Port Intensive - for first cruise? Too much?

[windjamming]

For port intensive cruises, it's good to pace yourself and mix up your activities so you don't get exhausted by the 4th or 5th port. Maybe a beach day in St Thomas but do a sight seeing tour in Antigua and hiking in St Lucia.

 

Don't feel you need to do something every minute you're in port. Perfectly ok to stay on the ship, as another poster suggested above, and if you have to set foot on the ground that day, browse the shopping areas at the port.

 

You'll have a great time. We did a similar itinerary a few years ago and loved it.

[printingchick]

 

Also - since you are a first timer - don't feel compelled to book a tour in every port. You may just want to get off the ship and walk around a bit in the port and then head back to the ship. Plus, you can always grab a snack somewhere on the ship when you get back to tide you over to dinner.

 

Book it - go - have fun!

 

A side note to this: Research your ports in advance so you know which ports you can afford NOT to book a tour/excursion.

 

For example (not necessarily your ports THIS time...):

In Dominica, if you stick to the port, you'll see nothing but a small local marketplace. Dominica is a very undeveloped port and not known for beach resorts. It's a rain forest island with incredible waterfalls, amazing rain forests, natural hot springs and black sand beaches. If you get AWAY from the port, you'll be awed. But near the dock...eh..not much to see.

 

Same with St. Kitts. The dock area is very modern and developed, if you want to just shop for souvenirs. But it's like every other set of pier-side shopping. You need to get away from pier area to really see anything. (Except for the monkeys...they're EVERYWHERE!);)

[itzmered]

We did the b2b on Princess in 2012 out of San Juan and absolutely loved it! We loved it so much that we just booked the Jewel for January 2014 and are introducing our 3 20 something children to cruising and felt this was the best bang for our buck. Some ports we were gone all day and just grabbed a bite to eat while in port. Some days we didnt eat until we got back on the ship and some ports we did something in the morning like snorkeling and then headed back to the ship to shower, change and eat before going back out for the afternoon. You have to decide if you want to see a lot of ports or have a mixture of ports and the ship is a big part of your experience.

[April-in-NC]

My last two cruises were similar itineraries and I ate a larger than normal breakfast, went ashore fairly soon after docking and returned to the ship around 2-3 (depending on what time the ship sailed of course). I would grab a quick snack and then wait for dinner for my next "big" meal. I also bring with me some sealed snacks (granola bars, crackers, etc.) and take a few off the ship with me. I don't like to eat on land knowing that there is plenty of "free" food waiting for me back on board. :D

 

I usually do something similar for any port day, not just on a port intensive cruise.

[Saysell64]

We've done two cruises out of San Juan like that so far and are planning our third for this coming December. I personally love them. If you get to the port early you have most of the first day to explore and enjoy the ship plus the sea day. We found that is enough time to see the ships and it is really fun to see so many ports over the week! As for lunch, some days we ate lunch on the ship and others days in port depending on what we we're doing in port that day. I highly suggest spending a day or two in San Juan pre or post cruise if possible as well.

[hazeleyez3]

The cruise sounds very nice.

 

We don't go back and forth between the ship and the city for any reason, and we have never had a problem finding something to eat before dinner.

 

As for the enjoyment of the ship, if you go into every port for most of the day, than you'll really only be on the ship in the evenings. I, personally, wouldn't think that would be enough time to enjoy the ship, but others would feel like its more than enough.

[OCruisers]

Sunny ... You have great port stops and you certainly won't be bored on your first cruise. :)

 

As others have said, don't get too hung-up on meals. Eat when it's convenient depending on your shore excursion times.

 

Have FUN! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[sadie8]

I just did this cruise as my first cruise in December 2012. It is a great first cruise. However, it is very port intensive. The one recommendation we got from a lot of the crew and some other passengers was that if you did not book an excursion in Martinique it is a good day to stay on the ship. This is what we ended up doing.

 

Several passengers who got off the ship in Martinique said they had trouble getting cabs to go anywhere as the drivers would not/ could not speak english. The port area in Martinique is very industrial, not very touristy and there is not a beach within walking distance that we could find information on.

 

We ended up staying on board and having a rather lazy day which was a nice break from getting up early and racing around to see everything in the ports. It is also fun to explore the ship when there are significantly less people around.

 

Just for clarification, I believe this post is referring to Guadeloupe. The Brilliance went to Guadeloupe this past December 2012 not Martinique.

 

We love the port intensive cruises.

[sunflower47]

Wow-I can't thank everyone enough for all the great information!!

 

I am very excited about this and the port intensive itinerary. So many great and positive replies!

 

I have a lot of planning to do. :) :eek:

[celebrity]

Wow-I can't thank everyone enough for all the great information!!

 

I am very excited about this and the port intensive itinerary. So many great and positive replies!

 

I have a lot of planning to do. :) :eek:

 

You will love this itinerary! I've done it twice and will definitely do it again. Have a wonderful trip!

[Calico Jack Sparrow]

It really depends upon you.

