Do you enjoy the "less glorious" intineraries?

[Joebucks]

All the time, I see people snub their noses at Cozumel, Freeport, Nassau, etc (I won't lie, I think Freeport needs some work, but I still find a way to have a good time). These have been the majority of my cruises, and I love them. Don't get me wrong, I probably look forward to an 8 day to Aruba the most. My 7 day on the Fascination was one of my favorite. I do think these ports get more hate than they deserve. I get that not all of us want to go to the same place every time, but I have a blast everywhere.

 

My next cruise is a 4 day to Cozumel only out of New Orleans. I can't wait! Who else?

[jimbo5544]

17 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

All the time, I see people snub their noses at Cozumel, Freeport, Nassau, etc (I won't lie, I think Freeport needs some work, but I still find a way to have a good time). These have been the majority of my cruises, and I love them. Don't get me wrong, I probably look forward to an 8 day to Aruba the most. My 7 day on the Fascination was one of my favorite. I do think these ports get more hate than they deserve. I get that not all of us want to go to the same place every time, but I have a blast everywhere.

 

My next cruise is a 4 day to Cozumel only out of New Orleans. I can't wait! Who else?

There certainly are certain places that are of more interest than others.  Those places you mention are the most frequent used ports in the Caribbean, and has a lot to do with why people feel the way they do about them ( you probably missed  San Juan as well).  We have been to Cozumel 13 times on a cruise ship.  

 

All that being said, we have seen the rise (exponential) of developed cruise ports (Grand Turk, HMC, coco Cay, Princess Cay, Amber Cove, etc).  In these ports, to the great degree, cruisers stay on property.  Royal is taking a big step and building an amusement park, the end is no where in site.  At the end of the day, we are happy wherever we are, but happier more in some places more than others. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by jimbo5544

[BeachDiva101]

I love a good beach!  So, I do not mind going to Nassau (Cable beach) or Cozumel (Nachi Cocom).  I have not been to Freeport.  I just did the Fascination 7 day out of San Juan, PR (June 2019) as a gift to my niece for her college graduation (she is a Marine biologist) She loved it!  She snorkeled everyday!   Went to Aruba for my first time last October, Eagle beach was great!

 

Have a fun time in Cozumel!!

[PhillyFan33579]

Any day on a cruise ship is a good day in my book. We have done numerous cruises, especially shorter ones, where we never got off the ship. We live in Florida, so beaches don’t really appeal to us too much, since we can go to the beach any time we want. There are certain ports where we have favorite places we always go to like Jack’s Shack in Grand Turk and the Lazy Lizard in Belize. Bottom line for me is ports are only one of many reasons why I love cruising.  

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Any day on a cruise ship is a good day in my book. We have done numerous cruises, especially shorter ones, where we never got off the ship. We live in Florida, so beaches don’t really appeal to us too much, since we can go to the beach any time we want. There are certain ports where we have favorite places we always go to like Jack’s Shack in Grand Turk and the Lazy Lizard in Belize. Bottom line for me is ports are only one of many reasons why I love cruising.  

Tell me about Lazy Lizard please

[PhillyFan33579]

10 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Tell me about Lazy Lizard please

 

The only thing I can tell you is they have great nachos and really good Belikin beer on draft. We have been there several times and we get the same thing every time.  

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

The only thing I can tell you is they have great nachos and really good Belikin beer on draft. We have been there several times and we get the same thing every time.  

Where is it? (I know it is in Belize, but where?)

Edited September 13, 2019 by jimbo5544

[bury me at sea]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

The only thing I can tell you is they have great nachos and really good Belikin beer on draft. We have been there several times and we get the same thing every time.  

 

After having shopped and seen the ruins in Belize, I now head straight to the Lizard.  It's on the pier and if you're quick enough you can get the Belikan beer still in the cold bottle.  If you stop to take a breath they will pour it into a cup.

 

It's one of my favorite beers anywhere.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks to both

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

Like BeachDiva, I love the beach. 

 

I don't lounge on the beach, I just like swimming the ocean. I can't do that anywhere near here. My next cruise, in Nov. was scheduled for Nassau, HMC, and Freeport. I am truly saddened at what has happened to Grand Bahama Island and the devastation to the people. I have been visiting that island for almost 40 yrs. now, it might never be the same. I imagine Carnival will figure out something for us. 

 

This is just a short (5d.) trip, but it's inexpensive, quick and easy and I get to go swimming in the ocean for three days out of the five, when the days are getting much colder here. I would do this over and over again if the price and timing is right (come to think of it, I have done it a number of times 😀).

