Sun Review - October 9th - Southern

[sonicbuffalo]

 

The other side of the fort and a statue

 

 

A few stores in Spanish

 

 

On Claudia's Tour which we climbed the hill overlooking the city....awesome!

 

 

A very Catholic Nation

 

 

Overlooking the city from what I believe was a monastery

 

[halos]

Was this your 1st NCL cruise??

[sonicbuffalo]

 

Our tour guide, and she was excellent....Claudia Vidal.....well worth it.

 

 

Our ship in port from the top of the hill "La Poppa", which means the front of the ship....it was said the mountain looks likes the front of the ship from a distance.

 

 

The monastery at the top of the mouintain.

 

 

Back to downtown at the Roman Catholic Church

 

 

Gowns worn during celebrations in Cartegena

 

[sonicbuffalo]

 

The Altar at the downtown Church

 

 

 

 

The Pope visited this church in 1986

 

 

A mural on a building in downtown. I was amazed at how large it was...

 

 

Shopping in downtown Cartegena

[sonicbuffalo]

 

Ginny shopping downtown

 

 

colorful trinkets...

 

 

paintings on bark....or wood planks...very good work.

 

 

This place reminded me of the Straw Market in the Bahamas

 

 

Love the colors in the picture...

 

 

Cops on motorcycles....really didn't experience a heavy police presence.

[debnjoe1438]

Enjoying your pictures and getting excited for my trip on the Sun in January. :D

[sonicbuffalo]

We will be on the Sun Nov 10 2013 cabins 1214 and 1215. Do you have any information about those cabins or the area. ???

 

Thanks

 

no......sorry

[sonicbuffalo]

Was this your 1st NCL cruise??

 

yes it was....other 4 on Carnival....

[sonicbuffalo]

Enjoying your pictures and getting excited for my trip on the Sun in January. :D

 

Thanks.....you'll love it!

[EnsignPulver]

Thanks for the review! With the on set of colder weather I am now starting to look forward to our cruise in about 13 weeks. Just when the weather is bad here in Ohio! It has been quite a few years since we have been on the Sun.

Edited October 25, 2013 by EnsignPulver

[Mrs. Squirrel]

What I really want to know is, did you (or your wife, or anyone else you know) shop for emeralds in Cartagena, and if so, how are the prices?? I keep telling my DH we need to do this...we may never go back to Colombia!:)

 

Let me share my Cartagena emerald experience. My DH had purchased an emerald ring for me when we were dating. My 1 carat center emerald fell out of my ring while I was in the hot-tub of the NCL Sky. (DH wasn't with me on this trip to remind me to remove all my jewelry. We looked and looked, but it's somewhere at the bottom of the sea!) :(

 

Fast forward to our Sun cruise last February. Knowing I would be in Columbia, I brought the ring with me hoping we'd have time to shop for a replacement. We went on a Cartegena city tour with a very well known, 5 Star rated tour company. I will not name them, because the owner had nothing to do with what followed. I don't want them injured in any way. Our guide was not the owner. At the conclusion of the tour, I mentioned to our guide that I would like to look at emeralds. He walked me over to a shop 'he knew'. We looked and eventually found a nice match in a .85 carat emerald. Although it was smaller than the original, it fit the setting well. We bought the emerald, had it mounted and returned home.

 

Ten days after our cruise, I took the ring to an appraiser for the rider I'd need on my homeowner's insurance. To my shock, the center stone appraised over 3 times less than what I paid for it! :mad: I contacted the jewelry store under the assumption that the stone must have been mis-marked. Long story short, there was a lot of back and forth between me, the jewelry store, and my CC company which included me getting a second appraisal that matched the first one. I eventually received $1200 back, but still ended up overpaying for the stone by about a grand. The jewelry store never would provide proof of any kind to back up their asking price for the stone. I now believe the store is either a money-laundering business or just outright fraudulent in their marketing to their customers. The store is, however, an approved jewelery store with the cruiselines. :rolleyes:

 

My advice is to shop at a know, local store and skip the lure of Columbia emeralds. Both appraisers told me that purchasing the stone in Columbia, in person, added absolutely $0 to its value. If you are set on buying an emerald ring as a souvenir, I did see many very pretty emerald rings in the souvenir shopping area in the couple of hundred or less range. Better bet than the high-end rip-off stores.

