If You See It: Eat It! Via Panama to Disneyland - Completed and Link to New Trip Report 2/24

[Poolrat]

So much or a no alcohol day. You almost made it but I can't say I blame you- I would have taken the glass of wine too even though I am not a wine drinker.
That is some ship movement! I don't normally have an issue with motion sickness so I hope it would feel fun and not make me queasy.

Another fine meal. Those desserts look real yummy.

 

[Flossbolna]

I wouldn't believe you

You are smart!!

Lots of cardamom and stinky cheese????

Well, cardamon is delicious - the cheese not. And I hope they will not serve the rotten fish, but I am not sure whether that might not be a solely Swedish thing...

I'm so looking forward to travel again with my personal travel agent!!!

And the best thing is that your personal travel agent has now found a fantastic professional travel agent which makes everything even more organised! And easier for me!

I like the new room very much!!! And very tidy too...

Small room: needs to be kept tidy as much as possible! Don't get too attached to the pictures of this room, ours will have no window, not even an obstructed one!

This looks like a space I would very much enjoy! I'm afraid of getting annoyed by all these people…

Unfortunately they have taken it away on the Magic. And I am pretty sure that you will be able to enjoy the ship without getting annoyed by the masses. You very very rarely feel like in the parks crowd wise.

No chairs on deck remind me of so many travels by ferry where there never seem to be enough chairs for everyone (at least not outside), so people have to sit on the floor outside.

Not a lot of people sitting on the floor on Disney ships. But I think it would be really fun to take the ferry over to Denmark to go on the cruise in order to fully appreciate the difference!

Lunch looks good, although a little bit weird.

Why weird? The colour of the duck and salad dressing? I think that was the flash.

And you make me very envious with all your time at the pool, I think today autumn started for real in Berlin...

Today was really cold here, too.

 

[Flossbolna]

I'm glad I just had dinner….

What do you expect with the title of this trip report - there is going to be lots of food! What else is there to do on those sea days???

This sounds and looks like salad dressing.

Well, it was oil-free dressing then. It was really tasty and it did photograph well.

Where IS the basil???

See those tiny green specks on the mozzarella??????

All the food looks really yummy!

It was!

I think I agree with you. Although the food looks really fine, I think it is not sooo special for me.

We still have some time to think about it. It is a lovely experience - and with the long evenings in Norway we would most likely have a great view. But wait until you see the pictures from brunch, maybe that is more interesting for you.

Might do you good...

Hmpf!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I could have sworn that I had already commented, but obviously not. I like your new room. I am amazed how little obstruction there is. What a shame though about the banging door the first day and the announcements. Lunch and dinner looked delicious. I do however agree that the dessert at lunch is nothing like a crumble.

I had every intention of making good use of the secret deck on deck 7, but I did not make it there even once. We were far too comfortable on deck 4.

I had not realized that Dragan was jumping ship for the Dream. I knew that he was due to leave the Wonder shortly, but I figured that it would be just for a holiday. Still, maybe we will see him on the Dream next year.

The special turn down was a nice surprise. I had to laugh about how your good intentions to have an alcohol-free day were swarted.

Corinna

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

A hypnotist was not our thing, that’s why we skipped his show.

Oh, come one. You didn't want to be on stage barking like a dog for everyone's enjoyment?

That picture of Michael in a black suit (we did not have time to go and get changed between Palo and the start of the film) and Donald in his red cruise line sailor outfit is one of my favourite pictures of the cruise.

Sounds like a fun one!

You could tell that this was a Disney fan crowd who was interested in the film that showcased the making of Mary Poppins. I had mixed feelings about the film – I somehow thought the childhood parts of the film were far too overdramatic for my taste. The other half of the film was rather enjoyable though.

I agree. I really liked the battles between P.L. Travers and the writers/Walt. They were entertaining.

I found a free loung chair there, sat down and enjoyed the view:

Great spot!

