taxi from port to town? We don’t want a situation where we can’t get a taxi back to the ship easily.

 

Would we avoid the pushy touts if we got off the ship early, 8.00am ish?
 

Does the hop on hop off bus stop at the port and is it reliable? Some people on trip advisor say they enjoyed it, others have said they waited an hour for a bus. Don’t fancy long waits.

 

Thank you in advance for any help from anyone who has visited there fairly recently.p

I was in Cartagena six weeks ago. 

I don't know about from port to town, but there were one million taxis near the clock tower entrance to the old walled town. So getting back to the ship won't be an issue. 

You will not avoid any vendors on a port day no matter how early you will get off the ship. I did not find anyone to be overly pushy, as a simple no gracias was all that was needed. The sheer number of vendors is overwhelming at first, but no one was aggressive. 

The HOHO bus is not reliable. That was the excursion I chose. We were not given the option to hop off and hopping back on was not possible. I wrote about my experience here: https://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/pirates-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-by-cruise-ship/

If I had it to do again I'd do the taxi thing. 

Also my BFF who was sailing with me did the "on your own" excursion through the ship and it was not on her own. There was a tour involved. None of the ship excursion descriptions were accurate (MSC Divina.) 

Cartagena is amazing. Enjoy. 

Hello all! I see there are a lot of questions about the HOHO bus in Cartagena. I did this as my shore excursion last month--booked through the cruise line (MSC) and I wrote about it here: https://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/pirates-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-by-cruise-ship/

If you don't feel like reading that, feel free to ask questions here. The short version is: I had a great day, but there's little to no opportunity to hop off and hop back on again. 

I did the HOHO bus in Cartagena last month. There was nothing hop on hop off about it! It was basically a drive to the old town, a walking tour that everyone was STRONGLY encouraged to take, and then an additional 90-minute tour around in the bus. From what I heard from others on my tour, if you hopped off there was never an option to hop back on again. Taxis were plentiful. 

I wrote about my experience here: https://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/pirates-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-by-cruise-ship/

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

I think it would be more useful and appropriate to post your Cartagena and Puerto Limon reviews on the Colombia and Costa Rica boards, respectively.

I'm happy to do that. I didn't see those forums on the destination list. I'll search. Thanks. 

Hello all! I used this forum when I was planning my cruise--which stopped in Colon but did not transit the canal--so I'd like to return the favor by providing some info for those doing research on the ports of Cartagena, Colon, and Puerto Limon. 

I wrote a whole big destination guide featuring these ports (as well as Ocho Rios and MSC's private island) on my ad-free, promotion-free blog. It's a hobby of mine and you reading these posts benefits me in no way. I simply created this information because I had questions before I sailed and I want to help others plan their trip. 

I hope this is helpful! Happy cruising! 

Cartagena Port Day: http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/pirates-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-by-cruise-ship/

Colon Port Day (Panama Canal by Ferry excursion): http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/transiting-the-panama-canal-by-ferry-an-msc-cruise-ship-excursion/

Puerto Limon Port Day: http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/a-port-day-in-puerto-limon-costa-rica-veragua-rainforest-and-the-tortuguero-canals/

On 1/7/2023 at 12:05 PM, schmenge said:

We will be on an 11 night Edge Panama Canal in February.  We stop in Colon afterwards in the evening. Are there any shops near the pier, or is it more industrial?

We called in Colon last month on an MSC ship. I am an adventurous soul and am afraid of almost nothing (this bothers my mom greatly.) However, I would 100% not walk around the area surrounding the Colon port at night. 0% chance. I'd honestly be surprised if they even let you. 

There's a small duty free shop right outside the ship, but it closes in the evening. There's also the Free Zone--a HUGE duty free area with shops from all around the world--which is walkable from the ship. But that closes at 4pm. Which is good, because walking from there at night is also a bad idea. 

On 12/20/2022 at 9:06 AM, big al said:

Hi all- Four of us will be arriving in Colon at 6 am, leaving at 4 pm on the NCL Joy...we are NOT going thru the Panama Canal...does anybody know a way of going thru the canal on an excursion? I 've read Roberto E. Whitaker H does some tours...any suggestions? I'm calling NCL to see what excursions possibly do a separate tour of going thru the locks...thanks!

