Who would prefer more sea days and less port stops?

[Tom O.]

We love sea days, but also enjoy ports. What we don't like are short port stops. When you are required to be back on the ship by 3pm or so, it makes for a hectic time. We often just stay on the ship during short port stops.

What we would like to see, is fewer, but longer port stops. If the ship stayed in port until midnight or so, it would probably need an at sea day to make up the time, and that would be fine with us.

[OCruisers]

When sailing on HAL, we much prefer Port Intensive cruises!

 

LuLu

[richstowe]

The shorter times aren't just HAL. They're all cutting port time so that they can sail more slowly and save fuel. The only way to have long days in port is to use a whole day to sail between ports. I guess they figure it's better from a sales standpoint to list a lot of ports. That makes the cruise attractive, and you might not realize until you've booked that your time in the ports is so limited.

Two words - San Juan ! :D If you love long port days and lots of them cruise out of San Juan .

You don't spend time cruising to the best Caribbean isles . You are already there .

 

Just throwing an idea out there, but for a shorter, say 7 to 14 day Caribbean cruise, would anyone else like to see 2 to 4 ports total and a big helping of sea days to just relax.

 

Yes I know one does not have to get off at any given port and can enjoy the ship, but there's just a different vibe on sea days with all the services and venues running, games and events, with the beautiful ocean background, smell, and breeze. I truly enjoy sea days on any ship. I've never done a TA but I'd probably love it [emoji1]

 

Would you like a 14 day cruise with only 4 port stops?

Some here on CC love port days so they can enjoy the ship by themselves . I haven't cruised enough to want to miss exploring the ports .

[Lizzie68]

My ideal cruise would be... port day, sea day - port day, sea day. Haven't found it yet, though.:D

[Cruising-along]

I prefer port days. Probably 2 sea days per week would be perfect for me. That gives time to rest up, enjoy the ship, and prepare for the next adventure in a new port. :D

 

A couple summers ago we took 2 cruises back to back (Celebrity Northern Europe and HAL Baltics). Total of 22 days, only 3 sea days total. It was tiring, but at least I felt like I had really seen a lot in those 22 days.

[Cuizer2]

Just throwing an idea out there, but for a shorter, say 7 to 14 day Caribbean cruise, would anyone else like to see 2 to 4 ports total and a big helping of sea days to just relax.

 

Yes I know one does not have to get off at any given port and can enjoy the ship, but there's just a different vibe on sea days with all the services and venues running, games and events, with the beautiful ocean background, smell, and breeze. I truly enjoy sea days on any ship. I've never done a TA but I'd probably love it [emoji1]

 

Would you like a 14 day cruise with only 4 port stops?

 

Take a repositioning cruise. I was on a thirteen night repositioning cruise that made five port stops. Also transatlantic cruises and round trip cruises from the US mainland to Hawaii have lots of sea days.

[galensgrl]

My wife and I love port days. We stay on the ship while the crowds leave and there are plenty of seats at the pools and anywhere else we want to sit. So, the more port days, the better. ;)

 

We agree, there's always plenty of room in the thermal suite on port days as well, and the eateries are never crowded. On our upcoming Canada/New England cruise we doubt we will tender over to Bar Harbor as we live in Maine and it's an easy day trip for us. Then again we are looking forward to seeing Halifax for it's historical aspects, and visiting Prince Edward Island for it's literary history (Anne of Green Gables) and it's world famous mussels. Either way we are fans of port days lol :)

Lorie

Edited February 28, 2016 by galensgrl
add info

[Tom O.]

We agree, there's always plenty of room in the thermal suite on port days as well, and the eateries are never crowded. On our upcoming Canada/New England cruise we doubt we will tender over to Bar Harbor as we live in Maine and it's an easy day trip for us. Then again we are looking forward to seeing Halifax for it's historical aspects, and visiting Prince Edward Island for it's literary history (Anne of Green Gables) and it's world famous mussels. Either way we are fans of port days lol :)

Lorie

 

Good choice to stay on the ship for Bar Harbor. I have been there 3 times, twice by car and once on a cruise. It is a nice town, but it was much more enjoyable when we drove there, because it wasn't crowded. When our cruise ship stopped there, we were one of three ships in port. The streets were so packed with tourists it was difficult to walk around.

[igraf]

I am not disagreeing with what you said, but I would also add that after three port days I am ready for a sea day!

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

After three sea days, I am ready for a port. I too cruise to see places - being retired one has a lot of "sea days" at home. If still working, I might feel differently.

[Fouremco]

We like a mix, with about twice as many port days as sea days. There are so many choices out there that everyone should be able to find cruises that suit their tastes.

[sail7seas]

My preference is the more ports the better.

If I don't want to leave the ship in a given port, I don't, but I like having the choice.

I like a few port days but stay away from an itinerary that has what I call too many. :)

 

[saatuk]

My ideal cruise would be... port day, sea day - port day, sea day. Haven't found it yet, though.:D

 

That's my favourite as well. I did a cruise down the Pacific side of South America and that was pretty much how it was. Just lovely.

