How would you rate the ports you've been to and why?

[mek]

Most Beautiful - Santorini

 

Best Shopping - St Maartin

 

Best Beaches - St Johns

 

Best Historical Port - St Petersburg

 

Most Fun - Any Private Island

[flowerchild]

All of the ports that Carnival sails to are terrible!!!!!! That's my opinion!!!! Now how valuable do you think that information may be???? The only way to know is to go and judge for yourself......everyone has an opinion, and most will differ, so what is the value in asking????

 

What a strange post. If you think all Carnival ports are terrible, why exactly are you on this board? Having a bad day, are we? According to your signature, you have sailed Carnival multiple times...I always value others opinions...

[bonniemari]

My top 2:

Frigate Bay-St Kitts-where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea

Nawilwili, Kauai Hawaii-just geougeous scenary

 

Bottom 2

Anywhere in Jamaica-just yuk, don't wan't my hair braided and not interested

buying a t-shirt or pot

Progresso, Mexico-I like the blue water of the ocean not the brown water of Progresso.

[ebandive]

What a strange post. If you think all Carnival ports are terrible, why exactly are you on this board? Having a bad day, are we? According to your signature, you have sailed Carnival multiple times...I always value others opinions...

 

I think he was trying to say my question was stupid and that favorite ports are subjective. Of course they are subjective. What is interesting to me, as another poster said, is not merely the ranking of ports but the reason WHY one loved or hated them. I'm also interested in looking for trends. If I see 10 people that loved Belize because of the cave tubing, I am more likely to try cave tubing and also have an amazing experience. If 10 people say they hated the straw market in Nassau and nobody said they loved Nassau because of the straw market, I am more likely to skip the straw market and have a better time doing something else. With such a short time in port, it just seems wise for me to try to make the most of it. JMHO.

 

BTW, thanks everyone for all your responses! I am enjoying them! :D

[KandCsailing]

Key West- My favorite. Had always wanted to go here and finally made it. Climbed the lighthouse, and walked all over town for the day.

Grand Cayman- Hell, Turtle Farm, Rum Factory tour; very pretty town and well maintained. Would go back to the turtle farm for a day for snokeling.

St. Maartin- Liked it a lot, just toured the town, many pretty shops but not too pushy.

St Thomas- Atlantis submarine tour; We only saw the stores by the port, so I need to go back to see some more.

Cozumel- Liked it, we just walked around town and back to the really far away ship. Boy was that tough in the heat.

Costa Maya- Pre-hurricane, Chacchoben mayan ruins tour, really hot. Didn't appear to be much in town and just sitting at the beach didn't interest us.

Belize- Cave Tubing tour, was great fun. But nothing in town to go see and not much at the port.

Nassau- Atlantis was interesting to walk around on our own, been twice, need to book a tour next time. Find the vendors too pushy for me.

Ocho Rios- Ick...didn't like it at all, didn't feel safe, but was not offered anything but taxi tours. I don't care to return here.

 

Still have St. Lucia, a private island and Bermuda on my really want to see list. Plus every other port in the world that I haven't been to yet.;)

[phinfan63]

Cozumel - love to go to Paradise Beach ~ great nachos and drinks are strong.

 

MoBay, Jamaica - I have been once on a cruise and one all-inclusive here. Jamaica has some of the most beautiful water you've ever seen. I have not found the people to be any more pushy than other ports. Jerk pork or chicken ~ best food ever!

 

Antigua - the taxi drivers will scare you to death when you get off in this port ~ they are very pushy. Once you find one and get out of the port area it is a very beautiful island.

 

St Thomas - great shopping. Glady's Cafe has the best Jerk Mahi Mahi and Bushwacker's . DH loved the snorkeling there too.

 

Tortola - beautiful

 

Grand Cayman - good snorkeling, beautiful water but very expensive and commercialized.

 

Key West - We were there a month or so after a hurricane so definitely didn't get the full affect but it was fun.

 

San Juan - we were only there for a few hours in the evening so didn't see much. Looking forward to seeing more of it next time.

 

Costa Maya - We only stayed in the port area and that was a mistake. I think an excursion is in order for this port.

 

Nassau - Personally, I wouldn't mind if they dropped this from the itinerary.

 

Coming Up:

 

Barbados, St Kitts, and St Lucia so I've really enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions on these ports.