 

Big Al

There should be an NCL excursion that takes you through the canal on a ferry. I did this from Colon last month (on the MSC Divina). I wrote a detailed description of what that was like here: 

http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/transiting-the-panama-canal-by-ferry-an-msc-cruise-ship-excursion/

But the short version is: if NCL offers that excursion, do it. It's a long, LONG day but totally worth it. 

Hello all! I was fortunate to sail on the Divina last month on the 10-day itinerary featuring Cartagena, Colon, and Puerto Limon, CR. It was a FAB itinerary. And while I didn't write up a proper trip report, I've seen so many questions about the various stops on this unique itinerary that I thought I'd write up a little port review guide. 

It ended up being not-so-little. Whoops! 

The link for that guide is here: https://www.suitcasescholar.com/2023/01/10/the-most-interesting-caribbean-cruise-itinerary/

That main post has overviews of specific excursions in each port, with links to a longer post for each port. 

Please note: this is a hobby blog, and as such is ad-free and not promotional in any way. I used to be a teacher; I just like helping people plan travels. I'm a helper. 

If anyone has any questions about these ports, please ask. I'm happy to help! 

I've sailed on Royal, NCL, Holland, and Celebrity--all more than once. My most recent cruise (admittedly a while ago, in January 2020) was on the Meraviglia. I liked it and am sailing on the Divina later this week. 

My only issue with the Meraviglia is how huge it is. But that's true for large ships across all lines. I'm just not a large ship person. The Meraviglia was a gorgeous ship, and I enjoyed the fact that the guests were from all over the world (we sailed from Miami, but I'll assume the same sailing from NYC.) 

The MDR food was hit or miss, but nothing near as horrible as I had been told. And I'm a HUGE food snob. 

Customer service is a nightmare. If you need help, you WILL stand in line for a WHILE.

The ship was very clean, very modern, and very beautiful. I paid something like $600 for a 7-day Caribbean sailing in a balcony cabin. And I was solo. I appreciate that MSC offers solo supplements which are closer to zero than they are to one hundred percent. 

I fully understand that based on how I booked, this may not be possible. So if the answer here is "you can't do that" I totally get it. 

I booked a last minute 10-day sailing on the Divina. I paid for a guarantee balcony. I've since received a bid opportunity to upgrade, which I am not going to do because I am solo and to bid you have to pay the double occupancy rate. Note that I did NOT pay a 100% single supplement, as MSC has dropped that and in fact that's the reason I booked this sailing. Thank you, MSC, for making it more reasonable to cruise solo! 

I have since been assigned a cabin and it is all the way forward on deck 9 so it has one of those metal balconies. 

Will I die if I have to have a metal balcony? No. I'll be totally fine. 

However if there is a way for me to pay a reasonable amount for a "regular" glass balcony--so a cabin a bit less forward--I'm happy to do that. Is there a way to do that and if so, how would I go about that? I booked direct with MSC, not with a TA. 

I'm just not going to bid to pay significantly more to MAYBE get a better balcony. I was already auto upgraded from Bella to a Fantastica balcony, but I'm 100% certain this Fantastica balcony has a metal balcony; I checked on a bunch of cruise map sites.

Thanks! 

I'm looking for any feedback from someone who has done the Panama Canal transit on a ferry as an excursion on a sailing which does not even partially transit the canal but instead docks in Colon. So to be clear: this is not a Panama Canal CRUISE, this is a cruise that stops near-ish to the Panama Canal. It's an MSC cruise and the port is Colon.

I've always wanted to do a transit and this is my chance. I understand it is a long day, as you are in a bus for 1.5 hours in each direction and then on a ferry for five hours. Was the five hours on the ferry enjoyable? My main goal is everyone's main goal--to experience the canal and learn about the feat of engineering that it is. I guess I'm just looking for any warnings from anyone who has done it before I book it, as it isn't an inexpensive excursion. 

I'm mainly concerned about comfort. For example: toilets. I'm assuming there are toilets on a passenger ferry for five hours but that would be a very unfortunate assumption if I'm wrong. Also is there outdoor seating? Again, assuming this but need to ask. Thanks! 

