First trip to Cartagena.

[insag]

Wow, this thread is really interesting. I'll be in Cartagena next year on an RCI cruise and find all this info fascinating. I'm definitely going to do my research because I can't stand pushy beggars/vendors, but I do like seeing interesting architecture. A private tour is not an option for me because I'm traveling alone and need to feel safe, which I generally do with ship's tours.

 

Since I've never been to South America before, I have to get off the ship and touch land for it to count so staying on the ship is not an option :D This will be continent number six for me.

 

The fort sounds really interesting, as does the monastery.

I disagree with you I would feel safer with a private tour guide,,we were last Nov.. and it was the best port of the whole cruise,, we hired Dora and there were 5 of us,, and she was able to talk to us, we were able to hesr

everything and a small group no one noticed us and the only place people begged were at church and she told us just keep walking and say NOTHING TO THEM,, and even no..if you go with the ships tour there will be 40 people and one guide you will get lost in the group and everybody will see you a mile away coming,,,

Please get off the ship and enjoy this port it is great and not to be missed,,

[Colo Cruiser]

When last at this port of call we did stay aboard due to the unpleasantness we had experienced on previous sailings. We just made use of our balcony. But while doing so we noticed a person on the dock who was obviously taking photographs of passengers as they disembarked. We thought this strange. He remained on the dock for a long duration. We decided to photograph HIM in his pursuit. But after two frames he was either directed to or for some reason quickly looked up and made a beeline for the side of the ship where he could no longer be seen. We have never seen this in any port and we have been to some rather totalitariane countries. We attached the photo we took.

 

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/PICT0042.jpg

 

 

Probably a ships photog. :eek:

 

We love the stop.

Just another place to use common sense at. :)

[Cruzin-K]

I disagree with you I would feel safer with a private tour guide,,we were last Nov.. and it was the best port of the whole cruise,, we hired Dora and there were 5 of us,, and she was able to talk to us, we were able to hesr

everything and a small group no one noticed us and the only place people begged were at church and she told us just keep walking and say NOTHING TO THEM,, and even no..if you go with the ships tour there will be 40 people and one guide you will get lost in the group and everybody will see you a mile away coming,,,

Please get off the ship and enjoy this port it is great and not to be missed,,

 

I guess what I was trying to say is that I'm traveling alone and wouldn't want to take a tour with just me and a tour guide. You said "there were 5 of us" - were you all traveling together or was it you and four strangers? That's my problem - I would feel uncomfortable tagging along with a just a few people who all know each other. I might do a private tour if I felt comfortable with people on my roll call who arrange something, but I really don't want to be on a small group tour with people I know nothing about.

[ONT-CA]

Probably a ships photog. :eek:

 

We love the stop.

Just another place to use common sense at. :)

 

 

How naive. The ship photographers used the ladies in costume as a backdrop. This individual was taking photos with a very small camera concealing it as best he could. There was no posing and no follow-up.

[Podgieree]

I guess what I was trying to say is that I'm traveling alone and wouldn't want to take a tour with just me and a tour guide. You said "there were 5 of us" - were you all traveling together or was it you and four strangers? That's my problem - I would feel uncomfortable tagging along with a just a few people who all know each other. I might do a private tour if I felt comfortable with people on my roll call who arrange something, but I really don't want to be on a small group tour with people I know nothing about.

 

Hi Karen. I totally understand what you are saying. You may want to consider asking those people on the roll call for your cruise if any of them want to go together on a private tour. Those on our roll call are doing that and that way they have enough people. Those going on the tour together only know each other (so far) through these boards. They'll have the opportunity to meet at our Meet and Greets before we land in Cartegena.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Podgieree]

I guess what I was trying to say is that I'm traveling alone and wouldn't want to take a tour with just me and a tour guide. You said "there were 5 of us" - were you all traveling together or was it you and four strangers? That's my problem - I would feel uncomfortable tagging along with a just a few people who all know each other. I might do a private tour if I felt comfortable with people on my roll call who arrange something, but I really don't want to be on a small group tour with people I know nothing about.

