Docking in Guam

[chloe kitty]

Our cruise goes to Guam.  Doesn't appear to be a lot to see, so we will probably just go shopping.  How far in the mall from the dock?  How far is the outlet mall from the dock?  Would appreciate any info.

Thank you.

[3monkeys4me]

Well, I am not super familiar with the cruise terminal in Guam but I currently live on the island so I will be happy to answer what I can.

 

There really isn't any great shopping on the island, at least not what I would consider great shopping.  Guam does not have sales tax, but the prices tend to be higher than what you would pay on the mainland United States. The outlets (Guam Premier Outlets (GPO) would probably be the closest to where the ship docks, maybe 15 mins or so? But it is really just a few main stores (Ross is the biggest) and maybe 10 other shops. They have a food court area, but I would not recommend eating there as many of food places get shut down by the health department on a semi regular basis. You could walk around the whole place in maybe 15- 20 mins. Ross does have some great deals but is very popular with tourists coming from Japan and Korea. Generally during the day you will wait in line for 60-90 mins to check out. On a weekend you could wait 2+ hours. The main mall is the Micronesia Mall. It is a little bigger though not much. The biggest stores are a slightly smaller Ross store and and a Macy's. I would also avoid the food court there, though the stand alone restaurants seem to be fine and we do eat there. 

If you are looking more for window shopping I would head into the main Tumon Area. This is where most of the hotels are. I would say it is Guam's version of Waikiki though it is MUCH smaller.  They have a duty free shopping area ()T. Galleria) as well as a ton of high end shopping that is fine to browse through. It isn't like a shopping mall, as it is outdoors, but plenty of places to duck in out of the heat/humidity. There are a lot of places to eat, from American chains like Hard Rock or TGIFridays, some local places and some Asian chains. Many of the hotels have buffets, though they tend to be a bit pricey. From this area you can easily cut through a hotel lobby or find a public access point to walk to the beach area. Most of the islands beaches are fairly rocky but the Tumon area is mostly sand. There is still a fair amount of coral there so watch your step. The water is warm and quite shallow so it is nice to put your feet in a bit if you like that sort of thing. Just make sure if you do go in the water you stay within the reef area unless you are with someone that knows the area well. The rip currents outside of the reef are very dangerous. 

 

If you are into WWII history, there are some kind of neat things around. The island is pretty small, it takes roughly 2- 2 1/2 to drive all the way around. Traffic isn't usually too bad when you compare it to a major city but there is more traffic than you would expect from an island of roughly 160,000 people. It is fairly safe, violent crime is rare but vandalism or theft is pretty high so do not leave anything of value unattended. I am not sure of your plans for transportation while here but we don't have Uber, though we do have Stroll. It is pretty similar set up to Uber, and uses the Stroll Guam app. 

 

 

[chloe kitty]

On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 8:34 PM, 3monkeys4me said:

Well, I am not super familiar with the cruise terminal in Guam but I currently live on the island so I will be happy to answer what I can.

 

There really isn't any great shopping on the island, at least not what I would consider great shopping.  Guam does not have sales tax, but the prices tend to be higher than what you would pay on the mainland United States. The outlets (Guam Premier Outlets (GPO) would probably be the closest to where the ship docks, maybe 15 mins or so? But it is really just a few main stores (Ross is the biggest) and maybe 10 other shops. They have a food court area, but I would not recommend eating there as many of food places get shut down by the health department on a semi regular basis. You could walk around the whole place in maybe 15- 20 mins. Ross does have some great deals but is very popular with tourists coming from Japan and Korea. Generally during the day you will wait in line for 60-90 mins to check out. On a weekend you could wait 2+ hours. The main mall is the Micronesia Mall. It is a little bigger though not much. The biggest stores are a slightly smaller Ross store and and a Macy's. I would also avoid the food court there, though the stand alone restaurants seem to be fine and we do eat there. 

If you are looking more for window shopping I would head into the main Tumon Area. This is where most of the hotels are. I would say it is Guam's version of Waikiki though it is MUCH smaller.  They have a duty free shopping area ()T. Galleria) as well as a ton of high end shopping that is fine to browse through. It isn't like a shopping mall, as it is outdoors, but plenty of places to duck in out of the heat/humidity. There are a lot of places to eat, from American chains like Hard Rock or TGIFridays, some local places and some Asian chains. Many of the hotels have buffets, though they tend to be a bit pricey. From this area you can easily cut through a hotel lobby or find a public access point to walk to the beach area. Most of the islands beaches are fairly rocky but the Tumon area is mostly sand. There is still a fair amount of coral there so watch your step. The water is warm and quite shallow so it is nice to put your feet in a bit if you like that sort of thing. Just make sure if you do go in the water you stay within the reef area unless you are with someone that knows the area well. The rip currents outside of the reef are very dangerous. 

 

If you are into WWII history, there are some kind of neat things around. The island is pretty small, it takes roughly 2- 2 1/2 to drive all the way around. Traffic isn't usually too bad when you compare it to a major city but there is more traffic than you would expect from an island of roughly 160,000 people. It is fairly safe, violent crime is rare but vandalism or theft is pretty high so do not leave anything of value unattended. I am not sure of your plans for transportation while here but we don't have Uber, though we do have Stroll. It is pretty similar set up to Uber, and uses the Stroll Guam app. 

