Panama Canal Cruise Recap: Day Ten

This morning we arrived at our first Caribbean port – the beautiful city of Cartagena, Colombia.

Also known as Cartagena de Indias, this resort city on the northern coast of Colombia boasts a population of almost 900,000, making it the fifth largest city in the country. Originally a Spanish colonial city founded in 1533 and named after the Spanish town of the same name, Cartagena has both a new and “old” city, with the latter surrounded by walls and fortresses. The walled city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and that is where we spent most of our day.

Our group of six hired a private van and guide from Disney Cruise Line as our shore excursion. Disney offers this service in many ports and for a larger group, it’s quite economical. First, we visited the San Felipe Fortress, a magnificent structure that was once one of the city’s key defenses. Then, we crossed the bridge into the old walled city. Most of the area is pedestrian only and our guide took us through the streets to several great destinations, including two churches – the city’s largest cathedral and the church of San Pedro Claver, the patron saint of slaves and a minister who freed many of those slaves that were brought here from Africa. We also visited a Jesuit monastery, the dungeons (which are now a series of shops but once housed prisoners) and the museum of the inquisition, which housed some grisly devices used during that religious “cleansing.” We also made some time to take in one of Colombia’s most famous exports – coffee. We visited two shops – Juan Valdez and San Alberto Café. It was a wonderful day in port and the old city is simply stunning.

After returning to the ship, it was time to don our pirate costumes for a signature Disney Cruise Line event – Pirates IN the Caribbean night and deck party. This event is held on every Disney cruise and features a full pirate night where kids (and most adults) dress as pirates, enjoy a pirate-themed dinner and then a high-energy deck party featuring all the great Disney characters and capped off by a fantastic fireworks show.

Tomorrow, we will have a post-Panama Canal Q&A with Captain Ken Puckett, the former Panama Canal pilot and lecturer who has been educating us on all things canal. We’ll also get to see Disney Cruise Line’s newest production show, “Frozen,” tomorrow night. Until then, good night from just off the coast of South America.