V. I. Cruiser Posted March 17, 2016 #1 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Hi has anyone used the hop on/off bus here?? Have couple of questions how was it and also does the bus come right into the cruise terminal, or do you have to find closest stop. Would appreciate any info. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted March 27, 2016 #2 Share Posted March 27, 2016 I am sure you will have to pick it up in town. The taxis and local guides do not wan the competition. I've never seen it at the port. Only taxis and private tour guides at the port. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBigMac Posted March 29, 2016 #3 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Last week it was parked up and picking up at the ship!! Not certain if it does it all the time. Celebrity were selling tickets at the disembarking area. We found it cheaper for us to hire a taxi to the clock tower $10 each way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugaltravel Posted August 4, 2016 #4 Share Posted August 4, 2016 (edited) Last week it was parked up and picking up at the ship!! Not certain if it does it all the time. Celebrity were selling tickets at the disembarking area. We found it cheaper for us to hire a taxi to the clock tower $10 each way. It seems like the normal HOHO bus ticket costs $20 but if you pick up the tour at the cruise dock it costs $39. When you took the taxi to the clock tower to embark on the HOHO, did the same bus also stop at the cruise ship dock? If so, do they care if you get off at the cruise ship dock even if you paid the lower price? Also, is there a stop on the HOHO bus that has decent access to the fort area? Thanks! Edited August 4, 2016 by frugaltravel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmarya Posted September 3, 2016 #5 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Most cruise ships do not stop in Cartagena long enough to be worth doing a HOHO bus. You are better off hiring a taxi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulurobby Posted September 22, 2016 #6 Share Posted September 22, 2016 We are on the Equinox in November which is doing an overnight stop here., so it will give plenty of time to do the hoho bus tour. We are currently looking at this as one of our options for day one, doing the whole circuit and then on day 2 going back to what we feel we would like to see more of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillulu Posted October 18, 2016 #7 Share Posted October 18, 2016 It seems like the normal HOHO bus ticket costs $20 but if you pick up the tour at the cruise dock it costs $39. When you took the taxi to the clock tower to embark on the HOHO, did the same bus also stop at the cruise ship dock? If so, do they care if you get off at the cruise ship dock even if you paid the lower price? Also, is there a stop on the HOHO bus that has decent access to the fort area? Thanks! I'm just curious if you ever got an answer, or answered your own question by finding out another way? I have emailed. Waiting for an answer back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdergal Posted October 18, 2016 #8 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I'm just curious if you ever got an answer, or answered your own question by finding out another way? I have emailed. Waiting for an answer back. Interested in the same thing. Will be on Celebrity Equinox in Nov. Wondering if you purchase the Hop On Hop Off thru the ship on the pier whether you have to return at a certain time to get the bus back to the pier. The ship excursion is $45 if you purchase it in advance and says the duration is 4 hours which is why I'm questioning this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillulu Posted October 18, 2016 #9 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Interested in the same thing. Will be on Celebrity Equinox in Nov. Wondering if you purchase the Hop On Hop Off thru the ship on the pier whether you have to return at a certain time to get the bus back to the pier. The ship excursion is $45 if you purchase it in advance and says the duration is 4 hours which is why I'm questioning this. Still no answer, I sent another email again today to the company. Our ship does not offer this in our tours that I saw. They just have their typical ship excursions. Hope to hear something as I leave Saturday to head to Miami. If I hear anything I will post and let you know. Enjoy your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdergal Posted October 19, 2016 #10 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Still no answer, I sent another email again today to the company. Our ship does not offer this in our tours that I saw. They just have their typical ship excursions. Hope to hear something as I leave Saturday to head to Miami. If I hear anything I will post and let you know. Enjoy your cruise. Thank you! Enjoy your cruise also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillulu Posted October 19, 2016 #11 Share Posted October 19, 2016 (edited) Thank