Headed to Rome on a cruise? Get off the beaten path and follow these tips from experienced tour guide & scholar, Theresa Potenza

The port of Civitavecchia outside of Rome is a popular stop for cruise ships visiting the region. Depending on the type of transportation you use to enter into the city, the ride is about an hour each way, which leaves visitors rushing around to see Rome before heading back to the ship. Many travelers have previously been to Rome, and are ready to see something new. But where to begin?

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Cruise Port Review: Cartagena, Colombia

Walled City

Throughout my Panama Canal cruise, I was really looking forward to the stop in Cartagena, Colombia.  I’ve always wanted to visit Colombia and thought stopping in Cartagena would give me an idea if I should plan to spend more time there in the future.

Old Fortness seen on entrance to the harbor

The trip into the port was beautiful, passing old fortresses while enjoying great views of the newer part of the city. I would definitely recommend taking the time to enjoy breakfast on your veranda or to find a spot outside for viewing.

Tour Overview

We decided not to book an excursion through the ship as none of them offered exactly what we wanted to see.  When we got off the ship, there was a free shuttle bus that took you to the port exit.  Upon exiting through the gift shop, there were many local guides standing there waiting offering tours.  The guides were charging per person for a tour of the city, and depending on the guide, 10 to 20 person tours were being offered.  We talked to a few and learned that most were going to all the sites on our list.  We decided to find a guide that was doing a smaller group.  We were given a sticker with the guide’s name on it and within a few minutes we had enough people to head out.  The van was an air-conditioned, 10-person van plus the driver and guide.  

Walking through the Walled City

I really enjoyed the tour and was extremely impressed by the city.  The tour highlights included the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas, Plaza Bolivar, Plaza Santo Domingo, La Popa Convent, the newer part of the city and many additional sites.

View from La Popa Convent

The first stop was at La Popa Convent , which was perfect as it offered amazing views of the city. 

Walled City

My favorite part was walking through the Walled City, the colors of the buildings were very vibrant and lively.  In each location, we were dropped off in the perfect places with the guide and then always picked back up in ideal spots.  

Simon Bolivar’s statue

We also visited Plaza de Bolivar which is surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings.  The small but extremely lush park has a statue of Simón Bolívar in the center.

Shopping & Souvenirs

As part of the tour, we had to stop in an emerald shop; thankfully, no one in our tour was interested and we all left with bottled water from the shop making it worth the tour delay.  At the end, we had about 30 minutes on our own in a shopping plaza for souvenir shopping.

I told the guide we wanted to find a convenience store to buy packaged coffee.  He helped us find one and I asked him to come in with me so I could ask him about the different brands and which ones were considered the best by the locals.  I wanted the coffee that the locals drink, not what’s packaged and priced for tourists. I got my 6 bags of coffee and my souvenir shopping was complete.  In order to pay with a credit card, you needed an ID, not your ship card, make sure you bring this with you if you don’t want to use the local currency.

To get back on the ship, you have to go through a store, which is pricey.  I was impressed by the quality of the souvenirs but if you want them at a better price, do your shopping in the city.  

Fort of San Felipe de Barajas

Overall, I really enjoyed my day in Cartagena and was even stalling getting back on the cruise ship, I didn’t want the day to end.

FreshCruiser Tip:  When taking a tour, don’t be afraid to tell the tour guide where you would like to visit  to make sure all your spots are covered on the tour.  If not, ask the guide to give you directions on how to get there after the tour. 

1 month til cruising: Picking the right shore excursion

One month to go to two glorious weeks of cruising!

The countdown is starting to get very close!  In about one month, I’ll be boarding the Celebrity Millennium for 15 nights of cruising through the Panama Canal.  This will be my first time doing this itinerary.  I’ve always been fascinated by the Panama Canal and can’t wait to see how the process works in person.  What am I doing to get prepared? My main goal for this week is to get to know the ports and excursions that are offered.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Excursions & Ports
The trip seemed far away for so long and now it’s almost here.  We’ll be making stops in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.  I’ve been using Celebrity Cruises' online advanced search for shore and land excursions.  You can search by duration, activity type, and activity level.  I use the duration search filter a lot as depending on the port. Depending on the location, I’ll typically pick the more strenuous option as that typically goes well with my love of adventure.  

Adventure in Puerto Vallarta

In a city port, sometimes I’ll want the longest possible excursion to soak in every minute of the tour or other times, prefer more of the highlights and then time to walk around and explore the city on my own.  There are a lot of excursions to go through and I wish the options could be filtered even more, including one by restrictions (weight, health, age). What type of excursions do you normally do?

Too many to pick from?  Ask the experts.
On a previous cruise, when I was trying to figure out which excursion to do for St. Petersburg, Russia, it was a daunting task and I probably changed it three times as I wanted to make the most out of our one day in Russia. I also wanted to make sure it was right for me.  And in this case, I wanted to see the Hermitage museum but not spend all day there.  We ended up changing it once again when we got on the ship and talked to a specialist at the cruise excursion desk.  It ended up being the perfect day, seeing a lot of highlights of the city.

Aerial Tram in Costa Rica

I would definitely recommend attending the information sessions once you get onboard as the first hand experience was exactly what we needed to find the perfect fit.  What I think is missing is if Celebrity would show past guests’ ratings of particular excursions to find the right tour for me as everyone is looking for something different.  

Join a Roll Call

I also like to join the Roll Call for my sailing date on different websites.  A “Roll Call” is a place where you can find other people sailing on your same voyage.  This is a great way to get insight from other travelers and what they think about a certain excursion as well as meet new people, gather information, and ask questions.  Check out these websites that have sailing Roll Calls. Many cruise lines have their own as well.

• Cruise Addicts
• Cruise Critic
• CruiseLineFans
• Meet on Cruise
• Ship Mate

Ok, I’m off to start my research and planning!  

FreshCruiser Tip: Never too early to start researching ports and excursions.

Hungry from more Ireland

My first trip to Ireland was while cruising on the Celebrity Century in 2008.  I was trying to decide whether or not to go to Ireland for 10 days or take the cruise that included stops in Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands.  Since I love cruising, I opted for the cruise and thought, this way I can see if I like Ireland and then can always come back for a longer visit. 

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