Staying on the ship while in port?

[UpstateCruizer]

We never thought that we would do this but we are considering staying on the ship (Carnival Sunshine) when we dock in one of the 3 ports that we stop at. We have been to Montego Bay, Caymans, and Cozumel before so we are wondering what the day will be like if we opt to just stay on the boat for any of these days. If you have done this before, please tell us about your day and what you liked about it the most. Thanks for your comments!!:)

 

When we first started cruising we thought it was crazy that so many people enjoyed staying on board in certain ports. I mean you traveled all that way so why not enjoy the ports. Well that all changed somewhere around cruise number 9~! We have found ourselves staying on the ship for ports that we've been to done that enjoyed it but want to just relax on board. I now love staying on board and find it incredibly relaxing. We usually end up near the pool or in the serenity area. There's always a few others with the same idea so it's nice to make new friends. The staff is much more laid back and will actually spend time chatting with you. It's a great way to spend a nice relaxing day :) There are still a couple low key activities scheduled as well.

[Lovefuninthesun]

We are thinking about doing the same thing when we go to Puerto Rico. That port just doesn't appeal to me

 

Cjh1975: If you haven't been to San Juan before you might reconsider -- it is one of our favorite ports -- beautiful and so much history.

Just a thought.....:)

[mosaic_mom]

For our upcoming Southern Caribbean cruise to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten... we have decided to stay on the ship in St. Kitts. For anyone that has been on this cruise, have we made the right decision? Which was your least favorite port?

 

 

St. Kitts is our favorite port. It's so beautiful there. We did the train tour and had a fantastic time. The island is a true paradise.

[mosaic_mom]

If you're into taking pictures of the ship, staying on the ship during a port day is a great opportunity to take plenty of pictures. We love staying on the ship during port days, mostly in Cozumel and the Bahamas. We love the peace and quiet.

[MrBanana1240]

They have activities all day onboard. Enjoy the Jamaica sun. You wont have to search for a chair. You will get one right away. Enjoy your cruise.

[soccersharon]

I've never stayed on the ship while in port. Will likely do so in Nassau...

[Swayde]

I broke my kneecap on June 2nd. I have been dealing with pain and then surgery and more pain ever since. I am finally getting to the point I can walk without assistance. We have decided to stay on board in ports for our next cruise. We don't want to risk too much walking on my leg or getting stranded somewhere because I can't walk any more. Plus we both need some rest and relaxation. We have been to most of the ports before and we know we can easily get back to others if we desire. We are really looking forward to it =) We even decided to get the Cheers program to really relax. Now we are both so excited. When we originally booked we were going to do a lot of snorkeling, but I can't kick and I'm the strong swimmer. So I was getting to be a nervous wreck and worrying until we made this decision.

 

We have gotten back on the ship early when it's still basically empty and we enjoyed the peace and quiet very much. I even got to use the waterslide for over an hour with no line and that was great fun. And it is a wonderful opportunity to talk to some of the crew and really get to know them.

[SkyMaster]

Just picture it! No lines at the buffet. No people in the hot tubs, or pool. Very little competition at the trivia that's sometimes offered on port days. Elevators are instantly available, and empty. Spa offers discounts for most of their services while in port, and best of all, YOU CAN HAVE ANY DAMN DECK CHAIR YOU WANT! It's heaven right here on Earth. ;)

 

"SKY"

Edited September 28, 2013 by SkyMaster

[pcrum]

If my DH had his way, we'd never leave the ship. We are pretty low key and DH loves to sit in the shade and read a book. We enjoy the Serenity area on port days because it's rarely crowded. We've also enjoyed a movie shown on the big screen on port days.

 

Pools and hot tubs are much less crowded and the coveted areas on a ship (hammocks in Serenity area and those big clam shell things on Serentity) are much more easily accessible on port days. If mini golf is your thing, that is also less crowded on port days.

 

Enjoy the peace and quiet of a much emptier ship!:)

[pcrum]

To us the joy of cruising is seeing new places,...Ports.

We are off the ship ASAP and are amongst the last returning. Most of are ports go like this:

 

1/2 the time have a private guide or taxi lined up prior to arrival. Get off the ship with collapsible cooler full of ice. Stop one grocery store to find odd items for bringing home and a 6 or 12 pack of local brew for the day.

