Pearl Panama Canal Cruises - Ocho Rios or Cartagena?

[Red-Sol]

Looking at some possible Panama Canal Cruises on Pearl. One Itinerary has Ocho Rios as a Port Stop The other Itinerary has Cartagena as a Port Stop. All other stops are identical...If you had to pick between the 2 (Ocho Rios or Cartagena) which would you choose?

Edited April 17, 2022 by Red-Sol

[deliver42]

Definitly Cartagena. Ocho Rios is a dump, except for Dunn's River Falls.

[annmarz]

Cartagena is an interesting port.  The fort there is one of the best anywhere. Definitely Cartagena!

[YVRteacher]

My number one worst port ever is Ocho Rios.

On the other hand, I’ve loved Cartagena every time I’ve been there.  Just avoid a shore excursion that goes to the jewelry store.

[debenson0723]

3 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

My number one worst port ever is Ocho Rios.

On the other hand, I’ve loved Cartagena every time I’ve been there.  Just avoid a shore excursion that goes to the jewelry store.

This.  We stopped in Ocho Rios in February and I had a wonderful day in the mostly empty Thermal Spa and ship.  Enjoyed a relatively cloudy port stop in Cartagena in 2018 and it was a great day (no excursions, just our own walkabout for a $5 taxi ride each way to the old town).

[ClevelandCruisin]

I've been to both. 

 

Ocho rios: not a fan of Jamaica. This is towards the bottom of my list when it comes to ports after everywhere we've been. Just my preference. 

 

Cartagena: we loved this stop. Here we did a walking tour through the city and to a museum of torture. Just beware the vendors are very aggressive.

 

But if you've never been to either, it's a toss up. You may have different experiences than everyone else and enjoy Jamaica.

[tallnthensome]

Not even in the same universe  ..... Cartagena.  You can go to Ocho on just about any western Caribbean cruise. Cartagena on the Panama Canal and much more difficult to get on a cruise itinerary.  I've done both and Ocho is a dump. Dora tours is an exceptional private guide in Cartegena  and its a wonderful place to visit. 

[Turtles06]

We've been to Cartagena twice (on Panama Canal cruises) and thoroughly enjoyed both visits.  It's an interesting and beautiful city with a great deal of history.  

 

On our first visit, we and several others from our Roll Call took an excellent private shore excursion with the aforementioned Dora de Zubriria.  It was a great introduction to the old city.   On our second visit, we took a taxi to the magnificent fortress of San Felipe de Barajas, and explored it on our own. 

 

Always leave time when returning to the ship to visit the small but excellent (and free!) zoo and aviary at the cruise terminal.

 

As a same-sex couple, we have no interest in visiting Jamaica, so I can't compare Ocho Rios, but it sounds like we haven't missed anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

 

 

 

[Red-Sol]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and replies! It sounds like Cartagena wins in a landslide. 🙂 Special Thanks to @Turtles06 for the great pics.

[The Shrike]

Definitely Cartagena

[barb65]

Definitely Cartagena! We did the Panama Canal partial transit on the Pearl and loved it! Tip: Buy a thermal spa pass. I did and during our Panama Canal transit, I went to the thermal spa and sat on one of their loungers during the entire transit. I had a bird's eye up close view of everything. I was the only one in the spa during the transit. Apparently, no one else thought to do this. BTW a thermal spa pass gives you access to their spa all week.

 

[Von & John]

Cartagena - most definitely!

We did the full transit over the Christmas & NY Holidays (a few years back)...

It was HOT but very enjoyable!

[complawyer]

guess you got your answer before i had a chance to chime in. hands down, cartegena.it's an amazingly beautiful city, and there aint a whole lot going on in ocho rios