Please skip this Caribbean port

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who wasn't that impressed with Aruba. It's not that I dislike it, I would go back, I just thought there would be more to see and do than there was. You're right - once you leave the tourist area it's all desert and barren.

 

 

You should try snorkling at baby beach on Aruba. The beach is barren but the correl there is wonderful. My wife and I love Aruba, of course that is because we visited it in August of 2003 and my 5 year old daughter was born in April 2004. Her next oldest sibling is 11 years older than she is. She is our Aruba bonus baby!

[jevotm]

Have been Tortola twice and loved it both times.

[temple1]

Grand Turk was one of my faves, been twice, very easy to step off the ship and proceed to the beach. Free beach, free chairs, zero cost for cab. For shopping, also easy -- all walkable from the ship. Very knowledgeable sales staff at one of the watch/jewelry places. They're building some water ride near the Margaritaville, too -- also walkable.

 

I'm actually planning not to get off at Samana (Dominican Republic) as I've heard the beaches are 30-45min cab ride through some rough roads, and no guarantee you'll catch one easily on the way back.

 

I can't imagine blowing off a stop because the beaches are too hard to get too. Our continent's history began on Hispanola - visit www godominicanrepublic com to learn a little of the history and the culture of the island. It is amazing to me that our European ancestors were able to wipe out an entire civilization in about 50 years. To learn about that and how they over came those obstacles are worth 1 day out of my life. But like all else - that is JMHO.

[abpplh]

I am not fond of San Juan for the sole reason of not being there long enough. IOS is there from 7am -2pm which means you need to be back on the ship by 1. I don't know about anyone else but I don't like to set an alarm clock on vacation!

[hcat]

Tortola is a great port! Sometimes you have to take an excursion or spend for a taxi to get to the nicer spots... We have taken a ship's tour that included Can Garden beach among ohter stops & last time shared a cab with another couple out to Sopers hole--a really nice scenic spot with same stores as there are in town--- there's always a stop at Pussers for libations & Sunny Carabee for spices !

 

next time I have a few other ideas on the other side of where the ship docks-- (not good at directions--sorry!)

 

One port I will skip is Nassau--just not a good experience on several trips!

[fridaythe13th]

As others have posted, you can't expect to step off the ship and find it perfect. Do some research and you might be surprised at how much there is to do and not enough time to do it. I never thought I'd want to do much in San Juan but after researching we will be staying three days post cruise and I can't wait!!

[HappiTravels]

Last year on our first ever cruise on Carnival Splendour one of the ports was La Romana in the Dominican Republic. I really wouldnt be too sorry if I never got back there again. I am not sure if RCL stops there at all. I have also spoken to a few people who had a port of call in Haiti, not sure what cruiseline but that wouldnt appeal to me in the least.

[bluegirlum]

Last year on our first ever cruise on Carnival Splendour one of the ports was La Romana in the Dominican Republic. I really wouldnt be too sorry if I never got back there again. I am not sure if RCL stops there at all. I have also spoken to a few people who had a port of call in Haiti, not sure what cruiseline but that wouldnt appeal to me in the least.

 

RCL has a private "island" called Labadee in Haiti. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of? You have no idea what country you're in when you're there.

[CruisinRoxy]

I wish the cruise lines would send a couple of ships to smaller islands instead of always going to the big ports that everyone has done a million times.

Totally agree with you there. But with ships getting larger and larger (my personal pet peeve), that is highly unlikely. Smaller islands cannot accommodate them. I am personally looking into a smaller ship to smaller islands for our next cruise. Radiance to Alaska was absolutely perfect!

[CruisinRoxy]

Ocho Rios and Montego Bay are dumps - the ships could skip this island totally

In my humble opinion, to call someplace like Jamaica a "dump" is totally unfair. Ocho from our perspective was very nice. Met some great tour directors who went out of their way to see we had a good time with opportunity to see the beauty of the island. Sure, there's problems, but where isn't there problems?

[Maryscooking]

For us, it isn't so much disliking one port as liking others more.

 

Every place has something to offer, but I wouldn't be sorry to skip Nassau in favor of other ports, thats for sure!

[Section ThirtyOne]

Personally, I wouldn't skip any port because there is always something to do.

