Returning to the same ports multiple times?

[daiB]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Never been to Lisbon. But a friend of mind said it's great for foodie options?

 

So was looking forward to visiting one day?

Not to be missed. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Jennizor said:

We went to Seville from Cadiz on our Iona Feb/March cruise. I have never been to such a beautiful city. It was a 2 and a half hour journey but well worth it. We are now thinking about having a few days there later in the year.

 

Sorry about the picture below, it just appeared and I can’t get rid of it!

I agree Seville is a beautiful place. One of the best places we've been

[Selbourne]

4 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

We are on the same cruise as Jean in October and are disappointed that Rhodes has been swapped to Messina, however we have never been to Messina but have been to Rhodes many times and always enjoyed it.

We tend not to bother with excursions, but wished that we had in Messina. There’s not a great deal to see and we were pestered quite a bit by persistent beggars both in the main square and immediately outside the cruise terminal. An hour was enough and we went back on the ship. Thankfully our balcony was facing the harbour and it’s a busy port, so we just relaxed watching all the comings and goings, but we said that if we go again we would go beyond Messina. 

[Denarius]

Someone once said to me, the first time you go somewhere you see the sights, the second time you see the city. And whether you like the city not the sights determines whether you enjoy repeat visits. You do not want to keep seeing the sights once you've seen them, but some cities warrant repeat visits just for the pleasure of wandering the streets, visiting characterfull shops and cafes, and just enjoying the street life. I could  never tire of visiting Venice, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Funchal and Kotor just to name a few. On the other hand, like others I have found Lisbon overated; a place I am glad that I have seen but which I have no desire to keep doing so.

[elmsliebev]

Another vote for Sevilla - we had 5 days there a few years ago, amazing city. 

Malaga is somewhere I love to visit. We are there in October on Azura and will go to the Car & Couture Museum (best museum I've ever been to), then walk to the seafront and find somewhere for grilled sardines. Maybe the sherry bar or the museum of Glass & Crystal (another lovely place). 

 

We find cruising a great way to check out places that we can then go back to for longer eg Valencia was a 1 day stop on Oriana but we then went back for 5 days, so much to see. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

48 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

Another vote for Sevilla - we had 5 days there a few years ago, amazing city. 

Malaga is somewhere I love to visit. We are there in October on Azura and will go to the Car & Couture Museum (best museum I've ever been to), then walk to the seafront and find somewhere for grilled sardines. Maybe the sherry bar or the museum of Glass & Crystal (another lovely place). 

 

We find cruising a great way to check out places that we can then go back to for longer eg Valencia was a 1 day stop on Oriana but we then went back for 5 days, so much to see. 

Yes so many different things to see in Valencia plus great tapas, pinxtos and Paella

 

The Old Town, the Park, the Beach. It's got it all.

 

Not over expensive either

Edited April 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[yorkshirephil]

13 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Yes so many different things to see in Valencia plus great tapas, pinxtos and Paella

 

The Old Town, the Park, the Beach. It's got it all.

 

Not over expensive either

We were impressed with Valencia, we went for the first time last year with MSC, we wondered why more cruises didn't dock there.

[Selbourne]

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

We were in Gib yesterday.

Stayed on board by the adult pool, enjoying the sunshine. Had no desire to get off the ship.

Having been countless times, Gibraltar does absolutely nothing for us. It’s a great shame that more ships can’t get into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave cut out of Morocco, directly opposite Gibraltar. One of the nicest places in the Med that we have been to.

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, Denarius said:

Someone once said to me, the first time you go somewhere you see the sights, the second time you see the city. And whether you like the city not the sights determines whether you enjoy repeat visits. You do not want to keep seeing the sights once you've seen them, but some cities warrant repeat visits just for the pleasure of wandering the streets, visiting characterfull shops and cafes, and just enjoying the street life. I could  never tire of visiting Venice, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Funchal and Kotor just to name a few. On the other hand, like others I have found Lisbon overated; a place I am glad that I have seen but which I have no desire to keep doing so.

Love Barcelona, Bergen, Tallinn, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Apart from Bergen when you have spent a day in a Norwegian port (Flam etc) there is no point in going again. Gibraltar is just a tip.

[alpha whiskey]

16 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

Apart from Bergen when you have spent a day in a Norwegian port (Flam etc) there is no point in going again.

In the words of Mr McEnroe...'You cannot be serious!'

