For those that stay on the ship, I have to ask....

[retnuh281]

Why?

I have read post after post about people who would prefer to stay on the ship when at port. I just can't figure it out, so I'm asking why people do this?

Being in a beautiful different country, with tons of things to do and see and choosing to stay on the ship. I realize if you've been there a time or two that could be a reason. However, I live in Houston and I've been to Galveston a million times and been there, and done that, time and time again, but I still go back. I like the ships too and sea days, I just don't get paying for a vacation and staying on the ship when you can see the beautiful blue waters and a whole other country waiting to be explored.

I'm ranting, please throw in your two cents.

John

[AnotherCruisingKid]

I just think its a to each their own type of thing. Some people wish they could have a week long cruise to nowhere and this is how they do it.

 

Others it could be that they have just had enough by their 12th visit to the same island.

 

For me, I have places on a cruise i am interested in seeing and others I'm not so much so. I'll get off always to see it but once it becomes rerun and I didn't love it the times I tried I can easily see myself going towards the peacefulness of the ship on a port day.

[cruiserbryce]

In many cases people have cruised to that port a number of times or are not interested in disembarking...everyone makes the trip what they want it to be. Met a couple on our last Monarch cruise who were doing back to back Monarch Baja cruises...no need to get off in Ensenada twice in a week

[bgsimp]

We are taking our 35th. cruise. We have been to the islands many times. The only time we don't get off is someplace like San Juan. Sometimes we don't get off in Jamaica. I see alot of people stay on the ship & enjoy the pool & the quiet. Alot of them that I have talked to are on their 50th. plus cruise. They've been there & done it all. I would at least get off & go walk around. Maybe find a nice place for a drink & people watch.

[Mike in Kansas]

Kinda like going to Disney World. We have gone over 15 times since 2000 (we are Disney Vacation Club owners) and over the past couple of years we have cut back on the amount of time we go into the parks. But we still like traveling to FL, hanging out at the great resorts, relaxing by the pools, eating great meals, etc... like saying onboard on days in port. The on-board facilities are DEFINITELY a lot less crowded!

[retnuh281]

All of you smart people on CC would give reasons that made sense. But the next question that begs to be asked is............

Why would you continue making the same cruise over and over? We only have a very limited choice out of Galveston, so last year we flew to FLL and cruised from there.

Just a curious day for me.

[misty57]

The only time we have stayed onboard in port was Montego Bay when we were on the Freedom. The ship really was the destination for us on that trip, and we had been to Ocho Rios before. We really didn't need to spend the money on another excursion ( we don't do zip lines:D ) so we just enjoyed the amenities on the ship without the large crowds. Grand Caymen is another port we could have missed.. just got off to get a few T shirts for the kids because we had been there before too and it was raining.

[cavkc]

Depending on where we are, we would generally get off for 2/3 hours to explore the local town. Then back to the ship for lunch and spend the afternoon by a quiet pool.

 

Obviously there are exceptions to this, but we normally find that 2/3 ashore is enough for us. Particularly of course if we are cruising in the summer when I find it is too hot to sightsee anyway.

 

Also we don't do museums, tours, historical sites etc. We really just do shopping and beaches :D

[oldandslow]

If you've ever been to Encenada once is 2 times too many. Staying on the ship is my first and second option when in port at Encenada.

 

Why?

I have read post after post about people who would prefer to stay on the ship when at port. I just can't figure it out, so I'm asking why people do this?

Being in a beautiful different country, with tons of things to do and see and choosing to stay on the ship. I realize if you've been there a time or two that could be a reason. However, I live in Houston and I've been to Galveston a million times and been there, and done that, time and time again, but I still go back. I like the ships too and sea days, I just don't get paying for a vacation and staying on the ship when you can see the beautiful blue waters and a whole other country waiting to be explored.

I'm ranting, please throw in your two cents.

John

[aurelius180]

All of you smart people on CC would give reasons that made sense. But the next question that begs to be asked is............

Why would you continue making the same cruise over and over? We only have a very limited choice out of Galveston, so last year we flew to FLL and cruised from there.

Just a curious day for me.

 

Perhaps they enjoy the ship. Sometimes poeple take land based vacations to the same resort year-after-year. They go because they enjoy it and it's relaxing. I'm younger and new to cruising so I ge off everywhere. But I can understand people staying on. Some people vacation for a break and relaxation and an empty cruise ship would provide that. :)

[cruiserbryce]

for same cruise over and over?

 

Maybe for some the trip is more about the ship experience than the ports, so going on Monarch or Mariner makes the trip great, where they go is just extra.

Could be a money or time thing. If some can only go on a short weekend cruise then a Bahamas trip or Baja cruise thats only a few days may be best, even if you've been multiple times.

Then there's the $ thing...if cruises out of FLL always offer the best deal, but always go to the same places and $ is more important than the destination...

[pcur]

Think of a cruise ship as a nice floating hotel. Instead of going to a hotel somewhere to go to the spa, eat good food, see some shows, gamble, etc., some people go on a cruise. After a lot of trips they don't want to go sightseeing, they want to enjoy the "hotel".

 

We don't get off in Jamaica and a few ports in Mexico. We find a good view from Deck 5 outside, and sit, read, and relax in the quiet, warm weather all day. Like sitting on the veranda on a tropical island. Very relaxing.

 

We call Deck 5 "the porch".

