Every day port of call

[Censored]

Im curious as to how experienced cruisers go about their week which includes a stop every single day?  Can you overdo it?  Too many excursions?  Too much walking?  Too much shopping of the same old?  Not enough beach time?   "Should have stayed on the ship"?         Ive got a back to back out of Puerto Rico in a few weeks    Stops in St thomas, St Croix. St Maarten, st lucia,Barbados,st Kitts  and Antigua.       I like beaches, so I might just check out the beaches the first week, and do some sight seeing the next.   

[AandD]

We had an itinerary similar to that just before Covid. We had not been to any of those ports before. Felt like we had to do excursions every day. We over did it. If we had an itinerary like that again we might stay on ship 1 or 2 days. Or get off for a little while and walk around the port or lounge at the beach.

[Larry Muster]

I have been cruising for years - long enough to hit D+ (and then some).  I have not once - EVER done an excursion other than a cabana at CocoCay.  The number of stops does not impact me whatsoever.

[smokeybandit]

Don't feel compelled to do excursions every day, especially for the ports that dock at downtown/market areas. Just wander around foot for an hour or two, then call it a day.

[USFFrank]

Depending on the port, if I've been there within the past few years and have seen what I've wanted to see (like Nassau & Cozumel to name a few) I try to get a day pass at one of the all inclusive resorts. But if it's somewhere I have not visited before, I'll try to see and learn as much as I can about it when I'm there without burning out.

[Pattycruise]

This is my potential approach .   
what is my “must do” at any of the ports?  I’d be sure to book that for week 1, under the assumption I might fall Ill for week 2  once any “must do” is booked Id book beach trips for the other ports. 
 

not quite related, but something to think about.  I just did a - week NE/Canada sailing in September and had another booked for October.  I had broken up my excursions, and October had better sales….however once I did my September sailing I felt the need to cancel some October excursions based on my own experiences as well as listening to others talk about their excursions.   I do not feel “put upon” to run and do this October cruise, which gives me time to go enjoy the port or just stay onboard and enjoy the quiet. 
 

all that said, alternating excursions with a beach won’t  have you exhausted.  It would beat doing all excursions your last week, you’d go home exhausted.  
 

 

[ChessE4]

I think it is important to sightsee without overdoing it.  On our first trip to the Med we had too many 8-10 hour days in hot summer weather.  So next week, with cooler weather, we are balancing a couple of longer days with shorter days (3-4 hour city tours).  We will eat on our own in a local restaurant.  I agree with Pattycruise that you should focus on the must-see items, if there are any. 

Now in the Caribbean, where you are headed, I don't believe there are that many must-see venues, mostly beaches, shopping areas, or parks.  For those ports, I prefer snorkeling (if I meet the age requirements) and some sort of old-town shopping.  At St. Maarten, we liked seeing both the French and Dutch sides on a low-key foodie tour, but next time I'd go to the beach.  At St. Thomas, I'd want to take an excursion to St. John's for the National Park.  The Shore Excursions tab (see the Forums link at the top) will allow you to research other posts.  But do try a couple of beaches.  We had an ABC cruise in June and never got into the water because our snorkeling tour was cancelled.  

[tjcruisers]

Depending on where we're going we might do an excursion or two or shopping. One thing is that they tend to blend into one another in the Caribbean. We've as well have stayed on the ship

[Psycho and Barb]

For us it all depends on how many times we have been to a port to determine what we will do.  We did sail a B2B on the Explorer of the Seas out of Puerto Rico last November and the first cruise was we had a port stop every day.  We didn't have and planned excursion every port, but we were exhausted by the end of the cruise and was glad the second weeks cruise had two seas days to just chill and rest up.

[Ray]

What 1 person would do may differ from the next as everyone is different so answers will vary. 

Me!! I would get off at every port and walk about aimlessly for hours. 

I Don't have to go into museums, castles or Palaces to enjoy somewhere.

[BrianB]

I LOVE multiple port days! 
I like to watch as the ship enters and leaves the port. 
I like being able to just take a quick walk around the port area…if I feel like it…and re-boarding. 
I don’t do many excursions at ports where I’ve ‘been there, done that’.
But, I really like it when many, or most, of my fellow passengers take advantage of the shore excursions and leave the ship for the day. I love staying aboard and enjoying the sense of space….
Exceptions for me are CocoCay and Bermuda. CocoCay is phenomenal and Bermuda is usually a multi-day port. I love Bermuda! Safe, clean…wonderful locals, beautiful sights and fantastic beaches!

[SpeedNoodles]

I feel like most of the Caribbean ports are carbon copies of each other, so if I do something fun at one or two of them on a sailing, I'm pretty much good for the week.