The feeling you get standing at the North Cape. Seeing the grazing reindeer on the journey up there.

Oslo - one of my all time favourite Capitals 

Trondheim - always make a wish at the Old town bridge ( and they come true! 😉)

Tromso and the beautiful Arctic cathedral 

...Kristiansand, Alesund, Stavanger.... to name but a few.

No matter how many times you visit, there is so much to do, see and explore and there is never enough time in port. 

Norway we love you! ❤️

[doog442]

We got an incredible deal with drinks package / wifi / suite included on the Enchanted Princess last summer.

 

As it was a Med cruise and having done every destination several times we mainly stayed on board apart from Barcelona and the odd foray into some local towns rather than the major tourist attractions. We had the run of the ship on port days, no issues with sun beds and of course their excellent drinks package which we made full use of.

 

A cruise can be exhausting or as relaxing as you want to make it. I think we've had our fill of certain ports / locations although I fully accept there's always somewhere different to explore. 

[zap99]

50 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

In the words of Mr McEnroe...'You cannot be serious!'

The feeling you get standing at the North Cape. Seeing the grazing reindeer on the journey up there.

Oslo - one of my all time favourite Capitals 

Trondheim - always make a wish at the Old town bridge ( and they come true! 😉)

Tromso and the beautiful Arctic cathedral 

...Kristiansand, Alesund, Stavanger.... to name but a few.

No matter how many times you visit, there is so much to do, see and explore and there is never enough time in port. 

Norway we love you! ❤️

We have been on well over 30 cruises and have never stayed on the ship when it docks. We even find Gibraltar interesting.

[Host Sharon]

3 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

We were impressed with Valencia, we went for the first time last year with MSC, we wondered why more cruises didn't dock there.

I've been there three times, twice with P&O, and yes, it is a beautiful city. One I would never tire of.

[Thejuggler]

Visiting a port more than once isn't much different to a city break over a few days, but a single cruise visit can be good inspiration for longer trips.

 

We first visited Lisbon on a cruise and went to Cascais for a week a couple of years later going into Lisbon 3 times as we saw so little of it in a cruise day.

We've been to Barcelona 4-5 times, Valencia for a 3 night stay and this summer we are off to Alicante for a few days. We also had Palma on the shortlist, but chose Faro instead, which isn't a cruise port, but looked interesting as most tourists only see the airport.

 

 

 

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

Visiting a port more than once isn't much different to a city break over a few days, but a single cruise visit can be good inspiration for longer trips.

 

We first visited Lisbon on a cruise and went to Cascais for a week a couple of years later going into Lisbon 3 times as we saw so little of it in a cruise day.

We've been to Barcelona 4-5 times, Valencia for a 3 night stay and this summer we are off to Alicante for a few days. We also had Palma on the shortlist, but chose Faro instead, which isn't a cruise port, but looked interesting as most tourists only see the airport.

 

 

 

Same for us, but unfortunately the short list is now quite a long list.

[heatherb1958]

I never tire of Norway , we loved it so much on our first visit ended up going another 3  times in the same year with one of the trips being The Land of the Midnight sun all the way upto Honningsvag  with the Lofoten islands included.  I  love walking and climb  mountains to off set the food intake onboard 😆. 

We have also done the Med countless times and the run-down to the Canaries but there are always new things to find , just walk in a different direction or down a different street . 

We have been cruising for so long now that if we have to repeat itineraries we try not to repeat the same one on the same ship. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by heatherb1958

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, alpha whiskey said:

In the words of Mr McEnroe...'You cannot be serious!'

The feeling you get standing at the North Cape. Seeing the grazing reindeer on the journey up there.

Oslo - one of my all time favourite Capitals 

Trondheim - always make a wish at the Old town bridge ( and they come true! 😉)

Tromso and the beautiful Arctic cathedral 

...Kristiansand, Alesund, Stavanger.... to name but a few.

No matter how many times you visit, there is so much to do, see and explore and there is never enough time in port. 

Norway we love you! ❤️

The main problem is that Iona only goes to Alesund and Stavanger, both of which I have been to several times. Boring now. The others are probably interesting if P&O were going there.

 

[kruzseeka]

8 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

The main problem is that Iona only goes to Alesund and Stavanger, both of which I have been to several times. Boring now. The others are probably interesting if P&O were going there.

