Favourite place ever visited whilst cruising?

[Heidi13]

22 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

A lot of my time was spent around the Arabian Gulf area. 

We used to frequent a place up the Shatt Al Arab river. The river was described as the @@@@hole of the world .... and the port was 40 miles up it 😵‍💫

Humorous anecdote ... Waiting time for a berth at some of those ports was extreme ... sometimes ships were waiting weeks, sometimes months. One story doing the rounds - and I can believe this - was set on board a ship that again had been at anchor for several months. Someone had managed to obtain a full size, replica, human skeleton. One day when the Port Authority boat was doing its 'rounds', of the anchorage, all personnel were moved out of sight and the skeleton was draped over the open bridge wing wearing nothing but a cap - and that was the only sign off occupancy that were seen by the staff on the boat. Rumour was they were not amused! 😁

 

And it was hot. We hit 50 C at Khorramshahr one day. A very aft description of the area.

 

Fortunately, I only suffered 1 trip to the Persian Gulf. Registered in each port and then anchored off Dubai for over 2-months, then flew home for college without getting ashore, since departure UK.

[MBP&O2/O]

Did you do the old 'fry an egg' trick on the hot deck? That was always one for the newbies 😁

50 degrees was par for the course wasn't it? Salt tablets for breakfast lunch and dinner .... or tea if you were uncouth and sailed on oil tankers😄

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Did you do the old 'fry an egg' trick on the hot deck? That was always one for the newbies 😁

50 degrees was par for the course wasn't it? Salt tablets for breakfast lunch and dinner .... or tea if you were uncouth and sailed on oil tankers😄

 

haha - yes, we used that one on rookie cadets and deck boys.

 

I still remember our few days up the river. We got one of the anchor chains twisted, so had a work crew turning-to at 04:00, working until we jury rigged a fix. Chugging salt tablets by the handful at every meal.

 

At least when we went back to Dubai, it almost seemed cool at only 40 C.

 

That was one a general cargo ship when I was still a cadet.

[MBP&O2/O]

..... and having them collect bread crusts to feed the mules at Panama 😁

[Cruise till you drop]

We’ve only done Caribbean and Pacific side of Mexico but I can offer a few

 

1. White Bay Beach - Jost Van Dyke (Tortola)

2. Havana Cuba

3. Shete Boka National Park - Curaçao

4. Bonaire - Sorobon Beach South side

5. Orient Beach and Maho Beach - St Maarten

6. Koki Beach - St Thomas

 

 

PS - Mediterranean, Alaska and South Pacific are on the bucket list

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[ExpatBride]

Sailing in and out of Geirangerfjord in Norway is my absolute favorite. I'm about to do it for the fourth time!

[DarrenM]

On 4/18/2023 at 5:27 AM, donaldsc said:

 

Using your logic one would assume that if you are a practicing Jew or a practicing Christian you should not visit Israel.  Do I have it right.

 

DON

It probably isnt in your best interest to understand my logic.

 

I heartily accept that sometimes there isnt any.

 

But I can confirm that I have absolutely zero interest in ever going to Israel.

 

 

[CPT Trips]

Flipping a coin . . . Heads Dubrovnik, tails Kotor. Split just barely missed the cut.
 

Walking the walls in Kotor was more strenuous than those in Dubrovnik. The approach to Kotor is spectacular, we were fortunate to have the Captain invite us to the bridge as he and the Pilot provided commentary on the cruise in. 
 

 

[cruiserking]

On 5/5/2023 at 1:24 PM, CPT Trips said:

Flipping a coin . . . Heads Dubrovnik, tails Kotor. Split just barely missed the cut.
 

Walking the walls in Kotor was more strenuous than those in Dubrovnik. The approach to Kotor is spectacular, we were fortunate to have the Captain invite us to the bridge as he and the Pilot provided commentary on the cruise in. 
 

 

Have been wanting to cruise to Kotor for years finally going there next year on new Sun Princess. I've read so many amazing tales of the view cruising into that port. I cannot wait. 

