I heard back from Cartagena tour guide number 2. Here is what he said
"I need to clarify that I arrange the tours: developing a tour timing to match your interests, arranging for the guide and driver, and getting the transportation into the port so that it is available right at the foot of the gangway alongside the ship. I am not your guide; but I’ll make sure you get the best available guides. I will be there to meet you at the gangway to get you started on a great day in Cartagena.
If you prefer the personal attention of a small group in either a sedan or a van we can tailor your experience exactly to your interests and capacities. If you are looking for the best price and don’t mind going out with a larger group, I can provide standard bus tours in mini-buses but with flexibility of the monuments included. Whether or not they will operate on any given ship’s visit will depend on whether there are enough people to share the larger vehicle. For brief descriptions of the standard tours, see “Sample tours” (below).
One clarification: I have been involved in the sale of emeralds and fine jewelry in Cartagena for 35 years. My store, Mister Emerald, is located upstairs at the Pierino Gallo Center. That said, your tour of Cartagena will be organized according to your wishes. Whether you do, or do not, wish to look at emeralds or visit Pierino Gallo Plaza while you are in Cartagena is entirely up to you.
Tour information:
Time base:
An extensive historical tour of Cartagena including some shopping can be accomplished in 4 hours. If you are planning to have lunch, however, you should figure on 5 hours or a bit more. Normal pricing is made on the basis of a 4-hour tour. I have done tours that ran a full 8 hours, with a morning tour, lunch, and then additional sites in the afternoon. My advice is that in the heat and humidity of Cartagena you need to be sure to take it easy and not overtax yourself physically.
Ship arrival time
Most vessels arrive in Cartagena in the morning and leave in the early afternoon. In the case of ships that arrive in the late morning or at noon we need to make some adjustments to try to minimize the impact of the “noonday sun”. Ships that stay until evening time permit the options of horse-drawn carriage rides, sunsets, as well as entertainment and dining options that are not advisable in the heat of the day.
Monuments/sites
You can choose to do “photo stops” at the sites and monuments, or you may pay the fees and enter for full tours of those you choose. I charge in advance for the sites that we include on our final tour timing, and pre-pay them so that we have no delays or payment problems to gain access. A “normal” tour, without rushing, might include one to three sites/monuments. The more fees paid, the higher the price of the tour.
Please take a look at the attached Excel sheet for descriptions of the most popular sites/monuments, the minimum time required in each, and notes on accessibility.
Shopping options:
It is instructive to summarize what shopping is like in Cartagena. In contrast to Eastern Caribbean ports, Cartagena does not have the same procession of European brands and foreign products (Fendi, Gucci, Rolex, Lladro, Diamonds Int'l..). Instead, everything you find in Cartagena is really from Colombia. This goes for the coffee, handcrafts, leather goods and cigars, chocolate, as well as the premier product: emeralds and emerald jewelry. If you want access to the best coffee, handcrafts, and emeralds at the shops that are backed by the cruise line, then it is worth going out to the Pierino Gallo Plaza about 10 minutes from the Old City in the new part of town. If your interest is in handcrafts and souvenirs, without following the ship-backed recommendations, they are available at the “Dungeons” (Las Bovedas), a group of 20+ handcraft stores in the Old City.
Transportation
Transportation will be either in a private car (max.4), a van (max.8), or a mini bus (max. 27). Other options are available for large groups.
We can also arrange for up to four persons to go out in a private car. Two or three will be more comfortable. This is the most exclusive and personal option.
6-8 is the best number for a van. Technically these vans hold 14, but I figure 8, or at most 9, is the most you want to have share a van and still be comfortable.
If your group is larger, you can move up to a mini- bus. From a price point of view it is best to have a group of 13 or more. You can choose to have 9 to 12 in a bus, but it means that the cost per person of the transportation/guide in the tour price will be slightly higher.
Guides
I use only the very best available guides. I’ve been involved with these guides for 35 years here in Cartagena, so I know who is who. There are some of these guides’ names that have been mentioned positively on Cruise Critic. If you ask for specific guides by name I will do what I can to have them handle your tour. Be aware that these guides sometimes have other commitments on the specific day of your visit, as they are also much sought-after to guide the normal ship shore excursions. While we try to meet requests for specific guides, we will always make sure that you get a good guide that you can understand, that is knowledgeable, and that you will be comfortable with.
Port
Part of what these private tours include is that the guide and transportation is waiting for you inside the port, right on the pier at shipside. You do not need to go out to the Terminal buildings nor walk out onto the street to find transportation or meet your guide.