 

 

Thank you.  Your reply is quite extensive.  We would like to sight see, but can't find anything that seems interesting to us.  If we do go shopping (either mall), would we be able to walk there from the dock?  Would we be able to walk to Tumon area?  I appreciate all your helpful info.  I don't know where the dock is either.  Do you enjoy living there?  We will be there in Oct., what can we expect in weather?

Thanks again.

Edited February 25, 2019 by chloe kitty

[3monkeys4me]

17 hours ago, chloe kitty said:

Thank you.  Your reply is quite extensive.  We would like to sight see, but can't find anything that seems interesting to us.  If we do go shopping (either mall), would we be able to walk there from the dock?  Would we be able to walk to Tumon area?  I appreciate all your helpful info.  I don't know where the dock is either.  Do you enjoy living there?  We will be there in Oct., what can we expect in weather?

Thanks again.

 

I wouldn't recommend walking. Again, I haven't seen the area near the port but it is primarily for cargo and cruise passengers are fairly new to the area still. I think they used to get cruise ships a few years back, then the cruise terminal closed and they only recently reopened. Anyway, most of the roads don't have sidewalks or even a shoulder to walk on. Also, water doesn't drain well in several areas around the island so if there is rain you'll likely have to walk through puddles.

 

The weather here doesn't really change much year round. The "rainy season" runs from June to December. It will probably be high 80's in October, with 60-70% humidity. It is pretty rare for it to rain all day, generally there will be a few short downpours and then the sun will come out again. This past year we have had a really busy tropical storm/typhoon season (we have had 3 Typhoons roll through in the last 6 months) so hopefully next fall will be a slow season for storms. 

 

The vast majority of tourists that come here are from Korea and Japan so a lot of stuff is catered to those markets. There are a few shuttles that go from the area in Tumon with all the hotels/shopping to all the different shopping areas (Micro Mall, Outlets and Kmart) but I haven't seen an english schedule. You could try contacting the GVB (Guam Visitors Bureau) to see if they are planning on having any shuttles to the cruise terminal area. I would be a little surprised if they didn't.  So far, I think the ships that have been docked here are smaller ships from Japan with 500 passengers or so. I think the first ships were here in December and one of them ended up hitting the Navy's fuel pier when it was leaving.

[cruisetexas]

We will be visiting Guam on a Sunday, so am looking for things to do.  We'll be in port from 9:00-6:00, so we have a full day to take advantage of the island. 

 

Just not sure where to start!   Thanks for any advice.

[chloe kitty]

9 hours ago, cruisetexas said:

We will be visiting Guam on a Sunday, so am looking for things to do.  We'll be in port from 9:00-6:00, so we have a full day to take advantage of the island. 

 

Just not sure where to start!   Thanks for any advice.

We must be on the same cruise.  There are no tours posted yet.

 

[3monkeys4me]

Aside from shopping the beaches in the Tumon area are nice. Gun beach is one of our favorites. It is on the edge of Tumon, away from the bulk of the crowds. The Beach Bar is a bar and grill right there (island prices so $$$, decent food, but slow service most of the time) and there is a restroom. The rest of the beaches on Tumon are all public (95% of the beaches are) but there really aren't bathrooms unless you pay for a day pass at one of the few hotels that offer the service. The day pass includes access to the hotel facilities and loungers, $20 a day at the Hyatt, does not include food or drinks).  There are a couple of non hotel resort type places but I have not visited one myself so I can't say how much the cost or if they are worth it. 

 

They have all the typical stuff on the island, parasailing, snorkeling, dolphin watching, etc... So far the only ships that have stopped have been a couple of small cruise ships from Japan, with just a couple hundred passengers each so I am guessing the tours for cruise ships haven't been arranged yet. '

 

Turtle Tours on the south side of the island has a short river cruise/ Chamorro demonstration that is fun for a few hours. They do tours from Tumon so I wouldn't be surprised if they arrange something for the ships. Most of the WWII stuff would be hard to see, unless they arrange some sort or tour or you rent a car. If you did a car rental, google maps works pretty well with directions, but use caution when driving. People just drive a bit differently here. Two Lovers Point has one of the best views on the island, the restaurant that is next to it has decent food and is a nice place to sit and enjoy the views. I like the Chicken or Shrimp Kelagen, a local dish that is similar flavors to ceviche. It can be slightly spicy, especially if you bite into a pepper, but usually if you avoid the tiny red peppers you just a get a mild spice.

 

Most of the mom and pop stuff will be closed Sunday morning as most of the island will be at Mass, but most stuff that is aimed for tourists is open a running. 

 

I'll keep my eyes open for any cruise tour advertisements. We are moving off the island in May so we are trying to hit up a bunch of the touristy stuff again before we leave. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by 3monkeys4me

[Fletcher]

Silversea has an expedition cruise starting in Guam next month which sails north to Saipan, the Ogasawara Islands and Japan.  Passengers will stay the first night in Guam.  

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/asia-cruise/apra-to-kobe-7909.html