Do you grab lunch at the port or head back on board for a quick bite?

[no1racefan1]

It comes down to convenience for us. If it's a long day in port and the ship is right there, we'll run back on ship and grab something to eat if we're hungry, freshen up in our cabin, and then head back out.

 

If it would be a hassle or take too much time, we'll find something to eat in port--preferably not a crowded tourist spot so it doesn't take a lot of time out of our day. We want to be touring, exploring, etc.

 

If it's a tender port, no question we'll eat in port--I'm not interested in riding a tender multiple times a day.

 

Edited to add: we're not world travelers by any means, but we've never been anywhere where I felt unsafe eating somewhere locally. Not usually a consideration for us.

Edited August 25, 2023 by no1racefan1

[K32682]

3 hours ago, evandbob said:

While I've posted already that we prefer a port lunch, we don't go along with cruisers looking for an American chain fast food restaurant on land

 

A spot a few blocks off the main drag, with more locals than tourists, is what we look for.

 

Tourists flocking to the same fast food chains they can go to at home have never made much sense to me. I was in Tokyo with three friends and after getting settled at the hotel we roamed the streets looking for lunch. Two went to MacDonalds, another friend and I ate ramen from a sidewalk cart. 🙂

[Charles4515]

42 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

Tourists flocking to the same fast food chains they can go to at home have never made much sense to me. I was in Tokyo with three friends and after getting settled at the hotel we roamed the streets looking for lunch. Two went to MacDonalds, another friend and I ate ramen from a sidewalk cart. 🙂

I have read that foriegn MacDonald's have some interesting items on the menu. Never checked that out. I hope none are cruising to Tokyo and staying on the ship but sounds like some people who have posted do just that. What a waste....

[Charles4515]

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

This conversation has illustrated two different reasons why people cruise: to explore new places, or to be on a ship at sea.  We are absolutely in the second category. We've explored a lot of the world in our earlier years, but when we first sailed we both knew we had found our ultimate bliss.  We still do as many cruises in a year as we can, but we choose to stay aboard much of the time, perhaps just watching the commerce that goes on ashore, and waiting for the lines to be cast off again.

That is why many ports don't want cruise ships anymore. If the passengers are not going to spend in ports there is little benefit to the local economy from the ships. I try to at least have lunch in port at a local restaurant to help the local economy. 

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Tourists flocking to the same fast food chains they can go to at home have never made much sense to me. I was in Tokyo with three friends and after getting settled at the hotel we roamed the streets looking for lunch. Two went to MacDonalds, another friend and I ate ramen from a sidewalk cart. 🙂

I’ve taken some lengthy trips to places that have food that is very different than what I eat at home; after a couple weeks of that, a familiar meal can be really comforting. Japan was our worst trip food wise. The textures and flavors were not to our palate. Slimy miso soup, bland rice, and fish at every meal got old really quickly.

 

funny story on Japan though. We traveled on a group tour with a few days before and after on our own. There was an older couple on the group tour. Every night when the dinner was on our own, they would debate what kind of food to get for dinner: Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. getting ‘Japanese’ for dinner never came up. 

[no1racefan1]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

I’ve taken some lengthy trips to places that have food that is very different than what I eat at home; after a couple weeks of that, a familiar meal can be really comforting. Japan was our worst trip food wise. The textures and flavors were not to our palate. Slimy miso soup, bland rice, and fish at every meal got old really quickly.

 

funny story on Japan though. We traveled on a group tour with a few days before and after on our own. There was an older couple on the group tour. Every night when the dinner was on our own, they would debate what kind of food to get for dinner: Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. getting ‘Japanese’ for dinner never came up. 

Haha. When we were in Mazatlan, we decided to have lunch in the town square. There are all sorts of restaurants there--Italian, American, French, etc. I wanted authentic Mexican food in Mexico, so we went to a Mexican restaurant. I now tell people I went to a Mexican Mexican restaurant because it's the only way to distinguish it amongst the other restaurants!

