Least Favorite Port and Why

[Frank12]

2 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

[Brace yourselves: blasphemy incoming.]

 

My least favorite port is Half Moon Cay. I went last May - never again.

* I am not a beach person, and there is nothing to do there other than lie on the beach.

* Drinks are Carnival drinks, served by Carnival bartenders, but are not included in Cheers. (Yes, I'm aware of that when I book. It's still irritating.)

* Lunch is picnic food, served buffet style. No thank you.

 

Fortunately, I would happily take a cruise-to-nowhere, so I will just stay on the ship in the future.

I was afraid to say this because so many people love it, but I have to agree.  Not a beach person and this is all HMC offers. We stay on the ship and have the whole thing to ourselves!

[thesmiths]

12 minutes ago, Frank12 said:

Take a cab to the east side of the island and hit some of the little beach bars.  It'll open a whole new world for you.

 

Coconuts!

[2PinaColadas]

Freeport.  I cruise for the ports, so I won't book a cruise that includes Freeport. Nothing to do, nothing to see.

 

  I wish Carnival would mix up the ports a little. We cruise over Spring Break most of the time and it's always the same offerings-- would love to see Antigua and Tortola on more itineraries. 

[Thad409]

2 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I guess we haven't been there enough times (5) for it to be old for us.  Cozumel is one of our favorite stops.

X2

[coevan]

We are divers and Cozumel is the best. Every dive is like a new excursion.

[scpirate]

5 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

[Brace yourselves: blasphemy incoming.]

 

My least favorite port is Half Moon Cay. I went last May - never again.

* I am not a beach person, and there is nothing to do there other than lie on the beach.

* Drinks are Carnival drinks, served by Carnival bartenders, but are not included in Cheers. (Yes, I'm aware of that when I book. It's still irritating.)

* Lunch is picnic food, served buffet style. No thank you.

 

Fortunately, I would happily take a cruise-to-nowhere, so I will just stay on the ship in the future.

I agree with everything but the cruise to no where part.i like actual ports.i can go to the beach at home .

[scpirate]

3 hours ago, amyotravel said:

Anyone who cruises fairly frequently understands this feeling! 🙂

 

But, as they say, location, location, location!

My wife mentioned she is tired of Cozumel and miami.but that's until she runs out of vanilla.shes operating on the last bottle now but in August when we go back she will be ready.

[grneyedmustang]

Progreso. Ugh. Dirt cheap but not pretty and smells bad! I'm good...

[sanmarcosman]

Freeport, because Carnival only stops there to make Nassau look good. 

[momof3cruisers]

Bahamas in general other than private islands. For me, it's the pushy people. I've never felt so harassed. It's way worse than Ensenada which I used to think was awful. (Chicle, lady?) And it's boring and Nassaua is overpriced and overcrowded.

[CheersPkg4Us]

Progresso, enough said. I agree with everything the other posters listed about this stop. Stay on the ship !

[SNJCruisers]

7 hours ago, 2PinaColadas said:

 

  I wish Carnival would mix up the ports a little. We cruise over Spring Break most of the time and it's always the same offerings-- would love to see Antigua and Tortola on more itineraries. 

Antigua and Tortola was on many itineraries in March of 2019, 2017, 2014, 2012 & 2011.  🤔🤔🤔

[Joebucks]

Cozumel and Nassau are great islands with tons to do. I can understand wanting more variety, but that doesn't mean they are bad

[pacruise804]

17 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

[Brace yourselves: blasphemy incoming.]

 

My least favorite port is Half Moon Cay. I went last May - never again.

* I am not a beach person, and there is nothing to do there other than lie on the beach.

* Drinks are Carnival drinks, served by Carnival bartenders, but are not included in Cheers. (Yes, I'm aware of that when I book. It's still irritating.)

* Lunch is picnic food, served buffet style. No thank you.

 

Fortunately, I would happily take a cruise-to-nowhere, so I will just stay on the ship in the future.

 

I do like HMC, but I also like being in the water.  For me it was almost too perfect with the soft sand and clear water - it felt manufactured rather than like being in nature.  It was a nice experience though and a very relaxing day.

 

If you don't like beaches though, there isn't much there.  It does look like they have some nice walking/running paths, but it was over 100F when we were there so we skipped the run.  If it is a cooler day and you want to get off the ship there might be some interesting vegetation.

 

16 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

Freeport and its not even close

 

I like ports that either 

A - have a lot of active things to do (any mountainous island usually)

B - have a unique culture (like Jamaica or Mexico)

C - Have an easily walkable city (like San Juan)

 

Freeport doesn't really have any of these things. Just tourist garbage at the port and a Senor Frogs. I know they have a couple decent excursions but I'm not really one for sitting on the beach since I can do that at home

 

Freeport doesn't have any of these things if you don't leave the port.  We like to sail from Baltimore since it is drivable, which means we will likely stop at Freeport.  I've read Grand Lucaya is very pretty if you like nature (or more local shopping).  We did a Kayak excursion that was a nice level of activity.  While I could sit on a beach at home, it wouldn't be anything like Gold Rock Beach where our excursion ended.  We also saw more of the island and learned about their ecosystem and economy during the drive.

 

Grand Turk (which we enjoyed) sounds like another stop which you wouldn't like.

[Darcy03231]

For me, it's Nassau and St. Lucia.  Both are ports that I just stay on the ship.