 

Hi Karen. I totally understand what you are saying. You may want to consider asking those people on the roll call for your cruise if any of them want to go together on a private tour. Those on our roll call are doing that and that way they have enough people. Those going on the tour together only know each other (so far) through these boards. They'll have the opportunity to meet at our Meet and Greets before we land in Cartegena.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Granny DI]

I can't remember what we did. All I remember is the heat!!! I'd say go as early as possible!!!

[Go-Bucks!]

There were people hawking things, but they only approached us when we temporarily left our guide to go take some photos. We only had to smile and say, "No, gracias" and they continued on their way. Absolutely no hassles at all. I think having a private guide discouraged anyone from approaching us as they knew the guide would just "shoo" them away.

I also don't recall any guards except near the port area. Since we were with a private guide who I imagine was known to the port guards, we did not experience any hassles like the person who was traveling in a taxi. I felt completely safe at all of the sites we visited and found Cartegena to be no more dirty than any city of its size and I did not notice any foul odors at all.

 

 

I had the same experience in 2008. Used Lee Miles for our tour - I highly recommend him. He emails promptly and lets you customize your tour to include whatever you want or don't want. We had just one short shopping stop at his emerald store, which is what we asked to do. Very nice gems - I love mine. The Old Town is very pretty and I really liked the monastery. Our guide was great too! The only thing I would change if I went back was lunch. We ate at La Olla (something) and even though they were expecting us, the service was as slow as molasses and we were nearly late getting back to the ship - made it with about 5 min. to go!! Our minibus was very comfortable (the heat outside, though, was oppressive as it was December, their summer) and our guide and driver made us feel safe. The vendors were no worse than in the Caribbean. They're just trying to make a living - don't make eye contact and just be polite and say "no, gracias."

[grandmato4]

Absolutely loved our stop in Cartagena in 2009 and really look forward to visiting again in 2011. The views from the top of the fort are spectacular of the surrounding area as are the views from the Monastary. We enjoyed visiting the beautiful Monastary. Loved the old city and thought the Church of St Peter Claver was beautiful. Our tour in 2009 was organized by a member of our rollcall. Our experience was that the street vendors are on the pushy side, but it wasn't a problem to say no and to continue to walk as we have done in other ports of call. We did not feel or witness anything that made us feel at all concerned for safety.

 

When we return in 2011 we plan to spent the majority of our time wandering around the Old City returning to places we saw briefly in 2009 and looking forward to enjoying other sites in the Old City that we did not get to see and enjoy in our short time in the Old City in 2009. We do wish our port time in Cartagena wasn't so short, but we intend to enjoy every minute that we do have to see and enjoy one of our favorite ports of call.

 

Cartagena is a port of call that we would advise some type of organized tour (cruiseline or private) planned before arriving for those that have not visited the city yet. Hiring a guide outside the port area upon arrival is a huge gamble as to what type quality guide one will find. Now that we have visited and know exactly where we wish to return to we have no concerns with hiring a taxi to the Old City and returning via taxi from the Old City to the port.

[miagirl]

Hello Jennie!,

 

I have to put my two cents here, we really enjoyed our day in Cartagena. Had no hassles at all. It's a beautiful old town. Perhaps the common factor here was J.J. Taborda. He fabulous. My husband thought it was like visiting a cousin and being shown around his much loved city. We couldn't have asked for a more lovely day.

 

Nan

[CaliMar]

Some ports have changed rather significantly over time. Cartagena is one of them. What never ceases to amaze me is not only how different opinions can be but also how tightly they're held by some. You may have loved a certain port while others may not have. You may have had a certain extremely positive or negative experience that other may not have. That's fine - accept it with a smile and move on :)

 

On our Panama Canal voyage last year, Cartagena was one of the stops. Glad I got the chance to visit it for myself. Was it the best port stop I've ever experienced? Hardly... but it was also far far from the worst. No armed guards, no drug searches, nothing heinous and nothing fabulous. Not once did we feel unsafe or threatened. The scenery was beautiful and we have some gorgeous photographs of a country we'd never visited before. All was fine :) We did the Princess excursion "Best Of" or "Scenes Of" (can't recall the exact name).