you! Enjoy your cruise also! Here is the email I received back today. I did shoot another one off as I had more questions. Good Morning, Thank you for your recent email. Stop 2 Pastelillo is the closest stop to the Port, which you can access via public transport. At this stop you will be able to do the full tour and hop-off as many times as you like during the operating hours. When you come into port on a cruise ship it can be at a high cost due to a shuttle service may be provided with pre-purchased City Sightseeing Tickets from the port to one of the stops on the tour. I hope this information, please advise if you need any further assistance. Kind regards, Charlotte Mander Sales and Marketing administrator Thank you birdergal, we are planning on it! 4 more days and we are on the ship!!! Edited October 19, 2016 by lillulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdergal Posted October 19, 2016 #12 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Here is the email I received back today. I did shoot another one off as I had more questions. Good Morning, Thank you for your recent email. Stop 2 Pastelillo is the closest stop to the Port, which you can access via public transport. At this stop you will be able to do the full tour and hop-off as many times as you like during the operating hours. When you come into port on a cruise ship it can be at a high cost due to a shuttle service may be provided with pre-purchased City Sightseeing Tickets from the port to one of the stops on the tour. I hope this information, please advise if you need any further assistance. Kind regards, Charlotte Mander Sales and Marketing administrator Thank you birdergal, we are planning on it! 4 more days and we are on the ship!!! Thanks lillulu for the info. I have seen many posts recommending taking a taxi into town. That may be what we end up doing. Hope you have a great cruise. We leave on Nov 7 so if you're back in time, add a post to this thread letting me know what you ended up doing. We've been to Cartagena twice so have taken tours to see the popular sites. Looking for something a little different and a bit more independent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillulu Posted October 20, 2016 #13 Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Thanks lillulu for the info. I have seen many posts recommending taking a taxi into town. That may be what we end up doing. Hope you have a great cruise. We leave on Nov 7 so if you're back in time, add a post to this thread letting me know what you ended up doing. We've been to Cartagena twice so have taken tours to see the popular sites. Looking for something a little different and a bit more independent. This was my second email with them. Good Evening, I guess I am not explaining myself very well. Our ship is not offering the bus to us. So, I went to your page to book. It gave me two different prices. $20.00 is on the page. At the bottom of the page it says, Cruise port information. So I clicked on that. The information for Cruise ship port is $39.00. When I went to purchase the tickets it did not offer the price of the $39.00 to catch it from the cruise port. So, 1. Does this mean we can not catch it at the cruise ship dock? 2. We need to hail a cab to Stop 2 to be able to get on the bus? 3. If we get on at Stop 2 is there a bus that will take us back to the port or do we need to get another cab? 4. If we get on at the port dock, does this same bus do the 90 minutes, then we have to get off for city tour and back to the port? 5. Do you happen to know what it cost for a cab to stop 2? There are 3 of us. 6.Can I purchase the Hop on Hop off at the pier? and if so, Do I have to return at a certain time to get the bus back to the pier? 7. If I take the taxi to stop 2 to embark on the bus, does the same bus also stop at the cruise ship dock? If so, do they care if I get off at the cruise ship dock even though I paid the lower price? We are trying to get on the bus at the port dock. But, if this is not possible then I will hail a cab to stop 2. Thank you for your time and patience with me. This was their answer back, Good Morning, Thank you for your email. Yes you would need to make your own way to stop 2 from the cruise port, via local transport to take the tour. After you have taken the tour again you would need to make your own way back to the port. Unfortunately it will be a local charge on the taxi, we do not have a costing for this. Kind regards, I had even had inquired with NCL. My post today in our roll call (still laughing by the way) since I had already purchased our tickets. Oh how funny! I had contacted the bus line about doing this. (I just got an answer back from them on Oct 18th, and another today because I had more questions). I was trying to figure out if we could get on at the port or where we had to go. I was asked by the bus company if this was offered as an excursion through our ship. I told her no. I called NCL and inquired if they would sell tickets for this at the port. I was told it was not offered. Today it showed up as