 

My limited experience and research shows that if you try to "see" every Island you will be so tired at the end of the week you will need another vacation.

DW & I are in our late 50's but we are fairly active and like to be adventurous. We enjoy the "cruise experience", by that I mean we like to enjoy the ship some of the time, so while we are doing 5 ports on consecutive days, we are not scheduling excursions for all the islands.

 

You can always pick up an extra excursion at the pier if you want.

 

Southern Caribbean is the most interesting itinerary.

Everyone goes to Cozumel.

On my cruise, we are the only ship in port. A huge plus in most cases.:D

Of course, I will point out these famous Cruise Critic words...any cruise is a good cruise.

[Debde]

I just did this cruise as my first cruise in December 2012. It is a great first cruise. However, it is very port intensive. The one recommendation we got from a lot of the crew and some other passengers was that if you did not book an excursion in Martinique it is a good day to stay on the ship. This is what we ended up doing.

 

Several passengers who got off the ship in Martinique said they had trouble getting cabs to go anywhere as the drivers would not/ could not speak english. The port area in Martinique is very industrial, not very touristy and there is not a beach within walking distance that we could find information on.

 

We ended up staying on board and having a rather lazy day which was a nice break from getting up early and racing around to see everything in the ports. It is also fun to explore the ship when there are significantly less people around.

 

Have a great trip!

 

I agree with the poster that said you may have meant Gudaloupe.

 

For anyone else reading this thread and are going to Gudaloupe, befor they discontinue this port, book a ship sponsored excursion and see the island. It is beautiful and I highly reccomend the Zoological park excursion.

[April-in-NC]

Oh... I remembered another tip for the port intensive itinerary... :)

 

I try to limit myself to one excursion per port and I try to do it in the morning so I can start heading back to the ship in the afternoon and do some souvenir shopping as I head back on board. I try to be on board at least two hours prior to leaving so I can enjoy some time at the pool or take a nap or do whatever else floats my boat.

 

I like more active excursions, so I try to alternate between active excursions and beach days where possible, or at least schedule a low key excursion in the middle of the week.

 

I will admit that my last two cruises I went to bed earlier than normal, but I was also getting up earlier than normal to be ready to get off the ship as soon as it docked. :)

[emmac25]

Reading all these posts I am definitely second-guessing all my excursions planned. We have a sight-seeing trip (all upwards of 4 hours) every single port with the exception of Barbados. Thinking of cancelling one in the middle and just exploring by ourselves.

[COMBOY]

We are thinking of taking our first cruise next February out of San Juan PR on the Jewel of the Seas which stops at 6 ports during the 7 night cruise. That is the intriguing part of the cruise, the idea of stopping at so many wonderful places.

 

My question: how do you work in your meals, that are already prepaid, when you are off the ship 6 days out of 7?

 

I understand we would most likely have breakfast on the ship but would you go back to the ship for lunch too since you already paid for it? All departure times are 5pm so dinner is not a problem as we would be back by then.

 

Seems like a lot of back of forth but also seeing 6 different islands is awesome.

 

Is doing this type of cruise for a first timer really too much and should we think of doing one that is a little less port intensive?

 

Is there really any time to enjoy the ship at all?

 

The stops are St Croix, St Thomas, St Johns, Antigua, Martinique and St Lucia. I haven't looked at excursions at all at this point.

 

:confused:

 

I did a similar cruise last year and yes it is very port intensive. But don't try to schedule too many long shore excursions in each island. It's way too tiring and that was my mistake. Select one or two tours...maybe three max for the entire cruise. You can still walk/taxi into each port and do stopping and sightseeing. This way if you get tired/hungry you can just go back to he ship and relax...but that's not case on a ship's tours if it one of the those all days tours. I know you want to see everything but that's not always feasible nor practical. For a first time cruiser keep is simple. Don't try to do it all; otherwise, it might impact your overall enjoyment of the cruise. Remember the cruise is the main enjoyment of the vacation; not the ports. The ports are just the frosting on the cake and you will only get to taste each port. But don't worry you will get to see plenty. :) If you really like a port you can always fly to the island and spend more time on it for your next vacation. Yes, you will have plenty of time in the morning and evening to enjoy the ship. Food is 24/7. Usually I get up and have a large breakfast before going into port and that's holds me over until you get back to the ship. You can always stop and get a snack/lunch in port.

[gfd_2]

We're doing our 5th cruise out of San Juan to the sunny Southern Caribbean in Feb '14. It's a GREAT itinerary.

 

Due to the time needed to get from our destination back to the ship then out again we've never gone back to the ship for lunch.

[agc291]

Our first cruise was a similar itin out of San Juan, 6 islands in 7 days. We loved it. Some find it tiring, we didnt. We ate breakfast on board but we usually just grabbed something small on the island to eat if we were hungry. If you are staying close to the ship then you can get on and off as much as you would like but it is quite the hassle. I think it is much easier to just eat a hardy breakfast and bring a snack (granola bars or something similar) with you if you dont want to eat on the islands.