[Racegoer]

Jamaica- people getting harassed, scammed, scary for most, dangerous

 

Barbados Clean beach, friendly, Banks beer

 

Nassau Bahamas, Dirty, smelly "can I braid ya hair darlin"

 

Grand Cayman Crystal clear water, like scuba in a swimming pool

St. Thomas good stop lots of jewelry, Meagans bay, to many tourists & ships

 

San Juan, Rude people, worst place to board a ship due to local attitude

 

Caracas Venezuela beautiful countryside poverty abounds , ships go other now

Aruba clean, fun, lots to do, Dutch are wonderful people

 

St Maarten cool Island with 2 parts some crime but fun place, Dutch are cool

 

Cozumel Take the tour, rough bus ride, buy a Sombrero and a Margarita

 

Juneau Wow these people are friendly and smiling, cool place

Skagway friendly here to take the ride up & take pictures its worth it

Ketchikan step back in time with more friendly people Alaska ROCKS

 

Guadeloupe stepped off & was back on in 15 minutes Rude French people

Grenada decent stop get the spices take a photo and have fun

 

Haiti like so many private cruise islands stops beach party

 

Little Stirrup Cay was new then looked so clean it was not realistic, A+

 

Wailea Maui No better place

 

Amsterdam Netherlands, Wow so this is Europe I want to go back, history, canals, museums, culture and long Summer days. Leidseplein !

 

Honolulu Oahu Big City on the beach head to the N. Shore & hang 10

 

Tenerife Canary Islands Spain wonderful place at a wonderful time only hope to 1 day return

[douglinc@msn.com]

Looks like the cruise lines would take notice that 90+% of their customers do not like Jamacia. Substitute anything in it's place.

 

Doug

[NowVoyager908]

I found something to enjoy about every port I've visited (yes, even Jamaica) and would revisit any one of them (yes, even Jamaica) :rolleyes: . Sorry to be so overwhelmingly positive, but I can't help myself.

 

If forced to choose a favorite, I'd have to go with Bermuda. I especially enjoy the 5 or 7 nighters that sail to Bermuda only. These cruises give you a chance to really explore the island, which is hard to do on a typical cruise stop where you're only docked for the day. The only negative is that the casinos are closed for the 3 to 4 days you are in port. But I understand that Bermuda is considering changing the law to allow cruise ships to open the casinos after a certain time (10 p.m.?). This won't take effect until next year, but it would be the icing on the cake.

 

My number two would be St. Thomas/St. John. As many times as I've visited St. Thomas (both on cruise and land vacations), I never tire of stopping there.

[Kevin Hort]

Top 5:

Cabo San Lucas - Beautiful. Loved Los Arcos and seeing the whales on our offshore excursion. One of my favorite places.

 

Acapulco - Cliff divers were great. The beach on the bay is FANTASTIC! $1 beers delivered to me all day long in an incredible setting.

 

St. Kitts - The views on the way to Cockleshell beach are second to none. And the beach was pretty amazing, too.

 

Tortola - The beach we went to was on the other side of the mountains and the drive was amazing. The beach we spent the day at (name escapes me) was incredible.

 

Progresso - I am so disappointed that Carnival doesn't visit this port any longer. I have been there twice and it was amazing both times. Very charming and very unspoiled.

 

Honorable Mentions: Isla Roatan, St. Maartin, Puerto Vallarta, Barbados

 

Bottom 5:

Ocho Rios/Montego Bay - Pretty much for the same reasons others have already mentioned. Not very clean and safety was an issue.

 

Cozumel - This used to be in my top 5 but it has gotten way too busy for me now. When there are 7 to 10 ships docked at once it can be a bit overwhelming.

 

Antigua - It was OK, but the island is very flat and I was not impressed with the port city. We have been there twice. The beaches are nice but the port city itself wasn't all that great, IMO.

 

Grand Cayman - OK, it is an incredibly beautiful place and Sting Ray City is the coolest thing I have ever done, but the price of things on Cayman is outrageous. $6 beers? Please, I can do without that.

 

San Juan - Great port of embarkation but not all that impressed if it one of the main stops. Old San Juan and the rainforest are pretty amazing, though.

 

NOTE: Other than Jamaica none of my bottom 5 are really all that "bottom". I would, and will, visit them again and again and again....:D

[jkeivel11]

Machine gun guards?! What... ? lol. Explain more, please? It's just we're currently in the process of looking for a cruise to sail on during February and some of them went to these port... but, now I'm thinking I don't want to go there?? I am TERRIFIED of guns... and, I think if I saw guards marching with machine guns I would immediately run back onto the boat..

 

I have found that a fear of guns is from ignorance about them. I'm a 26 year old woman, and I didn't care for guns very much...until I actually learned to shoot one. Notice I said learned. Once you've actually shot a gun, you realize how untrained and careless you have to be for one to go off accidentally.

 

Think of it this way...they don't give anyone a license to carry or use a gun without proper training. People who want to carry one legally have taken the hours of training and tests needed to do so. It's the people that are carrying guns that you don't see that you should worry about, and this goes for anywhere in the world. Happy to say that I've had my license to carry a concealed gun in Ohio for a couple of years now.

