CRUISER2B Posted September 29, 2012 #1 Share Posted September 29, 2012 OK, I have narrowed my choices for personal tour guides to the above. Now I need input from Cruise Critic members who have used them as to their opinions both pros and cons. ANYTHING that you can tell me to help me choose would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cibaygirls Posted October 3, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I can only speak to Claudia as she is the tour guide I used to organize a tour for about 20 of us from our M&G on my partial transit cruise in January. I have no negative to say. The tour was very well organized and ran very smoothly. We stuck with the basic tour that was outlined on her website; did not tailor it at all. She was very pleasant, professional, and knowledgeable and she gave all of us a little DVD that highlights the areas we stopped at... a nice little souvenir. She even helped me to negotiate a better deal on a pair of emerald earrings I purchased at the emerald shop we went to for the tour (now I know this is more of a sales push than a true history/geological lesson and that there is some relationship forged with her and the store owner but I still thought it was kind of her). Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted October 3, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I can only speak to Claudia as she is the tour guide I used to organize a tour for about 20 of us from our M&G on my partial transit cruise in January. I have no negative to say. The tour was very well organized and ran very smoothly. We stuck with the basic tour that was outlined on her website; did not tailor it at all. She was very pleasant, professional, and knowledgeable and she gave all of us a little DVD that highlights the areas we stopped at... a nice little souvenir. She even helped me to negotiate a better deal on a pair of emerald earrings I purchased at the emerald shop we went to for the tour (now I know this is more of a sales push than a true history/geological lesson and that there is some relationship forged with her and the store owner but I still thought it was kind of her). Dana Thank you, Dana. I have been leaning towards Claudia. She is a little bit more than Dora, but I like the extra perk of the DVD. Like you said - a nice souvenir. I need to book this week to guarantee a personalized tour. I also was thinking of just taking it as offered. I may tweak it slightly, if I find something interesting during my research but not too much of a change. I do want shopping time though. Any recommendations of a souvenir that is truly Colombian in make and nature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suitcasefull Posted October 8, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I've enjoyed a wide woven bracelet from some grass indigenous to Colombia; also got some woven headbands for young girls as gifts. Bought them in a shop in the Dungeons. Also, in case you change your mind or couldn't get Claudia, we booked through Dora and were pleased. We needed a private car due to DH problems with heat and not wanting to inconvenience anyone else. Dora set us up with guide Dency and a wonderful driver. No matter where he let us out, he was able to communicate with Dency and pick us up in a matter of minutes any time she called him. Dency was wonderfully fun and obviously well-known by everyone. It was a wonderful day. Not cheap but what we needed and we were able to tailor the day to our interests. Hope you have a marvelous time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted October 8, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I've enjoyed a wide woven bracelet from some grass indigenous to Colombia; also got some woven headbands for young girls as gifts. Bought them in a shop in the Dungeons. Also, in case you change your mind or couldn't get Claudia, we booked through Dora and were pleased. We needed a private car due to DH problems with heat and not wanting to inconvenience anyone else. Dora set us up with guide Dency and a wonderful driver. No matter where he let us out, he was able to communicate with Dency and pick us up in a matter of minutes any time she called him. Dency was wonderfully fun and obviously well-known by everyone. It was a wonderful day. Not cheap but what we needed and we were able to tailor the day to our interests. Hope you have a marvelous time. Thank you for the info. No neither one is cheap but only slightly more than ship's tour. I prefer a smaller group. We are going to be a party of 8. I am glad that Dora was a good choice. If I cannot get Claudia (who I am contacting today) then I will try Dora next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted October 8, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted October 8, 2012 OK, I have narrowed my choices for personal tour guides to the above. Now I need input from Cruise Critic members who have used them as to their opinions both pros and cons. ANYTHING that you can tell me to help me choose would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you all. Ok, so I booked today with Claudia. Party of 8. Gave discount of $65 per adult and $25 for my 16yr old son. Very grateful since I am purchasing my on-laws and my mother's tour as their birthday/holiday gifts. :) Very Happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojangirl90066 Posted October 11, 2012 #7 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Lee Miles is also excellent. Great reviews on CC & trip advisor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted October 13, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Lee Miles is also excellent. Great reviews on CC & trip advisor. Thanks, but I already