Excursion Question

[andy7753]

Trying to decide on an excursion in Cartagena, Colombia - will be on the Jewel of the Seas. We are looking at the Deluxe Cartagena & Fortress or the Best of Cartagena. Has anyone been on either of these excursions? Is one better than the other? Any other recommendations?

 

We normally take off on our own, but would prefer to do a ship's excursion in this port.

 

Thanks for any help.

[pilotdane]

Nobody has jumped in so here is a re-post from mid-October:

 

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Cartagena:

We did the Cartagena City Tour "A" which is listed as strenuous because of the walking at the fort and monestary. I would say the tour had easy & slow walking, but many poeple were stressed just getting on the bus. We had an English speaking guide. Get ready for street vendors everywhere you get dropped off. The vendors don't cause trouble but they are more persistant and less nice than those in Guatemala.

 

A 10-15 minute bus ride dropped us off right at the base of the fort. Get ready for the vendors. The fort was nice but I would have liked more free time to explore. The fort has several long dark underground passages (be warned if you are claustrophobic). There are good views for taking panoramic photos of the city and your ship in the harbor.

 

Another buss ride brough us to the monestary which has even better views than the fort. You are at the highest spot in the city. There are restrooms to the left when you enter the monestary.

 

Next was a 20+ minute shopping stop at a souvanier/crafts market. A good place to haggle for souvanier T shirts. My wife wanted more time here and less time at the last shopping stop.

 

Then we went to the historic walled city. It was beautiful and involved about a 30 minute walk through town. We walked very slow and stopped every 5 minutes (and still many complained that there was too much walking). At the end of the walk you stop for a free beer or other beverage and watch a dancing show. I would have liked much more time to walk the streets. It is a very beautiful city, but there are many vendors the whole way.

 

Finally the bus took us to a more upscale shopping center (surprise, surprise the tour company has their offices in this building) for about 45-60 minutes. Lots of jewelry, gift shops and street vendors.

 

Given the choice I would get a guide on my own to go where I wanted. A guide would be well worth the money to narrate and help keep the vendors at bay. In the end I was very surprised at how much I liked Cartagena. There is a safe/secure restroom, restaurant, duty free shop and souvanier shop in the port port. Do NOT plan on walking out of the port area. You will need at least a taxi. It is an industrial container port and the nice areas of town are a 10-15 cab ride away.

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If you want to see the whole thread scroll down to "Comparison of Old City of Cartagena with Antigua, Guatemala "

 

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My wife and I normally get off the boat and walk away from the tourists but I had never visited Cartagena before so we did the ship sponsored tour. After doing it I would hire a cab or a private tour. I would not go walking about alone but I would like to get away from bus loads of tourists. FYI: The port in Cartagena is a cargo/container port. There is a nice tourist area inside the port but I do not recommend trying to walk out of the port. It is a long walk to the scenic areas with a whole lot of undesirable in between.

[leaveitallbehind]

Trying to decide on an excursion in Cartagena, Colombia - will be on the Jewel of the Seas. We are looking at the Deluxe Cartagena & Fortress or the Best of Cartagena. Has anyone been on either of these excursions? Is one better than the other? Any other recommendations?

 

We normally take off on our own, but would prefer to do a ship's excursion in this port.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

What sailing date with Jewel? We're on 12/19/08.

[andy7753]

We're going on 1/19/09. Do you have excursions scheduled for the ports? I'm still trying to figure out what to do in Colombia and Costa Rica.

[leaveitallbehind]

Our itinerary (10 day) does not stop in Costa Rica. We're going on the RCI island / beach day in Cartegena. Unsure of what else our family felt like doing and the short day there - we decided to relax on a boat ride to the island and soak up some sun on the beach.