Cartagena Colombia ?

[itzmered]

We were there a year ago. At no time did I ever feel unsafe. It was a beautiful area and very interesting city. It is not like you are out in the jungles of Colombia where all the traffikers are. We did a private tour with Claudia Vidal http://www.toursclaudiavidal.com/en/services.htm she was a wonderful tour guide and highly recommend her

[RuthC]

In addition to an excellent tour, this was the result of our Cartegena visit. Barb was pleased!:)

Oh, my. As well she should be. That piece is lovely.

You, sir, were a good catch.

[sail7seas]

In addition to an excellent tour, this was the result of our Cartegena visit. Barb was pleased!:)

 

 

What a pretty piece. I'm sure she treasures it. :)

 

Funny but after this thread, I put on my little pendant this morning after not having worn it for some time. This thread brought back a nice memory, I was going to visit a relative in a nursing home and thought maybe my pretty pendant might give them some pleasure. :)

 

The memories we attach to the 'souvenirs' we come home with are more priceless IMO than the articles/things.

[Winters in NZ]

obriendan : Great photo of your emerald pendant...it's beautiful !

 

sail7seas : always a wise idea to declare ANY valuables.

 

cmdchiefthom : hmmm...now we're talking gold. Should I mention any of this information to my wife ?

 

itzmered : Again another report of a recent visitor who did not feel unsafe in Cartagena. That's great and reassuring news.

I had a chance to watch the entire video by Claudia Vidal...how professional, and informative was that ! Superb !

I now want to meet Claudia...what an engaging and vibrant person she appears to be on this EXCELLENT video.

 

Thanks to all who have given me your comments, suggestions and simply, good words of advice.

Looks as if I'll be submitting a review at the end of May.

Cheers Peter

[shanni-shanni]

I hope you don't mind if I digress from you OP.

 

You may want to check into the pricing and itinereries of the Statendam departing April 27. My wife and I are booked on it and feels it is better in both aspects.

 

Your TA may have a corresponding sale on it. Tom

[Winters in NZ]

I hope you don't mind if I digress from you OP.

 

You may want to check into the pricing and itinereries of the Statendam departing April 27. My wife and I are booked on it and feels it is better in both aspects.

 

Your TA may have a corresponding sale on it. Tom

 

Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely look into it. Peter

[Winters in NZ]

I hope you don't mind if I digress from you OP.

 

You may want to check into the pricing and itinereries of the Statendam departing April 27. My wife and I are booked on it and feels it is better in both aspects.

 

Your TA may have a corresponding sale on it. Tom

 

Tom...I checked into the itineraries. The Westerdam visits Cartagena, and that port is really intriguing me. I went to Chapters today just to satisfy more of my bubbling curiosity about this port. And I get my San Diego and Vancouver 'fix' on the same cruise. Again, thanks for the heads up. Peter

[GeriatricNurse]

Tom...I checked into the itineraries. The Westerdam visits Cartagena, and that port is really intriguing me. I went to Chapters today just to satisfy more of my bubbling curiosity about this port. And I get my San Diego and Vancouver 'fix' on the same cruise. Again, thanks for the heads up. Peter

 

Good luck, stay safe & I hope that you will not be disappointed! ;)

[SusieQQQ]

I just got off the 14 day Panama Cruise on the Statendam. Cartagena was great! I took a Ship Excursion, but wouldn't hesitate to do it on my own. The vendors were very aggressive, but a sharp no and continuing to walk was enough.

 

As far as armed guards, I have traveled extensively in Mexico so am really used to seeing military everywhere with their machine guns (even on beaches). There seemed to be less in Cartagena.

 

The Statendam had a few problems: (1) Emergency alarms sounded twice for a fire alert (2) Lost two of our five engines so that we anchored too late outside of Panama City to do any excursions. (3) Very rough seas between canal and Cartagena and then again the whole way back to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We had a wonderful, funny captain, Frans Consen and the crew was outstanding as far as service.

[woody73]

We went to Cartegena on two of our Panama Canal cruises. Both times we took a taxi to town, then explored by foot on our own. At no time did we feel unsafe.

 

We went to the military barracks (a UNESCO designated building where handicrafts are now sold), Old Towne Cartegena, the Cathedral, the Palacio de la Inquisicion (where the Spanish Inquisition took place), Museo de Oro (gold museum), the old fort, and the Popa Monastery.