[Keith1010]

For some people the cruise is all about the ship and the ship is the destination.

 

But many want ports and the cruise line wants ports to because they sell a lot of shore excursions and this makes them a lot of money.

 

Keith

[lahlah57]

We are right in the middle. The plan was to do a 2 week on Viking Ocean but they had so few sea days, it exhausted us to think of maybe only 2 sea days and port tours every single morning when we woke up......yuck!

Then we saw Hal Koningsdam "passage to america" and fell in love. 8 port days the first half of cruise and 7 lovely sea days to end with...bliss! Now this is a brand new ship and 2400 hundred passengers which we are not used to but I am sure there will he alot on the ship to explore.

I am right in the middle.:D

[57redbird]

I'm with you on this....I'd like to see some overnights on 11-14 day cruises so you can see more...I cruise for the ports, not the ocean.

[slimknyzer]

I absolutely love TAs.

 

There is something special about being on a vast expanse of water. I find it very ethereal, and relaxing. Just being surrounded by so much water and space, has a very calming effect. I slept soundly, felt so serene, and peaceful.

 

I would suggest a TA to anyone that just wants to relax, and be. Very cheap therapy as TAs are usually repositioning cruises, and priced "mas barato".

 

JMO

 

I'm with you on that! Love TA's!

Edited February 28, 2016 by slimknyzer

[Rowsby]

Love sea days.....recently the best was the 17 day Circle Hawaii cruise......5 great sea days to Hawaii....and 5 great sea days back....:)

 

Sea days are relaxing and there is no pressure to play beat the clock trying to see and do everything.....

[the2ofus]

I have enjoyed sea days both on round trip Hawaii cruises and on my one westbound transatlantic aboard MS Prinsendam. I really need sea days on port intensive cruises in order to reboot my energy and my enthusiasm.

 

That is the one fault I find with river cruises. There's no downtime to process everything I've seen and experienced.

[WeLoveCruising]

Depends on the itinerary for me.

 

For example, we cruise the Caribbean for the ship and the weather. In that regard, I dont care about the ports. I have a slight preference for port days, but not for the reason you might think. I enjoy having more of the ship to myself. It's very rare we'll even get off the ship in the Caribbean.

 

But if the itinerary is more for sight seeing, for example Europe of South America, then the more ports the better.

 

A TA would be my dream, I like being at sea. It's not easy for me to take that much consecutive vacation time from my job, which is the only thing that's prevented us from booking one thus far.

[FearTheFrog]

The more ports the better.

 

For me, the ship is the transportation between the ports, allowing a convenient and relaxing way to see many places in a short time. However, I am not a gambler, don't enjoy bingo or any of the other similar type games, and can take-or-leave the evening entertainment. Admittedly, beyond the wine tastings I just don't take part in many of the ships' offerings.

 

I do enjoy an occasional quiet day to read on my balcony and enjoy the waves but am more than ready to explore new places once we reach port.

 

My next cruise will have 10 ports in 14 days and that is about perfect for me.

[ellieanne]

I don't mind sea days, but I prefer to have them interspersed with port days.

 

I prefer to have sea days broken up by port days -- no more than three in a row.

 

On the Circle Hawaii cruise, I got a serious case of cabin fever three days out from San Diego, and there were still 2 to go before we got to a port. I don't always get off at the ports, but it's nice to have the different scenery and some time when the ship isn't moving.

 

It is very nice that the itineraries are varied enough for everyone to find one they will definitely enjoy.

[Cuizer2]

I'm with you on this....I'd like to see some overnights on 11-14 day cruises so you can see more...I cruise for the ports, not the ocean.

 

So, if there were no ocean would you still cruise?

[DaveOKC]

Actually, at some ports we like staying onboard, especially if we have a nice veranda to enjoy.

 

On our last cruise we stopped at a remote pier in St. Thomas. We had a great corner aft cabin and were able to watch a number of small boats come and go into the port as we sipped our cool drinks on our veranda! Even better was watching the RCCL ship come into the pier and offload 5000 tourists into the small pier area (overhelmed the shops I was told).

[lahlah57]

I have enjoyed sea days both on round trip Hawaii cruises and on my one westbound transatlantic aboard MS Prinsendam. I really need sea days on port intensive cruises in order to reboot my energy and my enthusiasm.

 

That is the one fault I find with river cruises. There's no downtime to process everything I've seen and experienced.

 

Like minds! Loved our river cruises but talk about intense! Especially china.....they had us on such a tight schedule.......I needed a vacation from my vacation. BUT....they forced us to really see china and its highlights! I do not want to complain about that!!!

[57redbird]

So, if there were no ocean would you still cruise?

 

As a matter of fact, on one of our Mexican Riviera cruises, we had an unexpected overnight in PV (due to an impending hurricane further down the coast), saw more of the city & we are planning to spend a week there in May to see more...

 

& yes, to your question...:)