one of our NCL shore excursions for $45.00. I'm sorry just shaking head and laughing. God it's a glorious day today. I still didn't get all of my answers. But, at least I know where I have to go and board the bus. And we will just be hailing a cab back to port as well. As I called NCL and was informed that I could not get on at the port nor could I ride it back to port because I had not purchased through them. (Spoke with a man name Mike). I might add he was quite rude. No need for that. I inquired before ever buying our tickets. *shrugs* I also wanted to add. Their tour is 4 hours. So you have a limited time in that 4 hours to see what you want before heading back to the port. And they do not do the whole loop (per Mike at NCL). And you can NOT get on the bus if your ticket is NOT purchased through us. (Ok, I get it Mike, have a good day). :D I will try to remember to post. We don't get back til Nov 4th and then we are heading to another place then towards home. I will try to remember though. Edited October 20, 2016 by lillulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdergal Posted October 20, 2016 #14 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Thank you lillilu for all of this info. NCL now seems to be offering the exursion that we can get thru Celebrity which is also $45. We really don't want to be limited to a certain amt of time so we'll still probably go with a taxi. Hopefully it's not too difficult to get one to come back to the pier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mispi Posted October 21, 2016 #15 Share Posted October 21, 2016 (edited) All with Ho Ho bus in Cartagena is strange. Normal ticket for day is 18,50 €, ticket with port stop is 39 €! It is a rip off. We are two and for the price for two persons it is possible to rent a taxi for whole day. To be owner of this business I will arrange the additional stop in itinerary of Ho Ho bus in port for cruise stops days - with normal price of course. The taxi to the stop 2. is maximum 5 USD /and it is rip off too, because the normal price is much lower.../. So for me definitely no Hop on Hop off bus in this town ! Better to take taxi to Old walled town, then to monastery and back to ship - without bargaining it should be no more then 30 USD for both of us. Edited October 21, 2016 by mispi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midwestchick Posted October 23, 2016 #16 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I'd like to find out where Azamara docks. We're going in Dec. and have not decided what to do in this port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamssanity Posted October 30, 2016 #17 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Read your post on Cartagena. Is it safe to just do the town " on your own" or would you advise taking a tour for a first visit ( which is what I usually do when in a city for the first time). If you recommend a tour which? Thanks and enjoy your cruise. We're on HAL in January. Pam and Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamssanity Posted December 11, 2016 #18 Share Posted December 11, 2016 We did hop on hop off in Boston. Because we did not book through the ship ( it was a lot more money), we had to walk almost 1/2 a mile to get the bus ( there were no cabs). But, they did take us back to the ship at the end. They also offered 100% money back. When I contacted them they did hive us our money back and two vouchers for a future visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peachypooh Posted December 12, 2016 #19 Share Posted December 12, 2016 We were right behind the Hop on Hop off bus in Cartagena. The one I saw had no windows. It wasn't too awful hot on the day we were there but if it was hot this would factor into my decision. The bus we were on was air conditioned but our view was limited due to the closed in windows. The Hop on Hop off bus looked like you could see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugaltravel Posted January 14, 2017 #20 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Thanks for all the updates. We did hop on hop off in Boston. Because we did not book through the ship ( it was a lot more money), we had to walk almost 1/2 a mile to get the bus ( there were no cabs). But, they did take us back to the ship at the end. They also offered 100% money back. When I contacted them they did hive us our money back and two vouchers for a future visit. I did the HOHO in Boston on my own in October. We had to walk 3-4 blocks. Maybe that is 1/2 mile since 1/2 mile walking is only about 10 minutes. I didn't think anything of it, and many other cruise passengers had booked independently like we did. We were also taken back to the ship at the end. The HOHO on our day was so crowded that they stopped selling tickets by 10.30am. We were afraid to "hop off" since we didn't know when another bus might come by that had seats available. Maybe I should have requested a refund too :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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