Port Days On Board

[CozGurl]

We'll be on the Valor this fall and not sure we'll get off the ship at least one of the port days. What will be open if we stay on ship as far as bars and restaurants? Any recommendations on what you like to do if you stay on the ship?

 

Also, any tips for first day favorite things to do or specials? I think I read somewhere that there might be 1/2 price happy hour in Red Frog Pub but I'm not sure about that.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Port days tend to be "business as usual" for the most part.  The only noticeable difference is that the MDR is closed during lunch hours.  (Unless it's a weird port schedule with an afternoon arrival.)  Other food and drink venues are still open, activities are still held, and people still mill about the ship.  Your best bet would be to consult the Fun Times, and find an activity of your choice.  They consist of things like trivia challenges, spa sampler tours, and so on.

 

No clue on Red Frog Pub specials.  I never sailed on a ship that had it.

[Eli_6]

On port days the Red Frog has super cheap drinks. And they were good.  At Cayman us we just got off to go to the watch shop and were back on in a couple of hours.  

[Chervil]

The brunch in the MDR is an abbreviated menu (the croissants were also smaller for some reason).
Everything else is pretty much business as usual.
This is when Cupcake likes to hit the Waterpark and other areas that are usually crowded!
Also, if you are into the spa scene, they usually have port specials there as well.

I believe the only thing not open (other than the MDR for lunch) are the shops onboard so they don't compete with the port shops.
 

[RWolver672]

4 hours ago, Chervil said:

I believe the only thing not open (other than the MDR for lunch) are the shops onboard so they don't compete with the port shops.
 

 

The casino won't be open either.  Port days are a good day to get acquainted with the crew.  They aren't so rushed and have the time to talk with you.  Learned a lot from them on port days.   

 

The Serenity area and the loungers around the pools won't be as  crowded.   We have met several people that like to cruise for the ship itself and never get off at the ports of call.

[CruizCuz]

Recently because of family health issues, shorter cruises are the only ones we are sailing.  But ANY cruise is better than no cruise, right?!  That said, we have been to the Bahamas a gazillion times.  We rarely get off the ship anymore, unless we have a newbie with us, that just HAS to see what the island has to offer.  

 

Port days are the BEST!  As previously stated, the shops and casino are closed.  The bars are open and the normally crowded pool areas are less so.  The Serenity area is amazing.  The spa offers discounts on port days as well.  

[Chervil]

3 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

 

The casino won't be open either.  Port days are a good day to get acquainted with the crew.  They aren't so rushed and have the time to talk with you.  Learned a lot from them on port days.   

 

The Serenity area and the loungers around the pools won't be as  crowded.   We have met several people that like to cruise for the ship itself and never get off at the ports of call.

I agree that we have had some of our best conversations with crew members on port days.

And if I remember correctly, I think it is usually a port day when they place towel animals all over the loungers by the pool on the lido. Although I might be mistaken.

 

 

1 hour ago, CruizCuz said:

Recently because of family health issues, shorter cruises are the only ones we are sailing.  But ANY cruise is better than no cruise, right?!  That said, we have been to the Bahamas a gazillion times.  We rarely get off the ship anymore, unless we have a newbie with us, that just HAS to see what the island has to offer.  

 

Port days are the BEST!  As previously stated, the shops and casino are closed.  The bars are open and the normally crowded pool areas are less so.  The Serenity area is amazing.  The spa offers discounts on port days as well.  

Glad to hear that despite the family health issues, you are still able to get away for even a little bit!
Important to be able to decompress and relax a bit!
 

Totally agree with both of you on cruising!
It is our favorite type of vacation right now and Cupcake has often said she really doesn't care where we go since she just likes being on the ship and relaxing!
We have sailed the same itinerary all 4 times on Carnival (including our upcoming cruise) but the port is conveniently located and we have friends in Cozumel.
One of the ports we liked well enough the first time, but prefer to stay on the ship and enjoy the waterpark and Serenity deck.


 

[Anyislandwilldo]

DH isn't a fan of trivia games.  There was a newlywed game at the local goodwill for 50 cents so I picked it.  I tossed everything except the cards with the questions and brought those along.  We've been together for 26 years so it was fun to see just how much we really knew about each other.  We laughed and argued but had a really fun time.  The person that gave the correct answer received a quarter.  In the end, DH won.

 

You can also go to the library on the ship and there should be some board games in there.  If that's your cup of tea.

 

Happy Sailing!