 

So, don't let the fact that there are armed guards in a foreign country where thousands of non-native visitors come deter you from a particular cruise. It's no different than the US having armed guards at the US/Mexican border.

 

That being said...when I was younger and cruised, my favorite port was St. Thomas. The water was so clear and the sand was so white. I had a great day at the beach with my dad and sister while my mom and grandma went shopping.

[KenMo]

Not in order of faves.....as others have said, there's something about each port that's wonderful!

 

Barbados: Silver Moon....snorkeling with the sea turtles was amazing!

 

Dominica: Beautiful, lush rain forest. Unspoiled....not touristy.

 

Aruba: Could care less if I ever went back, it's like a desert in the middle of the ocean. I saw what I wanted to see and I'm done. DH, however, loved it.....one of his faves.

 

San Juan: Friendly people and the rich history and buildings in OSJ.

 

St. Thomas: Loved Coki Beach the first time, 2nd time...not so good. I love going to Mountain Top and getting a Bushwacker...yummy!! Plenty of shopping here. Next time we'll go to St. John.

 

St. Maarten: Loved it, nice beach.

 

Ocho Rios: Been twice, going again in Sept. Tour with Phil and you'll have a good time! River tubing was one of the most fun tours I've done. The island is beautiful!

 

Cozumel: Love going to the square and getting a bite to eat and shopping/haggling. My new fave place is Nachi Cocum.

 

Costa Maya: I go straight through the port and get my butt to Majahual. I love it there. The beach, drinks, massages....what else could you ask for? I'm real interested in hearing how it is when the ships start going back.

 

Belize: Been cave-tubing, been to the ruins. Next time I'll just shop then head back to the ship.

 

Roatan: Another lush, beautiful island. I was there last month and they're starting to build up the port area. Too bad....getting more touristy. But....I love Fins and Flippers and will go back there.

 

Grand Cayman: Sting rays and Rum Point Beach!! Carnival has started doing excursions there....bummer. Now it gets crowded.

 

Progresso: Went to the beach....the water isn't as pretty as the Caribbean but still enjoyed it. Went to Chichen Itza....beautiful, interesting site. Found a bar with $1 beers and free tequila shots. Nobody spoke much English.....loved it. Got to brush up on my college Spanish.

 

Key West and Nassau: Least favorites. I stay on this ship and enjoy the pool while just about everyone else is in port....which is now a favorite thing for me to do.

 

Also, I've seen the police carry machine guns in more than one port. Doesn't bother me a bit. I just find it unusual since you don't see that in the US. The police in the US just aren't as well armed as the crooks....IMO.

[SargassoSage]

Martinique's capitol Fort de France is a disgrace even by caribbean standards! Dirty city and franco-snobbery for visitors enjoyment!

[Debbierpof]

My DH would say that there's not a place I have not enjoyed (I enjoyed my trip to Ocho Rios, Jamaica)... but if I had to narrow it down, I'd go with:

 

Venice, Italy and Old Dubrovnic, Croatia -- fairytale lands... the water in Dubrovnic was incredibly clear. Another amazing thing about these two cities/towns is that there are no cars/motorized vehicles.

 

Mykonos, Greece -- relax in the most amazing beaches and gin-clear waters

 

Barcelona, Spain -- the best food, great walking districts and very friendly people

 

Cozumel -- did nothing but relax on the beach, beautiful!

 

Valletta, Malta -- an island smaller than Grenada (122 sq. miles) with incredible history (pre-historic/Ice age caves, Knights of St. John, World War II) and beauty; great people!

 

Athens, Greece -- how cool to see the Acropolis/Parthenon, the birthplace of the Olympics, eat incredible pastries and food, and mingle with people that love to party.

 

Tunis -- Exotic! Where else are you greeted by camels? You can actually take a shore excursion to the Sahara Desert and ride a camel. We did Carthage instead.

 

Key West -- been there countless times, only once as a cruise port of call. Love it every time!!!

 

 

Negatives about Civitavecchia (Rome) and Livorno (Florence) ports is that each of these cities is at least an 1.5 hours away from the port (so only about 5 hours in town). Other than that, they are awesome.

 

Savona, Italy -- really nothing to do in port (except eat gelato, which is always a plus)

 

Freeport, Bahamas... yawn.... but pretty beach (it is the Bahamas)

 

But I have to say that attitude is sometimes everything in some of these ports. We were with some cruisers that were not planning on getting off in Malta, but were nudged into joining our group for the day. Even though the temperature that day was more than 100F, they said it turned out to be their favorite port. You just have to travel with an open mind, be a little cautious (sometimes more, depending on the port), and soak in the experience. Good or bad, it's your experience and you can either make lemonade or a sour face. ;)

[cruiseapril]

Very interesting thread. Hope more folks post.