Least Favorite Port

[RedwingHockeyFan]

2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I think you are thinking of RCL’s private island.

 

No it was definitely GSC, this past February.  I thought that I read some where that NCL was working to build a dock so there wouldn't be tendering.

[myjillian]

Hands down...Recife Brazil  It was a 33 day Princess and you had to have a Brazillian Visa....the first couple of days out of Venice everyone was discussing what they had to pay for their Visas....everyone had a different price...Canadians had to turn in 2 yrs income tax with their application...we kidded them that they would be the ones to be kidnapped because Brazil already knew their net worth LOL....when you received your Visa it could be for 90 days or 5 yrs or anywhere inbetween...I wrote a note with mine asking for 5 yrs and received it ...some people didn't really look at their expiration date and 3 couples had to leave the ship at Gibralter because they would not have a good Visa at our next port which was Recife  When we arrived we found out that it was just a gas station for the ship...taking the place of Isla de Margaritta.....you could get a ride into the straw market for $10 apiece on the cruise bus.....a group of us got together to walk to the beautiful sandy beach that we could see from the ship.  At the gate as we were leaving the guards said it would be dangerous to go to the beach...we could see the beach from where we were standing....so , as a group, we started to walk there....all of a sudden the Barrio just before the beach had activity...people started to walk out of their house and stare at us and a little old woman ran onto the dirt road got down on her knees and yelled in Spanish ( with her hands in a prayer position ) for us to turn around and leave.  As a group we all turned and went back to the gates...questioned the guards about what would have happened and they just schrugged and said that they warned us....so inside the yard were some mini vans so the 6 of us hired one to take us around.....the driver charged us $10 apiece and took us and protected us everywhere...the Opera House the straw market...downtown great beaches etc....told us not to lean out of the windows because a motorcycle might go by and steal our cameras etc.....the  Christmas decoration around the area were georgeous and they looked like something you would find in NYC.....we all got leather cowboy like hats  for $5 apiece from a vendor at one of the small beaches.....great time...got back to the ship and discovered that 2 different couples who were on the ships buses to the straw market got mugged and people who bought the same hats as ours paid $45 for them

 

It cost us $500 for our Visas !!!!!  We never went back to Brazil again to  use them...this was before the Olympics were there and I'm sure that they had changed the Visa rules before that....so in one way it was our worst port and in another it was a Port of memories and adventure....but not worth $500 for a 6 hr layover !!!!!

[mjkacmom]

22 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

 

No it was definitely GSC, this past February.  I thought that I read some where that NCL was working to build a dock so there wouldn't be tendering.

They are doing improvements, but I haven’t heard anything about a dock. Work on coco cay has been going on for a while now.

[PATRLR]

4 hours ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Dominica........too many reasons to list

Oh wow.  It's been 23 years since I was there (on the Dolphin line Oceanbreeze, ahhh, those were the days) and we liked Dominica.  Been wanting to get back there.   

 

I wonder has it changed, or, just different tastes?  I'd be interested in a couple of your top reasons you dislike it.  

[katyjeka]

I try to avoid St. Thomas it just isn't for us.  Dominica is one of our favorite stops. We hired a local driver and enjoyed the day. He was so kind and we had a great day. He knew exactly how to miss the buses and hoards of people, we were always leaving a place as they were entering. Made for a really fun day. Samana is another place that we would not care to visit again. Found the people rude and too pushy.

[erdoran]

I think the real question is "with or without excursion/tour"?

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I'd like to see the Eastern Caribbean cruises move back to St. Maarten and maybe add GSC.  I'm not a big fan of the Nassau/Tortola/St Thomas Itinerary.  I'd also like for them to add a 4th stop on the 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise.  But that might not be possible within the timeframe.

[n8botting]

I like them all! I mean I'm not at work, it's usually hot, and did mention I'm not at work?

[Pauser]

12 hours ago, Weluv2cruise2gether said:

Samana Dominican Republic! Our excursion to whale watch was great, but walking in Samana to shop a little was scary as the vendors would follow you and insist that you buy from them. Plus, there really was nothing else to do.

We love Samana! They have gorgeous hidden beaches, wonderful local art, and very warm, friendly people. They have a much different standard of living, so I understand the aggressive sellers - kind of like Jamaica. But we've always found a firm "no thanks" works fine. If you go back, do an ATV or some type of tour. Get away from the port area and go see the stunning scenery! 

[zqvol]

Cozumel. I cannot think of one reason to go there.

[kayteecat]

I just got back from Nassau and granted it was our first time, but I booked a rum and food tasting tour through a third party with local guide and we had a fabulous time! We got off the main drag and saw some lovely buildings and sights on the side streets, learned some Nassau/pirate history (apparently bf already knew all the pirate lore ), and learned about the rum-making process. Our guide was great and we definitely got to see some tidbits that we probably wouldn't have seen on the NCL excursions or picking up a tour out in front of the port. It satisfied my desire for a more authentic cultural experience, we met some great travel companions staying locally and we had a great and full day. But I guess it really depends on what you're looking for in the experience, and the hassling on our walk off was admittedly less than pleasant.

[vpearlkc]

St Thomas. The most generic port in the caribbean.