[hpecorari]

I've been told, but not sure how true this is.....that many taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. get a 'kick back' when they bring you to buy emeralds.

 

Harriet

[Mrs. Squirrel]

I've been told, but not sure how true this is.....that many taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. get a 'kick back' when they bring you to buy emeralds.

 

Harriet

 

I believe that to be true in our case, which is why I didn't want to mention the tour vendor. The tour company owner worked to help me get what I did get back. I believe the guide had side deals working.

[put me on a ship]

Let me share my Cartagena emerald experience. My DH had purchased an emerald ring for me when we were dating. My 1 carat center emerald fell out of my ring while I was in the hot-tub of the NCL Sky. (DH wasn't with me on this trip to remind me to remove all my jewelry. We looked and looked, but it's somewhere at the bottom of the sea!) :(

 

Fast forward to our Sun cruise last February. Knowing I would be in Columbia, I brought the ring with me hoping we'd have time to shop for a replacement. We went on a Cartegena city tour with a very well known, 5 Star rated tour company. I will not name them, because the owner had nothing to do with what followed. I don't want them injured in any way. Our guide was not the owner. At the conclusion of the tour, I mentioned to our guide that I would like to look at emeralds. He walked me over to a shop 'he knew'. We looked and eventually found a nice match in a .85 carat emerald. Although it was smaller than the original, it fit the setting well. We bought the emerald, had it mounted and returned home.

 

Ten days after our cruise, I took the ring to an appraiser for the rider I'd need on my homeowner's insurance. To my shock, the center stone appraised over 3 times less than what I paid for it! :mad: I contacted the jewelry store under the assumption that the stone must have been mis-marked. Long story short, there was a lot of back and forth between me, the jewelry store, and my CC company which included me getting a second appraisal that matched the first one. I eventually received $1200 back, but still ended up overpaying for the stone by about a grand. The jewelry store never would provide proof of any kind to back up their asking price for the stone. I now believe the store is either a money-laundering business or just outright fraudulent in their marketing to their customers. The store is, however, an approved jewelery store with the cruiselines. :rolleyes:

 

My advice is to shop at a know, local store and skip the lure of Columbia emeralds. Both appraisers told me that purchasing the stone in Columbia, in person, added absolutely $0 to its value. If you are set on buying an emerald ring as a souvenir, I did see many very pretty emerald rings in the souvenir shopping area in the couple of hundred or less range. Better bet than the high-end rip-off stores.

 

Thank you! Sorry you had a bad deal, but this is the kind of info I'm looking for!

[Arzeena]

I've been told, but not sure how true this is.....that many taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. get a 'kick back' when they bring you to buy emeralds.

 

Harriet

 

I have been told that too.

In fact, on the Claudia Vidal tour, the emerald "museum":rolleyes: tour concluded in a jewelry store where sales vultures were ready to descend on the tourists. I had three of them following me around from show case to showcase...it was quite annoying.

And while I am writing this, let me mention that Claudia is a great guide, but was the tour worth $80? NO WAY. Was it $50? Nope! Could I have seen the same things, perhaps some more on NCL's tour or a different tour.....probably yes, for probably much cheaper.......with Claudia, we did not go inside the Gold Museum or the Inquisition Palace, two of the things I wanted to see more than the jewelry store or the souvenier stores. We saw other tour groups going inside the Gold Museum and Inquisition Palace, but our group just passed by, don't know for sure for what reason, but I heard Claudia say something about some other group being in there so we couldn't.

On a positive note, whatever we saw or missed, it was a nice tour.

Hariett, I so wanted to go touch the statue of good luck as you had mentioned to me......didn't see that either!

[Sabiney]

Thanks sonicbuffalo for the review and photos!

 

And, thanks to Risa for the dailies!

 

Any comment on the entertainment? Were there any shows or musicians that really stood out? How was the Hypnotist?

 

Looks like they showed several football games during your cruise. Were they live telecasts? DH will be so pleased to say the least. Was the Sports Bar the only place they were televised, or was it also shown on other TV's around the ship?

 

Pat

[hpecorari]

I have been told that too.

In fact, on the Claudia Vidal tour, the emerald "museum":rolleyes: tour concluded in a jewelry store where sales vultures were ready to descend on the tourists. I had three of them following me around from show case to showcase...it was quite annoying.

