Cartagena the third worst???

I recently read that Cartagena is listed as the world's third most dangerous cruise port. Can anyone who has sailed there recently speak to this? Did you feel safe while there? We are sailing there in a few weeks on the Equinox and have a tour booked through Celebrity. Is it worth leaving the ship?

We were there several years ago on a cruise following more or less the same itinerary as the Equinox's 11 day sailings.

We hired a tour on the pier with a taxi driver. He took us to the fort, personally guided us around (did a great job) and then did the same at the old town. We never felt uncomfortable in the tourist areas we were in and had a nice time.

We were there several years ago on a cruise following more or less the same itinerary as the Equinox's 11 day sailings.

 

We hired a tour on the pier with a taxi driver. He took us to the fort, personally guided us around (did a great job) and then did the same at the old town. We never felt uncomfortable in the tourist areas we were in and had a nice time.

Thanks Larry.

I booked a private guide for the 6 of us with "Dora the Explorer" and had a fantastic day! http://www.cartagenatour.com

This port really surprised us and we thought the old town was beautiful.

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We were in Cartagena in April 2014, and also did a tour with Dora that I had arranged. We enjoyed the day, and will be in Cartagena on a tour again in March.

We were in Cartagena in November and had a private tour of the city with Marvely Pena Tours. It was a very nice day and we never felt unsafe.

Jane

We were there last Nov, and had read and heard similar stories . We stayed on the Equinox while many friends from the Roll Call went on tours. They came back talking about wonderful sights and experiences. We learned a lesson. The cruise lines would not take thousands of passengers into harms way. We missed out, don't follow in our footsteps.:o

I recently read that Cartagena is listed as the world's third most dangerous cruise port. Can anyone who has sailed there recently speak to this? Did you feel safe while there? We are sailing there in a few weeks on the Equinox and have a tour booked through Celebrity. Is it worth leaving the ship?

I LOVED Cartagena! I never felt unsafe and it was the highlight of our Panama Canal cruise last Christmas. We took taxis to the walled old town city and it was amazing. Not to miss.

Thanks to all for your input we will stay with the excursion and look forward to what Cartagena has to offer.

I recently read that Cartagena is listed as the world's third most dangerous cruise port. Can anyone who has sailed there recently speak to this? Did you feel safe while there? We are sailing there in a few weeks on the Equinox and have a tour booked through Celebrity. Is it worth leaving the ship?

It was wonderful, just as the others have described, and we never felt threatened or unsafe at any time.

Definitely very interesting and worthwhile.

If you have safety concerns, I don't think you can go wrong booking one of the ship's tours.

They will cancel tours, and even ports, if safety becomes an issue.

We stopped here during our Equinox cruise two years ago and thought it was wonderful. The old city is beautiful and we felt safe. Probably the only thing that was bothersome was the number of vendors trying to sell you things. I honestly felt safer here than at other more popular ports like St. Lucia or Antigua.

As frequent travelers (to over 100 countries) we have very little respect for many articles written about various ports/countries. About twenty years ago, DW and I were in Cartegena (on a cruise) and went into town on our own to do some exploring and shopping. We felt very uncomfortable in the city, and found it fascinating that the jewelry store we visited had armed guards both outside and inside the store...plus double locked doors.

About 18 months ago we returned to Cartegena (again on a cruise) and DW and I again went into town on our own. We grabbed a shared van/taxi from the cruise port and actually had a very short tour on our way into the central part of the city. We were shocked with the change! The city was now thriving, we felt quite safe, thought that the main square (and surrounding cafes) reminded us of some places in Europe, and had a wonderful day. After walking for miles around the city (in good neighborhoods and bad) we felt quite comfortable and enjoyed browsing some of the markets and shops. We stopped in a park and met a couple of Americans who live in Cartegena and they told us how much they enjoyed the city and seldom felt in any danger. DW and I later flagged down a taxi on the streets and returned to the port after being really impressed with the improvements in the city. We did hear some complaints once back onboard, but they were all from folks who had taken cruise line excursions.

Hank

We felt safer in Cartagena than we did in Paris or London. The old city is beautiful and the tour will probably take you to the tourist zone with its modern hotels, beaches and upscale shopping. As a matter of fact we yearn to go back on a land trip and will one of these days. We're thinking about heading up into the central part of the country for a coffee tour with Medellin as a stop too. It was always far more dangerous than Cartagena but reports lately have been very favorable.

