Which ports can you just get off the ship and walk around?

We are going on the Coral Princess partial transit in March, 2014. We are definately doing the Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat excursion. I am interested in which ports we would be able to just get off the ship and walk into town, if any. We will be stopping in Aruba, Cartagena, Panama, Limon and Grand Cayman. Any suggestions for excursions or things to do is appreciated. We are not the sporty type, so looking for the "easy" to "moderate" categories here. :)

You'll have no problem whatsoever just walking around in town in Aruba and Grand Cayman. :)

You'll probably want to book some sort of tour in your other ports of call.

Coral is a very nice ship! Look forward to having a good time!

LuLu

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You'll have no problem whatsoever just walking around in town in Aruba and Grand Cayman. :)

You'll probably want to book some sort of tour in your other ports of call.

 

Coral is a very nice ship! Look forward to having a good time!

 

LuLu

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Thanks LuLu! We cruised on her sister ship, Island Princess, to Alaska a few years ago.Loved her so I am looking forward to the same experience on the Coral.

Partial transit - Although you will have a brief stop in Colon, to pick up guests who went off the ship in Gatun Lake on Princess sponsored tours, there is nothing in Colon you will want to walk to, in fact you don't want to "walk around" in Colon. What you WILL want to do, if you want to experience anything in Panama itself, other than the Canal, is book a shore excursion through Princess. Independent operators are generally not allowed by the ACP to pick up passengers within the restricted area of the Canal itself, i.e. Gatun Lake.

Regards, Richard

We are going on the Coral Princess partial transit in March, 2014. We are definately doing the Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat excursion. I am interested in which ports we would be able to just get off the ship and walk into town, if any. We will be stopping in Aruba, Cartagena, Panama, Limon and Grand Cayman. Any suggestions for excursions or things to do is appreciated. We are not the sporty type, so looking for the "easy" to "moderate" categories here. :)

in colon, there's just a shopping plaza that isn't too touristy. after a tour we were dropped off at the ship in colon and decided to walk over to the shopping plaza and im glad we did, as we were able to pick some things up at a grocery store that we couldn't find on the ship and have a few drinks.

in limon, we went on an independent tour that dropped us off at the ship 3 hours before sailaway. we put our valuables in room and went walking into town. it's definitely not touristy but my husband was able to find a delicacy he wanted to try and we enjoyed a music festival that was occurring on one of the streets.

i assume that most cruisers don't walk around these towns. i think if you stay alert and aware of your surroundings, you'll be fine if you want to explore a little.

When you get to grand cayman, walk to the LEFT of the area where the tender dock is and you will find waterside restaurants which are nice to sit at and watch the cruise traffic on the water. We walk right because we usually bring our own snorkels gear and walk a few blocks to the tiny free beach and snorkel there. Most of the town area is walkable either way.

Down a short (1/2 block) from the main harbor roadway behind a circular stone fountain, there is a place where an old well has a glass cover. You can see where sailors stopped to get water from a spring. Small but unique ask shop people and they will show you where it is. A policeman showed us then walked up up the stairs in that building I wish I could remember the name of it,

Aruba is a great port to just get off the ship and walk around. You'll dock right in downtown Oranjestad, which has a lot of great shops, parks and history, all within easy walking distance. Here is a link to some pictures I took last year as we walked through Oranjestad:

Aruba is a great port to just get off the ship and walk around. You'll dock right in downtown Oranjestad, which has a lot of great shops, parks and history, all within easy walking distance. Here is a link to some pictures I took last year as we walked through Oranjestad:

There's also a great bus system, terminal is just at the end of the road as you walk out of the cruise terminal. You can take the bus to the beach, or the beach hotels, and they accept US money on the bus!

Regards, Richard

There's also a great bus system, terminal is just at the end of the road as you walk out of the cruise terminal. You can take the bus to the beach, or the beach hotels, and they accept US money on the bus!

 

Regards, Richard

We rode the public bus in Aruba and it went straight to the beach/ hotel area and back. Just across the street from the ship. Cheap too, couple of bucks each. They take US dollars and were very friendly and helpful. When we got off, the hotels on the beach sell you a chair on their beach, standard practice in Caribbean cruise ports.

One time in Aruba we rented a jeep and rode to the other side of the island. Very different terrain than the beach/ hotel side of this island. Wild and desolate with huge crashing waves and cliffs. And lots of cacti!, Beautiful and interesting drive.

Really excited about Aruba now...it looks so "do-able"..:) Thanks you so much for the pictures Jasperdo....they are GREAT!!

for Cartagena, go to the port of call forum Columbia and check out the walking tours.

We did a private tour with Lee Miles and it was great. It is a great colonial city and has lots to see.