 

Jonathan

[cruiserking]

Favorite Port Stops

 

Cobh, Ireland

Glasgow, Scotland

Kirkwall, Scotland

Inverness, Scotland

Monaco, Monte Carlo

Lisbon, Portugal

Barcelona, Spain

Key West, Florida

Nassau, Bahamas

 

Jonathan

[navybankerteacher]

36 minutes ago, cruiserking said:

Favorite Port Stops

 

Cobh, Ireland

Glasgow, Scotland

Kirkwall, Scotland

Inverness, Scotland

Monaco, Monte Carlo

Lisbon, Portugal

Barcelona, Spain

Key West, Florida

Nassau, Bahamas

 

Jonathan

Nassau ??????????"🤮

[cruiserking]

3 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Nassau ??????????"🤮

Perhaps I'm one of the four people that actually enjoys Nassau. We sail there every February and I rather enjoy it. Stopping by the local restaurants, hotels. We discovered a wonderful authentic Bahamian pastry shop The New Duff which makes these pillow soft cakes with a sublime vanilla sauce. Picking up some gourmet chocolates at the Graycliff Hotel built by a pirate no less. We always enjoy this stop. 

Jonathan

[DarrenM]

7 hours ago, cruiserking said:

Have been wanting to cruise to Kotor for years finally going there next year on new Sun Princess. I've read so many amazing tales of the view cruising into that port. I cannot wait. 

 

Jonathan

Its an amazing place. Like stated above the cruise into Kotor is spectacular.

 

Still thought Dubrovnik was slightly better.

[DarrenM]

I really really disliked Santorini.

 

I suspect it was revulsion at the treatment of the donkeys. How any self respecting human can ride one of those poor things up those steps is beyond my comprehension.

 

Loved Kusadasi in Turkey.

 

And Istanbul is incredible.

 

I have a soft spot for Naples.

[aungrl]

7 hours ago, DarrenM said:

I really really disliked Santorini.

 

I suspect it was revulsion at the treatment of the donkeys. How any self respecting human can ride one of those poor things up those steps is beyond my comprehension.

 

Loved Kusadasi in Turkey.

 

And Istanbul is incredible.

 

I have a soft spot for Naples.

My husband and I felt the same way, for probably the same reason.  No desire to return.  On the other hand, a friend of mine was on Santorini for a week for the wedding of a friend, on "the other side", as he puts it, and avoided the donkeys, the tourist shops, and all of that.  And says it's one of his favorite places.

[whogo]

9 hours ago, DarrenM said:

How any self respecting human can ride one of those poor things up those steps is beyond my comprehension.

It was easy. I paid and climbed aboard the beast of burden. People have been riding horses, mules, and donkeys for ages.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, aungrl said:

My husband and I felt the same way, for probably the same reason.  No desire to return.  On the other hand, a friend of mine was on Santorini for a week for the wedding of a friend, on "the other side", as he puts it, and avoided the donkeys, the tourist shops, and all of that.  And says it's one of his favorite places.

This is the dilemma of the cruiser who does not do much land travel.  What folks see on a cruise is too often the worst of a place...or at least at the worst time.  Santorini is a charming island (especially if you stay in one of the small expensive inns in Oia) that is quite wonderful when there are few or no cruise ships at the island.  Folks that fly-in or arrive by ferry will likely never even see the donkeys or the cable car...other than from a distance.  When you stay on the island you get to have those lazy dinners, spend hours in wineries, hot days on Red Beach (or the other beaches), etc.   It is the same at many other cruise ports that do not even come to life until after the ships are gone!

 

DW and I had been to Florence, Italy on 5 or 6 port days and were not huge fans of the city.  It is only when we decided to spend a few days in Florence, while on an extended driving trip, that we developed a love for that city that went beyond the usual tourist spots and museums.  Consider that many of the most interesting and best restaurants do not even open until about 7pm (after all the cruise ship folks are long gone).  And strolling along the Arno river, in the evening, is one of our favorite activities in this city.    We could fill pages with places that are quite different from what cruisers/day trippers, may think.  Even a touristy city like Venice can be enchanting in the evenings when the day trippers are gone.  