It even turned the pool into quite a bit of a wave pool. I tried to get a picture of that:

Wow! I would start worrying about seasickness, myself.

It was fun! I liked sitting in those shallow parts of the pool with my back to the wall and have the water splash over me.

That does sound fun, though!

We should just tell them if there was anything they could do. We were really being treated very nicely!

 

[Flossbolna]

I understand Michael for not wanting his photo posted. I do not like to see pictures of me either but I love seeing photos of other people. Next time he could wear a mask or something and pretend to be the mystery man. MMM – Mystery Man Michael.

I think if I post pictures of someone, then you need to see the person. I could always just scramble up his face in a photo editor or something like that. But I think that that would be even stranger than no picture...

Since I am asthmatic and cologne and/or residual cigarette smoke are my asthma triggers we always request our own table. We would love to visit with other folks but it works better for us to request a private table ahead of cruising.

You might be able to find table mates through the cruise meet thread here on the DIS if that is something you want to experience. I am sure you would find people who are neither smokers nor wearing cologne... Those must be difficult asthma triggers to live with. Especially cologne!

Yum, the fried brie looks awesome.

It was very nice!

What sweet non-tablemates you had! How could you possibly turn down the glass of wine?

They were really lovely. It kind of was the best of both worlds. We would chat a little bit every evening, but it was not a constant conversation.

I think this would be a night when I would have wanted to request two deserts, the crème brûlée and Grand Marnier Soufflé ... and I am not even a desert person.

Kate

The sad thing is that there were many evenings when we were kind of disappointed with the dessert menus as they were so uninspired and then one evening they have not only one, but two great choices...

I'm not sure how long ago I commented so I'll just jump in on the updates you recently posted. I love Palo, and your dishes look fantastic. I love their Chocolate Souffle too!

Don't worry! I think the strategy of just jumping back in always works the best!

The tuna was truly wonderful - as was the soufflé!

Sea days are just so relaxing, I love having breakfast at Triton's, and lunch for that matter. Your breakfast looked great! It's interesting that you thought the DVC presentation was a hard sell. Though I've never been to one, most people say that they have a soft sell.

That was the best thing about this cruise: The many sea days!

And I agree on Triton's. We really enjoyed eating in there. It is so much more relaxed during the day and it is a very pretty restaurant!

The DVC presentation was not a hard sell in an obvious way, it was more the underlying sales methods that kind of struck me. They were more talking about memories, pixie dust and putting a smile on your kid's face than about the hard facts. Of course this was the presentation to get people to sign up for individual talks. But there was still a lot of emotional pressure to not let the opportunity slip away. I know that in the past they were really offering very good deals on the ships that you could not get on land, but that is no longer the case. I think if we are talking about something that is going to cost you at least about 25000 $ (150 points at VGF at the current pricing) trying to convince people that it is a good idea to decide on this on a cruise while they have very little chance to actually review their finances (crappy internet, phone calls are very expensive) is kind of manipulative. I am sure that there are people who bought on a cruise and went in knowing exactly what they are doing because they had done their research. But this was not aiming at those.

That menu at Triton's is my favorite as well, and the Grand Mariner Souffle is definitely one of THE best things that they offer on a ship!

I agree! This menu at Triton's was my first ever meal on a DCL ship and I was wondering whether that is why I thought it was so good. But after having experienced so many different nights now, I still think it is one of the best 3 (the other two are coming in the second week of the cruise...).

I'm very much enjoying all the details in your report!

Thanks! I always try to write the TRs so as I would like to read them. So I have to say you have great taste!!

 

[Flossbolna]

So much or a no alcohol day. You almost made it but I can't say I blame you- I would have taken the glass of wine too even though I am not a wine drinker.

The wine was actually very nice! I liked it a lot. But even with this one glass during dinner, it was good for me to take it a bit slower on the alcohol after the first few days. Somehow on the last cruise I had regrets that I did not try more of the special drinks, so I felt I needed to make up for that...

