HMC—Stay on board

[sapete]

Wife and I are not much for the beach.  Do a lot of folks stay on board?

[Guest BasicSailor]

Well, yes, they do.

[EngIceDave]

We do

[hard_eight]

Sacrilege 

[pe4all]

We usually go for around 1 hour, then right back on ship to enjoy the quiet. Then again - we do this with almost all ports now.

[sgttami]

I love the beach when there's no one on it except me.

 

Not a fun day with hundreds crammed on chairs an inch apart.  

 

Private islands have become ship days!

[aml3679]

We live on the beach

we stay on in Nassau 

[Jasonsterling]

Define "a lot" lol. Some do. I have before- like in Belize nowadays. I've done everything I want to do there and so far there's nothing new on the excursion list and I don't want to bother with the tender. In Cozumel I usually just get off to walk around a bit, maybe grab some lunch. So, there are definitely people about omboard. The ship was not empty by any stretch. A decade ago- two decades ago it would have been EMPTY. You would have felt like the only person there. Now it feels like embarkation day after about an hour after they start allowing people on the ship. 

[amcankid]

You’re on a cruise which is an escape from the rigors of life. Do what you want to do and don’t worry about anything else.

The first hour or two the ship will still be fairly full. The last couple of hours there also. The middle hours the ship will probably be 80% empty. But there’s plenty of people who love to cruise for the ships themselves and prefer to stay in at most of the ports.

That being said I would suggest you get off at least for a little bit. Even if you’re not a beach person, the sand at HMC is like the sand in an hour glass. Walking in it will give you a memory you’ll never forget.

But, if you still decide the beach is not for you, you’re on a cruise. You do what makes you happy. 

[mz-s]

My wife and I will usually get off for 30 minutes to 2 hours, eat lunch on the island (I actually like those burgers better than Guy's lately...), then get back on the ship. We rarely stay ashore more than 2 hours no matter the stop honestly.

 

Everyone cruises differently!

[groundloop]

I agree, I'd suggest getting off at least long enough to enjoy lunch and walk around a bit.  Maybe wait until the mad dash to catch the water shuttle is over and head out.  

[gazingm42]

Some ports we seen, been there, don't need a shirt.  So we stay back on the ship and have our private ship time with no worries of finding a seat. 

 

Some ports we don't enjoy and the price was right for that ship or time.

 

 

[nybumpkin]

We absolutely love HMC, and we're not serious beach people. The beach is gorgeous and the water is perfect. We've had cabanas four times since we don't tan, we burn - and shade isn't the easiest to come by without a cabana or clamshell.

 

This past summer, we missed out on getting a cabana, so we decided to stay aboard. Aside from being able to enjoy the pool, we had Cheers - which doesn't work ashore at HMC. It turned out to be a good decision - one of the tenders had engine trouble, so tendering was very delayed. Some folks didn't go ashore until lunchtime and back-aboard time was 3:00.

Edited January 27, 2023 by nybumpkin

[Joebucks]

Different strokes for different folks, blah blah. There is no chance I would miss HMC. We only get so many chances to go to absolutely beautiful places. Why not take it in? I've been there before, and can't wait to return. If you aren't beach people, what are you, pool deck people?

 

Often, these are just excuses to justify that huge Cheers bill. A lot of the people who don't like "crowds, beaches, tourism, etc" would magically find their way to the beach if their Cheers worked there.

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Different strokes for different folks, blah blah. There is no chance I would miss HMC. We only get so many chances to go to absolutely beautiful places. Why not take it in? I've been there before, and can't wait to return. If you aren't beach people, what are you, pool deck people?

 

Often, these are just excuses to justify that huge Cheers bill. A lot of the people who don't like "crowds, beaches, tourism, etc" would magically find their way to the beach if their Cheers worked there.

Nope, I don't sun, I don't beach, I can't swim.  I  walk the quiet paths, have lunch and head back to max out my CHEERS and take a nap. 

[simplelife]

If we get off at all,, we wait until the rush to debark is over, stroll around a bit and get back aboard early and enjoy the quiet ship.

[Guest BasicSailor]

Never bothered with the overpriced cheers or the overpriced Huts. Actually, never cared to drink that much. HMC is simply the best for newbies. Over the years it's become a tourist attraction, packed to the gills.😬