REVIEW W/PHOTOS - Rotterdam Panama Canal 2/25-3/8/24

Trish Traveler · March 27

SEA DAY Friday 3/1

We gained an hour this morning! Went to the Dutch Café for coffee and had to try one of their tasty ready-made yogurt parfaits. Another beautiful day, and the seas were a bit higher, but not too rocky with the stabilizers in use. This morning highlight for us was the World Stage presentation of The Panama Canal Up Close with Karlijn once again narrating. More interesting information in anticipation of our canal transit in a couple of days. It was packed, but we went early to get a seat. They also presented it at 2pm, and I believe it was also shown at the Lido Pool.

Here is the bow web cam on our cabin TV. And you will see the area below I am using for extra footwear storage:

For lunch we went to the NY Deli for pizza, which was about a 30 minute wait to cook, but they give you a pager. I had the delicious New York Style Wall Street and DH loved his basic Pepperoni, with Panna Cotta for dessert. Worth the wait. Had some mojitos in the afternoon that were a bit disappointing – no muddling, just a mint leave thrown in.

Another lovely MDR dinner enjoying Crab Cake, Coconut Shrimp (good, but not much coconut flavor), Sushi Trio, Barramundi, and Roasted Chicken. The evening’s entertainment in World Stage was comedian Johnny Cardinale who was very funny. We like the PG (curse word free) comedy that HAL provides.

Trish Traveler · March 27

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

We were very excited to visit this new port for us. We were a bit concerned that the US State Department had issued a Travel Advisory at Level 3 – Reconsider Travel on January 2, 2024; due to Crime and Terrorism. Reading through the advisory, we saw that most of the elevated activity was in other parts of the country, not Cartagena. However, we are not naïve and know that bad things can happen anywhere. In the end we decided to stick with our plan to use an independent tour operator who is highly rated here on CC and on Tripadvisor for our tour of Cartagena – Dora the Explorer, who we had reserved online a couple of months in advance. We always make sure we don’t have any unneeded valuables with us while in port, and leave any jewelry in the ship safe (other than a cheap watch to keep track of time). We were aware of how hot it can be here, so we made sure we dressed appropriately and brought plenty of water with us (Dora also provided bottled water).

Our room service breakfast arrived at 5:45AM and we could see on the TV bow cam that the city of Cartagena was in sight. It is big, with lots of white high rise buildings. Once ready, we headed out on deck for photos and to enjoy our arrival. A beautiful sunrise greeted us. As we entered the harbor, we passed a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary, who is said to protect the harbor. Where we docked was across from a very busy industrial dock which was interesting to watch while we waited for clearance.

Poor little lighthouse is dwarfed by the high-rises:

We were cleared right at 7am and headed to meet our Dora representative at the end of the pier. The port time is short here, so all the tours including the many HAL offerings need to get started early. Walking a little further we reached the Duty Free Shop where we waited for the rest of the tour group to arrive. We were greeted by the most beautiful Peacock. If you don’t already know, at this port there is a fantastic FREE animal sanctuary called Port Oasis Ecopark (more about this later after our tour). You exit the port through this amazing aviary. We got a preview, but needed to move along quickly to begin our tour. We knew we would have time later to enjoy the park.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

We quickly met Dora who would be handling our tour today along with her assistant (sorry I forgot her name) and the driver Diego. Today the group size was 8 on a mini-bus van with great A/C. Our first destination was up the La Popa Hill to reach the La Popa Monastery. (Only small buses can travel this road, so you won’t find this stop on tours on the full size buses.) We were the first group up, so we headed into a beautiful courtyard where Dora explained in depth the details. There was a church service going on in the chapel with some beautiful music heard. We stepped out to the overlook where you can see the city of Cartagena along with the harbor and the Rotterdam in the distance. Although sunny this day, it was a bit hazy. When the service ended, we were able to visit the beautiful, tranquil chapel. We also toured the museum areas located here for some more history and artwork to behold. This stop had restrooms and a couple of vendor booths for quick shopping.