That is some ship movement! I don't normally have an issue with motion sickness so I hope it would feel fun and not make me queasy.

I have lots of issues with motion sickness (can't sit in the back of a car for long trips), but never had any problems on the ship!

Another fine meal. Those desserts look real yummy.

The soufflé was yummy!!

I could have sworn that I had already commented, but obviously not. I like your new room. I am amazed how little obstruction there is. What a shame though about the banging door the first day and the announcements.

The obstruction is really not bad at all! However, I noticed that often the 10As go for more than for example a 9C. Of course you are not on the "low" deck 2, but all in all I would rather have a room without obstruction. And I loved the view of the water from deck 2 on our last cruise.

Lunch and dinner looked delicious. I do however agree that the dessert at lunch is nothing like a crumble.

Thanks for confirming my crumble doubts!!

I had every intention of making good use of the secret deck on deck 7, but I did not make it there even once. We were far too comfortable on deck 4.

I went back there on Panama Canal day, but it was occupied by a large group, so disappeared quickly again. I think deck 4 is much nicer, especially for our cruise as it was sheltered from sun and rain (depending on what you needed right now).

I had not realized that Dragan was jumping ship for the Dream. I knew that he was due to leave the Wonder shortly, but I figured that it would be just for a holiday. Still, maybe we will see him on the Dream next year.

I am pretty sure it was the Dream because I thought that this is the ship that I am least likely to cruise on in the near future. I just have no interest in a 4-night cruise... Josip (our head server, I think yours too?) told us that supposedly management is being moved from ship to ship. I guess that helps to maintain equal standards between ships.

The special turn down was a nice surprise.

It was! We had a wonderful stateroom host who kept the room in perfect order! We talked with him about the special turn down and he was rather proud about it.

I had to laugh about how your good intentions to have an alcohol-free day were swarted.

Corinna

Well, what don't you do in order to be polite... It was such a huge sacrifice...

 

[Flossbolna]

Day 11, May 8

Cartagena, Columbia
Distance from Cozumel: 930 Nautical Miles
Average Speed: 15.5 knots
Distance so far: 1475 Nautical Miles
All Fast: 6:27am
All Aboard: 3pm
Cast Off: 3:10pm
Dress Code: Cruise Casual
Dinner Menu: Prince and Princess
Show: The Magic & Illusion of Scott Alexander
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 86°F/30°C

Today was our port day in Colombia – the one port that had created a stir every time I told people about it before our cruise. We all have heard far too many bad stories about Colombia unfortunately. I had done some reading about Cartagena before the cruise and I got the impression that this was actually going to be a far more accessible place than one would think when hearing Colombia. It is described as a resort town, is considered one of the gems of Colombia and one of the safest places.

Still, I am always a bit hesitant to find my way around when I am somewhere new where I don’t speak the language and cannot rely on English being widely spoken. So we decided to take one of the official excursions there. There were quite a lot to chose from and most included being driven by bus to different places and most seem to include some kind of “cultural” show. I am not a huge fan of these shows. I see them being done for tourists here in Bavaria and mostly they are just very fake and have only little to do with the real culture. Fortunately the cheapest of them all, the Cartagena Old City Walking Tour was mainly walking through the city and no cultural show. I think it was 39 $ per adult.

Our meeting time for the excursion was 9am. We ordered room service breakfast for 8am and it came promptly, even a little early, so they woke us up by knocking on the door. I am not sure what we had, but it was totally unimpressive. This was my second DCL room service breakfast and I think it will be my last. I might order tea and coffee from them, but otherwise I think it makes more sense to head up to the buffet to get what you want. Even the pastries are tastier at the buffet!

When we arrived in Wavebands the room was rather full with people. It was then announced that one of every party should come up front to get stickers for their whole party. Immediately a very long line formed, I waited some time until it seemed to get shorter, but when I got up to get our stickers, the line was still out into the hallway. We were actually being separated into 4 different groups, each got a different sticker. We were in the Aladdin group.

