Ports where once is enough

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, sogne said:

Isafjodur pics of deserted village and a memory of younger days

We visited the deserted village on our visit to Isafjordur and had a lovely day in very nice weather. We went on Arcadia on P&Os Grand Event and had good weather throughout our visit and really enjoyed Iceland culminating with standing on deck at 2-3am in daylight watching whales after leaving Akureyri.

[Ray66]

Stavanger in Norway. I just don't like it. The first time we went there was alot of graffiti around. There's not much to do and I thought the sardine canning museum was poor.

[Colin_Cameron]

Do you think if this runs for long enough we’ll have named every port?

 

Or at least come up with the same list as the, “Ports you would never get tired with” thread?

[resistk]

Once is never enough!  I used to think Marseilles was a horrid place but spent three days on land there and changed my mind.  I dreaded going back to Cornerbrook, Newfoundland but this time the Humber River passage rivaled anything one could see in Norway.

[resistk]

4 hours ago, Ray66 said:

Stavanger in Norway. I just don't like it. The first time we went there was alot of graffiti around. There's not much to do and I thought the sardine canning museum was poor.

 

Bergen was not so hot either.

[exlondoner]

My controversial choice for today is Civitavecchia. This is not an attack on Rome, where I would happily live, but the way to see it is not via Civitavecchia. The town itself is OK, though not wonderful, but even to get there is a tedious, though brief, coach ride to be dumped nowhere in particular.  We did once do rather a nice half day wine tour, but that is it. I try and avoid cruises that call there now.

[Windsurfboy]

17 hours ago, exlondoner said:

It is on a river which is ultimately a tributary of the Tagus, so next time you could try tendering from Lisbon. 😀

 

I'll  bring my kayak with me next time.  I wonder if I keep my kayak on the balcony it will mean I don't have to go to muster before we leave.

 

Could start a new trend. How about a new thread ,  inventive ways to dodge muster.

[Ray66]

11 hours ago, resistk said:

 

Bergen was not so hot either.

 

Sounds like you were in the wrong area. Take a look at the Ports you would never get bored with thread.

View from the funicular railway:

 

Bryggen historical buildings:

[BigMac1953]

31 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Could start a new trend. How about a new thread ,  inventive ways to dodge muster.

 

Pre-Concordia, we were actually told by our butler, that as regulars, we didn't have to attend muster drills.

 

That changed!

[newjoisey]

44 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

My controversial choice for today is Civitavecchia. This is not an attack on Rome, where I would happily live, but the way to see it is not via Civitavecchia. The town itself is OK, though not wonderful, but even to get there is a tedious, though brief, coach ride to be dumped nowhere in particular.  We did once do rather a nice half day wine tour, but that is it. I try and avoid cruises that call there now.

i agree...it was a long tiring bus trip after a flight and approaching the check -in building did not help from the looks outside. I was fine with it once inside and how fast we breezed through .

[Summergee]

I agree with Exlondoner. I did not like Civitavecchia at all. Our tour was cancelled so we just looked round the town. It felt very rundown near the port. If we stop thete again and our tour is cancelled we would stay on the ship.

[Windsurfboy]

We are semi regulars on the Cape Town to Southampton route if it fits in with our window of last week in March to 2nd week  April. Recently seem to have chosen Tenerife over Funchal.  

 

We now don't get off ship for 16 days, it's very nice.

 

Walvis bay is a lovely little town but not with 2000 people off a ship in it.  The Cape seals are worth seeing (once), but looking at desert trips they don't look exciting,  why they don't  go further say to possible. So a visit once town.

 

As I said Canaries not worth a second visit,  very sad as we love Funchal

[Windsurfboy]

Just now, Windsurfboy said:

We are semi regulars on the Cape Town to Southampton route if it fits in with our window of last week in March to 2nd week  April. Recently seem to have chosen Tenerife over Funchal.  

 

We now don't get off ship for 16 days, it's very nice.

 

Walvis bay is a lovely little town but not with 2000 people off a ship in it.  The Cape seals are worth seeing (once), but looking at desert trips they don't look exciting,  why they don't  go further say to Sossusvlei. So a visit once town.

