Equinox March 14 11-Night Review with Lots of Pictures!

I am a small art collector so I am so excited to see such great artwork! How are the prices, can you haggle or are the prices set?

Thank you for your amazing photo's!

Carol

Thank you for your wonderful travelogue & photos, both you & Dana are showing us fabulous postings.

I love your photos on Cartagena & Getsemani & now hope I can get a cruise that visits there, it looks a wonderful place. I notice from your photos that all the streets were very clean, was that the norm? Where we live there is still the leaves in the gutters & pavements from last Autumn.

Cheers

Cindy, what great photo's !!!! I cannot wait to photograph this beautiful city and the places that others don't usually go are wonderful. Did you stop for anything such as cafe or buy from a vendor in Getamani? I am enjoying your trip and look forward to this cruise next April!

 

Carol

Just drinks at the Café de la Trinidad. We were there in the morning and I think most people were still asleep!:eek: Getsemani was just starting to "wake up" when we were leaving!

Wow, those photos of Getsemani are amazing!! When I was originally planning to create my own walking tour around Cartagena, it would have included Getsemani. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't get there in the end, so thank you for your beautiful photos as at least I can get a glimpse of what we missed!

Thanks! It was a highlight of the cruise for me...I'm always the most interested in the places that aren't in most of the guide books!:)

I am a small art collector so I am so excited to see such great artwork! How are the prices, can you haggle or are the prices set?

 

Thank you for your amazing photo's!

 

Carol

The prices were reasonable, but haggling was welcome and expected!:)

Thank you for your wonderful travelogue & photos, both you & Dana are showing us fabulous postings.

 

I love your photos on Cartagena & Getsemani & now hope I can get a cruise that visits there, it looks a wonderful place. I notice from your photos that all the streets were very clean, was that the norm? Where we live there is still the leaves in the gutters & pavements from last Autumn.

 

Cheers

Thanks! I'm really enjoying Dana's review too...she got pictures of a lot of things I missed, and it's always fun to see the same thing through someone else's eyes.

The streets in Cartagena were immaculate! Marelvy said the trash is picked up every day.:eek: I don't think I've ever seen a city that clean...it was a really stark contrast to all the trash in the streets in Colon.

oops - wrong Cartagena. LOL

After everyone finished shopping we took a very short bus ride to an entrance into the walled city not too far from Plaza Bolivar. We walked pretty slowly down the street while Marelvy explained what we were seeing.

One very interesting thing was the intricate door knockers. They dated back to Colonial times and different door knockers represented the residents' occupation and social standing.

There were some very interesting looking shops and lots of buildings of architectural interest in this area but unfortunately Jim kept dragging me along! That's OK I had a shopping idea in my head for later I just hadn't shared it with him yet! :D

Our next stop was at Iglesia De Santo Domingo or Church of Santo Domingo in English. This is a church with claustro (cloisters) attached to it. The church and cloisters date back to the 16th century and the structure is thought to be one of the oldest churches in the Americas. The church is located right next door to the Cathedral of Cartagena. Unfortunately, during our visit the cathedral was closed to visitors due to renovation and reconstruction.

***The next two pictures are stock pictures from the internet. For some reason I didn't get a decent picture of the exterior of the church.***

Both the façade and the interior walls of Iglesia De Santo Domingo are bright orange yellow, and the altar is highlighted with vivid blue paint. There were many worshipers there at the time we visited because it was Holy Week. We didn't stay too long as we were all hungry, thirsty, and hot.

Marelvy wanted us to go to lunch early in order to beat the crowds since there were so many families vacationing in Cartagena. She had e-mailed me before the trip asking if I wanted to go to lunch at a “fancy” restaurant that was popular with tourists and would cost about $20 a person or if I wanted to go where the locals go and spend eight dollars a person. Of course, wanting the full flavor of Cartagena I chose the local restaurant!

We had a short walk down the street from Plaza Bolivar to get to our lunch restaurant, Espiritu Santo. We were the first ones there, and all 42 of us were seated at big tables near the air conditioning. Boy did that feel good!