 

I could do the same without a cruise, but it's not the same. I'll be heading for a 7 day AIl-in in the D.R. in two weeks. The same idea. I have visited the island a number of times. There is no reason to explore much. For me, it's the ocean. 

[Jamman54]

22 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Tell me about Lazy Lizard please

 

I believe they mean the Wet Lizard unless there is another place that I don't know of. It;s right by the tender pier and is a perfect husband day care facility. it is owned by the same people who own the Bearded Clam in Nassau. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bury me at sea]

That's it.  We have a favorite saying as a western Caribbean cruise approaches -- I'm going to sit on the pier and have Belikan beer. 

 

I have an empty bottle I brought home as a souvenir.  To aid you in what it tastes like my favorite at home is Shiner Boch.  That Belikan is even better.

[jsglow]

Sure I enjoy them.  Carnival is built around the week long vacation or the quickie getaway.  When I want to explore new and faraway places, we'll consider something else.  That said, I still consider them #1 in Caribbean so would certainly consider them for a relaxing 14 dayer down there.   

[Joe817]

6 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

That's it.  We have a favorite saying as a western Caribbean cruise approaches -- I'm going to sit on the pier and have Belikan beer. 

 

I have an empty bottle I brought home as a souvenir.  To aid you in what it tastes like my favorite at home is Shiner Boch.  That Belikan is even better.

Impossible!  I really would like to give it a try though!

[bury me at sea]

4 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Impossible!  I really would like to give it a try though!

 

I thought impossible too.  I really like my Shiner Boch.  Just try the cold Belikan.

[Joe817]

14 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

I thought impossible too.  I really like my Shiner Boch.  Just try the cold Belikan.

You can bet I will!

[daisymay1960]

Our very first cruise was an RCI  carribean cruise we hated it so much we said we would never cruise again lol ( cant put our finger on why btw ).Cozumal was  the highlight of the cruise

[BeachDiva101]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

 

I believe they mean the Wet Lizard unless there is another place that I don't know of. It;s right by the tender pier and is a perfect husband day care facility. it is owned by the same people who own the Bearded Clam in Nassau. 

 

 

 

 

"perfect husband day care facility" LOL!!!  I've never been there.  That's hilarious!

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

 

I believe they mean the Wet Lizard unless there is another place that I don't know of. It;s right by the tender pier and is a perfect husband day care facility. it is owned by the same people who own the Bearded Clam in Nassau. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats the place. I must be confusing my Lizard bars lol.  I just know when you get off the tender in Belize you walk to the left and it is on the left.  

[Just_Beachy22]

We actually purposely booked our upcoming cruise in Feb because it is a repeat itinerary. We wanted to take an actual relaxing vacation where we did not feel the pressure to get off and explore.  This will be an 8 day out of Galveston to Key West (we will def get off for a frozen white choc strawberry keylime pie on a stick!!!), HMC, and both Bahamas. So we will be treating it as 7 beautiful sea days with about 2 hours in Key West! I am so excited! I use to think people who didn't get off the ship were crazy, but now I am realizing they are much smarter than I thought! 

[Theosprey247]

Yes. I enjoy every port I visit. 

[Shaded Lady]

Like Theosprey247 I pretty much enjoy every port... even if I do nothing else, I get off the ship and wander around the port, just to see what's around...

[Chervil]

By sheer coincidence, our last 4 cruises have all included Cozumel.

Our itinerary for our next cruise is the same one we have sailed the last 3 cruises: Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

While we generally just do a ship day for Jamaica, we love Grand Cayman and Cozumel and usually spend our days there snorkeling on our own and exploring the towns.
We made some friends our first time in Cozumel (this will be our fifth time) and have spent a little time with them each trip.
Since they are locals they have pointed us to some of the best local spots (although a few we are keeping to ourselves!).

Cozumel is very relaxed and laid back and also very easy to navigate. Beautiful water and very friendly people.

It may not be as "glamorous" as some islands, but we love it!

[crzndeb]

I’m going to go against the popular answer and say, at this stage in my cruising career, I want to go to new places I have never been. I really don’t have any desire to go to the Caribbean anymore, unless there were some new ports, or a new ship I wanted to sail on. Living on the West Coast is also a factor in where I go. If I had easy access to cruise ships, I might be like many and just cruise to be cruising. I think if you’re still working or retired factors in on cruisers decisions also.

[bakersdozen12]

A cruise is a cruise. Sure, I prefer an itinerary that is taking me to new ports. But at this point, there’s not many ports that I haven’t gone to. In fact, my next cruise is doing all of the ports that I went to on my first cruise. But, there’s always something new to do at a port. And there’s so much to do onboard that I don’t think a cruise could ever possibly be boring. Unless you are unwilling to participate in activities.