 

As for those ripping on Tortola, I disagree. I would say it is one of the more beautiful islands i've been to in terms of topography. The first time we went there, my wife and I rented a scooter. This is NOT recommended, due to the crazy roads, but we came away scot free and had the experience of a lifetime. The people there were all super friendly as well.

[negc]

I wish the cruise lines would send a couple of ships to smaller islands instead of always going to the big ports that everyone has done a million times.

 

Broad generalization rarely reflect reality and your comment that they are "always going to the big ports that everyone has done a million times is one such example. Cruises carry a large number of passengers who are not veteran cruises and who want to visit those big ports. Those people want to visit such places as San Juan, St. Thomas, Nassau, Aruba, Jamaica etc. But it should also be noted that they also offer many itineraries that meet your requirements. For example, next year our Jewel of the Seas repositioning cruise from Boston will visit, among other ports of call, Dominica and Curaçao. This year that cruise included a stop in St. Croix. The Legend of the Seas in 2008 and Vision in 2009 visited Guadaloupe, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia and other less regularly visited ports. Look again and you will find what you want, but try to remember that the lines are seeking to fill their ships by expanding their customer base and introducing cruising to many who have yet to take a cruise. They try to satisfy both newbies and veterans by offering both types of itineraries. You just need to look more carefully before jumping to conclusions.:)

[CruisnKs]

I would say, don't skip any of them because I have been pleasantly surprised by the ports I expected to dislike; San Juan, Labadee and Nassau. We loved San Juan and our original plan was to just stay on the ship. So glad we didn't.

 

On the other hand, I was kind of let down by Belize. We are giving it another shot in January and are hoping our previous disappointment was due to the less than optimal weather we had.

[cruzincurt]

There is a particular art store we shop in on every visit to Tortola and there's chickens running around. In Grand Turk, walk a couple of hundred feet from the ship and you have your own beach or pool. I appreciate not having to tender in both of those ports. Aruba is nice because no one is trying to sell stuff in your face the minute you get off the ship.

Edited December 1, 2009 by cruzincurt

[GXmanDC]

I really did not care for Grand Turk, I only saw the t shirt stores and Margaritaville at the port, not much downtown. The beach I went to wasn't great, it was difficult to get in the water. However, maybe I would go back and try snorkeling. They are supposed to have great opportunities for that.

 

I'm not excited about the Grand Cayman stop on my next cruise, but I am going to try and keep an open mind.

[luckyprincess]

We are not sedentary people and surely do not want a history lesson of every port we visit. It seems that a lot of people don't want to admit that because they are always told to go learn the history, take an island tour or whatever when they do.:o We want something more adventurous. Give me nature hikes, bike rides, zip lines, ATVing, snorkeling, kayaking, wilderness tours...those are what we cruise for. So any island with something to offer in any of these types of activities is great for us. We hate just lying still on the beach somewhere - we could do that at home by the pool or at the shore which is a short drive away. I'm studying to be a Zoologist, so anything dealing with wilderness is also interesting and any fine dining will interest my bf.

People vacation for so many different reasons that I'm sure there is a port for everyone:)

[crusinmama06]

I am a firm believer that if you didn't like a port then you just didn't do your homework and find the right thing for you.

 

Unless you got robbed at gunpoint during your port stop ;) there is really no real reason to skip ports. All countries have their own unique experiences. Someone that just steps off the ship in the port area (which is often not very attractive areas) and just says "I'm here. This is it. Now what?" is not going to have a very good time, no matter the port.

[MissLianne]

:confused: OP I'm not quite too sure what you're interested in. But could it be you've kinda overdone the Carribean?

 

I've been to many of the Carribean islands and actually spent a week (or more) there (not just 8 hrs) In particular: Jamaica (Ochos Rios, Negril, Montego Bay) Mexico (Cancun, Acapulco, Ixtapa, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta), Nassau Bahamas, Dominican Republic: Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Aruba, St Marteen/St Martin, Barbados and Varadero, Cuba.