I just booked a semi-last minute last night--we sail in 14 days so I'm sort of scrambling to pull everything together. Thanks! 

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will take this thread back to the OP's question.  Quite the contrary, longer cruises will often cost MORE per passenger day than a short cruise.  Short cruises (lets call that 10 days or less) are a very competitive market.  Some longer cruises are very popular and get top dollar.  Consider that when Oceania first opens-up their 180 day World Cruise (the longest cruise in the world) it will often book-up within a few days.  HAL's annual Voyage of the Vikings (usually about 38 days long) has also been popular (at least prior to COVID) and would sell for relatively high prices comparable to what HAL charges for their popular World Cruise (about 100 days).  HAL also charges somewhat higher prices (when compared to many of the shorter cruises) for most of their so-called Grand Cruises which are longer voyages.

 

As to finding "deals" closer to sailing time, this does happen but is not as common as it was many years ago.  DW and I do sometimes book last minute longer cruises, but most of the good deals have been for cruises less than 3 weeks long.  Also keep in mind that many of these deals are for cruises that involve substantial air flights and last minute can sometimes mean paying a premium for air.  We have an upcoming cruise that embarks in Japan.  We were able to snag a decent Business Class fare to Tokyo.  Those same flight today cost almost twice the price (we are talking about $2000 more per person).

 

My suggestion to the OP is to register your e-mail with multiple high volume discout cruise agencies.  Many such agencies maintain a private mailing list and those are the only folks that will hear about certain last minute deals that are sold in a very quiet way and not publicly marketed.  This happens when a cruise line needs to sell off excess capacity (usually within the final payment period) and does not want it to be common knowledge that they are offering some big discounts (which would annoy those who have already booked at much higher prices).

 

Hank

 

 

Thank you so much for this explanation and for the actionable step I can take. I will do exactly that. Thank you so much! I appreciate learning how longer cruise prices work. 

6 hours ago, Roz said:

 

I know you mean well, but this can come across the wrong way to fellow passengers.  I find it to be awkward dinner conversation, and some people may come away feeling bad or stupid because you think they paid too much.  

I feel like the fact that this is a forum and thus there is context missing I am being misunderstood--because I can't possibly explain every single thing in as much detail as may be required. 

I have never been like "hi, table mates! Guess what I paid?!?" 

I've actually never even brought it up. But I have been on sailings--specifically the 14 day Alaska one I continue to reference--where people were angry about xyz (it was an older HAL ship) and complained loudly and to anyone who would listen that they paid X for the sailing and they were angry. That is how I know that we got a steal. 

I also used to be a travel blogger (for zero profit; it was a hobby) so I also share cost saving tips. Thus my "very happy to share" statement. 

I asked this question on this forum because I do not have experience with pricing longer sailings and hoped that someone who did could offer the advice I would give around things I am an expert in. That's all. 

On 11/14/2022 at 7:39 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Then do not talk with fellow passengers about what you paid.  In every two person conversation, one will come away feeling like a loser.  And, people who compare fares with 50 others face the possibility of learning that 49 of them got a better deal.  If you are happy with what you pick, live with it -- quietly! 

 

If you do not think you will be happy with a deal, don't buy it!

I feel like I came across wrong. When I said "I don't want to be the people who were angry with us for our fab deal" I meant: I don't want to be those people because they over-paid. I do not want to over pay. Less money per day = more days traveling. 

I'm always THRILLED to talk about how much I paid for ANY trip because I've always been able to find fabulous deals and/or make a trip work by doing a lot of research and planning. 

We don't have a lot of money. We travel A LOT (while still contributing to retirement savings so we can continue to travel into our later years.) So I, personally, have always been happy with the deal I've found. And I'm always happy to advise others on how to find good deals. I don't charge for that service which is likely part of why we don't have a lot of money. 😉 

4 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Probably a better chance of being hit by lightning than getting a 50% price drop.

So the reason I ask this question is because when we sailed on HAL in Alaska a few years ago we talked to MANY people on board who paid more than double what we paid (in the same cabin category) having booked only 28 days in advance. That's why I'm afraid to book so far in advance for what I consider to be a significant amount of money. I don't want to be the people who were angry with us for our fab deal. 😉