And while I am writing this, let me mention that Claudia is a great guide, but was the tour worth $80? NO WAY. Was it $50? Nope! Could I have seen the same things, perhaps some more on NCL's tour or a different tour.....probably yes, for probably much cheaper.......with Claudia, we did not go inside the Gold Museum or the Inquisition Palace, two of the things I wanted to see more than the jewelry store or the souvenier stores. We saw other tour groups going inside the Gold Museum and Inquisition Palace, but our group just passed by, don't know for sure for what reason, but I heard Claudia say something about some other group being in there so we couldn't.

On a positive note, whatever we saw or missed, it was a nice tour.

Hariett, I so wanted to go touch the statue of good luck as you had mentioned to me......didn't see that either!

 

Ahhhh, next time....a good reason to go back. I have a picture I took of it from our last trip there.....but I don't know how to upload photos here

:(

 

Harriet

[halos]

I believe that to be true in our case, which is why I didn't want to mention the tour vendor. The tour company owner worked to help me get what I did get back. I believe the guide had side deals working.

This is part of the reason I love CC.

I SO appreciate you posting your story. I have yet to buy expensive jewelry outside the US, but it is always tempting.

Now, I am obviously less tempted.

Thank you.

Edited October 26, 2013 by halos

[sonicbuffalo]

I feel bad that someone got ripped off by buying Emeralds. Let me say this, most Emeralds are full of inclusions. If you want one without inclusions or very few, you will pay dearly.

 

That being said, last year on St. Thomas, I bought my wife a Sapphire and Diamond ring that was sold to me in a ship recommended shop (although I didn't know it until the shopping specialist walked into the store). I paid $500 and got it appraised here in North Carolina for over $2400. I think you can get good deals if you know what you're doing.

 

Just be careful with what you buy. I will tell you what I bought my wife for this years anniversary later in my review. Maybe even a picture or two.

[sonicbuffalo]

I have been told that too.

In fact, on the Claudia Vidal tour, the emerald "museum":rolleyes: tour concluded in a jewelry store where sales vultures were ready to descend on the tourists. I had three of them following me around from show case to showcase...it was quite annoying.

And while I am writing this, let me mention that Claudia is a great guide, but was the tour worth $80? NO WAY. Was it $50? Nope! Could I have seen the same things, perhaps some more on NCL's tour or a different tour.....probably yes, for probably much cheaper.......with Claudia, we did not go inside the Gold Museum or the Inquisition Palace, two of the things I wanted to see more than the jewelry store or the souvenier stores. We saw other tour groups going inside the Gold Museum and Inquisition Palace, but our group just passed by, don't know for sure for what reason, but I heard Claudia say something about some other group being in there so we couldn't.

On a positive note, whatever we saw or missed, it was a nice tour.

Hariett, I so wanted to go touch the statue of good luck as you had mentioned to me......didn't see that either!

 

Sales vultures in the Emerald Museum? Not any more than ANY jewelry store you would go into. I thought Claudia's tour was excellent. Of course on St. Thomas we got a tour for $15 pp. We got one on St. Martin to both sides of the island (French & Dutch) for $20 which included a stop at Orient Beach. Overall, because we filled up Claudia's bus to near capacity, we saved about $40 p.p. It was well worth it.

[sonicbuffalo]

Let me share my Cartagena emerald experience. My DH had purchased an emerald ring for me when we were dating. My 1 carat center emerald fell out of my ring while I was in the hot-tub of the NCL Sky. (DH wasn't with me on this trip to remind me to remove all my jewelry. We looked and looked, but it's somewhere at the bottom of the sea!) :(

 

Fast forward to our Sun cruise last February. Knowing I would be in Columbia, I brought the ring with me hoping we'd have time to shop for a replacement. We went on a Cartegena city tour with a very well known, 5 Star rated tour company. I will not name them, because the owner had nothing to do with what followed. I don't want them injured in any way. Our guide was not the owner. At the conclusion of the tour, I mentioned to our guide that I would like to look at emeralds. He walked me over to a shop 'he knew'. We looked and eventually found a nice match in a .85 carat emerald. Although it was smaller than the original, it fit the setting well. We bought the emerald, had it mounted and returned home.

