A good option for Caribbean cruses to add a South American port. We took a ship "highlight" tour that visited the church on the hill, old city, and exterior of the fortress. Be prepared to be swarmed by street vendors at attractions (i.e. Old City). Our guide seemed intimidated by the street vendors -- possible repercussions of not exposing tour to enough vendors??? Glad I can say I've been to Columbia, but doesn't make me want to go back. 
Industrial port, so not much to do within walking distance. For a cheaper option, take a taxi from port to old city, however, we were happy to pay for the extra security of a ship excursion at Cartagena. 


Cartagena (Colombia)

We took a ship Zip lining tour. They claim they are the original zip lining site that started zip lining back in the mid 90s. It was our first experience with zip lining, so can't compare. They are friendly for beginners. 8 runs. They say to bring bug spray, but flying insects were not much of an issue (January). 
Within walking distance from the cruise dock, there is a public beach with street vendors selling souvenirs. 


Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera)

Purerto Quetzal, Guatemala (not in port list). 
We could not find any ship excursions in Guatemala that interested us, so we arrived in port and just shopped the tents that were setup in port. Vendors had some good deals for negotiation. 
There was a free shuttle to a restaurant about a mile away that offered free wifi. Nice to catch up with email. This option seemed popular with the crew as well. 
Some friends took a taxi to San Jose. They stayed in the cab and returned to the port -- not visitor friendly. 
We were happy to shop the port vendor tents and get some cheap internet access. 


St. Thomas

Huatuluco, Mexico (not in port list) 
This seems to be a resort town with lots of new construction. We took a ship snorkeling excursion. They have a coral reef. Warm water 82F (even in January). 
This port seems built for cruise stops. If we were to visit again, we would probably skip the ship excursion and go with a local. 
There are shops, restaurants, and a public beach within walking distance of the cruise dock. 


Acapulco

Our ship tour was canceled, so we ended up saving some pesos going with a tour of the city available at the port. The port has a good operation setup for city tours at about $25US/person. Hits all the city attractions (including cliff divers). No need to plan ahead just walk through the port and a guide will find you. 
Acapulco seems to be a has-been port. There are nice areas, but poverty and age make it feel run down. Our post tour walk was a little uncomfortable. 
Nice port for pictures, but no interest in returning to Acapulco. 



Tourist town. We took a ship para-sailing excursion. Could have easily found something to do walking out of the tender area. 
Plenty of restaurants, shops, and tours available within walking distance. In hindsight, would not waste money on ship excursion. 
Our only tender port, which shortens time available ashore. 


Cabo San Lucas

Basic NCL interior room.  Nice bathroom/closet layout.  Table restricts access to one side of bed (twins combined) -- need to climb from foot of bed.  Carnival has larger rooms, but overall we still prefer NCL for freestyle.

If we take this cruise again, probably no ship tours.Our goal was to get out of January in Chicago and there is likely no better cruise.

Norwegian Star Review

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