 

Hike, geocache, visit researched food places, get lunch to go (always local foods be it balleadas,mannish water, jerk, gibnut, stewed cowsfoot, turtle etc..) Then we wander non combed uncrowded beaches. ( last time on Cozumel we wandered the beaches on the opposite side and saw no one for 3 hours, except for cars on the upper road). We always go inland and find locals to chat with. We avoid any chain establishment like Fat Tuesday/Margaritaville etc. and any shopping streets. Museums and old architecture a must visit. Often we hit a local orphanage and drop off school supplies as well, great chance for our daughter to play with local kids. Normally all this can be done for the 3 of us at under a $100.00.

 

Grand Cayman we have been to twice, still want to hit Historic Pedro St. James and the Caybrew brewery, so one more visit may be necessary some day. Cozumel, pretty touristy place and hopefully we won't return, not much left for us to do there.

 

Favorite ports to date for culture and people chatting with locals:

 

Roatan/ Belize City and Ensenada. We desperately try to avoid private island ports like HMC. If we wanted to sit on a beach, we'd vacation in Florida.

 

And this is the beauty of cruising...something for everyone. Lots of activity to be had in the ports for those who crave that and quiet days on the ship for others. Two families can have entirely different experiences on the same cruise and both come away totally satisfied. It's the perfect vacation!!

[cruiseonthebrain]

We don't get off the ship in the Bahamas either. Perfect time to suck up some rays and hit the waterpark when it's not crazy.

[asumatty]

Just did this cruise 2 weeks ago, and I had originally planned to do the same thing and stay on board in St. Kitts because the island just didn’t sound that appealing to us, and I was afraid with soo many ports that we would be exhausted by the end of the trip.

In the end we decided to go to Frigate Bay and spend a day at the beach, (we bought the $35 day passes at the Marriott which is right on the beach which allowed us to use the pools, and their lounge chairs, facilities, etc. But buying the day pass is not necessary if you just want to enjoy the beach.)

I am SOOO glad we decided not to stay on the ship because St. Kitts was amazingly beautiful. This actually turned into one of our favorite ports of the trip! I really think St. Kitts in an underappreciated island, and I would not miss it if I were you.

 

I would say my least favorite port of this trip was St. Thomas, but of course it is the first port, and also there is a sea day the next day, so its prolly not a good option for staying on the ship either. Honestly each of these ports is so unique, that if you have never been to them I would get off the ship in all of them and enjoy the islands.

 

 

This is exactly what we were thinking in planning for this cruise. However, we too got off the boat, we went to Cockleshell beach/Reggae Beach and had an absolutely AWESOME time. We are sooo glad we got off the ship that day. It is breathtakingly beautiful and different than all of the other islands that you will visit.

[Bobby_Mac]

We stayed on during out last stop in St Thomas (and will do so if we ever stop in Nassau again). We loved it. I shared the pool at the back of the ship with my beer.

[tkportersat]

Have done before and it makes for a very relaxing day. And you have the pool all to yourself and the waiters.

 

We never thought that we would do this but we are considering staying on the ship (Carnival Sunshine) when we dock in one of the 3 ports that we stop at. We have been to Montego Bay, Caymans, and Cozumel before so we are wondering what the day will be like if we opt to just stay on the boat for any of these days. If you have done this before, please tell us about your day and what you liked about it the most. Thanks for your comments!!:)

[kangaand2roos]

My next cruise is Port Canaveral, Nassau! and Freeport. If I weren't traveling with the kids, I would probably stay on the ship the whole time. As it is the kids love the beach. So we will likely get off at at least two. We are cruising in. February, so I am not booking anything in advance because the weather could really be anything at that time. I goes against my plan-everything-months-in-advance personality, but it don't want to get stuck with a cold or rainy port day and expensive excursions!

[CruiseAwesome]

My next cruise is Port Canaveral, Nassau! and Freeport. If I weren't traveling with the kids, I would probably stay on the ship the whole time. As it is the kids love the beach. So we will likely get off at at least two. We are cruising in. February, so I am not booking anything in advance because the weather could really be anything at that time. I goes against my plan-everything-months-in-advance personality, but it don't want to get stuck with a cold or rainy port day and expensive excursions!

 

How about a day at Disney World when you're in Port Canaveral? As an Annual passholder, I can personally say that Disney is beautiful in a Florida winter!

[dperki1]

For our upcoming Southern Caribbean cruise to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten... we have decided to stay on the ship in St. Kitts. For anyone that has been on this cruise, have we made the right decision? Which was your least favorite port?

 

If I had to pick a port day to stay on the ship, I would pick St. Maarten, to me St. Maarten is just okay, not wild about the beaches there but that's just me. I look forward to the day I can go back to St. Kitt, it is a beautiful island...we did a tour with Royston which was great.

