Staying on Ship at port

[Vacay mom]

I'm cruising eastern Caribbean out of PC and ending in San Juan on the libery sailing march 22. I have never cruised or been to any of the stops. Cruising with my DH, our 3 year old and 9 month old.. If we were to skip a port which one is a good one to skip? I was thinking st kitts? ( ports st thomas, st kitts, st marten, Tortola)

[lucky13elec]

Been seriously considering this when we hit Cozumel. We have been there before and it was ok. If we did anything we were going to do a Mr. Sanchos or one similar, but now maybe we could get off for a bit and then get back on. For what Mr. Sanchos would cost for the two of us, it would be enough drinks on the ship.

 

We love the east side of Cozumel. You should check it out if you haven't been. I've stayed on the ship before at Grand Cayman. Had a mellow time.

[elainmir]

I say if you've never been you should go...we did the Stingray excursion on 11/11/11 and it was the best birthday I've ever had...just an awesome day! I'm going again in a couple of weeks! You should at least once...I'd save the staying on ship for a port I'd been to a few times...

[Vacay mom]

We can't really afford to do an excursion every port

[LilMissScareAll]

I'm cruising eastern Caribbean out of PC and ending in San Juan on the libery sailing march 22. I have never cruised or been to any of the stops. Cruising with my DH, our 3 year old and 9 month old.. If we were to skip a port which one is a good one to skip? I was thinking st kitts? ( ports st thomas, st kitts, st marten, Tortola)

 

We did the cruise out of SJ that hits most of those stops. St Marten was our favorite.

We ended up basically staying on the ship at St Kitts (got off to buy replacement sunglasses and souvenir shot glass). Our itinerary is so intense that we were burned out. Had the whole pool area to ourselves.

Edited March 7, 2015 by LilMissScareAll

[Vacay mom]

Ya from my research u kinda have to do an excursion in st kitts.. The others we can kinda go off on our own if we want

[pamrose228]

Ya from my research u kinda have to do an excursion in st kitts.. The others we can kinda go off on our own if we want

 

Going to SJ St. Maarten and St. Kitts in September. Plan on doing non ship excursions at the latter two. Was told when you get off ship a very nice well known to cruisers women offers a $20 two hour tour of st. Kitts.

 

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[nessz79]

We *wish* we did this in Belize. We stayed on the ship for part of the day and wish we stayed the whole day as Belize is not worth it unless you have an excursion (we didn't). We were able to get the best seats on the Serenity deck without getting up at the crack of dawn for one thing!

 

We plan on staying on the ship at La Romana (Dominican Republic) as I've heard very similar things about that port (as Belize).

[sfaaa]

Best time to do self serve laundry. Pick and choose any washer and dryer you want.

[islandatsea]

If we have been to a Port before, we would stay on the ship except maybe for an hour or so to buy gifts & try the local beers that you can only get from that country. Then we head right back onboard to enjoy the ship :) . If we have never been to a particular Port, we always take an excursion to experience that country.

[SMSACE6]

We booked a cruise and the port are all new to us but one, Grand Cayman. We have never just stayed on the ship while in port, but was thinking of doing it at this port. Any thoughts? Is food still available? Any help? Thank you

 

I used to never do this, but on my second last cruise, when we docked in Cozumel, I got off only briefly to pick up a couple of items from the shops on the pier, then reboarded again before 10am. I normally do like Cozumel a lot, but this was about the 10th time here, so I figured I would just enjoy the ship for the rest of the quiet hours.

 

I loved Serenity area, and got sit in one of those clam shells for the first time. Absolutely loved that. It was also a great time to roam the ship and get photos of places on board without lots of people in them. I also enjoyed quiet time on promenade deck, a coffee from specialty shop and watched the coming and going from the ship.

 

If I do this again, I will also try to enjoy some time in the pool or hot tubs while they are not so crowded and plenty of chairs available nearby.

 

Lunch was very relaxing, no crowds at lido, no lineups and plenty of tables available by the window to enjoy lunch.

 

I will do this again some day, but only in ports where I have been to before, and where I dont have anything in mind for tours.

 

It can be a nice relaxing day.

[PurdueChefAmber]

I agree with everyone. We have been to grand cayman so many times that we always stay on the ship when we port there. If it's a new Port of call we get off and explore. Secretly, I like having one port that I stay on the boat. No lines and your pick of a chair!!

[NOLAbebe]

So, I have only been on one other cruise, but my husband and I walked away from it with mixed feelings. The thing we both hated the MOST was feeling bound by time. We were CONSTANTLY trying to figure out what time it was, and it SERIOUSLY took away from our relaxation! What time do we wake up? When do we go eat? When does brunch end? When do we get off the boat? Get back on? Dinner? Show? Comedy? Rahhhhhr! It was SURPRISINGLY stressful. We felt like we were tied to a clock, and that is NOT relaxing.

 

As we were leaving to disembark at port, it was HOT and we passed a totally empty pool, and I almost turned around and jumped in without him. Lol.

 

Thissss time, it's a girls'/spa cruise i and I am DEFINITELY not getting off at one port, possibly 2.

