Same Cruise, Different Ship/Skipping Port & Hanging Out on Ship

Have you ever repeated a cruise itinerary, same cruise, different ship? We were on the Triumph in January 2018 out of NOLA and are looking at going on the Valor in October 2019 out of NOLA. We have a few reason to have a "redo" for this trip. My only hangup is we really didn't like Progerso. If you haven't gone into port, what have you done on the ship all day? I've never skipped a port, I even get off to shop in Freeport and walk around in Nassau. :)

Thanks

Stephanie

Last year on my 5th and DH's 2nd time in Nassau, we decided to stay on board. We hung out at the pool, rode the water slides, enjoyed the lack of people and just relaxed.

After close to 50 cruises, we have repeated several ports and ships. We frequently stay on the ship while in port. It is great to roam the ship, not wait in line anywhere, and just enjoy the peace and quiet.

Sometimes when we take a weekend cruise (Thursday to Sunday or Monday) we never leave the ship at all. Just stay onboard and get some R&R.

We will sometimes go into the port walk around for say a half hour and go right back to an empty ship.

We actually plan a ship day. We love the pace when everyone else is off the ship. We might get out and take a quick stroll around the port but generally we love the time on the ship.

May jump off ship just for lunch but otherwise tan, read, take a spa day - just treat it like a sea day. We have a 20 day cruise coming up with only 6 sea days and some ports that are not our favorites so we have already decided to turn 4 of them into extra "sea days"

Have you ever repeated a cruise itinerary, same cruise, different ship? We were on the Triumph in January 2018 out of NOLA and are looking at going on the Valor in October 2019 out of NOLA. We have a few reason to have a "redo" for this trip. My only hangup is we really didn't like Progerso. If you haven't gone into port, what have you done on the ship all day? I've never skipped a port, I even get off to shop in Freeport and walk around in Nassau. :)

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Stephanie

Yes totally! There are so many perks. The ship is less crowded, so it’s a great time to use the pool and hot tubs. The food lines are shorter. We always build that in on cruises, because there is often a port we’ve been to or we don’t really care much to explore (read: Belize, for us).

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We will sometimes go into the port walk around for say a half hour and go right back to an empty ship.

We do the same thing. Until we started doing Journey's cruises this past January, we rarely had a new port. It was same old, same old.

With almost 50 cruises on Carnival there are very few port we have not been to. To us the ship is the destination and if we do a tour it's a bonus. We never get bored and always have someone to visit with, read a book or play cards. The trivia games on port days a a lot of fun. No line for any thing is always a plus. We cruise in the middle of the summer to escape the heat of Florida in the summer. Never leave the ship it's great.

What don’t you like about Progresso? I have only been once but did the trip to Uxmal and we (teenage sons included) all thought it was amazing and the best ruins we have seen so far...including Tulum.

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We are doing that this time in Montego Bay! We did this same cruise 4 years ago but going on the vista in 17 days!!!

Our first cruise was on the Destiny going to San Juan, St. Croix and St. Thomas. Our second was on the Victory going to the same ports. Each cruise was with a different group so we went ashore at each port both times.

Since then, we have stopped at many of the ports more than once. If it's something we want to do, we go ashore. If not, we stay on the ship. We usually just go sit on the Lido deck. We got to know one of the bar servers real well. If they aren't busy, they will stop and talk with you. We learned a lot from him. We saw him again on our next cruise and he remembered our names.

We’ve done the 5 day Progresso and Cozumel trip on the Elation and Triumph from New Orleans and on the Fantasy from Mobile. We enjoy visiting the Mayan sites. If you want to stay on the ship, there will still be activities, I don’t think it’s uncommon for people to skip ports.

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After being to some ports many times (St. Thomas, Nassau, San Juan, Grand Turk, etc.) it is common for us to just hang out on the ship. Love the quiet and lack of crowds.

With our crazy busy schedules, we cant take 7 night cruises, so we do the 5 night, which for us is the same ports- Cozumel and Progresso. Each time. We have done different ships, and repeated ships. We are going on our 7th cruise and all have been 4 or 5 nights. So, that said- we obviously don't mind repeating. We have done the same excursion in Cozumel twice and I'd do it again. I like what I know. :)

That said, we have never done an excursion in Progresso. I like to plan on staying on the boat one day, to enjoy the low key day. We have looked at booking longer cruises next summer when things slow down a little and still have planned to pick one day to not do an excursion.

Sometimes we get off, go shopping, look around and then get back on, sometimes we don't even bother.

What don’t you like about Progresso? I have only been once but did the trip to Uxmal and we (teenage sons included) all thought it was amazing and the best ruins we have seen so far...including Tulum.

 

 

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One of the reasons we want to have a redo for this trip is my husband had hurt his back a few months before the cruise. Walking for long periods, standing, long lines, ect was difficult and he spent a lot of the trip in pain. Looking back we should have postponed the trip. We would have loved to go to the ruins, and that was the reason we booked this trip, but there was no way he could have done it. We have looked at doing 7 days on the Glory, but that will take away any time we would have to visit NOLA.

We have stayed aboard many times. We love the empty Serenity deck and great bar service. There are no lines for food or the slides, quite relaxing.

We have "shopping" days and 'excursion" days.

Wish I could stay on the ship on "shopping" days.:(

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We have also stayed on board ships as we do the Mexican Riviera every year for our little Mexican "honeymoon".

I loved Progresso! We took the free bus into town and thought we'd take the tour to see the flamingos breeding ground and some ruins but it didn't leave for quite a while so the bus company called us a taxi who took us on a private tour.

It was great to be in the ruins with no other people around and to see the viewing point for the flamingoes.

IF those things don't interest you and you don't want to visit Merida or other local places of interests then of course stay on the ship.

We are doing a short cruise next with just one port which is Havana. Short works for us right now but I'm hoping the cruise after that will be a long one with more ship days and maybe the chance to stay on the ship when in port. I am looking at my options for those Havana balconies (is that what they are called?) Cruising is addictive!

i have repeated cruises on a different ship. Really , i dont care where it is going as long as it is in the water. Been to Cozumel so many times I think i am considered a regular at a resturant. Staying on board aint bad. The hot tubs and pools are pretty empty. And it over all quiet for a little while but people start to drift back earlier than later.

Only port I've ever planned to stay on the ship was Amber Cove, Horizon sailing. I had stayed in Puerto Plata near Amber Cove on my 1st ever land vacation in the DR and I was totally unimpressed with the resorts and beach there. No beach at all in Amber Cove, and Carnival's cookie cutter shopping corrals don't appeal to me.

I've done the western itinerary at least 15 times, maybe 20, and I can always find something to do in Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan, even if I go to the same area while ashore.

We love our "ship days". When we port in Nassau or Falmouth we generally stay onboard. We enjoy the almost empty ship. We sleep in and make use of the pools and hot tubs. Some people say it is boring but, we find it relaxing.