Volendam Itinerary has changed to Guatemala

[localady]

It appears our itinerary has changed for our Christmas cruise on the Volendam. We are now in Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala instead of Cozumel per the itinerary.:mad:
I usually don't complain about these changes, but I am not happy about going to Guatemala. I had understood that there have been many problems in Guatemala and I have no interest in taking my family into a dangerous situation. What in the world is HAL thinking???

[localady]

I just checked the US State Dept. website about Guatemala and it says:

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Violent criminal activity has been a problem in all parts of Guatemala for years, including murder, rape, and armed assault against foreigners. The police force is inexperienced and under-funded, and the judicial system is weak, overworked, and inefficient. Well-armed criminals know that there is little chance they will be caught and punished. Traditionally, Guatemala experiences increases in crime before and during the Christmas and Easter holiday seasons.


Any suggestions??? Should I be concerned about cruising with my family there?

[Charliesmom]

Nobody says you have to get off the ship. We frequently stay on the ship and enjoy the lovely weather and having the ship mostly to ourselves.

We had a bad experience in Belize. We went outside of the port area which they had constructed to sell stuff and were inundated by people trying to sell us tours. They hounded us until I finally started saying "No Inglese" which is Italian. We hotfooted it back to the ship. It really was a frightening experience - and this wasn't crime. They were just trying to make a buck.

We had much the same experience in Jamaica a few years back. On our last cruise we stopped there and found that their economy was much better. This time nobody accosted us and we had a pleasant walk.

Our next cruise has a stop at Santo Tomas de Castillo. I think we will stay on the ship.

Roberta

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am so sad to read that you have had a port schedule change.

A few years ago we wanted to go to Santo Tomas De Castilla. Then when I read all about the problems there, we were glad that we had chosen another cruise.

Sounds as though you will be staying on the ship???

[TedC]

Sher, I doubt that HAL would take passengers anywhere they think is too dangerous.

There are no guarantees of 100 percent safety anywhere. We were in Guatemala several years ago to visit interesting Mayan sites and had no problems. But like everywhere you go, be alert. We've been all over the world and the worst incident so far was losing a camera to a thief in Boston in the good ole USA! We would still go back to Boston.

Perhaps the change was made because of too many ships in Cozumel?

The snorkeling is probably better in Cozumel, but I don't know for sure because I didn't snorkel there.

[TedC]

Sher, I meant to say I didn't snorkel in Guatemala. My cable connection went out before I could correct it and by the time the connection mysterioursly reappeared it was too late to edit.

[elmorejj]

There is absolutely nothing at the port there, it is a commercial container port. They had a few tables set up with handicrafts for sale that were very expensive. Unless you take a ships tour, I would stay onboard..........jean:cool:

[Logoladytcs]

We stopped in Guatemala in April when we were on the Volendam for the Panama Canal transit. It was one of our favorite places - we went up to Antigua and had a marvelous tour with Elizabeth Bell who I would recommend highly.

At no time did we feel unsafe - in truth I was much more apprehensive in Nicaraugua.

Barbara

[COLGATE]

While the overall observations listed on the State Department website are certainly true (and the same can be said about virtually any country on Latin America or wherever there is a high index of poverty), this stop has the benefit that, while the port itself is just a dirty commercial port with nothing touristy to see or do, HAL offers ships' tours which go to some wonderful Mayan ruins about an hour's bus ride away. The tour is easy walking and visiting, the ruins certainly very well worth seeing and there is also a great place to get souvenirs at the Indian crafts market right there which sells a wide variety of typical goods, indian jewelry, etc at quite reasonable prices. Soft drinks, beer and other refreshments are also available. We greatly enjoyed this tour, and would strongly recommend you not discount visiting the ruins near San Tomas based on the overall security concerns you have read. You will be perfectly safe on HAL's tour.:)

[localady]

Thank you to all that responded!! I was hoping that I would see some responses that were positive. I understand that anywhere in the world there can be problems, so I really appreciate the positive feedback !!

Most of all, I am reassured to find out that others have toured from the port and had good experiences. Even though my "kids" are teens, I still worry about their safety like we 'Momma bears' do.;)

[Southbound]

We visited Santo Tomas de Castilla while on the Volendam's Christmas cruise last year. Granted, it is a commerical/industrial port, but that area is bifurcated from where we docked. We had also read the state dept's warning and decided not to take a tour, but regretted that decision after speaking with several other pax who had done so. To a person, they said the trip to the ruins was a wonderful experience with no concerns as to their safety. We did get off the ship to explore the large visitors' building that was in a fenced-in area adjacent to the ship. There was live entertainment from a native band and dancers, and a large number of vendors with a variety of merchandise, including locally-grown coffee. Bought some to bring home and it was excellent.