booked with Claudia. Will keep him on short list for future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leftyinfwa Posted October 13, 2012 #9 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I agree that we had a VG tour with Lee Mile's tour guide but I thought we spent too much at his Mr. Emerald store at the end of the tour:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare firstcruise91 Posted November 20, 2012 #10 Share Posted November 20, 2012 It may be too late for your use but maybe others finding this thread can still read on and find help. Nov. 8, 2012, we had Dora show us old Cartagena. She charged the two of us $140.00 USD each and gave us a "well worth it" tour. If there are more people in your group the price per person goes down quite a bit. We would have had to take THREE different cruise line shore excursions to see what we did with Dora. So we feel our tour with Dora was vey cost effective. The price was steep but we saw everything (inside and out) that we wanted to see. At our request, NO SHOPPING! In four hours we were finished and had not had to deal with bus loads of crowds nor getting on & off a tour bus. We were in a full size car with air conditioning. Driver was very good. We are both in our late 60s and love to walk all over when we tour. This Dora provided a moderate walking experience along with her commentary. PLENTY of time to take lots of pictures. We had looked into using Claudia. She had a better website which almost made us opt to use her as our guide. I can't tell you now what was the reason we ended up going with Dora but we are so glad we did. No language problem either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbados Posted December 23, 2012 #11 Share Posted December 23, 2012 We just got back a few days ago from our cruise and a tour with Dora. I have to say that I completely agree with the above poster as far as our satisfaction with Dora’s product is concerned. She pays extra to be on the dock close to the ship (Your entry fees are paid at the attractions, too). Your name(s) are prominently displayed on a sign she carries plus posted on the front window of the bus. There is no confusion as we have found in other tours. The bus is spotless and the driver extremely competent. She took us on a great, comprehensive four (4) hour tour, but, where Dora pleased us the most was her flexibility. Initially, I had requested that we find a sloth for my wife to hold as that had been her dream since a child and she responded that she knew of one and would fit it into the tour. As luck would have it, the two places that offered a sloth were closed. My wife was crushed as this was to be the highlight of our cruise. Dora got on the telephone and located another sloth and we travelled there.. Now, how many tours will go out of their way to accommodate a guest like this? I can’t speak for the other tour operators as I haven’t experienced their wares, but I can tell you that we would take Dora’s tour again in a hot second. It was simply the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted December 24, 2012 Author #12 Share Posted December 24, 2012 We just got back a few days ago from our cruise and a tour with Dora. I have to say that I completely agree with the above poster as far as our satisfaction with Dora’s product is concerned. She pays extra to be on the dock close to the ship (Your entry fees are paid at the attractions, too). Your name(s) are prominently displayed on a sign she carries plus posted on the front window of the bus. There is no confusion as we have found in other tours. The bus is spotless and the driver extremely competent. She took us on a great, comprehensive four (4) hour tour, but, where Dora pleased us the most was her flexibility. Initially, I had requested that we find a sloth for my wife to hold as that had been her dream since a child and she responded that she knew of one and would fit it into the tour. As luck would have it, the two places that offered a sloth were closed. My wife was crushed as this was to be the highlight of our cruise. Dora got on the telephone and located another sloth and we travelled there.. Now, how many tours will go out of their way to accommodate a guest like this? I can’t speak for the other tour operators as I haven’t experienced their wares, but I can tell you that we would take Dora’s tour again in a hot second. It was simply the best. I had my recent tour with Claudia, she was also great. Costs also included and she also met us at gangway. I am glad Dora was also good. She was on my short list. Glad you had a great time. We did. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennis guy Posted December 30, 2012 #13 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I had my recent tour with Claudia, she was also great. Costs also included and she also met us at gangway. I am glad Dora was also good. She was on my short list. Glad you had a great time. We did. :) I recently had a tour with Dora earlier in the month. She was great with new van and excellent driver. She met us at the ship rather than at the end of the pier. We also moved quickly to visit sites before the tour buses arrived and that gave us a sense of being isolated and alone. She was professional and a great communicator. I would recommend her highly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcscrapper Posted January 1, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 1, 2013 We toured Cartagena with Claudia on December 16, 2012. Our tour, organized through a Cruise Critic Roll Call thread, was **supposed** to be customized to include going into the Fort. In all other respects, it was the "city tour" as advertised by Claudia. Claudia met us