[cruisePRN]

All of you smart people on CC would give reasons that made sense. But the next question that begs to be asked is............

Why would you continue making the same cruise over and over?

 

Because it's a local port and the cruise is fare is dirt cheap :D There are people who did the Monarch to Baja several times a year for this reason.

[bgsimp]

All of you smart people on CC would give reasons that made sense. But the next question that begs to be asked is............

Why would you continue making the same cruise over and over? We only have a very limited choice out of Galveston, so last year we flew to FLL and cruised from there.

Just a curious day for me.

We have done all the expensive cruises & land tours. We did 16 nights on a Baltic cruise, Alaska 2x, once for 8 nights & once for 12 nights, Mexican Riviera 10 nights & the Meditteranean 17 nights. Can't afford to do them anymore.

Now we live in Florida so we don't have to pay airfare so it's make a great all-inclusive trip. Cheaper than going to Sandals or one of those. We also go to stock up on our expensive liquors.

[retnuh281]

All of these a perfectly good reasons for staying on board and taking the same cruise.

I just love the beach and experienceing different things all the time. For instance March will be my third time to visit Jamaica, but I found this cool little bar that is on a sand bar about a half mile from shore. I'm sure as heck not shopping in Montego Bay (that I can do without for the rest of my life), so our whole time spent in Jamaice will be finding this place just to have a Red Stripe and fresh fish.

I can't Wait!!

[temple1]

I haven't cruised enough to become overly blasé about the ports. But we enjoy the history and museums of all the places we have visited over the years. We have been to Nassau many many times and always find something new. I don't think we will do a ship sponsored tour on our next cruise, but we will probably do another walking tour or something similar.

 

I have skipped Coco Cay and might do it again if the seas are at all rough. And yes, the ship on port days is very nice!

 

I will come back to this in 10 - 15 years when I am a more jaded cruiser. :D

[vickiw0318]

We've sailed out of Galveston a bunch of times because it is less expensive. That means lots of trips to Cozumel. Usually, we do get off and shop a little. But we've seen most of the island (we once rented a house there for a week), so we have been known to stay on board. On one of our Rhapsody cruises, we found lounger space up on Deck 11, enjoyed the non-crowded conditions and watch our "private show" at Senor Frog's and 1/2 over on the dock. It was great.

[rclcruzer]

The only place that we choose not to get off the ship is Labadee. The ship is nice and quiet with a pool almost all to ourselves!

We are beach and shopping people...been their done that on the tours etc.

We look forward to plopping down on our favorite beaches, no sand on the ship! I don't think I would ever get sick of visiting the same ports over and over again because we only cruise once or twice every 2 years. However, we cruise mainly for the ship anyway.

Happy cruising :)

[cruiserbryce]

a little like the above post mentioned, many people choose to stay on board at private islands/beaches...we have been to Princess Cays, Cataway Cay and Labadee and while all were a lot of fun and very relaxing there was nothing that would make us get up early and get off the ship if we went back

[wrp96]

Usually when I stay on the ship it's to do thing like take advantage of the spa - and I try to only stay on the ship in ports that I've visited before. If it's a port intensive cruise and I've been to a port before, it's nice to have that break without missing something new.

 

For example, Nassau is on a lot of itineraries, especially Eastern Caribbean itineraries which include some of my favorite ports. But I am not fond of Nassau, so I stay on the ship and let that be a day of rest and relaxation, so you'll usually find me at the spa getting a massage and a facial, followed by a nap by the solarium pool (in the shade of course).

[FrancescaH]

We cruise for the ship, not the ports because I'm in a wheelchair. RCCL ships, especially the newer ones, are very accessible and it's wonderful to be somewhere where there are no hassles because of the chair. Even here in the states you have limited options for a good accessible vacation so we choose a cruise we can drive to where we get well taken care of for a week and we can see and listen to a beautiful ocean. We might get off once in a while but I'm just as happy on the ship with my watercolor pad in hand.

[barbie5401]

that have more days at sea than at ports. We have been to all of them in the Caribbean and don't care to get off. We have the run of the ship and the spa gives you a better discount when the ship is in port. We cruise because it is easy and enjoyable not to go sightseeing!:)

[jdh]

First of all, we love being on the ship. Secondly, we don't do excursions since there are no handicap accessible tours out there for people who use scooters and thirdly, if it is a tendered port, that is also out for handicapped folks. BUT, mainly we just enjoy being together and hanging out and on port days the ship is a splendid place to be. To each his own. Just enjoy whatever makes you happy.

[morgan1312]

Last summer was my first cruise where I stayed on the ship instead of seeing the islands. I had surgery on my leg 4 weeks before the cruise and couldn't go in any 'public' water (ocean, hot tubs, pools). I was very bummed out since I'm a snorkeler and that's what I go on Caribbean cruises to do.

 

To soothe my dismay I stayed on the ship while the family went to the beaches and I went to the spa, had 4 spa treatments 1 for each port that I missed. Worked great, I didn't miss the beaches at all!

[retnuh281]

After reading all these posts I now realize that everyone is not like me and mine. What a shocker huh?

After hearing from all of you, I think next time I'm on a cruise with any of you I'll stay on board and run around screaming and drunk and get all the towels I can find and "save" as many loungers as possible by the pool.

Just kidding of course. Have a great day all!!!!

I do understand now, it makes perfect sense, so when are we leaving?