Special needs/mobility issues:
I need to know if we need to accommodate a wheelchair or scooter, and/or what the other mobility issues might be for the different members of the group. Several of the sites require climbing stairs to gain access to the second-floor exhibits, so we need to be sure that everyone can handle the monument/site choices we choose. Cartagena is unfortunately not very “wheel chair friendly”. It seems like all the monuments have at least two or three stairs and most do not have ramps or other special access. That said, we can often work around things by arranging for a little special help, or by having the wheel chair guest do a photo stop of the monument while the rest go ahead and do a full tour. We adjust the amounts charged for monument fees accordingly.
Pricing:
Pricing consists of a fixed amount that covers the vehicle, guide, port entry fees, etc. PLUS the entry fees to the monuments/sites we choose to include in the tour.
Tentatively this season (October 2011 to May 2012) the cost of a 4-hour tour in a private car with guide and driver waiting for you alongside the ship might range from US$ 220.00 to $285.00 for a couple, depending on how many monuments are included.
A van might cost from US$33 to $98 per person for the same time frame depending upon how many monuments are included and how many people share the van. For either a car or a van, please fill out the “questionnaire” and I will put together a personalized tour timing to fit your interests and capacities.
Sample tours:
CC-A -- A full tour of the Church of San Pedro Claver and the PreColumbian Gold Museum, photo stops at Palace of the Inquisition and San Felipe Fortress, walking in the Old City, shopping. (Minimal number of fee-paid monuments, least expensive)
CC-B -- Including full tours of La Popa Monastery, Church of San Pedro Claver and PreColumbian Gold Museum or more walking in the Old City, photo stops at San Felipe Fortress, and the Palace of the Inquisition, shopping. (Well-balanced tour, both walking, photo stops and fee-paid monuments, moderate price.)
CC-C -- Tour including full tours of San Felipe Fortress, San Pedro Claver Church, Palace of the Inquisition, walking in Old City, and shopping. (Significant number of fee-paid monuments/sites, history-intensive, higher-priced due to the number of fee-paid sites particularly the Fortress of San Felipe. Requires good walking ability, as you need to negotiate 180 yards of fairly steep ramps to reach the top of the Fortress.)
The above tours are just ideas. You can have more or less walking, different monuments, more or less shopping, etc."
Additionally A "photo" tour of the highlights might be something along the lines of "CC-A", with a stop up at La Popa Monastery and a short walk through the Old City (the walled city.) This, assumes you are up to managing a total of 13 steps in three separate groups up at La Popa, and about 6-7 blocks, with stops, of flat walking in the Old City.
Alternatively, we can do pretty much a panoramic tour. If you can't manage the walking in the Old City you may not be able to see the heart of the Old City around Plaza Bolivar, as the authorities close it to vehicles on ship days.
Let me know what you think of this information, and give me a bit better idea of what you think you are "up to" as regards walking, etc. One note: I will be leaving Friday or Saturday on a one-month sailing trip. I will have occasional access to email, but it may be a couple of weeks between opportunities. However, your ship will be coming to Cartagena on December 18 and it is the only ship in town that day, so we definitely can put together a tour for you that fits your preferences.
My current estimates for something along the lines of "CC-B" in December (with only one fee-paid stop at La Popa Monastery) would run on the order of $45 per person if there are 8 people in a van, $56 per person if there are 6 in the van; and about $80 per person if there are only 4 in the van. (Includes a/c van, drive, separate bilingual guide, and monument fees.) These are estimates, as I don't have either the price rises for guides and transportation, nor a very clear idea of the Dollar/Peso exchange rate. I believe that these estimates are if anything on the high side, however.
I am looking for 5 - 6 people who don't mind going slow for the old lady to join me in sharing the services of one of these guides. Please pm if interested with Cartegena in the subject line.
- I always clean my grill grates in my oven when I run the self cleaning feature - it works great - usually. But THIS time, they had a pretty good coat of winter sludge on them, so they smoked WAY more than normal. OMG it will take me weeks to get this smell out of my house
Can I just say I WISH I WAS BACK ON THE BOAT?!
) I can really start thinking about this one. The Canada cruise has me all confused. I'm so used to having to fly somewhere and make all kinds of hotel and travel arrangements that this just doesn't feel right! I'll walk out of my door, and in just under two hours I should be sitting somewhere on Magic enjoying lunch. I don't have to worry about luggage allowances or delayed flights or anything else!
(You're not getting older - you're getting BETTER!)
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Beth - I am envious of your upcoming cruise. We are about 3 hours away and I so wish I could cruise on the Magic, but the funds just don't allow for it 