I Have been to Cartagena twice both day stops on cruises and absolutely love the place. in 2009 we also used Dora and had a wonderful day even though it was flooding at the time.

On our last trip in March 2014 a group of us did The Historical Segway tour with Segway Cartagena. We were picked up at port and taken in to town for our tour and at the end our taxi took us to the market for a look around before returning to the ship. We had a sensational day. Highly recommended.

Weren't we the ones laughing, gliding around on our segways to all the main sights when everyone one else was on walking tours in the heat. People kept asking where did we hire them. Too late to book on the day- they only take a small group and we had booked months ahead.

http://segwaycartagena.com/

Cheers

Deb :)

Just have to add the port itself is fantastic - lots of animals and birds on display and great souvenir shop.

Our first visit, we booked a tour with Mr Emerald (Lee Miles)...excellent. The second time, we just took a taxi to the old section and walked around. We never felt unsafe....I can think of many cities that were more worrisome than Cartagena. I can't believe it's number 3.....there must be 20+ cities tied for 1 and 2.

On the off chance someone might be interested in the original Cartagena, I was there late Nov-early Dec and was really impressed. The center of the city is pedestrianized and many of the streets are done in marble. All of the buildings are in good condition as are the Roman theater and Forum. It is nice and compact and even outside the large pedestrianized section very well-kept. I'm pleased I just walked around and didn't do an excursion.

I am assuming that the OP is asking about the safety in Cartagena, Columbia, not Cartagena, Spain. If the OP is asking about Cartagena, Spain perhaps they will clarify.

We have done three full transits of the Panama Canal with the first transit in 2008 and so have been to Cartagena three times. We have always found the city itself to be very safe. The old city is charming with lovely architecture.

I will note that on one of those trips (2012) we did a trip outside of the city itself into the countryside and we did encounter police checkpoints. Our guide was very "reassuring" that the number of kidnappings in recent years has decreased. But all was well.

What were #'s 1 & 2 on the list?

Here is a link to the article.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/01/19/worlds-most-dangerous-cruise-ports/?intcmp=HPBucket

Truthfully, it doesn't really matter if other cruisers felt safe or not. What matters is the facts of the safety of the country. I checked the US government website and attach this link. It seems like if you stay close to the port, you will likely be ok but overall the country is far from safe.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/colombia-travel-warning.html

Your must be talking about Cartagena, Columbia and not Cartagena, Spain. Cartagena, Spain was our best port and we walked all around the port area finding a nice small restaurant down a alley with locals coming and going. They were the most pleasant people to be around. There was an old man standing at the alleyway service bar/window drinking his afternoon wine and trying to engage us in conversation. Luckily we had someone with us that spoke some Spanish.

eventually thru a process of elimination some where would have to be rated the worst or 3 rd worst. What is it based on? it is like hotels that are rated 5 or 6 stars. What gives them the rating, it be because they offer many useless services available for a extra fee that most won't use. Just like cruise lines, what makes it a 5 star over a 4 star sometimes it is becasue it has a rock climbing wall, ice rink or offers some other activity or service that many aren't interested in.

happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Cartagena. Columbia is in my top two or three favorite places we have had the pleasure to visit. The old city is unbelievable and I cannot imagine going to Cartagena and not seeing it! The history and architecture are fascinating and we found the locals to be very welcoming.

Truthfully, it doesn't really matter if other cruisers felt safe or not. What matters is the facts of the safety of the country. I checked the US government website and attach this link. It seems like if you stay close to the port, you will likely be ok but overall the country is far from safe.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/colombia-travel-warning.html

This applies to many cities/countries. If you stay in the main "tourist" areas, don't wear flashy jewelry, etc you are much safer than just wandering around anywhere.

Cartagena. Columbia is in my top two or three favorite places we have had the pleasure to visit. The old city is unbelievable and I cannot imagine going to Cartagena and not seeing it! The history and architecture are fascinating and we found the locals to be very welcoming.

Agree 100%. It's a beautiful city that I'd love to return to. Never felt unsafe at all.

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