Staying on board

[Fixit2010]

Just a silly question really but does everyone get off the ship at some point or are there passengers that like to stay on board the entire cruise?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I'm sure there are - especially in the Caribbean where a lot of people are BTDT but love cruising.

 

On my upcoming Equinox cruise I am 99.9% will stay on in Nassau and I'm about 90% sure I'll stay on in San Juan. I've gotten off in Nassau before, but there's nothing I need to get off for there.

 

San Juan...if I need a Starbucks fix, I'll probably get off and head there, then get back on board. The only time I've been there I did a Rainforest Hike with a guide who just needed to be off looking at trees by himself and not leading groups (the "sweepers" with the tour company ended up taking over the front of the group just to get us to the waterfall before we'd have to turn around he was taking so much time on stops for the exact same type of tree). Really didn't make me enthusiastic about exploring anything else. The best part of that stop was I had cousins on a HAL ship that pulled into port before my DCL ship left, so we were able to meet up at Starbucks for a little while.

[Denny01]

Not silly. Lots of passengers stay on board. We just did a East Caribbean followed by a West Caribbean cruise on the Edge to see the ship. We’ve been to most of the ports of those two cruises a number of times and didn’t go in all of them. Slept in; Enjoyed the uncrowned ship and pools. Loved it. Not nearly as much to do using organized things such as lectures,  music or trivia games and so on. The shops and casino are closed until at sea, but again, loved it.

 

We live on the Fla Panhandle and I tell people we have better beaches, better restaurants and I can buy Chinese stuff at home instead of on some island! Only simi-kidding. 

 

Spa treatments are less in ports and so on.

 

By the way, for San Juan, we did the walking Old Town and Food tour and it was great! You might consider that instead of heading in for a Starbucks. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Den

Edited April 24, 2019 by Denny01

[mom says]

Not a silly question, and yes there are some people who cruise just for the ship and don't feel the need to get off at any of the Ports.  Usually it's because they've sailed an itinerary often enough that there is little that interests them anymore. Or,  as with a PP, it's a brand new ship and they sail just to explore it.  I've known some cruisers who are in ill health and cruise just for the rest and sea air.

 

We aren't any if these- our cruises are itinerary driven. But there are occasionally ports that we have no interest in. Nassau is a prime example: we stay on the ship if that is one of the port stops on a cruise.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

7 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

By the way, for San Juan, we did the walking Old Town and Food tour and it was great! You might consider that instead of heading in for a Starbucks. 

 

My problem with food tours is I'm gluten-free due to a wheat allergy (and don't eat fish due to a gag response conditioned by choking on a bone when I was little), and food allergies are usually tough to accommodate on those tours.

[Denny01]

Yes, food tours dont have lots of options.

 

Den

[OCruisers]

Certainly not a silly question.

On Caribbean cruises ....

Yes, there are some who enjoy the cruising part and don't get off at any port stops.  

It's fairly common to have people stay on the ship at port stops they've been many times before and don't especially enjoy.  

While ports are somewhat less crowded on the ship, you certainly won't be alone and have the ship to yourself. 

 

[Armac]

We cruised out of Southampton a couple of years ago and net a lovely  couple in their early 80s(I am Guessing). It was a 16 night cruise, they said that they had no intention of getting off the ship in any of the ports. The wife said she was happy not to cook for 2 weeks. They seemed to be having a wonderful time.  

[Fixit2010]

Thanks for your answers and posts, will have to find myself a comfortable spot and plant myself for a couple of weeks there.

 

[wrk2cruise]

Many times only get off the ship for a walk down the pier to get a bit of exercise on those cruises we are just taking them to unwind and relax.

[4774Papa]

2 hours ago, Fixit2010 said:

Just a silly question really but does everyone get off the ship at some point or are there passengers that like to stay on board the entire cruise?

Never,

We cruise for the ports, not so much the ship.

 

Only one port that we felt that we should have stayed on the ship.  That was Nassau.

[chemmo]

Even places we have visited on multiple occasions we could find something different to do if we wanted...

