how to know if the port will be crowded

Thank you for the informative reply.:D Did you feel that you got a good "feel" for the countries even though you were there for a short time?

The modern cruising concept is short port stays, which give you an introduction to the port regions, which may assist in helping you decide whether you want to return.

You can get an idea of the culture from port talks, but in my experience, the main stream lines focus too much on shopping and their tours. Some of the up market lines have vastly superior port talks/lectures. On longer cruises - Grand Voyages & World Cruises you will get more overnights. Our 2020 WC with Viking has many overnights, including 2 nights in Hong Kong.

My next cruise is a world cruise and we have 14 ports where we'll stay 2-3 days in each of them.

I would suspect those stops are at major cities, like a Rome or London or similar. A two day stop is simply overnight, and is moderately common...St Petersburg, Venice, Barcelona, Singapore and a number of other major cities.

My comment you quote is about 3-4 day stops...that is significantly more.

My next cruise is a world cruise and we have 14 ports where we'll stay 2-3 days in each of them.

That sounds wonderful.:D

Too bad the cruise ships don't dock at a specific country for a few days. For me, like 3-4 days in Ireland and then 3-4 days in Scotland or England :D

That is a very interesting point of view. Some ships will dock for overnight stays but that is generally as far as they go. But why do you want cruise ships to stay at one place? The solution is very simple,,,,,,you should just stay in one place :)... When I started doing International travel about forty years ago it was the usual, "If This is Tuesday it Must be Belgium" kind of travel. How many places could we see in a week? As we matured in our travel habits we understood that one needs to truly stop and smell the Roses. We still love cruising...but its because we want to be on a ship. If we want to see a place we will now often rent a furnished apartment for 1-2 weeks. Seeing Paris for a few hours on a cruise is almost sad. Staying in Paris for a few weeks (or even months) is truly a joy. It is the same with the South of France, nearly any region of Italy, Spain, etc.

We still visit France on cruises, but its when we rent apartments that we truly experience this country. France is about spending hours at dinner, relaxing at outdoor cafes, exploring the great museums, visiting the Castles and estates of the Loire Valley, etc. On a cruise excursion you will drive by these places...which is a lot different from actually staying inside and enjoying a 3 hour dinner at its world class restaurant. In Italy many cruisers will take a day tour to San Gimignano. We love this walled town...but it becomes a truly magical place late at night when its gas lamps throw strange shadows over its near empty streets. Cruisers only see the place when its packed with other day trippers....but that just does not capture the true essence of the place.

And so is the life of a traveler. So little time...so many places to go :)

Hank

That is a very interesting point of view. Some ships will dock for overnight stays but that is generally as far as they go. But why do you want cruise ships to stay at one place? The solution is very simple,,,,,,you should just stay in one place :)... When I started doing International travel about forty years ago it was the usual, "If This is Tuesday it Must be Belgium" kind of travel. How many places could we see in a week? As we matured in our travel habits we understood that one needs to truly stop and smell the Roses. We still love cruising...but its because we want to be on a ship. If we want to see a place we will now often rent a furnished apartment for 1-2 weeks. Seeing Paris for a few hours on a cruise is almost sad. Staying in Paris for a few weeks (or even months) is truly a joy. It is the same with the South of France, nearly any region of Italy, Spain, etc.

 

We still visit France on cruises, but its when we rent apartments that we truly experience this country. France is about spending hours at dinner, relaxing at outdoor cafes, exploring the great museums, visiting the Castles and estates of the Loire Valley, etc. On a cruise excursion you will drive by these places...which is a lot different from actually staying inside and enjoying a 3 hour dinner at its world class restaurant. In Italy many cruisers will take a day tour to San Gimignano. We love this walled town...but it becomes a truly magical place late at night when its gas lamps throw strange shadows over its near empty streets. Cruisers only see the place when its packed with other day trippers....but that just does not capture the true essence of the place.

 

And so is the life of a traveler. So little time...so many places to go :)

 

Hank

Wow so well said:) You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I've never really traveled anywhere out of the US (did an Alaskan cruise) and even then mostly locally. As I get older I want to travel a lot more but get nervous about venturing out on my own (w/DH) out of my comfort zone and all the planning. I guess that's where I was thinking the cruise ship comes in handy. It's a home base safety net.

Sorry to hijack the thread :o

Wow so well said:) You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I've never really traveled anywhere out of the US (did an Alaskan cruise) and even then mostly locally. As I get older I want to travel a lot more but get nervous about venturing out on my own (w/DH) out of my comfort zone and all the planning. I guess that's where I was thinking the cruise ship comes in handy. It's a home base safety net.

 

Sorry to hijack the thread :o

"I've never really traveled anywhere out of the US (did an Alaskan cruise)" - excuse me, Alaska IS in the US!! ;p

"I've never really traveled anywhere out of the US (did an Alaskan cruise)" - excuse me, Alaska IS in the US!! ;p

When we were on the Alaskan cruise we went to into Canada;p