How Much Do You Get On/Off While Docked?

[Dare2Believe]

Having this "debate" with a newbie friend who's sailing with me next month...He says he plans on going back and forth to the ship for lunch/drinks at the bar etc. His reasoning being "We've already paid for the food and alcohol (Cheers) on the ship!" as opposed to buying more drinks/food in Key West or Nassau.

 

Now, in the past I've only come back to the ship while in port once, and that was to ride out a storm in Nassau. Usually we leave when we dock, and come back at the designated time in the afternoon/evening. I would think that it eats into your already minimal time in port, but it DOES make sense to eat/drink mostly what you've already paid for on board...

 

 

But he's made me curious...do you go through the "hassle" of getting on and off the boat more than once when you're at port? Why?

Edited January 25, 2014 by Dare2Believe

[purplemusik]

I've always wondered this too because, for some odd reason, I feel like it's a hassle ( and exhausting! ) to walk all the way back to the ship- to get up on deck - just to turn around and go back out. Then again, I've never been in port past like...7pm. If I was in port until late I might consider it but it wouldn't be immediately after I just got back on -lol

[Dare2Believe]

I've always wondered this too because, for some odd reason, I feel like it's a hassle ( and exhausting! ) to walk all the way back to the ship- to get up on deck - just to turn around and go back out. Then again, I've never been in port past like...7pm. If I was in port until late I might consider it but it wouldn't be immediately after I just got back on -lol

 

I see it the same way..not sure why it seems like such a long process, because I doubt it really is.

 

Though, I'd rather get a few beers in Key West and enjoy my BRIEF time there than walk all the way back...this is especially true for Nassau..the walk to the ship there always feels endless to me! LOL

 

The latest I've been in port will be this time (there til 8 in Nassau)..so I'll see if my story changes!;)

[Ron_L]

The only time that we have gone back to the ship was after a morning water excursion. We went back to the cabin to change clothes and left again.

 

I understand the logic of taking advantage of what you have paid for, but I would rather spend a few dollar and get some local food or local drinks. For us that is part of the experience.

[golfadj]

DW has some unusual food allergies so usually will go back to the ship for lunch.

 

If it was not for that would depend upon how convenient it was to head back to the ship.

[Dare2Believe]

The only time that we have gone back to the ship was after a morning water excursion. We went back to the cabin to change clothes and left again.

 

I understand the logic of taking advantage of what you have paid for, but I would rather spend a few dollar and get some local food or local drinks. For us that is part of the experience.

 

I agree - I want to try a key lime pie on a stick and have a beer on Duval Street! ;-) I might just hang out downtown while the rest of them go back to the ship...LOL

[1kaper]

I've only ever done it once, when we were in Monte Carlo. To be fair, I believe the principality is something like 2.2 square km, so its not huge to start with. There was a free ride that circled the city and stopped at the cruise ship. Monte Carlo is also pretty expensive and there wasn't a whole lot to do so we did go back to the ship for lunch. I didn't find it a hassle getting back on and off. I suppose it would all depend on how far the ship was from where I am/want to be.

[HappyAboard]

The length of the port stops is already to short for my liking. Not worth it in my opinion. Plus it is nice to eat in some of the local food, and experience more in the ports. That is part of the trip. Usually we eat breakfast on the ship and are back on in time for supper, so you really only need to purchase a light lunch or snack to tide you over.

[MMOMOM]

We've never gone back to the ship specifically to eat. We usually have the day planned and sometimes we'll come back a little early to avoid the big rush and also to have a snack at some place on the ship we like, be we stay there, relax in the cabin, not rush for dinner, that sort of thing. We also don't eat big lunches, etc. like some people. But, that is probably because we don't usually 'rush' off the ship (unless we have to for some reason) ... we take our time, have breakfast which is usually pretty big for us so we don't really need anything. We've stopped at different ports for drinks/snacks, etc. tho. That's half the fun. So, we pretty much eat on the ship with the exception of some local beers/drinks and snacks. That's just what we do, don't know if it helps.

[riffatsea]

Length of time on shore depends on the port.

Sometimes we are out for the whole day .

Sometimes we are out in the AM and then are back for lunch and just stay on board.

Sometimes we are out in the AM go back for lunch and then go out again.

Each port is different and offers different opportunities for activities and/or food.

I wouldn't stay ashore just for a beer or just to have drinks. I'd go to see/do something and then if I am going to relax with a drink it might as well be on the ship so I am sure I can walk to my cabin afterwards!

[silvercrikhix]

We have never done it.

Do not think we would either.

Rather spend the money off ship for sustenance and such, port time is short.

Why waste time and energy for a few bucks?

We have gotten back early and stayed aboard.

[irishnyc]

Once I'm off, I'm off; once I go back, I'm back. Unless the time in port is very long, I'm not going back and forth.