And then we were all led off the ship. We were in Wavebands which is all the way forward in the ship, but we were being led all the way towards the aft of the ship to get off through the door there. Not sure why that was… But I was able to get a nice picture of all the busses that were lined up outside:

(bonus: the Hapag-Lloyd ship in the background is from a German shipping company!)
And a first shot of Cartagena in the distance:

Cartagena is a large shipping port (more pictures later on) and we were just in the middle of the huge container port. Quite a contrast to Cozumel and Key West!

Here you can see the long line of Walking Tour cruise passengers about to split into their respective busses:

We actually had to walk past a number of busses and it seemed like nearly half of them were labelled with “Horse Carriage Ride” – yes, I know that they did get to ride in a real horse carriage at a later point in the day, we saw them. They did not sell them a bus as a horse carriage!

This was our bus:

Once on our bus our tour guide introduced himself. His name was Cesar and I later found out that he was of German origin and was very excited to have someone from Germany on the tour. He kept chatting with me in German.

We did not drive far, but getting out of the port area there was a lot of traffic. I took some pictures along the way. It was interesting to see the stark differences between well kept houses and suddenly total desolation. There was also a lot of garbage lying around along the streets. You could tell that this was not a country with the same standard of living for everyone like Western Europe or the US.

The neighbourhood we drove through was very residential and Cesar said it used to be a more high end neighbourhood, but now was mainly middle class. Some houses were really very pretty!

Our first stop was the old castle, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. We just stopped here to take pictures and Cesar told us a little bit about the history.

The castle and the old city itself both are examples of Spanish colonial architecture and together are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On this first stop we first encountered something that I had read a lot about on previous reports about Cartagena: the souvenir peddlers. There are plenty of them, they all try to sell more or less the same things. It was obvious that these were just people trying to make a living, but they were using tactics that might seem rather aggressive to us. They would hold their offerings in your way, tell you to look at them. I never had a problem with them when I said a friendly no thank you. However, I witnessed some of them following people who were walking towards the bus, trying to put a hat on someone’s head and such. I really can’t tell you why they seemed to concentrate more on some than on others? We all were so obviously cruise ships tourists with our tour guide and our Aladdin stickers. Maybe some looked more touristy than us? Maybe totally ignoring them (what some people did) is the wrong strategy? Michael said he thought that they were not worse than on the Bahamas. But I have never been there, so I can’t tell you if that’s true.

Our next stop was at a place that I think used to be some old military stables. It has now been converted into a long shopping district for tourists:

We stopped here for about 20 minutes and Cesar told us that we could use the bathroom in one of the shops. Thinking that this would be the only chance for a bathroom, I got in line. It was not the nicest bathroom… And by the time I was done, there was not much more time to look around. I also felt a bit insecure about the whole process of being somewhere foreign and by the time we had found a shop which actually had things I really liked it was time to get back to the bus. I do regret not getting something from there. But I need time if I want to shop and 20 minutes was just way too short for me.

From there we continued by bus along the city walls to the point where we were being dropped off. When we were getting out of the bus, everyone got a bottle of ice cold water. That was very much appreciated as it was baking hot!

We started to walk into the city and I was just in awe at how beautiful the old city is! I live in a city that has cruise ship (river cruises) passengers on walking tours walking through it on a regular basis. I live in (nearly) the German equivalent to Cartagena (minus the warm weather), so old cities are everyday life to me. But this place was so pretty and charming!!

We came to a very nice square in the city center, the Plaza de Bolivar.

Here we had our first stop, the museum of the inquisition:

We did not really spend time to look at the exhibits very much, it was more to look at the very nice building it was in. And to have a restroom stop for anyone who needed one.

