Are any ships stopping in Cartagena? I know the port was dropped by most lines. I was very disappointed on a cruise several years ago when the port was cancelled.
Actually, when I was a kid, I lived in Colombia for eight years where my dad worked for a major oil company. I've always wanted to return. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people. Very sad about the current situation there. I love Cartagena, although I know it can be very unsafe in certain areas.
I don't know if any HAL ships still call in Cartagena, but Amsterdam did in '02 as part of a repo from Atlantic/Caribbean to Alaska. Besides being my only claim to being in South America, I thought Cartagena was rather nice. It was a mixed blessing that on May 6 we were the last cruise ship expected until October that year. The vendors were aggressive, but the prices were rock-bottom. Perhaps as an omen, our tour guide was going to University to become a school teacher. There is a lot of history in Cartagena, and the blend of native Indian, European, and African cultures is great.
This is not very complete information, but in yesterday's (snail) mail I received a mailing from YMT Vacations offering a repo cruise on some non-specific HAL ship from some non-specific Pacific port, 19 days starting October 23, 2006. After hitting several Mexican and Central American ports, it will transit the Panama Canal and then stop in Cartagena. It then hits a couple more Mexican ports and terminates in Tampa. I went to the HAL web site and they do not list this cruise, although I did not look specifically for repos. I don't even know if thay have such a specific page. The point is, there is some evidence that HAL still calls in Cartagena.
Actually, when I was a kid, I lived in Colombia for eight years where my dad worked for a major oil company. I've always wanted to return. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people. Very sad about the current situation there. I love Cartagena, although I know it can be very unsafe in certain areas.
Elizabeth
OT, but I just gotta ask ... which oil company? DH is retired from Exxon.
The HAL ships that stop there are doing Panama Canal and/or repositioning cruises. The Volendam, Ryndam, Amsterdam, and Veendam will all go there this April. Volendam will be back there this fall, and so will the Zuiderdam. And next year, the Volendam will visit in February, while the Noordam and the Amsterdam will be there in April.
I also found that MSC's Lirica and Silverseas' Silver Wind and Silver Whisper go there on Caribbean itineraries this spring.
Other ships may go as well, but this is what I found at Vacationstogo.com
Thanks MC for the info. I've never cruised HAL, but will look at their schedule. I am looking to book a December cruise (surprise for DH birthday) and was hoping to find an appealing one that would stop in Cartagena. I'm looking at a Radisson sailing right now, but they don't stop there. My impression was that no one stops there anymore.
Canarymoon, my dad worked for Standard Oil (at the time)...think they were bought out, or name was changed. The last year or so that we were there the Colombian government took over the refinery, etc. and he had a contract with them. Great childhood memories, living in the tropics, etc.
Yep.
Standard Oil was bought by BP, which later bought Amoco as well, and is now sometimes referred to as BP-Amoco.
Exxon bought Mobil.
DH went to work for SOHIO after taking early retirement from Exxon... but only stayed with them about 4 years.
There was a fellow at Exxon who used to bring back emeralds from Columbia... apparently they were relatively inexpensive there at the time. This was years ago.
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Do Any Ships Stop In Cartagena?
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