 

Ten days after our cruise, I took the ring to an appraiser for the rider I'd need on my homeowner's insurance. To my shock, the center stone appraised over 3 times less than what I paid for it! :mad: I contacted the jewelry store under the assumption that the stone must have been mis-marked. Long story short, there was a lot of back and forth between me, the jewelry store, and my CC company which included me getting a second appraisal that matched the first one. I eventually received $1200 back, but still ended up overpaying for the stone by about a grand. The jewelry store never would provide proof of any kind to back up their asking price for the stone. I now believe the store is either a money-laundering business or just outright fraudulent in their marketing to their customers. The store is, however, an approved jewelery store with the cruiselines. :rolleyes:

 

My advice is to shop at a know, local store and skip the lure of Columbia emeralds. Both appraisers told me that purchasing the stone in Columbia, in person, added absolutely $0 to its value. If you are set on buying an emerald ring as a souvenir, I did see many very pretty emerald rings in the souvenir shopping area in the couple of hundred or less range. Better bet than the high-end rip-off stores.

 

Not to change the subject but Diamonds International is recommended by most of the cruise lines and I'd never buy from them. They are way over priced.

[debnjoe1438]

I feel bad that someone got ripped off by buying Emeralds. Let me say this, most Emeralds are full of inclusions. If you want one without inclusions or very few, you will pay dearly.

 

That being said, last year on St. Thomas, I bought my wife a Sapphire and Diamond ring that was sold to me in a ship recommended shop (although I didn't know it until the shopping specialist walked into the store). I paid $500 and got it appraised here in North Carolina for over $2400. I think you can get good deals if you know what you're doing.

 

Just be careful with what you buy. I will tell you what I bought my wife for this years anniversary later in my review. Maybe even a picture or two.

 

Wow-sweet. :) Congratulations.

 

I often wonder if the Ammolite is worth what they say. I have a necklace and a ring DH bougth for two separate anniversaries. However, no matter, I like them and Joe paid what he was willing to pay for them. (Seeing how they are not sold in the US, I never worried with appraisal.)

 

Looking forward to pictures and more reviews. I envy those of you who can figure out how to successfully get pictures on this site, and I appreciate them.:D

[sonicbuffalo]

I have been told that too.

In fact, on the Claudia Vidal tour, the emerald "museum":rolleyes: tour concluded in a jewelry store where sales vultures were ready to descend on the tourists. I had three of them following me around from show case to showcase...it was quite annoying.

And while I am writing this, let me mention that Claudia is a great guide, but was the tour worth $80? NO WAY. Was it $50? Nope! Could I have seen the same things, perhaps some more on NCL's tour or a different tour.....probably yes, for probably much cheaper.......with Claudia, we did not go inside the Gold Museum or the Inquisition Palace, two of the things I wanted to see more than the jewelry store or the souvenier stores. We saw other tour groups going inside the Gold Museum and Inquisition Palace, but our group just passed by, don't know for sure for what reason, but I heard Claudia say something about some other group being in there so we couldn't.

On a positive note, whatever we saw or missed, it was a nice tour.

Hariett, I so wanted to go touch the statue of good luck as you had mentioned to me......didn't see that either!

 

One more thing....just because I helped organize the tour (Chris Jones), I did not pay one penney less than you did for my wife and I + tip. I enjoyed hearing all about the history of Cartegena. I thought Claudia did a great job at that. Not only that but Claudia provided us each with a DVD of a tour she had done previously. Have you heard of any ship sponsored excursion to Cartegena doing that?

Edited October 26, 2013 by sonicbuffalo

[sonicbuffalo]

Wow-sweet. :) Congratulations.

 

I often wonder if the Ammolite is worth what they say. I have a necklace and a ring DH bougth for two separate anniversaries. However, no matter, I like them and Joe paid what he was willing to pay for them. (Seeing how they are not sold in the US, I never worried with appraisal.)

 

Looking forward to pictures and more reviews. I envy those of you who can figure out how to successfully get pictures on this site, and I appreciate them.:D

 

If you want to post pictures on the website, you must first upload them to a picture hosting site like photobucket. I pay for that but have found out if I would downsize the photos I could do it for free so I'm still learning too!

[tiggerman101]

Thank you for the review. My parents were on this cruise so it is fun to go back and see it from your perspective.