[ober134]

We are readers. I also like crossword puzzles. So we find a place that's normally crowded (serenity) get a beverage and do some reading or napping. That's our idea of a cruise vacation!

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

We only cruise the Caribbean and the Bahamas and have been to every port a few times. Now, we usually get off the ship and take a long walk and look around for about an hour or so. Go back to the ship and enjoy the quiet and fun times they do have for those that choose to stay on board. The pool area is almost vacant. Food. Check the buffet hours. It is open for breakfast and lunch. If there is a GUY's it is open till 6:00 PM otherwise the grill is open till 6:00 PM Other venues will be open also. Casino bar is closed as is the casino. However in one port and I do not remember which. The casino will stay open. I think in Freeport it opens early before leaving that port.

[CdrescherRBL152]

We like to go the spa on port days. Ussaly have great deals.

[Shaded Lady]

If you're on the newer ships with the ropes course or the skyride, those are often (not always) open on port days and the lineups are minimal- a great time to take advantage of them... same with the slides!

[coevan]

12 hours ago, Chervil said:

The brunch in the MDR is an abbreviated menu (the croissants were also smaller for some reason).
Everything else is pretty much business as usual.

 

 

 

Pretty sure the MDR is closed for lunch or brunch on port days. Breakfast might be served until 9. 

[Organized Chaos]

I really enjoy the trivia, but haven't had a chance to play during a port day yet. Will be sure to do that this winter when we hit a couple ports we're not too terribly interested in. Every time I play trivia, there's always cheaters that take the fun out of it. People who use their phones to look up answers and people who write in answers as they're read off by the host at the end. I don't mind losing, but it sucks to lose like that. I've yet to play with a host that cares about people doing that stuff. I'm hoping that on a port day, it's more relaxed and the cheaters are off the ship.

[Saint Greg]

I’m looking at a Valor fun times. Looks like all the food places open for lunch at noon. Bars are open all day expect RFP and tequila bar open at 3pm, sports bar 4pm, alchemy 5pm.

[Acheavacci]

21 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

If you're on the newer ships with the ropes course or the skyride, those are often (not always) open on port days and the lineups are minimal- a great time to take advantage of them... same with the slides!

Will Fun Times alert you if the pools, slides and other activities will be open?

[shof515]

21 hours ago, coevan said:

Pretty sure the MDR is closed for lunch or brunch on port days. Breakfast might be served until 9. 

 

It depends on the port day. i was on the Sunrise a few months ago and our Grand Turk port stop at 1pm, the MDR was open for lunch around 11:30am 

[Shaded Lady]

19 minutes ago, Acheavacci said:

Will Fun Times alert you if the pools, slides and other activities will be open?

 

Pools, slides will be open, unless there is a maintenance issue. The Fun Times should tell you about activities. Ropes course, sky ride etc- I'm not sure if the Fun Times would mention when they're open. I just checked the Fun Times from our Vista cruise and no mention was made of those items on ANY day...

[tkportersat]

I personally like the access to the slides and pools as they are not crowded at all...staying on board while in port is so relaxing! 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

18 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

I really enjoy the trivia, but haven't had a chance to play during a port day yet. Will be sure to do that this winter when we hit a couple ports we're not too terribly interested in. Every time I play trivia, there's always cheaters that take the fun out of it. People who use their phones to look up answers and people who write in answers as they're read off by the host at the end. I don't mind losing, but it sucks to lose like that. I've yet to play with a host that cares about people doing that stuff. I'm hoping that on a port day, it's more relaxed and the cheaters are off the ship.

Totally agree. Plus 6 heads doing it and just me and my wife which we prefer anyhow. The only problem I have with trivia. I paid a lot to cruise and then find our how dumb I am. Other ships just about give you nothing if you win. If they do, your lucky to get a pen. I treasure my ship on a stick prize. AS for using the iphone. On one ship you play using your iphone. Makes no difference if you have the correct answer. It is who answered first with the correct answer. That leaves us out completely. The young people that are super fast with their phones are the ones that only win. Same ship did games the same way. Again leaving us out. 

[HectorAchilleus]

On 7/28/2019 at 11:06 PM, CozGurl said:

We'll be on the Valor this fall and not sure we'll get off the ship at least one of the port days. What will be open if we stay on ship as far as bars and restaurants? Any recommendations on what you like to do if you stay on the ship?

 

Also, any tips for first day favorite things to do or specials? I think I read somewhere that there might be 1/2 price happy hour in Red Frog Pub but I'm not sure about that.

The coffee shop closes early - about 9, and does not open again until later in the afternoon - so get your caffeine fix early.