The Rotterdam is to the far left side:

Our excellent tour operator, Dora the Explorer:

Our tour van:

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

Heading back down into the city, our next stop was for photos at the impressive San Felipe de Barajas Fort built in 1536. There were already many tour groups here, with others that would be walking up to the top of the fort. Personally, with the heat here, I would not want to experience that. I was content with my photos from the base. It’s a large area, so easy to spread out and get your photos.

Continuing on to the Las Bovedas Dungeons. This was originally built as dungeons in the old city walls in the 1700’s. We first had a short tour up on the walls where you can also view the ocean. Then we had some time to shop in the artisan shops which are in the converted old dungeons. We bought some coffee beans to bring home and had to taste a local Colombian beer (yikes, it’s early, but I guess it’s 5 O’clock somewhere. We always like an opportunity to try local beer).

Sherry H · March 27

Hi Trish,

Considering booking the Hyatt (Value Trip) for our Nov. cruise. The prices are fantastic! I realize

posted price does not include gov. taxes but wondering if there were any other surprise fees?

Have stayed there before and really enjoyed the hotel and the location.

Thanks in advance

Trish Traveler · March 27

1 hour ago, Sherry H said:

Hi Trish,

Considering booking the Hyatt (Value Trip) for our Nov. cruise. The prices are fantastic! I realize

posted price does not include gov. taxes but wondering if there were any other surprise fees?

Have stayed there before and really enjoyed the hotel and the location.

Thanks in advance

We had no extra fees. No surprise "resort fees" like some hotels charge. Have no idea if there is a parking fee.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

Next part of the tour would be the walking tour portion of the Old Walled city of Cartagena. We knew in advance that the street vendors can be very persistent. Although this was not a shopping tour, Dora let us know that if you show interest in anything, the vendor will follow you the entire tour. We could purchase along the way if done quickly as we had lots to see. We basically just said no thank you and tried not to make direct eye contact with any vendors. We had no issues – in fact it was less intense than I thought it might be from some experiences I had read. If you do shop, you can haggle prices on the street.

We first headed down one of the many lovely, narrow streets with beautiful doors and decorative doorknockers. We visited several of the small squares in town, including Plaza de Bolivar with Dora giving wonderful narration along the way and her assistant keeping us all together. So much beauty and history to see. We stopped along the way for a demonstration from a street artist painting on mirrors.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

We toured the Cartagena Cathedral which gave us a quick respite from the bustle of the city. Very beautiful and especially meaningful to us as we are in the period of Lent.

We had a quick “museum” tour at the Caribe Jewelry store. It was brief, but I enjoyed the info and displays depicting the history and value of emerald mining in Colombia, as they are known for worldwide.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

Continuing on, we stopped at the San Pedro Claver Church (originally completed around 1654) where we first viewed some of their sacred artwork, before entering the beautiful sanctuary where a baptism was occurring off to the side. Back outside for a few more sights including the Christopher Columbus statue in Custom House Square.

Gail & Marty sailing away · March 27

Great review thanks.

Niagarawine · March 27

Very good review,thanks

albingirl · March 27

Thank you for a great review!

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

Back on our mini-bus we had a short amount of time to see some of the colorful sights of the artsy Getsamani neighborhood with many street murals, the “umbrella street”, and the former home of the famous author Gabriel Garcia *****, known for many works including Love in the Time of Cholera. (Our little group was quick today so I think that’s why we had this little extra peek into Getsamani). From the bus we were also able to see the La Torre de Reloj clock tower at the main city gate.

Former home of author Gabriel Garcia *****:

Trish Traveler · March 27

1 minute ago, Trish Traveler said:

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

Back on our mini-bus we had a short amount of time to see some of the colorful sights of the artsy Getsamani neighborhood with many street murals, the “umbrella street”, and the former home of the famous author Gabriel Garcia *****, known for many works including Love in the Time of Cholera. (Our little group was quick today so I think that’s why we had this little extra peek into Getsamani). From the bus we were also able to see the La Torre de Reloj clock tower at the main city gate.