^^and to be honest... it just depends what you are looking for. I'm not too into history etc but if I was looking for history/culture/archietecture I would probably head to Europe. The beaches are beautiful, and being from Canada so is the weather! I've had some good meals. But I've never been to restaurant there where it has been divine like in Europe or even some places here in North America. I've been to the "downtown" parts of some of these places/cities... walked around for an hour; looked at the trinkets and left. I didn't go and expect a premium mall or shopping facility like in the U.S/Canada or in some major European cities. I love to shop, and thats one thing I didn't like about the Carribean. As I sat in horrible old taxis (in many of these places) and drove alone tiny, dusty and bumpy roads I wouldn't call the place a "dump" as I knew this is the kind of country I was visiting. If I wanted to drive down a nicely paved highway... I can name you 10 other countries I'd visit.

 

This may come off a little harsh but a lot of these countries are not like USA (or in my case, Canada)... there are some really poor areas and some people who live in poverty that we could not even imagine (a co-worker's family is from Jamaica and Dominican Rep. and she often shares pics/stories w me). I think no matter where you go you need to have some sort of street smarts. There are some places where I've felt somewhat unsafe and the surroundings looked sketchy... but I think I can say that about every place in the world is like that.

 

Maybe you should do a European cruise? Or have you been to the South Pacific? Or somewhere else other then the Carribean? You've done 20+ cruises in this area right?... I think you've "been there done that". I don't know what other places in the world you've visited... but DO kinda feel the same way with a lot of the places/islands I've been there? Would I ever return^^? Certain places yes, other's no. I know though, I wouldn't be able to do 20+ cruises to some of the ports of call. 1-2-3-4 times... maybe.

[griffy]

Everyone's tastes and intersts are different. We had not planned anything for Dominica on our last cruise. We walked around the shops and we decided it would be no great loss if they never stopped at this port. My son-in-law left the port area and went on a dive and said it was his favorite port out of all the ports we've visited and that he could have taken a different type dive every day for a week on this island. People who got away from the port with the shops and the people begging for money or to give you a tour really, really enjoyed the island. We didn't plan ahead and were disappointed. If we get to go back, we will go to the falls we read about, and we will get to see some of the natural beauty everyone raved about. Our fault we didn't make the most of this port.

[Atomica]

A co-worker of mine just returned from her first cruise.

 

In St. Kitts they stepped off the ship, looked around, and determined there is nothing to see or do there.:rolleyes:

 

I just never understand the "nothing to do" response.

 

I never understood that either. We were in Olden, Norway this summer and a large group got off the ship just before us. They walked about five feet from the pier, looked around, and loudly complained that there was 'nothing to see here.' They then hopped back on the ship, grumbling about why we were 'forced' to stop there.

 

In actuality, there was a lot to do there - you just had to get farther than five feet from the pier!

[bluegirlum]

I really did not care for Grand Turk, I only saw the t shirt stores and Margaritaville at the port, not much downtown. The beach I went to wasn't great, it was difficult to get in the water. However, maybe I would go back and try snorkeling. They are supposed to have great opportunities for that.

 

I'm not excited about the Grand Cayman stop on my next cruise, but I am going to try and keep an open mind.

 

May I ask why you aren't excited about GC? We stayed there for a week this summer, and fell in love with it. What kinds of things are you interested in? If you like the beach, you can hop in a taxi and go to Seven Mile Beach and have a wonderful day. The stingray excursions are great too. The people are super friendly and it's very safe. I had stopped there previously and just walked around the port, and wasn't overwhelmed, but once I had the chance to spend time there, I grew to love it. I can't wait to go back. I know it's not for everyone, but I hope you will like it.

[sandytoes03]

Ocho Rios and Montego Bay are dumps - the ships could skip this island totally

 

I loved Ocho Rios! I would skip Key West b/c there isn't much to do there that appeals to me.

[WeLuvVacation]

Why must you start the thread with a sour face icon?

 

Do you really expect all the cruise lines to stop going to Tortola?

 

If you do not like it, fine. but the thumbs down & sour face icons have no place, IMHO, in the fun world of vacations.

[Yurita]

Ports I totally love: Tortola, Grand Turk, Labadee, Half Moon cay, Antigua & Honduras.

Yes, I'm a beach/water person.

Ports I personally dislike: Ocho Rios & San Juan.

Ports I consider 'boring'": Grand Cayman & Nassau because all of the cruises I've taken have gone to either one of them and I'm tired of seeing them.