You also had a very nice view of the cathedral from there:

Up Next: Where is Everybody?
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52365991&postcount=314http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52365991&postcount=314http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52365991&postcount=314

 

[Flossbolna]

Mark - I have not overlooked your comments! But it is late and I need sleep and will reply tomorrow!!

 

[Poolrat]

Very Pretty.

In a way it looks a bit like The French Quarter in New Orleans.

Narrow streets with the wrought iron balconies and churches and similar architecture.

I think you chose well and I probably would have picked a similar excursion.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Today was our port day in Colombia – the one port that had created a stir every time I told people about it before our cruise. We all have heard far too many bad stories about Colombia unfortunately. I had done some reading about Cartagena before the cruise and I got the impression that this was actually going to be a far more accessible place than one would think when hearing Colombia. It is described as a resort town, is considered one of the gems of Colombia and one of the safest places.

I'm sure it's just like any other place--bad news tends to travel much more easily than good news.

Cartagena is a large shipping port (more pictures later on) and we were just in the middle of the huge container port. Quite a contrast to Cozumel and Key West!

Not the most scenic port, is it?

Our first stop was the old castle, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. We just stopped here to take pictures and Cesar told us a little bit about the history.

That looks like an amazing place!

On this first stop we first encountered something that I had read a lot about on previous reports about Cartagena: the souvenir peddlers.

I'm not a fan of them in any country!

We started to walk into the city and I was just in awe at how beautiful the old city is! I live in a city that has cruise ship (river cruises) passengers on walking tours walking through it on a regular basis. I live in (nearly) the German equivalent to Cartagena (minus the warm weather), so old cities are everyday life to me. But this place was so pretty and charming!!

Gorgeous area! It would be a lot of fun to just have time to wander the streets there.

Mark - I have not overlooked your comments! But it is late and I need sleep and will reply tomorrow!!

If I've learned anything over the past year, it's the value of a good night's sleep!

 

[Flossbolna]

Oh, come one. You didn't want to be on stage barking like a dog for everyone's enjoyment?

No - nor do I find other people barking like dogs very amusing either.

I agree. I really liked the battles between P.L. Travers and the writers/Walt. They were entertaining.

Yes, those were great!

Wow! I would start worrying about seasickness, myself.

It was not nearly that bad!

That does sound fun, though!

It was, who does not like a little bit of waves in a pool?

I'm sure it's just like any other place--bad news tends to travel much more easily than good news.

Yes, certainly. And then you always need to take into account that things are different in different regions of the same country. If someone went to Florida and came back saying that the USA is a very hot country and advises friends to only bring shorts when they are travelling to New England, it would be very bad advise.

Not the most scenic port, is it?

No, but is not really that much of a cruise port. They do get quite a bit of cruise business, but we were the last ship of the season.

That looks like an amazing place!

I kind of wished we would have had time to explore it.

I'm not a fan of them in any country!

Who is?

Gorgeous area! It would be a lot of fun to just have time to wander the streets there.

I agree.

If I've learned anything over the past year, it's the value of a good night's sleep!

Yes, I thought you would understand!

 

[Flossbolna]

Very Pretty.

In a way it looks a bit like The French Quarter in New Orleans.

Narrow streets with the wrought iron balconies and churches and similar architecture.

I think you chose well and I probably would have picked a similar excursion.

It's interesting that you think it looks like New Orleans - I guess it has to do with similar influences. But the balconies here were mainly wood I thought.

It was a good excursion, more will come shortly.

 

[Flossbolna]

Next we walked through the square which has a statue of Simon Bolivar who was very important to the independence of Colombia:

On the other side of the square was the cathedral, so we stopped in there:

In here we met some CMs from the ship. A very nice CM from Mexico who had been working in the gallery on the Wonder (one hallway has Disney art on the wall that you can buy) and with whom we had chatted a few times when walking through there was sightseeing with some colleagues. They were obviously very comfortable just being out there on their own as a group of four girls. For me that was the point when I realised that I was not in a really scary place at all, but a very civilised place that was just a bit different from what I was used at home.