The menu was a little puzzling because it was all in Spanish but Andrea and Sheila were right there to help. I chose Bandeja Paisa which is a typical Colombian dish. When I received it I discovered that the English translation of Bandeja Paisa is "Everything in the Kitchen" or “You're not really going to eat all of that are you?" My plate had ground beef, beans, rice, plantains, ribs, sausage, arepas, avocado and was topped with a fried egg.

Yes, I did eat the whole thing. Never mind that we had reservations for Murano at 7:00 – it was so good I couldn't stop! :o:p

The incredible thing about that restaurant to me was not only was the food delicious, but our meals only cost eight dollars a person no matter what we ordered. My Bandeja Paisa with a salad and a bottle of water was $8. Jim's fish and a couple of beers was $8. Lunch was an incredible deal, a great taste of Cartagena, and a nice relaxing break in the middle of a long hot day.

After lunch we strolled through the streets of the walled city making our way back to the bus. Along the way we saw many street vendors, families vacationing, people eating at sidewalk cafés, and children enjoying feeding the birds in Plaza Bolivar.

I was a little sad to know we were moving on, but was time to leave the walled city. We were headed to Bocagrande for a look at the business and hotel district and a trip to the Emerald Museum.

HI Cindy.

Hope you don't mind me giving some information on your photo showing yellow & blue shirts with JAMES & the No10.

This is for James Rodriguez who is the super star football(soccer)player & the most famous Colombian sportsman. He was bought by Real Madrid for $95 million.

Cheers.

HI Cindy.

 

Hope you don't mind me giving some information on your photo showing yellow & blue shirts with JAMES & the No10.

 

This is for James Rodriguez who is the super star football(soccer)player & the most famous Colombian sportsman. He was bought by Real Madrid for $95 million.

 

Cheers.

Thanks! I figured he had to be a big star with so many shirts.:)

Lulurobby, we did tiny window view, then balcony several times, then lucked into a special Sky Suite and found Blu! Now we go Aqua!! You won't regret upgrading to a balcony, in my humble opinion! Enjoy!

Sorry for the long gap between posts...life keeps getting in the way of finishing this review!

We enjoyed sitting for a while and cooling off on the bus ride from the old city to Bocagrande. On the way we saw the crowded Cartagena beaches filled with vacationing families. It was about a 15 minute ride to our destination, the Joeria Caribe Emerald Museum and Factory.

We started upstairs with an interesting and informative look at the mining industry in Colombia. There were displays that recreated sections of an emerald mine, so we could see what it might look like in one of the tunnels. There were also a variety of raw and cut gems on display, including this beauty:

This is Petra. Petra is a 236 pound “matrix” of white calcite with beautiful emeralds embedded throughout. We learned that Petra is very rare, because usually the matrix that holds the emeralds is broken up by the blasting process during mining. I immediately began plotting how to get Petra home, but decided I couldn’t afford the overweight baggage fees and if I got caught a Colombian prison probably wouldn’t be to my liking!:eek::p:eek:

After the museum tour we were escorted downstairs to the factory and showroom.

Stock Photo of the Joyeria Caribe Showroom

This is where Joyeria Caribe has really fine-tuned their business…each person/couple had their own sales person!:rolleyes: I knew I wanted something different without breaking the bank, and so we started with raw emeralds in 14 kt gold. My “consultant” kept going smaller and smaller to get in my price range. I finally asked for sterling instead of gold, then we were in business!

I have to tell you my sales person was good. I was just about to pull the plug on a pendant when she brought out something that wasn’t in the display case that “spoke” to me. She knew what she was doing…this is what I came home with:

Jim was shaking his head the whole time. We’ve been married 28+ years, and he knows by now when he needs to just stand by and watch!:D

I'm glad you are back! I am still loving your review and keep watching for the continuations. Your emerald pendant is fabulous!

We had one more stop to make before we went back to the ship, and that was at a grocery store for Colombian coffee.

It was interesting to see the store and try to read the tabloid headlines! This was definitely not a tourist stop – they didn’t take US dollars or credit cards!