 

In the Caribbean, we only learned to like St Maarten/St Martin when we spent a week in a condo at Grand Case.  Prior to the major hurricane, that town was full of world-class chef-owned restaurants...most of which did not open until dinner time.  We also learned to avoid places like Orient Bay and Phillipsburg on the days when there were cruise ships in port (weekends are often cruise ship free).  On those busy cruise days we would often drive over to Friars Bay Beach, and than hike through the jungle to the very quiet Happy Bay Beach...that has seldom been visited by any cruiser.  

 

One suggestion we have for many fellow cruisers is to expand your horizons, embrace DIY port days, and go to the places not frequented by large tour groups.  They do exist :).

 

Hank

[hallasm]

My favorite ports are Flåm and Geritanger in the iconic deep Norwegian fjords - beautiful scenic sailing through the fjords into the harbors and breathtaking viewpoints or a trip on the Flåm railway.
It is soon the last call as 'Zero Emission Zones' are introduced in the UNESCO world heritage fjords to Flåm and Geiranger from 2026. The possibility of visiting these fjords and ports by cruise ship will then be severely limited.

[aungrl]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

This is the dilemma of the cruiser who does not do much land travel.  What folks see on a cruise is too often the worst of a place...or at least at the worst time.  Santorini is a charming island (especially if you stay in one of the small expensive inns in Oia) that is quite wonderful when there are few or no cruise ships at the island.  Folks that fly-in or arrive by ferry will likely never even see the donkeys or the cable car...other than from a distance.  When you stay on the island you get to have those lazy dinners, spend hours in wineries, hot days on Red Beach (or the other beaches), etc.   It is the same at many other cruise ports that do not even come to life until after the ships are gone!

 

DW and I had been to Florence, Italy on 5 or 6 port days and were not huge fans of the city.  It is only when we decided to spend a few days in Florence, while on an extended driving trip, that we developed a love for that city that went beyond the usual tourist spots and museums.  Consider that many of the most interesting and best restaurants do not even open until about 7pm (after all the cruise ship folks are long gone).  And strolling along the Arno river, in the evening, is one of our favorite activities in this city.    We could fill pages with places that are quite different from what cruisers/day trippers, may think.  Even a touristy city like Venice can be enchanting in the evenings when the day trippers are gone.  

 

In the Caribbean, we only learned to like St Maarten/St Martin when we spent a week in a condo at Grand Case.  Prior to the major hurricane, that town was full of world-class chef-owned restaurants...most of which did not open until dinner time.  We also learned to avoid places like Orient Bay and Phillipsburg on the days when there were cruise ships in port (weekends are often cruise ship free).  On those busy cruise days we would often drive over to Friars Bay Beach, and than hike through the jungle to the very quiet Happy Bay Beach...that has seldom been visited by any cruiser.  

 

One suggestion we have for many fellow cruisers is to expand your horizons, embrace DIY port days, and go to the places not frequented by large tour groups.  They do exist :).

 

Hank

Couldn't agree more!  And Oia is where my friend was "based" during his time on Santorini.

 

Our first and second trips to Italy were land trips, and we have wonderful memories of Venice, Florence, and Rome from those visits.  It's very different than visiting briefly on a cruise ship; particularly, as you note, when it comes to Venice.

One other example.  We were fortunate many many years ago to visit Egypt for three weeks.  (I was working for a large financial services firm that required two weeks off for everyone, regardless of role, back in the day, and I tacked on a third week with special permission.  My husband was self-employed and managed to make it work.)  The trip did include a 5-day cruise up a part of the Nile, but the immersion in the rest for the country really impacted both of us, and cemented our view that the best travel is, as you say, a combination of both land and sea.