 

Woody

[SwissMyst]

WARNING: GRAYLINES - COLUMBIAN MINES EMERALDS - Centro Plaza San Pedro, Cartegena, Columia

 

We got taken in by the GrayLine guide on our HAL city walking tour tour claiming any emerald shops displaying the Grayline logo in their windows offered the same shopping guarantee as HAL.

 

When the emerald pendent we purchased fell out of its setting after I got home (luckily I saw it fall out) our contact with Grayline USA to see about this guarantee revealed Grayline USA knew nothing about this and there was no guarantee contract to honor. HAL already warned repeatedly on board to only shop at their authorized shops, so I can't blame HAL but did file a complaint against their use of Grayline for running this scam.

 

But here is the irony, we also were told there would be no duty on the emerald but then learned later that was only for unset stones, not ones set like the set in gold pendant I had purchased. However, had the stone fallen out before it went st in through customs, it would not have been charged duty. (And this one was not charged anyway since it was not that costly to start with.)

 

I always wondered if the mountings were intentionally set "loose" so one could take in their purchases as "unset" stones duty free and then get them properly set at home. :confused: Whatever, it was an unexpected event and it could have led to the loss of the stone had I not been lucky enough to see it fall out.

 

So an unexpected repair at home to build up the gold prongs to set the stone permanently still yielded a beautiful green tear-drop pendant -- and naturally now I wonder if we ended up purchasing green glass too!!.

 

it all looked so official at this "Grayline shop" with certificates of authenticty and all the formality of a proper store, but when something goes wrong and one is thousands of miles away, just hope you like what you purchased regardless.

 

I do love this "green stone" regardless. It was a significant purchase but liked what I got better than anything I saw in the onboard HAL shops, but now would like to know if something like it would have also been available at the HAL authorized shops. It is a beautiful tear drop shape, lovely facets and a deep color green -so far so good. But is it even an emerald? I didn't even want to ask our jeweler to test it to find out. :rolleyes:

 

The problem is if you go to the HAL authorized shops, you don't get to go to the historic downtown which is very lovely, felt very safe, but is punishingly hot as you are that much close to the equator. Take a sun umbrella and enjoy the sweets you can purchase in the special outdoor candy market plaza. They were delicious.

[Palmetto Lady]

We were in Cartagena a number of years ago. At that time, it was not considered safe to walk around. I remember looking out of the window of the bus and longing to walk along the beautiful streets! While the outlying areas of Columbia are still of concern, Cartagena is considered reasonably safe.

Having been in Egypt (prior to the uprisng), I find the presence of armed guards reassuring rather than alarming. It means that the government does not want anything to happen to the tourists.

Cartagena is on the itinerary of one of our future cruises and I am looking forward to it.

[yiddishkopf]

Cartagena was our first stop on a Panama Canal cruise last spring. Please be forewarned that it is very hot there -- I am not a fan of heat so it was very uncomfortable for me but I know some people like it. In Cartagena on a ship's tour we had the worst guide EVER! Some people were slower walkers and he just left them to find their own way! My SO and traveling partner wanted to buy some Cuban cigars for a friend. The guide said he'd take us to someone that sold Cubans but Jack (my SO) would have to buy a hat from the guide. As it turns out, we could have bought the cigars without his help and he had the nerve to charge $25 for a junky hat that was probably worth $5.

 

I reported this to HAL but I don't know if they did anything about it.

[hillside]

We were on the Statendam last march and had a wonderful tour arranged through Dora. I got her website from the Colombia CC port site. There were 4 of us. Elkin and a driver/van met us at the gangplank and we toured the old city which was beautifully restored plus the monastary up on the mountain. We never felt unsafe and had a great tour. We requested no shopping, just history and that's what we did! One of us had some walking issues and Elkin and the driver made sure distances were not long. We never backtracked, the driver followed and picked us up. We did have a handicap placard with. I would recommend Dora's company highly.

[woody14h]

www.misteremerald.com

 

Highly recommended private tours...he does a lot of cruise ship biz.

Check it out before you go along with the herd on a ship tour.

 

We met him in his store. Nice gentleman. Couldn't get our timing right so were unable to use his service. Had a private tour. Beautiful city. Never felt threatened. Most SA cities have police with weapons around. Visible security for tourists. Just how it is. Go on a tour ship or otherwise. You will love it.