[JEH106]

23 hours ago, Censored said:

Im curious as to how experienced cruisers go about their week which includes a stop every single day?  Can you overdo it?  Too many excursions?  Too much walking?  Too much shopping of the same old?  Not enough beach time?   "Should have stayed on the ship"?         Ive got a back to back out of Puerto Rico in a few weeks    Stops in St thomas, St Croix. St Maarten, st lucia,Barbados,st Kitts  and Antigua.       I like beaches, so I might just check out the beaches the first week, and do some sight seeing the next.   

Hi, Censored,

We like things that deal with history and culture in ports. Sometimes we do ship excursions, sometimes I book private tours (using travel websites such as TripAdvisor) and other times we just do a self-guided walking tour of the main part of the port city. We are definitely NOT beach people. We went to St. Thomas (private bus tour), St. Maarten (self-guided walking), St. Lucia (HAL excursion), St. Kitts (port walking) and Barbados (private tour) in Dec. 2021. We also went to Dominica and stayed on the ship as there were sites/sights that interested us. Private islands/ports do not interest us either. We are both around 80 years old. Our next cruise will be our 4th Transatlantic (second with Royal) in October 2023. All four had some European travel elements before the cruise.

 

Jim

[Jill]

We’re currently on a 12 night Holy Land/Greece/Turkey/Cyprus on Odyssey 

I knew 3 days straight in Jerusalem would do us in. We had 8-10 hour tours each day. 

After those 3 days, we had Cyprus and I really couldn’t find anything “light” to do so we just walked off to their marina area, had a nice lunch outdoors and got back on the ship and did the pool for the afternoon. The next day we were in Rhodes. I booked a sailboat cruise that stopped at 3 coves for swimming/snorkeling. Had a great Mediterranean buffet lunch onboard. Very relaxing day

Next day was Turkey (Ephesus) and another 8 hour tour. 

Next was Santorini then Chania. No tours either port. Just did our own thing. 

We have 3 days in Rome when we disembark so today (sea day) we’re resting up for that. 

Research your ports and plan tours for some and beach days for others. You need to have some light days mixed in with tour days or you will be exhausted 

Since you’re a b2b, I’d mix the tours and beach for each week. Whatever islands you don’t tour the first week, tour them the second week. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 hours ago, Jill said:

We’re currently on a 12 night Holy Land/Greece/Turkey/Cyprus on Odyssey 

I knew 3 days straight in Jerusalem would do us in. We had 8-10 hour tours each day. 

After those 3 days, we had Cyprus and I really couldn’t find anything “light” to do so we just walked off to their marina area, had a nice lunch outdoors and got back on the ship and did the pool for the afternoon. The next day we were in Rhodes. I booked a sailboat cruise that stopped at 3 coves for swimming/snorkeling. Had a great Mediterranean buffet lunch onboard. Very relaxing day

Next day was Turkey (Ephesus) and another 8 hour tour. 

Next was Santorini then Chania. No tours either port. Just did our own thing. 

We have 3 days in Rome when we disembark so today (sea day) we’re resting up for that. 

Research your ports and plan tours for some and beach days for others. You need to have some light days mixed in with tour days or you will be exhausted 

Since you’re a b2b, I’d mix the tours and beach for each week. Whatever islands you don’t tour the first week, tour them the second week. 

Such an awesome itin.  One day.....

[Done]

On 10/17/2022 at 7:07 AM, tjcruisers said:

Depending on where we're going we might do an excursion or two or shopping. One thing is that they tend to blend into one another in the Caribbean. We've as well have stayed on the ship

Yes!  You see the same tee shirt designs with only the Island name/logo being different.

[Censored]

6 hours ago, Jill said:

We’re currently on a 12 night Holy Land/Greece/Turkey/Cyprus on Odyssey 

I knew 3 days straight in Jerusalem would do us in. We had 8-10 hour tours each day. 

After those 3 days, we had Cyprus and I really couldn’t find anything “light” to do so we just walked off to their marina area, had a nice lunch outdoors and got back on the ship and did the pool for the afternoon. The next day we were in Rhodes. I booked a sailboat cruise that stopped at 3 coves for swimming/snorkeling. Had a great Mediterranean buffet lunch onboard. Very relaxing day

Next day was Turkey (Ephesus) and another 8 hour tour. 

Next was Santorini then Chania. No tours either port. Just did our own thing. 

We have 3 days in Rome when we disembark so today (sea day) we’re resting up for that. 

Research your ports and plan tours for some and beach days for others. You need to have some light days mixed in with tour days or you will be exhausted 

Since you’re a b2b, I’d mix the tours and beach for each week. Whatever islands you don’t tour the first week, tour them the second week. 

That's common sense for you. Thx.  We did Jerusalem 10 days and most of it was bus/walking tours every single day. Enjoyable, but exhausting.