[DarrenM]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

This is the dilemma of the cruiser who does not do much land travel.  What folks see on a cruise is too often the worst of a place...or at least at the worst time.  Santorini is a charming island (especially if you stay in one of the small expensive inns in Oia) that is quite wonderful when there are few or no cruise ships at the island.  Folks that fly-in or arrive by ferry will likely never even see the donkeys or the cable car...other than from a distance.  When you stay on the island you get to have those lazy dinners, spend hours in wineries, hot days on Red Beach (or the other beaches), etc.   It is the same at many other cruise ports that do not even come to life until after the ships are gone!

 

DW and I had been to Florence, Italy on 5 or 6 port days and were not huge fans of the city.  It is only when we decided to spend a few days in Florence, while on an extended driving trip, that we developed a love for that city that went beyond the usual tourist spots and museums.  Consider that many of the most interesting and best restaurants do not even open until about 7pm (after all the cruise ship folks are long gone).  And strolling along the Arno river, in the evening, is one of our favorite activities in this city.    We could fill pages with places that are quite different from what cruisers/day trippers, may think.  Even a touristy city like Venice can be enchanting in the evenings when the day trippers are gone.  

 

In the Caribbean, we only learned to like St Maarten/St Martin when we spent a week in a condo at Grand Case.  Prior to the major hurricane, that town was full of world-class chef-owned restaurants...most of which did not open until dinner time.  We also learned to avoid places like Orient Bay and Phillipsburg on the days when there were cruise ships in port (weekends are often cruise ship free).  On those busy cruise days we would often drive over to Friars Bay Beach, and than hike through the jungle to the very quiet Happy Bay Beach...that has seldom been visited by any cruiser.  

 

One suggestion we have for many fellow cruisers is to expand your horizons, embrace DIY port days, and go to the places not frequented by large tour groups.  They do exist :).

 

Hank

I like this post very much

[DarrenM]

17 hours ago, whogo said:

It was easy. I paid and climbed aboard the beast of burden. People have been riding horses, mules, and donkeys for ages.

You are quite correct. Humans have been cruel to animals for centuries 

[whogo]

2 hours ago, DarrenM said:

You are quite correct. Humans have been cruel to animals for centuries 

Yep, I am an animal lover. Pork... Beef... Poultry... Lamb... Venison...

[lynncarol]

My husband and I are in our late seventies and have traveled extensively both on land and by cruises. Both of us agree that if we limit our choice to a port that we visited just on a cruise, we would pick Odessa Ukraine. In 2014 we were on a small mega-yacht through Vantage on a 17 day Black Sea cruise. One of our stops was supposed to be Yalta, but as Russia had just annexed Crimea, we ended up with 3 days in Odessa which is gorgeous! Founded by Catherine the Great, she envisioned a Paris on the Black Sea and planned a city overlooking the ocean with wide tree-lined boulevards and amazing edifices including museums, opera houses and palaces.  We were allowed lots of time to wander about on our own and found the local folks  to be welcoming and gracious. It breaks my heart to think of what has become of them now.

[whogo]

My favorite cruise stops?

1. Galapagos Islands, 1985 on a 12-16 passenger boat.

2. Antarctica, 2020 on Seabourn Quest.

3. New Island in the Falklands, 2020 on Seabourn Quest.

[new_cruiser]

On 3/28/2023 at 12:58 PM, HardToPort said:

Funchal, Madeira.

 

My SO is Portuguese so no language issues. We hired a local to escort us around the island and we got more of a “locals” tour than run of the mill tourist fare. Cost €140 plus tip for 5 hours. (This was in 2010).

 

The island itself is stunning in its beauty. Just a glorious. Churchill used to go there to decompress and paint. I can understand why. And Ronaldo is from there.

 

Our driver knew everyone and the folks at the local bars, restaurants, shops we stopped in were so gracious. My SO’s fluency in the language, despite her being born in Canada, garnered her a lot of respect. I would love to go back for a week.

Maderia is high on my list too. The gardens are beautiful. The people are friendly. We didn't have any Portuguese speakers, but came upon a tiny wine bar where we had pre-dinner wine and snacks. The other patrons seemed be regulars who knew each other. We asked for dinner recommendations and one of them called in a reservation for us.

 

I'd like to go back for a week and explore more of the island.