 

However, sometimes we just don’t want to....We want to enjoy an almost empty cruise ship with loads of empty sun beds, a very quiet Oceanview, a few leisurely drinks, an afternoon nap....

 

 

[st5310]

Different strokes.... I am one of those people who stays aboard over 90% of the time.  We've been to most ports, I'm not a shopper, and there is nothing I wish to see.  Staying on board with my computer and a couple books is perfect for me.  The ship is wonderfully serene when the crowd is on shore.

[tfred]

https://cruisefever.net/one-third-cruise-passengers-stay-ship/

 

this is doesn’t include the amount that just go for a two hour walk and return for lunch 

[bikerunner]

I have stayed on board many times on ports, of if I get off just for a short while to see around the pier etc.  I know on my next cruise I will be doing that in Panama, yes Panama canal is great but I have no interest in it.  And quiet ship days are always nice.  I also might do the same with Cozumel but that is mainly with how many ships and people will be in port that day.  I think when I figured it out, it was over 12-14 not including crew from the ships.  I looked at different tours etc but I think Ill just stay on board and veg for a few hours or more. 

[Algebralovr]

I stayed on board in February in the Caribbean as I was recovering from a surgery and confined to a wheelchair.  Most of the Caribbean islands are just not WC friendly, and the beach certainly is not.    I was amazed at the number of people who also didn't get off the ship.

 

It was wonderful spending 2 weeks not worrying about cleaning, cooking, etc.  Hubby especially enjoyed, as he had been doing it all for the previous 2 months!

[villauk]

1 hour ago, st5310 said:

We've been to most ports

 

Most ports all over the world 🤷‍♀️? Or are you just referring to the Caribbean?

[paulh84]

A lot of people stay on during Caribbean port stops. On our recent stop in Costa Maya, the ship felt more like a sea day since there just isn't that much to do there. Cozumel stops are similar since a lot of people have been there many times. We typically pick at least one port to skip and stay on the ship. 

[CruisersTimesThree]

We did a 12 night Caribbean on the Silhouette last month and stayed onboard 3 out of 7 ports.

Been there, done that!

It's so nice to be able to actually walk onto the pool deck and have your choice of chairs and relax and enjoy the day.  Also never a wait at the pool grill for those delicious burgers!

 

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by CruisersTimesThree

[Fixit2010]

Wow, a lot more than I thought

[IrieBajan54]

Costa Maya and Cozumel, I stay on the ship. Not interested in anything there. Now, I also like to take a walk in certain ports and then go right back on the ship. In St. Thomas as an example, I walk from the Havensight dock to downtown Charlotte Amalie and back. Nice walk along the waterfront while disposing of a few calories.

[btregoning]

After doing Ensenada once, if we ever go back, we will definitely stay on the ship.

[davekathy]

We always get off at every port. No matter how many times we been to the ports. Sometimes we come back earlier than other times. When we do reboard early it's nice to have the ship almost to ourselves. 

[shofer]

2 hours ago, btregoning said:

After doing Ensenada once, if we ever go back, we will definitely stay on the ship.

Ensenada is the armpit of Mexico.  When we did a RT LA/Hawaii on Summit, the captain actually pulled into the port, stayed 1 hour and then left just to satisfy US regulations.    

[chemmo]

8 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

I stayed on board in February in the Caribbean as I was recovering from a surgery and confined to a wheelchair.  Most of the Caribbean islands are just not WC friendly, and the beach certainly is not.    I was amazed at the number of people who also didn't get off the ship.

 

It was wonderful spending 2 weeks not worrying about cleaning, cooking, etc.  Hubby especially enjoyed, as he had been doing it all for the previous 2 months!

 

We were in a similar position 2017 when I was temporarily in a wheelchair. We did two cruises, one pre and one post op.

 

The Norwegian cruise ports were fairly wheelchair friendly (apart from Bergen) but on our Azores cruise the ports certainly weren’t! We had known this beforehand and like yourselves we simply enjoyed being waited on.

 

Although we did less sightseeing on these cruises than on others we really made the most of our time on the ship which is very wheelchair friendly.