FYI I have no idea why CC inserted asterisks for the author's last name??? I didn't type it that way, just so you know 🤷‍♀️

Trish Traveler · March 27

7 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Great review thanks.

Thank you!

Trish Traveler · March 27

1 hour ago, Niagarawine said:

Very good review,thanks

You're welcome!

Sea42 · March 27

Such beautiful photos! Your tour of Cartagena looks like a good one.

Trish Traveler · March 27

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

Thank you for a great review!

Glad you're enjoying it!

Trish Traveler · March 27

1 minute ago, Sea42 said:

Such beautiful photos! Your tour of Cartagena looks like a good one.

Yes, it was excellent. We saw so much in such a short amount of time! I definitely recommend Dora.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

From here it was a fairly short ride back to the port (Saturday traffic a bit better than weekday). We thanked and tipped Dora, her assistant and driver for this amazing tour giving us so much interesting information about the vibrant city of Cartagena, old and new. We were so glad we took this tour because of the small size, excellent info and pride Dora shared about her home, and the amount of places we were able to visit in a short amount of time (the tour is 3 ½ - 4 hours). Granted we only touched the surface, but definitely got a wonderful snapshot of the Colombian history, diversity, beauty and culture. This tour does move fast, so you need to keep up, and although we had brief pauses in the old city as Dora narrated, you mostly have to take photos on the go. As we may never have an opportunity to return, this was a perfect tour for us. Thank you Dora the Explorer for sharing your vibrant city.

As Dora promised we would be back in plenty of time to view the Ecopark at the port before our 1:30pm all aboard. What a delight this place is. It’s a destination in itself. It’s also like a botanical garden with all the beautiful tropical foliage. Many of birds are free to roam, whereas some are in screened aviary structures. One of the first buildings we encountered had an employee with a baby sloth resting on a stuffed animal. Cuteness overload. Of course you couldn’t actually hold the sloth, you were able to hold the stuffed animal to snap a photo, for a donation. Birds, birds, birds everywhere. So many varieties of Macaws, Toucan, more Peacocks, Flamingos etc. There is an area where you can purchase sunflower seeds for $2 to feed the Macaws. After watching for a while, I decided to attempt that. They will either eat out of your hand or walk onto your arm. I found their claws painful on bare skin. Personally wouldn’t recommend that. Here you will find a large photo op COLOMBIA sign.

I never realized that Peacocks could perch in trees! Look closely to spot them:

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

There is also a nice gift shop here if you want to make your souvenir purchases comfortably. And a snack shop area. There are also a few varieties of monkeys loose, which I try to avoid except to snap a photo. We just loved this Ecopark and didn’t even see it all. So if you decide that you don’t want to take a tour in Cartagena, you could always just enjoy this awesome attraction right at the port.

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

We were hot, tired and hungry – so back to the ship for lunch. It’s not a real long walk from the Ecopark, but they do have a free shuttle that circles around if you prefer. We freshened up and enjoyed a Mexican lunch from the Lido Market. For sailaway, they opened the bow on deck 5 for viewing, so we headed there for a beautiful sailaway from Cartagena.

Another fort we passed a while after sailaway. You can see Cartagena buildings far in the background:

Niagarawine · March 27

Oh oh you are really selling this cruise to me, what shall I do?

Trish Traveler · March 27

Con’t. CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA Saturday 3/2 7AM-2PM

An afternoon swim and nap refreshed me before our Pinnacle Dinner reservation. We had dined here on our Norway cruise, so we were excited for another opportunity. Once again we had the rich Clothesline Candied Bacon (not sure if it qualifies as an appetizer or dessert!), Shrimp Cocktail, and Lobster Bisque starters. I had the Filet Mignon and added a Lobster Tail for $10; while DH had the Strip Steak (which was flavored okay, but he wished he had chosen the more tender Filet). We had the complimentary chef’s plate of treats, but saved room for the most amazing Crème Brulet and Key Lime Pie. Delicious. We enjoyed some music on board and turned in early in anticipation of our early wake up for the Panama Canal transit tomorrow.