[Georgie562]

I am looking forward to enjoying a nice peaceful quiet day onboard the Breeze when it is in Port in Grand Turk!

Have never been to Grand Turk but being that all 3 legs of my B2B2B will visit Grand Turk I have decided to enjoy an empty ship on the second leg :)

[kangaand2roos]

How about a day at Disney World when you're in Port Canaveral? As an Annual passholder, I can personally say that Disney is beautiful in a Florida winter!

 

We have been AP holders for most of my kids' lives! (My 10 YO old has been to WDW 24 times and DLR 6...and we live in PA) and I agree it's a great time to go there, but I couldn't justify spending for one day almost what it would cost one of us for a year:eek: and for only half a day! (Our passes expired in early august:-( ) This is a rare non-Disney trip for us. I had thought about trying the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at IOA, but I just can't justify the cost for a half day. I KNOW we will be back to Orlando, so no hurry. I'm going to let the kids kind of take the lead on what they'd prefer to do. Thanks for the suggestion though. It's a great idea for someone who wants to get a taste for one of the parks. We are just spoiled :-)

[CruiseAwesome]

We have been AP holders for most of my kids' lives! (My 10 YO old has been to WDW 24 times and DLR 6...and we live in PA) and I agree it's a great time to go there, but I couldn't justify spending for one day almost what it would cost one of us for a year:eek: and for only half a day! (Our passes expired in early august:-( ) This is a rare non-Disney trip for us. I had thought about trying the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at IOA, but I just can't justify the cost for a half day. I KNOW we will be back to Orlando, so no hurry. I'm going to let the kids kind of take the lead on what they'd prefer to do. Thanks for the suggestion though. It's a great idea for someone who wants to get a taste for one of the parks. We are just spoiled :-)

 

I completely feel you! I'm literally at a Disney park every other weekend so I wouldn't do it either, however I didn't know your circumstances but now I agree that it could very well just be a great ship day :)

[riclop]

We never thought that we would do this but we are considering staying on the ship (Carnival Sunshine) when we dock in one of the 3 ports that we stop at. We have been to Montego Bay, Caymans, and Cozumel before so we are wondering what the day will be like if we opt to just stay on the boat for any of these days. If you have done this before, please tell us about your day and what you liked about it the most. Thanks for your comments!!:)

You will love you will have the ship to yourself more or less and no lines to eat etc.

[kangaand2roos]

I completely feel you! I'm literally at a Disney park every other weekend so I wouldn't do it either, however I didn't know your circumstances but now I agree that it could very well just be a great ship day :)

We are thinking of the manatee bay boat tour if the weather looks promising. My son (8) told me tonight that the excursions sound nice but he'd really just like to stay on the ship! Surprise!

[Tapi]

We are planning on staying on the ship in Boston when we sail on the Royal Princess for the fall foliage cruise.

 

We've been to Boston many times and we want to enjoy having the ship all to ourselves for the day. We'll probably just do the things that we normally do on a sea day but without the crowds. It will be nice to enjoy hot tubs, outdoor decks, and lunch in a fairly quiet environment.

 

I'm thinking that this day may turn out to be the highlight of the cruise. :D

Edited October 2, 2013 by Tapi

[Tapi]

We are thinking about doing the same thing when we go to Puerto Rico. That port just doesn't appeal to me

 

Do some research. San Juan is without a doubt one of the amazing and diverse ports in the Caribbean. I've taken friends on 10 day vacations to Puerto Rico and even that wasn't enough time to see everything that this island has to offer.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Tapi

[crusinpsychRN]

Just picture it! No lines at the buffet. No people in the hot tubs, or pool. Very little competition at the trivia that's sometimes offered on port days. Elevators are instantly available, and empty. Spa offers discounts for most of their services while in port, and best of all, YOU CAN HAVE ANY DAMN DECK CHAIR YOU WANT! It's heaven right here on Earth. ;)

 

"SKY"

 

Funny you said that...the one SOAS I felt guilty about getting was when I was the only person to show up on Insipration at a noon trivia when we were in port!

 

I remember being out on my balcony one morning as we docked in Cozumel. The lady on the next balcony was out too and we started talking. I asked her what she was planning to do in port and when she told me she was staying on the ship, I wanted to call the medic!

 

A few cruises later I found myself doing the same and really enjoying it. It's an excursion unto itself! Don't tell anyone!:D

 

Posters who end up berating others for doing so may find themselves eating their words...