 

I can't WAIT. Pool, spa, Serenity, all mine? YESSSSS. Already planning a budget for spa specials! I am just *not* a port kind of girl. It's not enough time to explore the way I want to, and I found that frustrating.

[Butterbean1000]

The next time we're in Grand Cayman will be a ship day.

[Honolulu Blue]

So, I have only been on one other cruise, but my husband and I walked away from it with mixed feelings. The thing we both hated the MOST was feeling bound by time. We were CONSTANTLY trying to figure out what time it was, and it SERIOUSLY took away from our relaxation! What time do we wake up? When do we go eat? When does brunch end? When do we get off the boat? Get back on? Dinner? Show? Comedy? Rahhhhhr! It was SURPRISINGLY stressful. We felt like we were tied to a clock, and that is NOT relaxing.

 

I can understand your feelings to some degree. Cruising can be very regimented, more so than other vacations I've taken. Some tips on time management (not necessarily aimed at you):

 

* Get a watch

* Use your watch

* Bring an alarm clock

* Set them to ship's time

* Ship's time is law; ignore all other suggestions of time

* Especially ignore what your cell phone says is the time

[grandmacani]

Did a private shore excursion in St. Kitts. We read about a guy that did a tour for 25.00 4-5 hrs. Go thru the gates to the area where there are stores keep right. Can't miss him his name is Christian. His beard is colored each day to match his outfit. Nicest guy, served water and rum punch all day. Even has free wifi if you ask. Can't wait to go back. Have to go first thing when the ship docks or he'll be gone for the day. Good review on trip advisor for Tangerine tours. There you can see his picture.

[sjn911]

Just love the reading options and not having to get off..as well as all the port ideas.

 

On the Spirit in 2012 in Cabo I did not get off a day and simply loved being at a table in back of lido against an open window in sundress; feet stretched out and up on chair across from me; and being served a couple of icy drinks in that gorgeous harbor on a not too warm, not too cool,early April day. Not one bit crowded..great service (unlike getting the bar drinks in dining room). A real special time and that location and view could be a 5 star hotel..watching all action in the bay and those Cabo Arches . I say never feel bad staying on..it is your trip and your "ship hotel" at sea that can be a new one notch above service thing when most are off with mainstream cruising!!

Edited March 10, 2015 by sjn911

[near the beach]

Staying on the ship can be fun. Even though the ship is in port there are still activities going on. Check your fun times. The casino and shops are closed while in port.

[ray98]

We did it one day on the last cruise....very peaceful.

[ChicagoCrafter]

We're going on the exact same itinerary as we did last year because the price and dates were right and I'm super excited to stay onboard during at least one port. We did book one excursion in the middle of our trip, but if our first time staying onboard is fun, I'm definitely open to doing it again at the 3rd stop.

 

The thing I love about cruising is that there is always something to do, and therefore you're never missing out by choosing to do nothing.

[cruznjan]

If it's a port I've been to before, I might get off the ship in the morning and walk around, and go back to the ship for lunch, and enjoy the pool.

[Farmer387]

Sorry, I'm hijacking for a few minutes. We are considering a Sps Balcony on the Dream for our next cruise. Would your recommend it? How much time did you spend in the Spa area? Did you pay for any extra services or just take advantage of the ones offered with the Spa cabin?

[deetrayn]

Nothing wrong with staying on the ship. You get to have several hours of less crowds and relaxation. I like to go to the spa during the day when we are at a port that I'm not interested in getting off at. Belize being one of them. :)

[Sparky2]

We booked a cruise and the port are all new to us but one, Grand Cayman. We have never just stayed on the ship while in port, but was thinking of doing it at this port. Any thoughts? Is food still available? Any help? Thank you

 

We've cruised enough that we've visited almost all of the ports a few times. Even so we do get off the ship for a little while to wander around and then get back on.

 

Then have a nice lunch with out all of the crowds. Next is a lounge chair to relax. This past cruise on Conquest we did not have the Serenity Deck, but we will have it next year on Glory so that's where we'll head.

[Buffettfan 225]

I'm cruising eastern Caribbean out of PC and ending in San Juan on the libery sailing march 22. I have never cruised or been to any of the stops. Cruising with my DH, our 3 year old and 9 month old.. If we were to skip a port which one is a good one to skip? I was thinking st kitts? ( ports st thomas, st kitts, st marten, Tortola)

It will only be my opinion, but having sailed this itinerary three times, I would say St.kitts too.

St.kitts has a ice quiet train excursion,but kids would be extremely bored after a bit. The shopping in port is verrrrry repetitive. We were looking for a pair of RayVan knockoffs for college don (he used to lose sunglasses a lot so didn't pay to spend $.)anyhow - when they were looking for a pair, they would run to another store and grab some - seems they either are all cousins, or own many stores and same inventory. It reminded me too much of a border town Mexican shopping of knockoffs,cheap stuff. Hard to find my original stuff here.

In fact my best find for batik dying besides actual place they dye them was in stores at St.Lucua port. Also have heard it is a bit dicey if wonder towards there downtown area for more shopping. We did it two years ago with two large guys with us and still felt a bit uneasy.