Stay on ship While in Port?

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

Johnboy, one of the wonderful aspects of a cruise , is that you can do as much as you want or as little. In port, the ship will seem almost empty and on some cruise lines the main dining room will be closed for lunch but the other food venues will be open.

 

As for seeing ports my DW and I still like to walk around places like Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan. We have visited these places many times but it is fun to get off the ship and go for long walks. And we never get bored with seeing for example the Mercado in Mazatlan every time we visit this interesting and vibrant city. Looking forward to our 4/14/2008 transatlantic to Europe and seeing new ports.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[KC_fn]

There must be something wrong with me. I did a Caribbean trip out of Southampton. After 6 days at sea, I couldn't wait to get off and see all the islands, even having been to som eof them before.

 

There's nothing wrong with you. And there's nothing wrong with me -- who would never leave the ship at all if I didn't have a teenager to entertain. I'm sure that you can understand that different people have different preferences; it's not a matter of right or wrong. :)

[Handsome58]

The great part of cruising is that there is no hard fast plan that you have to stick to or go by. I love it both ways......staying on the ship.....or getting off the ship. My wife does also.....it is how do you feel that morning....it is called "a vacation'......we are "vacating" our normal schedules where we have be at certain places at certain defined times.........I love cruising.....I love the SHIPS.....nothing like having the ship almost to yourself.....relaxing in the hot-tub with a drink.......while the masses are off the ship..........then I like being at a beach...or walking through a town.........it is DO YOU!!!!!!!:)

[Handsome58]

The great part of cruising is that there is no hard fast plan that you have to stick to or go by. I love it both ways......staying on the ship.....or getting off the ship. My wife does also.....it is how do you feel that morning....it is called "a vacation'......we are "vacating" our normal schedules where we have be at certain places at certain defined times.........I love cruising.....I love the SHIPS.....nothing like having the ship almost to yourself.....relaxing in the hot-tub with a drink.......while the masses are off the ship..........then I like being at a beach...or walking through a town.........it is DO YOU!!!!!!!:)

[ladycaveat]

My wife and I are going on our first cruise on the Oosterdam - 1 Mar. We have scheduled one excursion while in PV but are thinking about just relaxing on the ship while in Cabo and/or Matzatlan. Can we do this? Also, if you went into town for a short period could you still get your meals on board? Any advice would be most helpful.:confused:

 

You can do it but boy will you be missing out on a lot of fun! I took Carvinal's Pride to the Mexican Riviera last January (2007) and Cabo and Matzatlan were among two of my favorite ports (and that includes the Carribbean and Alaska).

[sail7seas]

Each person defines their own idea of fun.

 

We all cruise for different reasons and on vacation we only have to please ourselves. As long as DH and I agree as to how much or how little we wish to do, then all is fine.

 

We have spent so much time in the Caribbean there are no more surprises for us. We have done that which interests us and have and will continue to skip that which is not interesting to Us. Long before we started cruising, we did stays at resorts in many of the islands, time and again. We have so been there and so done that and so don't want any more T-shirts that it is fine by us if we don't leave the ship for the full 10 or 14 days we are aboard. We go to the ships for the ships, for the sea life, for the sea air, for the sailing, for the friends we have aboard the ships...... When in the Caribbean, we go for the sun; for the weather.

 

We do have a few favorite islands and usually will go ashore at least for a little while in Aruba, Curacao, Belize, Barbados, San Juan..... Usually also in St.Thomas as we have friends we like to visit. We also love HAL's private island and always go to the beach at Half Moon Cay.

 

Different strokes for different folks and all that........

 

[lady_cruiser]

I have not had the pleasure of sailing to the ports you are going to, at least not yet. But you can leave the ship, walk around and enjoy the locals and return to your ship for lunch. Relax and go back on-shore to do more sight seeing. We do it all the time while in the Caribbean.

 

And while on board we have the ship almost to ourselves. Less than 20% of the passengers stay on board. We have any chair we want near the pool, the gym isn't crowded, the dining room is nice and quiet and not crowded so we can enjoy a leisurely lunch, the library is the perfect place to enjoy a book. After our cabin is clean to can catch up on our sleep after staying up way past our usual bed time. We can stay on the ship and still enjoy the smells and sounds of the port while relaxing on our balcony.

[luvscruising2007]

Our cruise to Alaska was very port intensive. We enjoyed it but came back exhausted. Our recent trip to Panama was just the opposite. We had many sea days and enjoyed the relaxation, sitting by the pool, taking naps, and n0 real schedule. We came back relaxed and ready to go again. I was not really impressed with the islands and would not return to any of them. As someone else pointed out, the quick tours and long shopping stops were not our cup of tea. We did like the ferry through the Panama Canal. But it was not a strenuous activity and fit into our relaxation mode.

Chose carefully what you want to do and don't feel pressure to do anything.

[ehfl]

Dont' worry, you will not be tossed of the ship as soon as it arrives in port. If you leave the ship, the only thing you have to worry about is being back on board in time for departure. Aside from that, they don't care what you do, or where you eat. You can eat in town, on the ship, at the beach, whatever.

[Agr8RN]

Sorry to ask a possibly stupid question, but why do you go to the same places if you aren't going tobother going ashore? Isn't that the whole point of the cruise?

 

I do enjoy visiting new destinations around the world, however, I also enjoy relaxing once in a while.

 

The lure of a cruise for me is the ability to do whatever I want; If I choose to go off of the ship I do, If I want to rest or do something onboard that day, I do.

 

We have the ability to cruise a few times a year, so many times destinations are repeated; it is at these ports that we pick and choose what to do, or NOT to do. It makes for a wonderful experience.

 

We found that when we do to much site seeing on the busier itineraries, that we are often over-tired and don't enjoy the overall experience as much.

 

For someone from across the pond, I imagine you want to see it all. But, just being able to do nothing on my floating resort... is a beautiful thing!