Isla de Rosario Cartegena Trip

[CarolynU]

We are booked on the next PC cruise with DCL. We have reserved the speedboat/beach port adventure, but on reading the reviews on tripadvisor these are very mixed with some folks even claiming that the speedboat part can be rather dangerous in bad seas. I don't think that Disney would put us in jeopardy, but I'm not sure how I feel about this trip.
Has anyone done this? What other Cartegena trips has anyone taken and did you enjoy them?

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Hello! You are going to love the Panama Canal sailing. We were on the WBPC in May of 2014.

I will say that Cartagena was our least favorite port. I think most of the people we spoke with had the same feeling. That being said I couldn't imagine not getting off the ship and experiencing even a little bit of the country.

We did the horse drawn carriage ride because we had children (ages 6 and 3) and thought it would be the best for them. The boys enjoyed the horses. The scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the architecture. I wish we were able to stop and look at some of the things the guide was telling us about but we really just passed by and got a brief explanation of what we were seeing. Lots and lots of pushy people trying to solicit you. We actually had people jump on our carriage and ride along trying to get us to buy something. Our driver didn't discourage which I found annoying as there was nothing we could do but say no over and over again. Shopping in the dungeons was so-so. We didn't end up buying anything. I didn't know enough about emeralds or the value of gold/silver to make an educated decision about what to buy. I would have loved more time at the fort but that was very rushed. Like 10 minutes. Enough time to get a picture but not enough time to walk to the top and get a good view. The bus actually almost left me there!!!! I was walking with another family from the tour about midway up when the guide told everyone to get on. My hubby stayed on w/ a sleeping little one. Thank goodness he did or else they would have left without us. The guide never counted to make sure everyone was on board. The guide spoke english very well and was very knowledgable.

There were a few people in our group who booked with a local tour operator and had a great experience but it was a walking tour and I thought it would be too difficult for our family to walk that much. I would not consider doing Cartagena on your own unless you are completely comfortable speaking the language.

Overall I am glad that we experienced what we did as we probably will never get back there again. But compared to our the other ports and out other DCL experiences it was the worst.

 

[CarolynU]

Thank you for your information. I actually saved the horse drawn carriage ride to my favourites, but my son and daughter in law preferred the speedboat beach tour, so we've switched to that, but I'm really not sure.
The carriage tour sounds nice, but the street traders sound a nuisance actually climbing on the carriage! I can't believe that you nearly got left behind. That's shocking. I wonder what on earth would have happened had they gone without you?
I am looking forward to this shore experience, but fear that I will be taken considerably out of my comfort zone.
Getting excited for the cruise though.

 

[disbride713]

And if you find a cool English speaking cab driver, keep him with you for the day. It's like $100 bucks for the whole day and having a translator with you comes in handy. We kept our first driver for the whole day. He took us to some cool off the beaten path restaurants for awesome local seafood. Enjoy!

Do you have any way of getting in touch with your driver? This would be great to have for our upcoming cruise, especially since you had a good experience.

 

[Flossbolna]

We did the walking tour of the old city and liked it. I wrote about it in my trip report, starting here: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52333481&postcount=308 it continues in the next update.

I really liked the city and next time would just explore on my own. We were much less bothered by the sales people when walking around on our own.

 

[CarolynU]

Interesting that you get bothered less when you are on your own. I should have thought that it was exactly the reverse. Great info thanks to everyone.

 

[mom4fun]

That's the one we are looking to do also. We have a teenage ds so we are looking for a little excitement. The rest of the choices look kind of boring and I'm to nervous too go on any other excursion but Disney.

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Thank you for your information. I actually saved the horse drawn carriage ride to my favourites, but my son and daughter in law preferred the speedboat beach tour, so we've switched to that, but I'm really not sure.
The carriage tour sounds nice, but the street traders sound a nuisance actually climbing on the carriage! I can't believe that you nearly got left behind. That's shocking. I wonder what on earth would have happened had they gone without you?
I am looking forward to this shore experience, but fear that I will be taken considerably out of my comfort zone.
Getting excited for the cruise though.

I have no idea what would have happened if they left without me. It would have actually been 6 people! Me, DS and another family of four. It was crazy. They closed the door and started to drive and my hubby stopped them. It was a little scary. I'm glad it was the last stop and not earlier b/c I think I would have been too afraid to get off the bus.