Our next stop was just across the street. But I think it was at this point that we had to let a long line of horse drawn carriages pass through before we could cross the street. It was one carriage after another. It seemed like every party had their own carriage. We saw another group come through later on. This was definitely a popular excursion. I think you would get a nice view of the city doing this and you would save yourself some walking. But we did not walk that much and we had the chance to stand in the shade when Cesar was telling us something. Sitting in the carriage you might be out in the sun most of the time. And the weather was hot and humid that day! I also prefer to be able to have a closer look at things, so walking was more my style of exploring a city.

We were headed into the Museo del Oro – or Museum of Gold.

This was actually in an old bank and you got to walk into their old vault through those massive doors!

The gold that was on display was all from the original Colombian cultures before they got colonized by the Spanish. A lot of it was extremely beautiful and they had really nice displays:

I also learned that there is a river in Colombia which has been named after me!!

We had quite some time in the museum which was nice as we were able to actually read the explanations. Also, there was another restroom possibility here.

Walking towards the Customs Square we came across this new statue of Pope John Paul II:

I found it interesting to see someone who I remember being around as a statue. It seems that statues are usually of some historic figures.

At the Customs Square there is a very pretty city gate. This is the view from inside the city:

In the gate was a used book bookseller:

And this is the view from outside the city:

And this is the view towards the newer part of the city, with the gate in my back:

The Customs Square is really large and one side of it is where the boats used to dock coming in with cargo from Europe. The Customs Square is where the duty on the imported goods had to be paid. I imagine that it used to be that lively market place in the past. Along side it there are quite a lot of bars (including the Hard Rock Café) and Cesar told us that during the evening this is the place to be and it gets very lifely.

This is a statue on the Customs Square:

There was some modern art on display:

And then we walked towards this church:

To the right of it was a store selling emeralds and Cesar brought us into the store. He then told us that we now had 35 minutes of free time to explore the town and to meet back in front of the store. So, Michael and I headed out and started to explore a bit on our own. It was amazing. All those very aggressive souvenir sellers suddenly were not really bothering us anymore. They still offered their goods, but they did not walk up to us or so. We walked back to the Bolivar Square and the city had become far less hectic. Being in a large group and having other large groups doing more or less the same tour before and behind you created such a hectic atmosphere. Now it had quieted down. On the Square we bought some popsicles from a vendor. I think they were 2 dollars each, we probably could have bartered with her. But I really was not up to that. We explored quite a few streets. There were quite a lot of high end shops and it was really nice! We came across a food store and I was so tempted to buy some Columbian candy but was to chicken to enquire if they would take a credit card for such a small purchase. But we did see this:

Ketchup in a pouch!! I thought it was very funny, but so practical!!

When it was about time to meet up again, we went back. We arrived a few minutes early and no one was there. We did not see anyone from our group nor did we see Cesar. Briefly afterwards we did see some others from our group, but only a handful and no Cesar. It was now well past our supposed meeting time and we were getting slightly worried. Finally Cesar appeared and it seemed like most people from the group had not dared to venture out on their own and just camped out in front of the store and had gotten Cesar to bring them back to the bus earlier. This then caused him being late for being back to get us. We were not really happy about it. There had been a few moments when we were a bit scared about being stranded. For me it was a relief to see the other people from our group as I felt that we could always keep together to make our way back to the ship on our own. And we still had plenty of time until sailaway, so there was no danger of missing the ship!

Once back on the bus it was so great to be back in air conditioning!! We were so hot! It took quite some time to get back to the Wonder. The tour was advertised at being about 4 hours long, but we did run late, we only got back by 1:45pm, it had started at 9am. Once back at the Wonder we were welcomed with cold wet clothes and ice water. It felt soooo great!