[Tapi]

Unless were going somewhere new , we normally only go ashore for about 4 hours, so we eat before we leave and don't need to eat again until we get back.

 

 

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[Giffer]

Really depends on the port and what we have planned. Some places like San Juan it is not hard to just walk to and from the ship. Other ports the shopping and restaurants are farther away, so we just stay in port all day. I really dont think there is a right and wrong answer. Do what works for you that particular day and port.

 

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[MMastell]

Half the fun of visiting a port is to try the local food. We usually get a recommendation from a cab driver or other local and go for lunch.

 

Going all the way back to the ship "just" to eat is a waste of time in my book.

 

Take care,

Mike

[Laurie S.]

Only time I do it is after diving, if there is enough time after bringing all my equipment back onboard. If I have a couple hours, then I head back out to do a little shopping and grab a local beer or two.

[nybumpkin]

We've done it a couple of times. In St. Maarten we had a morning snorkel tour and were finished around lunchtime. We went back to the ship, showered and ate, and then took the water taxi to Phillipsburg to enjoy the waterfront and some shopping. We were in port about 10 hours, with sailaway at 6 PM. In San Juan we were in port from 3 to 11 - walked up to Fort San Cristobal, then walked back to the ship through Old San Juan. We wanted to have dinner in town, but everything we saw was really crowded - so we went back to the ship, had dinner, left younger two sons off at Camp Carnival, then went back out with oldest son. It only works with longer port times and things to do close to the ship.

[joeyancho]

Once I'm off, I'm off; once I go back, I'm back. Unless the time in port is very long, I'm not going back and forth.

 

This!!!

[carrieluvsgreg]

For us it depends on a couple of things:

How long are we in port?

Is it a tendered port?

How tight is our budget?

So, if it's a "short stop" where we leave at 2:00, we wouldn't come back until it's time to be back on for good.

If it's a tendered port- we never go back til we are done.

If it's a long docking and we are short on cash, we will do an early activity in the morning, come back for lunch and then go back off.

Really, we've only done this once or twice.

 

 

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[lady_cruiser]

We have on occasion left the ship to walk around the port, go back for lunch and then later on we were back on the pier walking around.

 

I don't mind spending money (this is why I am usually broke :p) but there were times were the restaurants offerings in the ports just didn't appeal to us.

[frugalKansan]

If I had those 2 ports, I'd probably get back on for lunch at Key West. The boat parks right there at the end of Duvall. There are no budget friendly places to eat on Key West. I didn't find a decent piece of key lime pie and believe me, I tried most of them. It's no better on a stick. I'd walk down to the fort, maybe swing by a couple historic places. Come back to the ship for lunch then hit Duvall street. If you tire of that, hit the beach back down by the fort. (If there are no jelly fish) you'll probably leave port too early to see any of the raunchy shows or performers down at the port.

On Nassau, I probably wouldn't go back to the ship unless you have a long stay like we did. It's time consuming to walk back and forth through the customs/tourism area. It's a pretty long hike if you're not in pretty good shape. If it's really hot, that walk can be rough, especially if you're parked in the far berth.

 

 

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[Rudyard]

I've done it twice, both on my first cruise. Went back to the ship in Cozumel to drop off our wet swimsuits and towels after a dolphin swim so we could go downtown for lunch without carrying it around. Since the taxi from the dolphin swim was dropping us off at the port anyway (we wanted to change taxis because we could get a free one from the port if we asked to be dropped off at the Forum Shops downtown) it wasn't out of the way.

 

Second was in Falmouth. We had bought a bunch of things for friends and family there and didn't want to carry it all around the port all day. The ship is so close n Falmouth that it only takes about a minute or two to get back on.

 

Neither experience was negative as it was early enough that there was no line at security. Whether or not I would do it again would depend on how far it was out of our way, and how much time we had left in port.

[sanmarcosman]

We enjoy the ports we choose to sail to far too much to consider this an option. In fact when we book a cruise with an overnight stay in port we spend the night ashore, e.g. at Puerto Vallarta we head for La Jolla de Mismaloya and stay the night at the resort. This helps to break up the cruise mid-way and gives us more time to enjoy Mexico.

[djhsolara]

I would not be going back and forth to the ship in Nassau. It is usually always a hassle getting through customs (we were on line 20 minutes last week in the middle of the day) and then there is the walk past there to the ship. That's too much bother for me...but to each their own.

[cooncat_mom]

To be honest, we rarely eat off the ship. We bring a box of those cheese and cracker packages and some packages of trail mix when we cruise. Then, on port days, we eat a good breakfast, use our crackers and trail mix when we're out and have a snack when we return to the ship. (It's not just that we're cheap :D but there are some food issues we need to be careful of) The only time we've gone on and off and on are the times we've cruised to Bermuda and were docked for 3 days.

Edited January 26, 2014 by cooncat_mom