 

[honeybeesmom]

Hello, we have done 2 Panama Canal cruises and loved Cartagena. 2012 & 2014.
Our first port adventure was The best of Cartagena. It was hot but a lovely tour with our 12 year old daughter. The second port adventure was Las Americas beach break, it was wonderful. The beach is beautiful, the sand almost black and the hotel was great. They served an authentic lunch and the pool was great. I would love to visit again.Hope this helps.

 

[mom4fun]

Hello, we have done 2 Panama Canal cruises and loved Cartagena. 2012 & 2014.
Our first port adventure was The best of Cartagena. It was hot but a lovely tour with our 12 year old daughter. The second port adventure was Las Americas beach break, it was wonderful. The beach is beautiful, the sand almost black and the hotel was great. They served an authentic lunch and the pool was great. I would love to visit again.Hope this helps.

The slide looked kind of small in the pictures. Is it big enough for teens?

 

[honeybeesmom]

Hi, there are six different pools to use. The pool we use did not have a water slide. My daughter was 14 on this cruise and thought it was awesome. We swam in the pool and loved the ocean. They also have a wonderful authentic dance show.We will cruise the Panama Canal in 2016 if all is well.We just did a back to back on the Fantasy and it ties with our Panama Canal cruises. Have a wonderful time.

 

[mom4fun]

Hi, there are six different pools to use. The pool we use did not have a water slide. My daughter was 14 on this cruise and thought it was awesome. We swam in the pool and loved the ocean. They also have a wonderful authentic dance show.We will cruise the Panama Canal in 2016 if all is well.We just did a back to back on the Fantasy and it ties with our Panama Canal cruises. Have a wonderful time.

Since you had your 14 year old with you on this cruise, what other excursions did you do at the other ports?

 

[honeybeesmom]

The first time in Puerto Vallarta we did the dolphin swim which was amazing, the second time we did the walking tour which I would not recommend.It was very hard to hear the guide as well. I was not very organigized. In Cabo we did the Lands End and beach break.It was awesome.The next time my husband wants to do the Camel ride,it is also supposed to be fun. The second time we just walked to the beach, they also have a RuthsChris Steak house which is Awesome.The best steak ever! In Cozumel we did the Jeep excursion which was one of our favorites.You drive the jeep to an old town, a light house, ruins and to a beach with lunch.It was great. Our guide had water, soft drinks whenever you needed. His name was Jorge. He was fantastic. Our first cruise went to Costa Maya.We did the ruins. My daughter still talks about our jeep excursion and so does my husband. It really was fun.

 

[CarolynU]

I have no idea what would have happened if they left without me. It would have actually been 6 people! Me, DS and another family of four. It was crazy. They closed the door and started to drive and my hubby stopped them. It was a little scary. I'm glad it was the last stop and not earlier b/c I think I would have been too afraid to get off the bus.

Super scary. I sometimes I cruise alone, so I'd have been a total wreck. I guess if you couldn't have got a taxi eventually DCL would have realised you guys were missing and as you were on an official Disney excursion they would have had to have searched for you. Well at least I would hope so!!!

 

[CarolynU]

Lots of interesting info here. Am very confused about whether to swap the speed boat trip or not.

 

[queenbee99]

did any of you end up doing speedboat excursion? i would
love feedback!

 

[TBLaube]

If this is the same tour, we went in 2015 (and will be on the cruise with you in December). It sounds and looks like the same one. Once at the island part, it was nice, but not anything spectacular. If it is the same place, the food wasn't great and the beach area was very small and not that accessible. There was a pool and a pier-like lounge area on the water that were nice. There were some hammocks and you could walk around a bit on the island. Again, nice, but not anything that blew our minds.

The big issue we had was the boat ride. On the way out, it didn't seem that bad in the speed boat because we were excited to be on the tour, although we did get pretty wet at times. However on the way back, the ride was very bumpy and we get drenched every time the boat smacked back down was not fun at all. The novelty wore off quickly and it seemed like the ride back took forever.

In my opinion, it wasn't worth it. It was cool to have the island area for our group and it is nice to say I did it, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have gone and my friend who was on the cruise with me feels the same way.