nasamom Posted May 29, 2016 #1 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Our Mexican Riviera cruise was recently cancelled and we were given the option to change to a Panama Canal cruise, which we did. One of the ports is Corinto, Nicaragua and we're having a hard time finding much about this port. NCL has not posted any excursions either to give us ideas since we prefer to not go with ship excursions. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavesprite Posted May 29, 2016 #2 Share Posted May 29, 2016 We just had a port stop there and opted to stay on the ship. It was HOT! This is a new stop for cruise ships so the tours (even ship) aren't very established. We heard lots of complains after people got back. You dock in a very industrial port but we found out later that the little town was easily walked too, but not much to see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasamom Posted May 29, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Thank you for your reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted May 29, 2016 #4 Share Posted May 29, 2016 OP: our Panama Canal cruise on the NCL Jewel next January will also call at Corinto, and it's definitely hard to find out much info about this port on CC, especially since there's no Nicaragua forum. If you haven't already done so, do a search for Corinto here in the Panama Canal forum, and you'll find a few (old) threads. It looks to me like a visit to Leon might be the most interesting thing to do, but I'm hesitant to book a private tour; like you, I'm waiting for NCL to post shore excursions. (We're still a long ways out; when do you sail?) Of course, join your Roll Call if you haven't done that; I'm also going to start looking at other Panama Canal Roll Calls to see if other folks have more ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasamom Posted May 29, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Thanks for your reply Turtles. We sail on 9/30/16. Roll call is VERY quiet. Have done searches and as you said, some very old threads. I will keep looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted May 29, 2016 #6 Share Posted May 29, 2016 (edited) We were just there in March, here is what we did: Excellent tour includes lunch. http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Edited May 29, 2016 by WeBeCruisers? url Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted May 29, 2016 #7 Share Posted May 29, 2016 (edited) We were just there in March, here is what we did: Excellent tour includes lunch. http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Thanks for this recommendation. I've read about Julio Tours elsewhere, but it's good to have something so recent. Did you have any concerns or issues about getting back to the ship on time? (I don't know what it is, but I feel a bit more apprehensive about that in these ports than I would on a private shore excursion in Europe. But I do prefer private excursions.) Edited May 29, 2016 by Turtles06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted May 29, 2016 #8 Share Posted May 29, 2016 (edited) Thanks for this recommendation. I've read about Julio Tours elsewhere, but it's good to have something so recent. Did you have any concerns or issues about getting back to the ship on time? (I don't know what it is, but I feel a bit more apprehensive about that in these ports than I would on a private shore excursion in Europe. But I do prefer private excursions.) No concerns about getting back to the ship on time, as a matter of fact I believe he insists on an hour before the hour before. Email him as he is easy to converse with. He wasn't our tour guide but he did meet me and introduced himself in Corinto. The port town of corinto which is walkable from the port was a cute little town with lots of trinkets to look at and purchase. Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Edited May 29, 2016 by WeBeCruisers? Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted May 29, 2016 #9 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Not a lot of cruises stop there...mostly Canal cruises, and ships going from the US to or from South America. So limited info is going to be available. When we stopped there a couple of years ago (sailing from Lima to San Diego) nothing appealed to us. And seeing the security zone at the port didn't exactly seem welcoming. Even the crew was warned not to go outside of the immediate 6 square block port area. The sail in is pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted May 30, 2016 #10 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Not a lot of cruises stop there...mostly Canal cruises, and ships going from the US to or from South America. So limited info is going to be available. When we stopped there a couple of years ago (sailing from Lima to San Diego) nothing appealed to us. And seeing the security zone at the port didn't exactly seem welcoming. Even the crew was warned not to go outside of the immediate 6 square block port area. The sail in is pretty. Too paranoid. The port was decent as it was the tour don't scare folks off for this Nicaraguan community. Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted May 30, 2016 #11 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Too paranoid. The port was decent as it was the tour don't scare folks off for this Nicaraguan community. Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Well, excuse me...many guards with automatic rifles is not confidence building... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavesprite Posted May 30, 2016 #12 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Well, excuse me...many guards with automatic rifles is not confidence building... They're there to keep you and the port safe. We also stopped in Acapulco and I have never seen so military with machine gins in my life...... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasamom Posted May 30, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted May 30, 2016 We were just there in March, here is what we did: Excellent tour includes lunch. http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Thank you for your recommendation. I will definitely look into this tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrmarr Posted June 2, 2016 #14 Share Posted June 2, 2016 No concerns about getting back to the ship on time, as a matter of fact I believe he insists on an hour before the hour before. Email him as he is easy to converse with. He wasn't our tour guide but he did meet me and introduced himself in Corinto. The port town of corinto which is walkable from the port was a cute little town with lots of trinkets to look at and purchase. Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Hi, We are going to cruise with NCL on the Jewel in Feb 2017 from Miami to LA. It looks like you recently took the same cruise. Thank you for the Corinto recommendation. Do you have any other recommendations? I would like to hear about your experiences if you have some time. Thanks in advance, Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted June 2, 2016 #15 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Hi,We are going to cruise with NCL on the Jewel in Feb 2017 from Miami to LA. It looks like you recently took the same cruise. Thank you for the Corinto recommendation. Do you have any other recommendations? I would like to hear about your experiences if you have some time. Thanks in advance, Marcia Let me dig through my notes and get back to you. Stay tuned. Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted June 2, 2016 #16 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Hi,We are going to cruise with NCL on the Jewel in Feb 2017 from Miami to LA. It looks like you recently took the same cruise. Thank you for the Corinto recommendation. Do you have any other recommendations? I would like to hear about your experiences if you have some time. Thanks in advance, Marcia Cartagena - We've been here 4 years in a row and have done all the basic excursions. This past winter we did the Hop On - Hop Off but spent a few hours touring the 'fort' and a self walking tour of the Old City. In previous visits we did the Old City Walking Tour (guided) along with a bus tour of the cities (old/new) and a fishing village. All were good. Puntarenas, Costa Rica - Puntarenas Highlights - 10 in 1 Tour - http://www.thumbsuptours.com Corinto, Nicaragua - already provided info http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala - Antigua On Your Own Tour Booked thru NCL as we had excursion credits. Acapulco, Mexico - Acapulco City with Cliff Divers - La Quebrada Cliff Divers show – Fort of San Diego - also through NCL Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Land's End Boat tour through NCL - or try Medano or Tabasco’s Beach on your own Hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrmarr Posted June 5, 2016 #17 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Cartagena - We've been here 4 years in a row and have done all the basic excursions. This past winter we did the Hop On - Hop Off but spent a few hours touring the 'fort' and a self walking tour of the Old City. In previous visits we did the Old City Walking Tour (guided) along with a bus tour of the cities (old/new) and a fishing village. All were good. Puntarenas, Costa Rica - Puntarenas Highlights - 10 in 1 Tour - http://www.thumbsuptours.com Corinto, Nicaragua - already provided info http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala - Antigua On Your Own Tour Booked thru NCL as we had excursion credits. Acapulco, Mexico - Acapulco City with Cliff Divers - La Quebrada Cliff Divers show – Fort of San Diego - also through NCL Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Land's End Boat tour through NCL - or try Medano or Tabasco’s Beach on your own Hope this helps... Thank you for your suggestions. I have done some research and have your suggestions on my list so now our decisions will be easier. Thanks again for taking the time to help us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted June 6, 2016 #18 Share Posted June 6, 2016 The armed guards in Nicaragua are very friendly! They say the best they can in English, "Thank you for visiting! Come back! We will always keep you safe here!" :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbe Posted June 9, 2016 #19 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Thanks for this recommendation. I've read about Julio Tours elsewhere, but it's good to have something so recent. Did you have any concerns or issues about getting back to the ship on time? (I don't know what it is, but I feel a bit more apprehensive about that in these ports than I would on a private shore excursion in Europe. But I do prefer private excursions.) we also did Julio Tours and it was excellent, Very nice lunch was included. I would highly recommend Julio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasamom Posted June 10, 2016 Author #20 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I have contacted Julio tours and got a quick response. Now I need to get more people to join us on the tour. NCL has still not posted any excursions for Corinto!The roll call for this cruise is VERY VERY quiet! I think the hop on hop off is a great idea for Cartegena since we did an organized tour the last time. We don't normally do cruise line excusions, but we have booked the Pacaya Volcano hike through NCL in Guatamala. In Cabo we will do our own thing. In Puntarenas we have booked with Giotours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rina155 Posted October 12, 2016 #21 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Bump as there have been others inquiring of this port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singnrn Posted October 17, 2016 #22 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Cartagena - We've been here 4 years in a row and have done all the basic excursions. This past winter we did the Hop On - Hop Off but spent a few hours touring the 'fort' and a self walking tour of the Old City. In previous visits we did the Old City Walking Tour (guided) along with a bus tour of the cities (old/new) and a fishing village. All were good. Puntarenas, Costa Rica - Puntarenas Highlights - 10 in 1 Tour - http://www.thumbsuptours.com Corinto, Nicaragua - already provided info http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni/index.php/tours/64-shoring-in-corinto Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala - Antigua On Your Own Tour Booked thru NCL as we had excursion credits. Acapulco, Mexico - Acapulco City with Cliff Divers - La Quebrada Cliff Divers show – Fort of San Diego - also through NCL Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Land's End Boat tour through NCL - or try Medano or Tabasco’s Beach on your own Hope this helps... Could you tell us how far the hop on hop off bus in Cartagena is from the cruise port and how you get there? Thank you so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted October 17, 2016 #23 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Could you tell us how far the hop on hop off bus in Cartagena is from the cruise port and how you get there? Thank you so much. The map we just found, shows stop number one at the Port near the cruise ship. If you go to City-sightseeing dot com you can drill down and you should see a map of the hop-on-hop-off bus route. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singnrn Posted October 18, 2016 #24 Share Posted October 18, 2016 The map we just found, shows stop number one at the Port near the cruise ship. If you go to City-sightseeing dot com you can drill down and you should see a map of the hop-on-hop-off bus route. Hope this helps. Got it. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyHernandez Posted January 9, 2017 #25 Share Posted January 9, 2017 For what it is worth, I have been to Nicaragua twice on extended stays due to the fact my husband is a Latin American professor and was doing research there. Thus, we had a land-based trip and were not on a cruise. However, we went to Leon and I have to say it was one of my favorite cities in all of Nicaragua. The people are VERY nice and welcoming and the town is very walkable and full of history and sites. We hired a local guide to take us on a walking tour. The link is: https://vianica.com/tours/176 It was very well done and was just our family. We have 3 children - all teens.) We all learned a lot. The most amazing place was the Leon Catherdral. If you google images of it and then scroll down to about the 5th row, you will see people walking on the top of the church. It looks pure white. It reminds me of Greece. You can see for miles and miles from the top. Pls do not be scared to visit Nicaragua. Honestly, the first time we went, I was a bit scared too, but I know now that is from going somewhere I am not familiar with, not from a real threat. It is fabulous. Do not miss it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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