 

Cheers!

[piper28]

Hmm, we did the best of tour through princess, or whatever it was called. It was ok, but I felt it was extremely rushed. But the people that are saying there was hardly any shopping must be shopaholics, because I completely disagree. The stop at the dungeons was a joke of a stop that lasted way too long at very tourist-trap style stores. Then of course there's the obligatory emerald shopping stop. (Pretty crowded and chaotic unless you wandered off to some of the other stores.)

 

It was an ok tour, but quite frankly, the only thing that never felt rushed was the shopping stops. The time period allotted just wasn't enough to make it work (probably would have been ok without the dungeons shopping stop, and believe me, that's not something you'd miss.)

[gfd201]

My wife and I were there last October. We booked the mangrove dugout canoe excursion through Princess because it looked a little different. There were about twenty of us on the tour. We were accompanied by an armed policeman on the bus and two policemen on a motorcycle. While the mangroves are the same most anywhere, the canoes were interesting. Most notable, though, was that the trip took us through what must have been the poorest section of Cartagena; dirt streets, dirt floor shacks with washing machines and satellite TV but without doors and windows, a local public beach where our bus traveled on the beach. Kids selling shells for a dollar followed the canoes through the mangroves. I would never attempt to enter these areas alone, but we never felt threatened and enjoyed seeing how the many of the locals lived. Also included was a walking tour of Old Town; very beautiful and clean. We were forewarned by our guide that the peddlers would be persistent, but to stay together and ignore them. As a result they were nothing more than a minor distraction. I think the hassling is worse in Cozumel or St. Thomas. All in all, we enjoyed Cartagena, but would not feel comfortable venturing into the city without an organized tour.

[Katie333]

We visited Cartagena last year. We originally booked our tour with Lee Miles, but a few months before we were to set sail, he emailed to cancel our booking saying that the cruise lines had his tour operators fully booked. JJ was also booked by that time, so we did it with the ship on the Best of Cartagena tour that others have recommended.

 

We are not a fan of ship's tours but this was actually quite good. We were in a small bus with about 10 others and we hit all the sites with our excellent guide Marelvy. Other than the usual folks trying to sell us stuff, there were no beggars (children or otherwise) that we saw. La Popa was beautiful, all the sites were interesting, but it was hot hot hot! Thank goodness for that air conditioned bus.

[Roses2]

We found Cartegena to be a very interesting and certainly safe port to visit.

 

Were there street peddlers? Yes. Were they overly bothersome? No.

 

After having lived in several "third world" cities for many years, we have found that having a smile and a polite no handles almost any street peddler-- while angry shouts or sneers just invites the same in return.

 

Enjoy the world and its differences rather than avoiding the interactions available.

 

P&J

[LARGIN]

We have been to Cartagena several times. The first time we took the ships tour, the second time we walked into town. After that experience we decided that Cartagena was a stay on the ship stop.

[Occy]

I'm glad to see that my feelings regarding Cartagena are shared. Beautiful city and full of history but seeing the armed guards all around you and the beggars with no limbs, some only young children and the hassle of the women wanting you to take pictures with them etc.etc. just over shone the architecture and interesting history of the city. We did a ship's tour which including the Inquisition Palace, the church etc. and stopped very briefly to shop at a outdoor market type strip. It was very interesting and the merchants very nice and didn't hassle you.

 

Our table mates had a more exciting experience. They took a "Pirate Boat" tour and when they came in to dock they heard gun fire and thought it was all part of the Pirate Boat "experience" but apparently not, the area where they docked swarmed with armed soldiers, quickly followed by an ambulance. When they got back to the ship they learnt it was a "drug deal gone wrong". Of course the way they were telling it, it was quite comical ... she said the operator of the boat yelled "hit the deck" and they thought he was just fooling but quickly realized this was "real time" and not part of an act and quickly obeyed directions.