[Pete Jackson]

Cher, we had a lovely shore excursion in Guatemala in 1996 on our only Crystal cruise (not that Crystal isn't an excellent line; we just prefer HAL). The port was on the Pacific coast and we went on a ship's tour that went to beautiful Lake Atitlan, and we got to visit and shop for truly wonderful hand-made items in some relatively unspoiled purely Mayan towns. There was a minor level of nuisance with little kids begging.

Things have changed since then of course; for one a recent hurricane caused a lot of flooding and loss of life on the shores of Atitlan. So check your tour brochure and see what they offer.

And it goes without saying that this is one country where you should take the cruise line's tour even if you normally eschew them. But then be sure to spend some of your money where it will really help the people of this poor country.

[RedmondCruiser]

We went to Santo Tomas on the old Noordam and had a great shore excursion. We went up the Rio Dulce river, had lunch at a jungle resort and were bused to Mayan ruins. It was memorable and we had no problems. Guatamala has problems in the interior where bandits roam. I doubt that HAL would put passengers off into a dangerous area.

[middle-aged mom]

It appears our itinerary has changed for our Christmas cruise on the Volendam. We are now in Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala instead of Cozumel per the itinerary.:mad:
I usually don't complain about these changes, but I am not happy about going to Guatemala. I had understood that there have been many problems in Guatemala and I have no interest in taking my family into a dangerous situation. What in the world is HAL thinking???

Sher, hope you and your family have a wonderful cruise, even without us!;) There are great handicrafts to buy in Guatemala! I was there over 20 years ago, so I can't give you any recent observations about that country. I do sympathize with you, though. I definitely agree with the previous posters who recommend a ship's excursion for this stop. I have to admit I don't know what I personally would do in this situation. I'm much more cautious regarding my children than I am with myself.

Our holiday cruise on Amsterdam was also supposed to stop at Cozumel, and now we're going to Costa Maya instead, which is fine with me. I think the reason HAL is altering the itineraries with Cozumel is because of the slow pace of reconstruction there. I believe there's only one pier which has been rebuilt, which means everyone else has to tender in. I guess HAL doesn't want to deal with that?

Aloha,

Karin

[Sunshine91]

We were in Santo Tomas in 1997 on the old Noordam - couldn't understand why in the world HAL would stop there. The tour to the ruins must bring in big $$. We weren't interested in that. However, next to the ship was a resort, where for a fee, pax could partake of the facilities for the day. We thought, why pay for a pool & restaurant when there are perfectly good ones onboard? The pax who did go to the resort said it was lovely.

We did get off-ship & walked thru the container port. Outside the gate saw soldiers with very large weapons. Continued into the little village & found the marketplace - local handicrafts & silver. Bought a few lovely silver necklaces. Bargained my way from an absurd $70 to a much more reasonable $15 - in my very rusty Spanish. That was fun.

As we headed back to the ship a local woman came up & patted John's belly, smiled at me & said "es gordo." He thought she was admiring his brightly colored shirt. I hated to disappoint him, but she was telling me that she was impressed that I fed him so well. It WAS rather amusing.

As we were living in the DC suburbs at the time, we thought it interesting to see cars with Virginia license plates. I really really really wanted to whip out the camera to take a few pix, but did you see my comment about the soldiers? Too scared.

Anyhow, to paraphrase the Sundance Kid, Guatemala is full of hot & sweat & we got plenty of that at home. We spent a total of 45 minutes on Guatemalan soil. We have the memories & a poster of a Peten turkey hanging on the wall. We still laugh about that day.

My advice - take a tour or stay onboard. :)

[Royalpair]

Reading your post and the responses about the Mayan ruins got me to look at our Veendam cruise in Feb to see what was offered. It took me awhile to realize, but we were shifted out of Cozumel to Costa Maya (we were already going to Santo Thomas). As least the rest is the same, since we picked this itinerary for the countries.
Now to study a new list of excursions!

[GA girl]

Localady, we visited the port of Santo Tomas de Castilla while on a HAL cruise several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it....many local people selling handicrafts right at the ship. Then we chartered a small boat with captain and mate there on the quay (took 6 passengers) and took a trip up the Rio Dulce River....beautiful river and countryside. HAL had offered a similar trip which we had signed up for, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest....trip we took was wonderful and a fraction of HAL's cost.

Never felt any danger and had a great time (I actually feel that driving 285 around Atlanta is more dangerous!).

Whatever you decide, hope you enjoy your cruise.

[Johanna7]

We took the tour to Tikal while on the Noordam in 1998 and loved it. It was great. Bused to an airport, then flown to a town which took one hour in the air, then bused to Tikal where we spent most of the day. It was a wonderful sight. We learned so much about the Mayans.

We had a nice lunch at a hotel/restaurant there and afterwards toured some more. Then the bus to the plane, flown back to Santa Thomas de Castilla and the bus to the ship. It was a wonderful day and I treasure our photos.

We were also in Costa Maya on another line about 4 years ago and enjoyed the day there.

Johanna