 

As I said Canaries not worth a second visit,  very sad as we love Funchal

 

Spell check somehow changed Sossusvlei to possible 

[koonard]

On 10/30/2020 at 5:13 PM, exlondoner said:

 

Because?

We went on a tour and the driver stopped at a garage to tell us all about the flags they were flying .. doh ...and kept saying " behind this big hedge Elizabeth Taylor had a holiday home " Really ? Actually it was quite funny !.

[alc13]

22 minutes ago, koonard said:

We went on a tour and the driver stopped at a garage to tell us all about the flags they were flying .. doh ...and kept saying " behind this big hedge Elizabeth Taylor had a holiday home " Really ? Actually it was quite funny !.

We had exactly the same experience in Tangiers.  It was about 20 years ago, and the celebrity was Barbara Hutton.  We had hardly heard of her even then. 

 

That was a fun day, though.

[Bigmike911]

On 10/31/2020 at 4:18 AM, Csardas said:

Gibraltar

I quite enjoyed Gibralter, I was able to walk to the supermarket and buy horseradish because the QV did not have any, and if only because it's very being annoys the Spanish.

 

As for places I have not got much use for are any of the Caribbean Islands because other than the duty free vendors and the beggars there is little to see or do. And especially Roatan, Honduras where we were warned to stay in the port area as bandits had robbed passengers of another ship the day before. I did enjoy Cozumel, Mexico but that was the only Mexican port I have found interesting.

[Bigmike911]

9 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

I quite enjoyed Gibralter, I was able to walk to the supermarket and buy horseradish because the QV did not have any, and if only because it's very being annoys the Spanish.

 

As for places I have not got much use for are any of the Caribbean Islands because other than the duty free vendors and the beggars there is little to see or do. And especially Roatan, Honduras where we were warned to stay in the port area as bandits had robbed passengers of another ship the day before. I did enjoy Cozumel, Mexico but that was the only Mexican port I have found interesting.

Let me add Puerto Azetca. Guatemala. A bunch of vendors around an industrial port area. Not at all anything to see. 

[Essiesmom]

5 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Let me add Puerto Azetca. Guatemala. A bunch of vendors around an industrial port area. Not at all anything to see. 

I've never heard of Puerto Azteca/Azetca in Guatemala.  When  I google it, all I get are restaurants.  Are you sure you don't mean Puerto Quetzal?  EM

Edited December 19, 2020 by Essiesmom

[oskidunker]

St Thomas and Princess Cayes.

 

 

 

[Bigmike911]

15 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I've never heard of Puerto Azteca/Azetca in Guatemala.  When  I google it, all I get are restaurants.  Are you sure you don't mean Puerto Quetzal?  EM

You are correct the port was Puerto Quetzal, the little "village" of shops and vendors where the QV was berthed  was called Puerto Azteca named I guess as one would name a shopping center. 

[Lanky Lad]

How about Invergordon?  A pretty town if you ignore the oil tanks but not much there.

[newjoisey]

2 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

You are correct the port was Puerto Quetzal, the little "village" of shops and vendors where the QV was berthed  was called Puerto Azteca named I guess as one would name a shopping center. 

i put the whole country on the do not return list 

[Bigmike911]

1 minute ago, newjoisey said:

i put the whole country on the do not return list 

Amen. Mexico has become a very unsafe country with drug cartels in total charge of many parts of the country. And a government which cannot, or will not take them on. 

[newjoisey]

33 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

Amen. Mexico has become a very unsafe country with drug cartels in total charge of many parts of the country. And a government which cannot, or will not take them on. 

We have done maybe 5 south and central american country excursions with cunard while on a cruise and we will in the future stay on the boat those days.........n dat aint bad . We keep going back to the xmass carib cruise and have no problem with those ports aside we ran out of excursions to go on. Sometimes staying on board while half or more get off has its bennies ....lunch is less crowded and dinner time they are staying in their cabin tired or sun burnt .

[Mickb]

Sarande in Albania

Progreso in Mexico