[victory2020]

10 minutes ago, kayteecat said:

I just got back from Nassau and granted it was our first time, but I booked a rum and food tasting tour through a third party with local guide and we had a fabulous time! We got off the main drag and saw some lovely buildings and sights on the side streets, learned some Nassau/pirate history (apparently bf already knew all the pirate lore ), and learned about the rum-making process. Our guide was great and we definitely got to see some tidbits that we probably wouldn't have seen on the NCL excursions or picking up a tour out in front of the port. It satisfied my desire for a more authentic cultural experience, we met some great travel companions staying locally and we had a great and full day. But I guess it really depends on what you're looking for in the experience, and the hassling on our walk off was admittedly less than pleasant.

What company did you use & how much was it? Is there anything to do right at the port where you get off the ship? How bad were people hassling you? Mainly merchants?

[kayteecat]

@victory2020 I will send you a private message as I don't think I can list the name of the website I used to find the tour company. The way the port works as that you get off the ship, and there is a short (less than 1 mile) walk off to Woodes Rogers Walk which is the first street right up against the water. There are a number of shops, restaurants and taxis right along here and on the next parallel street, Bay Street that are pretty touristy. That said, our tour met at Pirate Republic Brewing on Woodes Rogers which is a cool little craft brewery that I'd recommend checking out if you're into that sort of thing. Everyone there was friendly and they sell merch - I wouldn't pick up a kitschy Bahamas souvenir, but I did get a Pirate Republic Brewing t-shirt that indicates it's located in Nassau so I consider that my souvenir.

 

The people on CC who despise Nassau had me believing that the hassling would be much worse than it actually was - as someone indicated above, if you've ever been in a city where you've had to walk past people asking for handouts you're well equipped to deal with the situation. It's mostly people trying to get you to go on their tour, get in their taxi, or let them braid your hair and honestly I think that's typical of a lot of these places. I went to Bermuda a few years ago and it happened there too, though granted there's a lot more of it in Nassau. The worst thing that happened was I ignored someone and they called me rude, which doesn't bother me at all. And all of them were only located on those first two streets closest to the port.

[kayteecat]

@victory2020 apparently I can't PM you but if you Google "rum and food tasting tour Nassau" it will be one of the first results. It cost us about $70 per person and for the amount of booze, food, and entertainment we considered it well worth the money.

[ganggreen88]

Nassau.

[klfhngr]

Nassau! Cuz they left me behind and never want to go back!

[RedwingHockeyFan]

1 hour ago, n8botting said:

I like them all! I mean I'm not at work, it's usually hot, and did mention I'm not at work?

 

Yeah, least favorite by no means is equal to hate.

[havanadaydreaming]

I have enjoyed almost every port we have been to over the years. 

 

Except Freeport.   I'd probably stay on the ship if we ever went there again.

[JJCas]

Nassau for us too.

[victory2020]

1 hour ago, kayteecat said:

@victory2020 apparently I can't PM you but if you Google "rum and food tasting tour Nassau" it will be one of the first results. It cost us about $70 per person and for the amount of booze, food, and entertainment we considered it well worth the money.

Thank you, you've given me great info. I don't mind that kind of hassling- sort of like any tourist island. As long as we can walk around a little we're happy. FYI, I believe you can mention tour companies - I have regarding tour company in Havana - unless they've changed rules at the beginning of the year.

[CozGurl]

Yeah, I think a lot of this depends on if you book an excursion or stay in the port area. I have yet to see a port area that was interesting to me. 

 

The aggressive shop keepers don't bother me. 

 

Cozumel is one of our favorite places in the world so it made me giggle when someone said their least favorite. We go out on great excursions there though and have a few favorite places we love to eat. If all we had to do was shop I'd be disappointed there too. Well, unless you love those big beach clubs. Some folks have tons of fun at those!

[Casino Comp Chick]

3 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Oh wow.  It's been 23 years since I was there (on the Dolphin line Oceanbreeze, ahhh, those were the days) and we liked Dominica.  Been wanting to get back there.   

 

I wonder has it changed, or, just different tastes?  I'd be interested in a couple of your top reasons you dislike it.  

 

Military with machine guns greeted us getting out of the port, they had barriers to keep the locals away from you. Rickety transportation. People recommended a bar/restaurant near the port. I never saw so many flies in my life, I ordered a soda and the bartender placed a napkin over it....I did not drink it after seeing that. In all fairness I went to a rainforest cave type thing and that was nice.....but not nice enough for me to ever go back there. 

[Tricialy]

11 hours ago, Lindypops said:

Jamaica  Ocho Rios 

police armed with machine guns walking the street .

lots of agressive people trying to sell drugs on the street and in the market

 

we have been to Rio , Bueno aries and Columbia  and Jamaica was by far the most frghtening.

Exactly!!!   We've been on a lot of cruises and Jamaica was the worst.  The drug dealers we encountered didn't take a polite "No, thank you."   We had the same problem both times we ported in Jamaica.   My boss was told it wasn't safe to leave the resort she booked for their honeymoon.   I'll take Nassau any day.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Tricialy

[TrpngBilly]

Very subjective topic with lots of variables.

 

I've had a good experiences as well as bad experiences in many different ports but as bad as the worst one was...it was still better than shoveling snow in my driveway since we usually cruise in winter.