promptly with a modern appearing mini tour bus. We promptly boarded the already cool van and off we went. Claudia is well spoken, well organized and professional giving us a lot of information as we traveled. In all respects, the tour was exactly as advertised. Which is the problem since we had requested a customization -- entry INTO the Fort. The entry INTO the Fort had been verified by the roll call tour organizer by email shortly before sailing. Entry INTO the Fort was the specific condition upon which my sister and I joined the tour. It did not happen; no explanation was provided by the tour operator. We didn't care for the dungeon shopping area. Our disappointment is probably due to the fact that we believed the area would be local crafts and artisans -- it was a lot of "tourist" type shops .... plastic do-dads, linen, jewelry trinkets. We were surprised to see "pre-Colombia relics" ... which to my archaeologist sister, appeared pretty authentic. Claudia explained that the items were "probably not" relics and the provenance to be provided by the shop would indicate the item was a replica (put all of that in air quotes.) The emerald museum is just a minimally disguised jewelry store. Yes - there is a display but very little attention or time is given to viewing it. The store employee whisked us through the museum with minimal time to see the displays, and delivered us to the shopping floor. Cartagena is a beautiful old city ... with aggressive street vendors. It became near impossible to be polite as they just. did. not. quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted January 2, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted January 2, 2013 We toured Cartagena with Claudia on December 16, 2012. Our tour, organized through a Cruise Critic Roll Call thread, was **supposed** to be customized to include going into the Fort. In all other respects, it was the "city tour" as advertised by Claudia. Claudia met us promptly with a modern appearing mini tour bus. We promptly boarded the already cool van and off we went. Claudia is well spoken, well organized and professional giving us a lot of information as we traveled. In all respects, the tour was exactly as advertised. Which is the problem since we had requested a customization -- entry INTO the Fort. The entry INTO the Fort had been verified by the roll call tour organizer by email shortly before sailing. Entry INTO the Fort was the specific condition upon which my sister and I joined the tour. It did not happen; no explanation was provided by the tour operator. We didn't care for the dungeon shopping area. Our disappointment is probably due to the fact that we believed the area would be local crafts and artisans -- it was a lot of "tourist" type shops .... plastic do-dads, linen, jewelry trinkets. We were surprised to see "pre-Colombia relics" ... which to my archaeologist sister, appeared pretty authentic. Claudia explained that the items were "probably not" relics and the provenance to be provided by the shop would indicate the item was a replica (put all of that in air quotes.) The emerald museum is just a minimally disguised jewelry store. Yes - there is a display but very little attention or time is given to viewing it. The store employee whisked us through the museum with minimal time to see the displays, and delivered us to the shopping floor. Cartagena is a beautiful old city ... with aggressive street vendors. It became near impossible to be polite as they just. did. not. quit. Your viewpoint is ALWAYS welcome to me. I like to hear all opinions to make an educated choice. Since we did not "customize" our tour and was only looking for an overview of the city, I cannot comment one way or another as to the problem you ran into. I also found that the Emerald Museum was a "jewelry store", however since it was the end of the tour it was not a problem. By then we were tired and after the short history of the emerald mining in Columbia, I looked quickly at the shop then headed to the AC'd van to wait. The "dungeon shopping" was mostly "touristy" but since it was my only chance to shop I took it. I had a friend that wanted a shot glass--no better place to get it. :) I found that the street vendors were pushy but a quick "NO" and walkaway usually worked. Claudia pushed away anyone that became overly aggressive. Since most of my party was elderly, I was grateful. I am sorry that your tour did not include a stop you wanted but hope you enjoyed what you did see and do. Have a Happy New Year and to another year of cruising.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suitcasefull Posted January 5, 2013 #16 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I recently had a tour with Dora earlier in the month. She was great with new van and excellent driver. She met us at the ship rather than at the end of the pier. We also moved quickly to visit sites before the tour buses arrived and that gave us a sense of being isolated and alone. She was professional and a great communicator. I would recommend her highly. Just seconding Dora. We used her company last April....They are a group of three women guides, I believe. Dora took a group of about 12 people, probably because of more income. We had requested a private tour for two so she arranged our own van, guide (Dency) and driver. Dora personally met us and walked us over to them before returning to her group. Our driver was marvelous in that traffic and Dency was excellent (and seemed to know everyone!) They took us everywhere we asked and deleted the emerald store since we had no interest. Delivered us back to the ship exactly when they had promised. Definitely recommend; just tell Dora what you do or do not