 

As one member said, it's a place I personally wld give a miss the next time we docked there but everyone's opinion is different. It's a case of try it and decide for yourself.

[Colo Cruiser]

How naive.

 

 

Now I never called you any names. :rolleyes:

[cherrypop]

When we were there in November 2009 we never saw any armed guards and definately saw alot less people trying to sell their goods then we ever had in Mexico. Definately look up Lee Miles his tours are one of the best we have ever taken. We tend not to book with the ship as they are more expensive and you dont get to see as much as you would if you did it privately. You will love Cartagena, we sure did. I will never forget walking down a street with our guide and seeing a statue, well just as I was about to get close for a picture I then realized they were real people, some of the best I have ever seen. All I will say is, it wouldnt be a city where I would rent a car, crazy busy!

[konatyme]

cherrypop,

Did you go to "The Dungeons" (handicraft/souvenir area) and also the shopping center often mentioned on tours (can't remember the name)? If so, what did you think of each? We'd like some nice Colombia-made souvenirs, but don't really care about looking at emeralds (although we might be interested in coffee).

Thanks!:)

[nhcruiser]

No one has mentioned it in their posts yet but did anyone else notice the Statuesque Mimes in the Old City?

We noticed several groups of these Mimes that were “painted” bronze from head to toe. They would stand motionless until someone placed a TIP in their tip box and then they would go through elegant and complex motions to express their gratitude without a word!

They would then strike a poise again and wait patiently for another tip.

Great fun to watch the tourists that were not expecting the “statues” to start moving!!

We have seen similar in other cities but these were the most realistic that we have seen! Not to mention that these poor people are standing there all day in the hot sun trying to make a couple of bucks!

[cherrypop]

cherrypop,

Did you go to "The Dungeons" (handicraft/souvenir area) and also the shopping center often mentioned on tours (can't remember the name)? If so, what did you think of each? We'd like some nice Colombia-made souvenirs, but don't really care about looking at emeralds (although we might be interested in coffee).

Thanks!:)

 

No we didnt go to the Dungeons when I had asked Lee Miles about it he said there were better places he could take us if we wanted to shop. I am wondering if maybe it wasnt a safe area and he wanted us to stay away. We didnt care about the emeralds either so we just grabbed a few tshirts in the area and were on our way. We bought some coffee off of a vendor on the sidewalk as we left walking around the old town.

[cherrypop]

No one has mentioned it in their posts yet but did anyone else notice the Statuesque Mimes in the Old City?

 

We noticed several groups of these Mimes that were “painted” bronze from head to toe. They would stand motionless until someone placed a TIP in their tip box and then they would go through elegant and complex motions to express their gratitude without a word!

They would then strike a poise again and wait patiently for another tip.

 

Great fun to watch the tourists that were not expecting the “statues” to start moving!!

 

We have seen similar in other cities but these were the most realistic that we have seen! Not to mention that these poor people are standing there all day in the hot sun trying to make a couple of bucks!

 

Yes we did see them too although we didnt see them move I actually thought they were real statues until I got real close then one twitched I got startled and we left laughing, they were really the best we had ever seen. We did only see the two of them though.

[konatyme]

Thanks for the info, cherrypop.:) Does anyone else have anything to offer as far as Colombia-made handicrafts and shopping (not for emeralds) in Cartagena?

[piper28]

Coffee was certainly pretty easy to get, don't think it was too badly priced, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to what it ran. Not sure I remember seeing much else that would be considered Columbian that wasn't real touristy junk. Hmm, I vaguely remember something like lace being sold by some wandering people in the dungeons area, but I honestly have no idea where it originated. There were a handfull of vendors on the slope up to the fortress (and for all that people keep saying that the vendors are pushy here, it doesn't really stand out as all that bad in my memory, especially compared to places like Guatamala or Jamaica).