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Totally agree. Plus 6 heads doing it and just me and my wife which we prefer anyhow. The only problem I have with trivia. I paid a lot to cruise and then find our how dumb I am. Other ships just about give you nothing if you win. If they do, your lucky to get a pen. I treasure my ship on a stick prize. AS for using the iphone. On one ship you play using your iphone. Makes no difference if you have the correct answer. It is who answered first with the correct answer. That leaves us out completely. The young people that are super fast with their phones are the ones that only win. Same ship did games the same way. Again leaving us out. 

 

I have a lot of useless, random knowledge rattling around in my head so that's why I enjoy trivia. But I still only attend when it covers topics I'm familiar with. If it's something that I don't know at all, I won't even bother (e.g. Harry Potter seems to be one they usually do). I've yet to win a SOAS, but there's been a couple times when I probably should have if it weren't for someone looking up or writing in their answers. Last year, we played Scattergories one day. There was a group of 5-6 people helping each other out and they were all cheating in the same way. The host finally caught on about halfway through the game and told them to do it the right way, but they kept cheating and one of them won. I get it, it's a silly game for a plastic trophy, but I wish the hosts would recognize that the cheating, no matter how insignificant the activity and prize is, ruins it for some people. I've seen people talk about hosts that do enforce the rules and watch for cheating, but I haven't gotten any of those hosts yet.

 

The one on the iPhone sounds interesting, only because it seems like it'd help prevent cheating. But I get what you mean about it being bad for people who can't type fast on a phone.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

31 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I have a lot of useless, random knowledge rattling around in my head so that's why I enjoy trivia. But I still only attend when it covers topics I'm familiar with. If it's something that I don't know at all, I won't even bother (e.g. Harry Potter seems to be one they usually do). I've yet to win a SOAS, but there's been a couple times when I probably should have if it weren't for someone looking up or writing in their answers. Last year, we played Scattergories one day. There was a group of 5-6 people helping each other out and they were all cheating in the same way. The host finally caught on about halfway through the game and told them to do it the right way, but they kept cheating and one of them won. I get it, it's a silly game for a plastic trophy, but I wish the hosts would recognize that the cheating, no matter how insignificant the activity and prize is, ruins it for some people. I've seen people talk about hosts that do enforce the rules and watch for cheating, but I haven't gotten any of those hosts yet.

 

The one on the iPhone sounds interesting, only because it seems like it'd help prevent cheating. But I get what you mean about it being bad for people who can't type fast on a phone.

Some ships started having players exchange there answers to be corrected. That is great. No writing in the answers. You still have the groups of 5 or 6. Also iphone look ups with them. A few will be looking up answers while they continue. On our last cruise on the celebrity Equinox during the game we kept hearing people talking behind a partition. Guess what 8 people and yes they won. AS for certain topics. We stay away from some also. Carnival does trivia  a lot and we like that. Other cruise lines only do it on a sea day or the afternoon only or the early morning only. No matter. We look foreword to it. Bet you have the same results if yo do it a lot. We cruise a lot and remember a lot of the answers. Here is a trivia question I will never forget. What room has no doors, no windows and is almost always in the dark?

[Anyislandwilldo]

18 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I have a lot of useless, random knowledge rattling around in my head so that's why I enjoy trivia. But I still only attend when it covers topics I'm familiar with. If it's something that I don't know at all, I won't even bother (e.g. Harry Potter seems to be one they usually do). I've yet to win a SOAS, but there's been a couple times when I probably should have if it weren't for someone looking up or writing in their answers. Last year, we played Scattergories one day. There was a group of 5-6 people helping each other out and they were all cheating in the same way. The host finally caught on about halfway through the game and told them to do it the right way, but they kept cheating and one of them won. I get it, it's a silly game for a plastic trophy, but I wish the hosts would recognize that the cheating, no matter how insignificant the activity and prize is, ruins it for some people. I've seen people talk about hosts that do enforce the rules and watch for cheating, but I haven't gotten any of those hosts yet.

 

The one on the iPhone sounds interesting, only because it seems like it'd help prevent cheating. But I get what you mean about it being bad for people who can't type fast on a phone.

 

 

It's sad that people have to cheat and I would rather win my SOAS fair and square.

[patrice1]

On 7/29/2019 at 6:31 PM, CdrescherRBL152 said:

We like to go the spa on port days. Ussaly have great deals.

 

We do the same. There's always one port on a cruise that we've been to before/don't care about/have nothing we like to do, so we make our spa reservations on boarding day for that port day.