want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare irvington Posted March 25, 2013 #17 Share Posted March 25, 2013 We had a great experience with Dora this morning. I would recommend her highly. We had 9 of us in total and she charged 60 per person, 25 for the 2 younger children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbados Posted March 25, 2013 #18 Share Posted March 25, 2013 We’re returning to Cartagena in the fall for two weeks because we simply love it so much. While we’re there, we plan on having Dora give us a few private tours to see things and places we haven’t seen before. I am unable to comment on Claudia as I’ve never engaged her tours, but I must tell you a little about Dora. While we were waiting in her van to begin the tour, there was a couple who hadn’t yet checked in. Dora was able to find one of the parties and was told that the second member was perhaps going to be late (later). Dora waited at least 20 minutes and then returned to the van and asked all of us what she should do as she didn’t want to disappoint her guest (or us). We all felt that 20-30 minutes wait was sufficient and that we should go. You could just tell that she was really troubled that she may leave a guest in the lurch. She was so doting with her flock…She made sure she knew where everyone was at all times and we were all happy. We never felt stressed or worried at any time. She tried three different times to find a sloth for my wife to hold and she finally succeeded on her last attempt . I guess what I’m trying to convey is that Dora really seems to care. If you want or need something, she is going to do her best to accommodate you. We’ve travelled extensively on this planet and we have to say that Dora provided one of the best, if not the best, personal tours we have ever had. …and a hug at the end, too. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayview97 Posted April 7, 2013 #19 Share Posted April 7, 2013 (edited) We enjoyed our tour with Dora last week. It was our first time to Cartagena and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The old town was beautiful! A little side note about what kind of person Dora is. The last stop on our tour was a small, but nice shopping area. We had expressed an interest in purchasing some emeralds and asked for some recommendations. Dora recommended two stores: Emerald Fire and Mr. Emerald which were close to each other. (The ship had recommended Adriana's and Mr. Emerald). We ended up making a purchase at Mr. Emerald. Dora then told us that Mr. Emerald is actually a competitor or hers in the tour organizing business. I think it speaks well of her character that she would direct her customers to a competitor for their purchase of goods. Edited April 7, 2013 by bayview97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniepoo Posted April 27, 2013 #20 Share Posted April 27, 2013 How do you contact Dora? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbados Posted April 28, 2013 #21 Share Posted April 28, 2013 http://cartagenatour.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fourseventeen Posted May 11, 2013 #22 Share Posted May 11, 2013 we used Claudia...she was fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcys mom Posted May 14, 2013 #23 Share Posted May 14, 2013 A group of 8 of us had a tour with Dora in mid April, and I think everyone thought she did a fantastic job. Prior to our cruise she responded to emails in a timely manner, she allowed us to customize our tour, she was waiting for us at the end of the gangway with a sign for our group and she returned us to the ship in plenty of time for sailaway. I would not hesitate to use her again if we return to Cartagena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvmyrotti Posted May 19, 2013 #24 Share Posted May 19, 2013 (edited) It may be too late for your use but maybe others finding this thread can still read on and find help. Nov. 8, 2012, we had Dora show us old Cartagena. She charged the two of us $140.00 USD each and gave us a "well worth it" tour. If there are more people in your group the price per person goes down quite a bit. We would have had to take THREE different cruise line shore excursions to see what we did with Dora. So we feel our tour with Dora was vey cost effective. The price was steep but we saw everything (inside and out) that we wanted to see. At our request, NO SHOPPING! In four hours we were finished and had not had to deal with bus loads of crowds nor getting on & off a tour bus. We were in a full size car with air conditioning. Driver was very good. We are both in our late 60s and love to walk all over when we tour. This Dora provided a moderate walking experience along with her commentary. PLENTY of time to take lots of pictures. We had looked into using Claudia. She had a better website which almost made us opt to use her as our guide. I can't tell you now what was the reason we ended up going with Dora but we are so glad we did. No language problem either. Can you tell me what sites you visited and how long the tour lasted? We would like to do a two person tour as well, hitting all the primary you sites such as the fort, the convent and the old city. Any info from those who have taken a two-person tour with Dora would be most appreciated. Edited May 19, 2013 by Luvmyrotti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted May 28, 2013 #25 Share Posted May 28, 2013 http://cartagenatour.com/ thanks Barbados, this is a big help and a start. We will be cruising in early Dec and this is the only port we have never visited. I am hoping through our roll call we can get a nice group together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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