I hated to see our time with Marelvy come to an end...this was one of the best tours we've ever taken. Marelvy was professional, interesting, and flexible throughout the planning process and the tours. She did a lot of work in advance to prepare for our group, and it showed during both the Sunday evening tour and the Monday tour. I HIGHLY recommend Marelvy for tours in Cartagena, and would use her without question if we find ourselves in Cartagena again.

Before we knew it we were back at the port. The tropical birds were still loud and the flamingoes were still sleeping!

We didn't linger too long...as much as we loved Cartagena we were ready for some air conditioning and a cold drink!

We had a long, slow sailaway from Cartagena. I was trying to dry my hair and get ready for the evening, but I had to keep going out on the balcony so as not to miss anything!

Cartagena from the ship as we departed.

One of the last sights we saw before we were in the open sea was the Boca Chica Fort. It sits at the entrance to one of Cartagena’s main harbors.

As soon as we were ready for the evening we went and assumed our regular positions...

Sorry, I was trying to edit this post and something went terribly wrong. I'm going to re-post.

After a martini, we met friends for our second meal at Murano. We had asked to be seated at one of Maryana’s tables, and we really enjoyed being served by her.

We chose a wine that fell within the Premium Beverage Package, and they kept our glasses full!

I started with the risotto…SO good!

Jim and I had the Chateaubriand which was outstanding, and I ended with the crepes.

By the end of the meal we were done. No more food, no more drinks, no entertainment, and no gambling...it was time to do nothing but sleep!

I did glance over the Celebrity TODAY as I was falling asleep. One thing I noticed was the slots had apparently paid out $85,444.16 at that point in the cruise. I couldn’t help but wonder how much had been put IN to get that $85,444.16 OUT!:p

Up next -- a day at sea, and finally some ship pictures!

Hi Cindy,

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this wonderful review. We'll be doing the same itinerary in November and are interested in the evening tour you took in Cartegena. We were there a couple of years ago but not overnight so I would love to see the city after dark. Did you book the Crepusucle (Twilight) tour with Marelvy? When you stopped for a light meal, were you able to order anything you want and pay for it individually? Do you feel like you were able to get a good feel of the nightlife in the city?

Sue

Holy Moly! This is a wonderful review!! I am really enjoying it and looking forward to my turn on the Equinox in December!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this up. Looking forward to the next chapter!!

Hi Cindy,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this wonderful review. We'll be doing the same itinerary in November and are interested in the evening tour you took in Cartegena. We were there a couple of years ago but not overnight so I would love to see the city after dark. Did you book the Crepusucle (Twilight) tour with Marelvy? When you stopped for a light meal, were you able to order anything you want and pay for it individually? Do you feel like you were able to get a good feel of the nightlife in the city?

 

Sue

Sue, I don't think our evening tour had a name. I e-mailed Marelvy asking about something in the evening and she made some suggestions.

I don't think ordering what you wanted would have been a problem, but the place we ate was tiny...it didn't seem like the kind of place that caters to tourists and takes US dollars. You would have to check that with Marelvy.

I think we got a really good feel for what the city's like at night, but we didn't do any "clubbing" or fancy dining. We were out on the street mixing with the locals, soaking in the dancers and the atmosphere. We had worried everything would be closed because of Palm Sunday, but what we found was that day is the beginning of one of the biggest holiday weeks in Colombia. The streets were vibrant and filled with vacationers from all over Colombia. I definitely felt like the flavor was "local" as opposed to "cruise port."

Holy Moly! This is a wonderful review!! I am really enjoying it and looking forward to my turn on the Equinox in December!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this up. Looking forward to the next chapter!!

Thanks! Unfortunately I have an equipment malfunction...my laptop (where my pictures are) is out of commission until a new power supply arrives from Amazon on Tuesday.:mad:

Thank you Cindy. This sounds perfect!

Sue

Cindy,

Just found your fantastic review of the Equinox. We just booked this cruise for November, but we have an overnight in Cozumel, not Cartagena. Thanks for all the useful information!

Diane

Cindy,

 

Just found your fantastic review of the Equinox. We just booked this cruise for November, but we have an overnight in Cozumel, not Cartagena. Thanks for all the useful information!

 

Diane

Diane Rose, the Nov 28th departure? :)