[jsglow]

I'm not sure what my 'least favorite' port is.  There are a few where we feel like we've been there enough not to need to go back soon.  I will say that we least enjoy those places where it doesn't even feel like one has left the USA.  In those cases we typically do excursions to try to get away from the tourist trap experience. 

[purplephenom]

St Thomas and Grand Turk.  I love the beach, but both those ports seem "plain," and not a lot of active excursions there.

 

But, I haven't been on a cruise to the Bahamas yet, so that could change after I visit Freeport/Nassau.

[hotsauce126]

28 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

 

I do like HMC, but I also like being in the water.  For me it was almost too perfect with the soft sand and clear water - it felt manufactured rather than like being in nature.  It was a nice experience though and a very relaxing day.

 

If you don't like beaches though, there isn't much there.  It does look like they have some nice walking/running paths, but it was over 100F when we were there so we skipped the run.  If it is a cooler day and you want to get off the ship there might be some interesting vegetation.

 

 

Freeport doesn't have any of these things if you don't leave the port.  We like to sail from Baltimore since it is drivable, which means we will likely stop at Freeport.  I've read Grand Lucaya is very pretty if you like nature (or more local shopping).  We did a Kayak excursion that was a nice level of activity.  While I could sit on a beach at home, it wouldn't be anything like Gold Rock Beach where our excursion ended.  We also saw more of the island and learned about their ecosystem and economy during the drive.

 

Grand Turk (which we enjoyed) sounds like another stop which you wouldn't like.

 

That's why I said they have one or two decent excursions. But yes you're correct I've been to grand turk and while I liked snorkeling there I don't care to go there again

[ishap]

18 minutes ago, purplephenom said:

St Thomas and Grand Turk.  I love the beach, but both those ports seem "plain," and not a lot of active excursions there.

 

But, I haven't been on a cruise to the Bahamas yet, so that could change after I visit Freeport/Nassau.

 

I did one of the best snorkeling excursions in St. Thomas.  I loved it and we could walk around the town after without being bothered by people.  

 

I don't care for Nassau.  Really you have to do an excursion there to make it worth while.  I have done Stewart Coves and It was great, but the pushy people make it tough.  Freeport was also a dud, but I've only been there once.  Took a taxi to the beach near some abandoned hotels.  Haven't been back since and that was 10 years ago so maybe they've rebuilt.

[pacruise804]

1 hour ago, purplephenom said:

St Thomas and Grand Turk.  I love the beach, but both those ports seem "plain," and not a lot of active excursions there.

 

But, I haven't been on a cruise to the Bahamas yet, so that could change after I visit Freeport/Nassau.

 

I haven't been to St Thomas yet, but at Grand Turk (like most ports) we found it better the further we went away from the crowds.  We wanted a lazy day so we only walked as far as Jack's Shack - but it was still a much quieter and peaceful day than we would have had at Margaritaville or right in front of the ship.

 

We sometimes watch Beach House Hunters (or something like that) on HGTV and they often highlight Bahamas, so I figure Nassau and Freeport are areas where you have to get away from the tourist area to find the real gems.

[purplephenom]

2 hours ago, ishap said:

 

I did one of the best snorkeling excursions in St. Thomas.  I loved it and we could walk around the town after without being bothered by people.  

 

 

 

We had a great excursion in St Thomas, so we definitely had fun that day.  We're talking about doing the Fascination route again, so we may just make that a beach day and snorkel on our own.  What excursion did you do- I like great snorkeling trips

 

 

1 hour ago, pacruise804 said:

 

I haven't been to St Thomas yet, but at Grand Turk (like most ports) we found it better the further we went away from the crowds.  We wanted a lazy day so we only walked as far as Jack's Shack - but it was still a much quieter and peaceful day than we would have had at Margaritaville or right in front of the ship.

 

We sometimes watch Beach House Hunters (or something like that) on HGTV and they often highlight Bahamas, so I figure Nassau and Freeport are areas where you have to get away from the tourist area to find the real gems.

 

 

Margaritaville holds no interest to me. We did a snorkel excursion and then headed to Jack's.  We definitely had fun that day.  But, when we go back, we just may make it a beach day.  And what I don't like about that is it doesn't seem that there's a lot to make it stand out from other beach days in other places, if that makes any sense. 

[ishap]

27 minutes ago, purplephenom said:

We had a great excursion in St Thomas, so we definitely had fun that day.  We're talking about doing the Fascination route again, so we may just make that a beach day and snorkel on our own.  What excursion did you do- I like great snorkeling trips

 

We did Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkel excursion.  It was a small boat so I think there was only 10-15 total people which was awesome.  Our captain got us to the snorkel spots before other boats so we were able to be in the water with very few people.  Great time swimming with turtle as well as lots of fish.

[purplephenom]

29 minutes ago, ishap said:

 

We did Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkel excursion.  It was a small boat so I think there was only 10-15 total people which was awesome.  Our captain got us to the snorkel spots before other boats so we were able to be in the water with very few people.  Great time swimming with turtle as well as lots of fish.

 

Thank you, I'll look it up! 

[Mike981]

20 hours ago, Frank12 said:

Take a cab to the east side of the island and hit some of the little beach bars.  It'll open a whole new world for you.

 

 

Or rent a trike and really take it all in. My daughter (22) and I had a wonderful time. The east side was absolutely fantastic.

[jocap]

Casablanca, also almost any port which has more than two cruise ships visiting that day.