Overall, I think we had a good excursion. I later learned from a lady that she just took a cab into the old city and explored on her own. After having been there, I would easily do this on another visit. Maybe not on my own, but with a travel companion. It was amazing how much less we got bothered by the souvenir sellers when we were not part of a group. And walking around on our own, I never felt unsafe. Also, I don’t think all those high end shops would be able to be around if it weren’t a place where people with money went shopping and it was not in a street where obviously everyone was brought by limo to the front door. I really think Cartagena suffers from the bad reputation that Colombia has. Of course, if you are able to speak some Spanish that would make things even easier!

Once back on the ship we decided to go and get some lunch. Unfortunately it seemed like all the tours came back at the same time and everyone wanted to get lunch. Michael really wanted to get a burger for lunch, but the line for burgers was sooo long. And the burger place is outside, so we would have been standing out in the sun waiting for our burgers. I did not want to do that at all and wanted to go to Beach Blanket. I convinced Michael that this was the better option than a long burger line in the sun. Well, I really regretted doing that!! BBB was hopping. The line for the buffet was not too bad. But finding a table was nearly impossible. Luckily I was able to score a table when someone got up. There were tables open outside, but we had no desire to head back out in the heat. Besides the table problem, it also turned out that today was kind of a seafood buffet. And Michael does not eat seafood. This really gae him very limited options!

This is my tray:

I had some salad and chicken and in the bowl was an Indian rice dish. That was absolutely fantastic!! I saw it being offered and suggested it to Michael and he got some of it as well.

This is Michael’s plate:

After we were less hungry, we headed back to the stateroom to take a shower and then it was time for Michael to head to his massage.

Up Next: Next stop Panama!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Your tour sounded great. We felt much the same about Cartagena and if we do return, we will just get a taxi to Old Town. I am glad that your experience was that the street vendors were not really interested in individuals and couples. We had heard this around the ship as well. Even at their worst they were nowhere near as bad as the ones we have encountered in Nassau. We got back to the ship even later, but by the time we got back, the lunch crowds had dispersed.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Cartengna looks like a really cool city. I agree, I think the Colombia's reputation gives a bad impression to the city that probably doesn't deserve it.

Jill in CO

 

[wilma-bride]

Magdalene, I was so behind with your trip report but all caught up now. Too much for me to comment on individually so I will just say how much I am loving the food pictures, alcohol pictures and the huge amount of detail. I am so excited for our cruise in May now, please post more soon

 

[Flossbolna]

Your tour sounded great. We felt much the same about Cartagena and if we do return, we will just get a taxi to Old Town. I am glad that your experience was that the street vendors were not really interested in individuals and couples. We had heard this around the ship as well. Even at their worst they were nowhere near as bad as the ones we have encountered in Nassau. We got back to the ship even later, but by the time we got back, the lunch crowds had dispersed.

Corinna

For what it was, it was a great tour. I am just not a big fan of walking around in a large group. And it was the cheapest excursion available.

I was really positively surprised by how easy Cartagena was, at least in the Old City. If I am back there, I would just do the taxi on your own as well. But they also had an excursion to the Rosarie islands (not sure on the exact name) that sounded very intersting!

And Michael said exactly the same thing about Nassau!

 

[Flossbolna]

Cartengna looks like a really cool city. I agree, I think the Colombia's reputation gives a bad impression to the city that probably doesn't deserve it.

Jill in CO

It was really very pretty! And, yes, it does not deserve to be painted with a broad brush that it is in Colombia and hence must be really dangerous. I have also heard that Colombia in general has improved much over the last years.

Magdalene, I was so behind with your trip report but all caught up now. Too much for me to comment on individually so I will just say how much I am loving the food pictures, alcohol pictures and the huge amount of detail. I am so excited for our cruise in May now, please post more soon

I am happy to hear that you are enjoying it! I love reading trip reports which are about trips which I have planned in the future as well. And I hope to get this finished soon - but we are still not at the half-way point of the trip!

 

[mom4fun]

Did you talk to anyone that did the rosario island tour? This is an excursion we are considering.