[Aquahound]

I cannot recall a single incident of going back on board for the sole purpose of eating. 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

I’ve taken some lengthy trips to places that have food that is very different than what I eat at home; after a couple weeks of that, a familiar meal can be really comforting. Japan was our worst trip food wise. The textures and flavors were not to our palate. Slimy miso soup, bland rice, and fish at every meal got old really quickly.

There are many more options including a number that are almost ubiquitous in the US: ramen and other noodle bowls, tempura, sushi, etc.

 

DS and I traveled in Japan for 2 weeks on our own. We never looked back once we discovered noodle houses even though DS was a somewhat picky eater. I didn’t travel halfway around the world to eat at McDonalds, I don’t even eat there at home.

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

There are many more options including a number that are almost ubiquitous in the US: ramen and other noodle bowls, tempura, sushi, etc.

 

DS and I traveled in Japan for 2 weeks on our own. We never looked back once we discovered noodle houses even though DS was a somewhat picky eater. I didn’t travel halfway around the world to eat at McDonalds, I don’t even eat there at home.

I can elaborate. Our tour included many meals; almost all of them included miso soup, rice, and fish; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yes, when we were on our own we grew fond of ramen and some other dishes. But we got really tired of miso soup, rice, and fish 3 meals a day

[donaldsc]

On 8/23/2023 at 12:12 PM, sverigecruiser said:

We normally try to be back on the ship in time for lunch, but sometimes it's a late lunch around 2. We never leave the ship again after lunch.

 

We don't care about the money, so it has nothing to do with that we already has paid for the food on the ship, but we love to be on the ship! Otherwise we shouldn't book a cruise!

 

Just my opinion but I look at this as basically wasting 1/ 2 of every day you are on the cruise.   However if it works for you I guess that it works for you.

 

DON

[herbanrenewal]

really depends on what cruise - if its a Caribbean cruise I might just be staying on the ship all day - the ports aren't the highlight. If its to a place I've never been before it depends on what itinerary I've planned. But since I have a medically limited diet chances are my choices can be limited in port if i can't ascertain how food is prepared.

[sanger727]

15 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Just my opinion but I look at this as basically wasting 1/ 2 of every day you are on the cruise.   However if it works for you I guess that it works for you.

 

DON

I can kind of see the point @sverigecruiser is making. Like you, I typically cruise for the itinerary and to see the ports. But I also enjoy going to an all inclusive where I may never leave the resort. I’m not wasting each day at the resort; I paid for an easy, relaxing vacation at the resort to use the amenities.

[sverigecruiser]

15 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Just my opinion but I look at this as basically wasting 1/ 2 of every day you are on the cruise.   However if it works for you I guess that it works for you.

 

DON

 

For me it's wasting time every time I leave the ship! I don't cruise for the ports, if I did it should be much cheaper to just book a trip to the portcities!

 

I have been on two Mediterranean cruises with the  same itinerary, Barcelona-Marseilles-Genova-Naples-Messina-Valetta-Barcelona, and we are planning to book a third cruise with the same itinerary just because we love the ship! We plan to stay on the ship in Marseilles, Genova and Naples so that we can maximise our time on the ship! Messina and Valetta are worth to leave the ship for, we think. 

[clackey]

I like to eat local cuisine when possible.  It helps the locals financially and I get to sample foods that I can't get at home. On our first trip to Progreso we ate at a restaurant on the malicon that was in front of the fish market. The only way that it would be fresher was to catch it yourself.  There was a street vendor in Playa Del Carmen who sold Cochinita Pibil.  Pork steamed in palm leaves with local spices. Fantastic!!

[Wayfairers]

Where we eat depends upon where we are and what we are doing - we’ve probably eat lunch in the port more often than on board because many times we aren’t near the ship when we want to eat.  We’ve walked one direction from port in the morning, back to the ship for lunch and the opposite direction in the afternoon.  We’ve also walked past a restaurant that looks interesting and stopped to eat.  Once, we couldn’t speak or read the local language so just pointed to dishes others were eating and ordered that way.  When we book a private tour I ask the tour guide for lunch with local food and drink, a place they would go - that has been interesting at times!  

[CDNPolar]

For us it is where we are and can we sample a local food that we won't get on board.