Cartagena sunset cruise: the basics

The meeting point

The ticket sends you to the Pegasus Pier, also called the Wood Dock. In Spanish it is the Muelle de los Pegasos, and winged-horse statues stand on the pier. Type the Spanish name into your map, because it is the name the pier carries locally. The ship leaves from this pier and the cruise ends back where it started, so the pier is both your first and your last point of the evening. Treat it as a fixed point on the day, and give yourself time to reach it so that you are not rushing when you arrive. If it is your first visit, work out the route in daylight, and set your map to the Spanish name the evening before.

Finding the right ship

The ticket tells you to look for La Fantástica, the pirate ship, at the pier. Check the name painted on the ship before you step aboard. If you cannot find your ship, or something goes wrong, the ticket says to message the local partner by text or WhatsApp on the number printed on your voucher. Keep the voucher on your phone with the signal on, because that number is your only contact on the dock. Take a screenshot of the voucher as well, in case your signal drops on the pier. Save the number before you leave the hotel, and test that your phone can send a message from abroad, since roaming settings sometimes block texts.

Starting times

The page does not fix a departure time. The ticket says to check availability to see the starting times, so open the booking calendar, choose a date and read the time it shows for that day. Your confirmation repeats it. Because the cruise is built around the sunset, the time can differ from one date to the next, which is another reason to read the calendar and not to trust a time that someone quotes from memory. Plan your afternoon around the time on your confirmation, and keep the walk from your hotel or a meal in the old city comfortably inside it. Open the calendar a few days ahead, because it also shows which dates still have places.

Shoes and clothes

High-heeled shoes are not allowed on board, so wear flat shoes with a grip. Cartagena's climate is hot and windy, so choose light clothes and a hat that will not blow away on deck. A light layer is sensible once the sun goes down, because the wind stays. Loose scarves and light hats are the things most likely to leave with the wind, so pick ones that tie on. Dress for a ship and a party, not for a restaurant, since you will stand, move and pose for photographs, and a bag that closes is better than one that hangs open. If you plan to dress as a pirate, the ticket supplies the props, so there is no need to pack a costume.

What stays on the dock

The ticket lists what is not allowed on board: high-heeled shoes, oversize luggage, pets (assistance dogs are allowed), mobility scooters, fishing, glass objects, unaccompanied minors, feeding animals, explosive substances, making fire and nudity. For a visitor with luggage, the practical point is to leave a large suitcase at the hotel and bring a small bag. Glass includes bottles, so any drink you bring has to stay behind, which suits a cruise whose drinks are already provided. A small bag is easier to hold on a moving deck than a rolling case, and glass includes the bottles and jars that families often carry. If you arrive straight from the airport or a cruise ship, find luggage storage first.

Children, scooters and age

Children are welcome and have their own treasure hunt, but unaccompanied minors are not allowed, so a child sails with an adult, and the whole group boards together at the pier. Teenagers travelling together need an adult in the party. Mobility scooters are not allowed on board; if someone in your party uses a mobility aid, read the booking page and the access notes before you buy. The ticket says it is not suitable for people over 95 years. It names no other age limit. These rules apply to the pirate cruise, and the other two tickets on the home page have their own terms, so read the one you book.

Weather and the refund

Cartagena has a tropical wet and dry climate, and its rainy season typically lasts from May to November. A sunset cruise depends on the sky, so a cloudy evening gives a duller sunset, not a cancelled one. If the weather turns critical, the ticket guarantees a full refund. The itinerary can also change on the day, so the route is a plan and not a promise. The ticket itself shows the itinerary for reference only. For the colour of the sunset, nobody can guarantee it, and the ticket does not. Choose the date with the forecast in mind, and leave spare days around it if your trip is short, since the refund covers critical weather changes and not a merely grey sky. Check the forecast on the day,.

The bay you sail on

Cartagena lies on the northern coast of Colombia, on a sheltered bay facing the Caribbean Sea. The bay is an estuary of about 84 square kilometres, with two entrances, Bocachica (the Small Mouth) and Bocagrande (the Big Mouth). The Bocagrande peninsula is known for its skyscrapers, and the bay side of the peninsula has a seawall. In the middle of the bay stands a statue of the Virgin Mary, and the naval base overlooks the water from Bocagrande. The two entrances matter here only as names on the map, because the ship stays inside the bay. Bocagrande holds the bulk of the city's hotels, shops and restaurants. The cruise stays within this bay, so you see the old city and the towers in one frame.

The landmarks the ticket names

The ticket names three landmarks on the route: the fort of San Sebastián del Pastelillo, the Virgen del Carmen and the fort of Santa Cruz. UNESCO lists Santa Cruz and San Sebastián de Pastelillo among the forts that stand around the interior of the bay, and it says the harbour's natural passes were eventually dominated by fortresses. You see them from the water as part of the skyline, a water-level view of the forts that echoes the one the raiders had, and the ship does not land at them. UNESCO's description counts them among the fortresses that came to dominate every natural pass of the harbour. The forts guide explains what each one guarded.

Read next: Forts you see from Cartagena Bay

Music and photos on board

The ticket lists music in English and Spanish and a cannon show, and the crew provides pirate props for photos, which adults can use as well as children, so the whole group can join the pictures. Phones are fine on deck, but hold on to them near the rail, since wind and a moving ship do not forgive a loose grip. Guests say the crew helps take photographs, so hand your phone to a crew member for a group picture rather than stretching for a selfie, and wait until the cannon show has finished before you start filming. Nobody can promise a particular sky, so treat a golden photograph as a bonus and not as the reason for the cruise.

After the cruise

The ship returns to the place where it started, so you finish at the Pegasus Pier. From there the old city is the obvious place for a late dinner, and the guide to an evening in the old city lists what lies behind the Clock Gate. Arrange your way home before you board, because the drinks are part of the evening. A pirate evening ends well when the last part is planned, and the Clock Gate, the main entrance to the downtown, opens onto the Plaza de los Coches. A booked table or a taxi arranged through your hotel makes the end of the night as easy as the start.

Read next: An evening in Cartagena's old city