 

[asquared17]

On 10/16/2022 at 2:43 PM, Censored said:

Im curious as to how experienced cruisers go about their week which includes a stop every single day?  Can you overdo it?  Too many excursions?  Too much walking?  Too much shopping of the same old?  Not enough beach time?   "Should have stayed on the ship"?         Ive got a back to back out of Puerto Rico in a few weeks    Stops in St thomas, St Croix. St Maarten, st lucia,Barbados,st Kitts  and Antigua.       I like beaches, so I might just check out the beaches the first week, and do some sight seeing the next.   

some excellent advice already given here above -- pace yourself, for sure!

we love getting a holland house day pass to stay at the beach in st. maarten but we also don't get off the ship in certain ports -- or if we do, we get off only long enough to stretch our legs and get a good ship photo and then we're back on again.

beaches are always great -- and there is nothing wrong with doing something low-risk (wallet wise) like walking around near the ship if you are unsure what your energy levels might be that day bear in mind that there tend to be more "touristy trap" like places the closer you are to the ship but it does have the benefit of keeping you close if you change your mind.

some of the best days we've had aboard are port days where we remained on the ship. sea days are also great too, though you may find there is noticeably more crowding in common areas because there's less room for folks to disperse

you will find your balance! i'm jealous you're doing a b2b -- have always wanted to do this!! hope you have a wonderful time!

[bobroo]

For just about every Caribbean port I have a favorite local restaurant or bar that I like to go to; sometimes it's even a shop or local merchant. These places have such a close association in my mind with each port I can go to these places time and time again. If I stopped in a port and did not go to it's associated bar, restaurant, or shop it is a major bummer. 

 

Doesn't everybody do this?

[Censored]

On 10/16/2022 at 3:03 PM, Larry Muster said:

I have been cruising for years - long enough to hit D+ (and then some).  I have not once - EVER done an excursion other than a cabana at CocoCay.  The number of stops does not impact me whatsoever.

Same here. When I was young I did a few tours,,, ie  zip lines, horse back, dolphins, snorkel, hike waterfalls, jeeps, jet skis, etc etc.... now I just hop on a bus, or take a taxi, and do my own thing. Cant do those ship tours with wait times, line ups, bad seat arrangements on buses, and being conned into a 2 hour or more road trip...nope. After awhile everything looks the same, especially shopping. Nothing original anymore. Straw markets galore, trinkets and t-shirts...I must say Holy land tours fascinate me and would go back

 

[Censored]

15 minutes ago, bobroo said:

For just about every Caribbean port I have a favorite local restaurant or bar that I like to go to; sometimes it's even a shop or local merchant. These places have such a close association in my mind with each port I can go to these places time and time again. If I stopped in a port and did not go to it's associated bar, restaurant, or shop it is a major bummer. 

 

Doesn't everybody do this?

I do this occasionally if the cuisine is unique and mouth watering. Otherwise my mind says " there's enough food on the ship, why spend money?'   I'll grab a beer or two, if its really hot and I do like the vibe of some restaurants where locals go. Especially Mexico. Cantina/Cucinas

[not easy being green]

We have cruised a lot, and sometimes we do tours and other times we just stay on board.  Last year I marked off a major item on my visual board of life, we did a  transatlantic cruise 14 days and only 4 ports the rest of the time was open seas!  I think we found our new way to cruise (only if vacations/cash could keep up).  Our plan is to cruise transatlantic or transpacific when vacation and money allow, and cruise less on island hopping.  Hopefully this works until we retire (if that ever happens).

[JEH106]

On 10/18/2022 at 7:39 AM, not easy being green said:

We have cruised a lot, and sometimes we do tours and other times we just stay on board.  Last year I marked off a major item on my visual board of life, we did a  transatlantic cruise 14 days and only 4 ports the rest of the time was open seas!  I think we found our new way to cruise (only if vacations/cash could keep up).  Our plan is to cruise transatlantic or transpacific when vacation and money allow, and cruise less on island hopping.  Hopefully this works until we retire (if that ever happens).

Rest assured, retirement will come. Mine came at age 70. I, too, like transatlantic cruising, east to west so I gain an hour every day while Crossing. Three to five ports before the Crossing are my preference. Since we have to fly to Europe, and who knows if or when we might return, I always look forward to spending 10 days to three weeks traveling before the cruise. This will be number three as a couple. I also did a roundtrip in June 1959 and August 1959 before my freshman year at college. Total trip was 55 days with 16 of them on the 1938 edition of Nieuw Amsterdam and SS Constitution. That is when I decided I liked to cruise (at age 17+) but budget restrictions applied and still do.

Jim

Edited December 13, 2022 by JEH106
wrong number