 

Depends on your appreciation of the scenery.  Andalsnes, Eidford, Geiranger, Tromso, the Lofoten Islands are magnificent and the approach sailing for hours in such awe inspiring surroundings just fills me with emotion and wonder.  Ships other than Iona visit Norway!

[Snow Hill]

11 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Love Barcelona, Bergen, Tallinn, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Apart from Bergen when you have spent a day in a Norwegian port (Flam etc) there is no point in going again. Gibraltar is just a tip.

Agree on Gibraltar, was totally underwhelmed when we went there, wouldn’t bother getting off ship if docked there in future. 

[Valfan]

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

It’s a great shame that more ships can’t get into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave cut out of Morocco, directly opposite Gibraltar. One of the nicest places in the Med that we have been to.

It's lovely to read your encouraging words on Ceuta. One of the main reasons I booked to go on Arcadia this Thu was because it's going to Ceuta. I went there on my school cruise aged 14 (I turn 69 tomorrow!) so although I can't remember much about it I've always thought it would be nice to go back there for old times' sake.

As for visiting ports multiple times, I stopped counting for Lisbon and Gibraltar when I got to 20 times each (both starting on the school cruise in 1968), and have been to a lot of other ports many times. But I always get off in every port and have a walk around if only for exercise and fresh air. And I can always try going in a different direction, or having a look inside some building or church etc.

[Cristaltips]

4 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Agree on Gibraltar, was totally underwhelmed when we went there, wouldn’t bother getting off ship if docked there in future. 

We always get off and stretch our legs (and usually partake of a local beer) 

The only place where I wouldn’t get off again is Ocho Rios. Others may like it but  not my cup of tea at all. Yes, done Dunn’s River Falls so no appetite to get off ship again . 

[d9704011]

Most of the discussion seems to have been around European ports except Ocho Rios was just thrown into the mix.  I'd say a good port to not bother going ashore is Colon, Panama.  If you feel a need to do something while tied up there, a ship excursion is essential.... not even the leg-stretching!

[Jennizor]

12 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

The main problem is that Iona only goes to Alesund and Stavanger, both of which I have been to several times. Boring now. The others are probably interesting if P&O were going there.

 

We are on Iona in July for a week and we stop at Stavanger, Alesund, Olden and Haugesand and cruise-by Innvikfjord and Nordfjord on two other days. 

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Valfan said:

It's lovely to read your encouraging words on Ceuta. One of the main reasons I booked to go on Arcadia this Thu was because it's going to Ceuta. I went there on my school cruise aged 14 (I turn 69 tomorrow!) so although I can't remember much about it I've always thought it would be nice to go back there for old times' sake.

As for visiting ports multiple times, I stopped counting for Lisbon and Gibraltar when I got to 20 times each (both starting on the school cruise in 1968), and have been to a lot of other ports many times. But I always get off in every port and have a walk around if only for exercise and fresh air. And I can always try going in a different direction, or having a look inside some building or church etc.

It’s one of those places where the ship berths smack bang in the middle of the waterfront, so no need for a shuttle bus (which is always a plus) as you are already in the heart of things. There are two promenades, one along the waterfront where the ship berths and another alongside a vast beach the other side of the peninsular (a short walk via the town centre). Glorious outlooks across the Gibraltar Straights and out to the Med. It’s a lovely town as well, with lots of shops, interesting buildings and sculptures. Beautifully manicured parks and gardens. There’s a lovely water park (not the ones with slides etc, more a landscaped swimming lake). It had only just opened for the season when we went. We didn’t want to swim but asked how much it was to just wander around the gardens and they let us in for nothing. We couldn’t believe the contrast with Gibraltar. Chalk and cheese. 

[snaefell]

Not great cruisers,about to do our fifth,but nearly 30 years of road trips to the USA saw us staying many,many times at Anaheim,there is something safe about knowing somewhere so well,no time wasted finding your way round,you know the best places to eat,shop & to get your mixers for your duty free!

closer to home we keep going back to Ireland(North & South),The Isle Of Man & The Netherlands.

Hindsight is a great thing though & having just hit 70(OMG where did that come from!😮),& with the last couple of years having been trashed travel wise by the pandemic,there is some regret about our past choices,there are places in the USA in particular that we never did get to see & probably never will now that my Wife really hates the thought of flying.

So be careful guys,by all means enjoy your favourites but if there are places you really want to see get it done,it may be later than you think!😎