Any Itenararies to avoid?

[djsfamily]

we went on our first cruise last year. and We had a good time but were a little shocked at how expensive everything was on our last stop in the Cayman islands. We are a family trying to cruise on a budget, are there any ports we should avoid on our next cruisr (2/2014 is our target sail) any advice would be appreciated

[chipq]

Not sure that I would recommend skipping an itinerary because I don't know you and you family's likes and dislikes. That said, there is no cost to a walking tour of the ports where the city centre is near the cruise pier. Also, excursions booked through the cruise lines are generally much more ecpensive than a DIY. Many ports that are frequented by cruise ships will have plenty of taxi divers or other vendors selling tours, many of the same the cruise line sells. Just make sure you give plenty of time to return to the ship. If yiu are DIY and you are not back by sail time you will be left behind.

 

Another savings is to bring your own soda on board and, if you are a wine drinker, bring yiur own wine. If you prefer stronger spirits, most lines you can order a bottle of hard stuff before your cruise and it will be in yiur cabin for you.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[sail7seas]

St. Bart's is a very pricey island. It might stretch a tight budget to visit there but we have really enjoyed our visits. It's a wonderful island IMO

 

Barbados might be called a bit costly in comparison to some others but again, a nice place to visit.

 

[barante]

We have never let high land prices affect our cruise selection. The beauty of cruising is that you can have a good time without spending much money at all. We certainly don't. We eat ship's food for main meals even while in port, etc. We have taken more than 15 cruises and never bought a ship's excursion. On CC rollcalls there is usually someone arranging far cheaper alternatives.

 

Another great destination that can be expensive is Bermuda. But it's one of the most pleasant destinations anywhere.

[Keith1010]

In general no itineraries to avoid. Are there a few individual ports I would avoid? Yes but not entire itineraries.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

What ports will you be visiting on your February cruise? Once we know your ports, then everyone here can give you some tips.

 

We don't avoid itineraries just because of high prices in the port.

[paul929207]

You do not indicate what you like/want to do on a cruise. Most of the time, the town is within walking distance of the dock. Walking is free.

 

Often, there is a beach you can walk to.

 

Shore excursions can add up, but you don't have to take one.

 

Meals in some ports are expensive, but you have already paid for them on the ship, so head back for lunch or have a big breakfast and a snack or early dinner when you get back.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We love them all ...

[djsfamily]

We picked an 8 day cruise aboard the Carnival Dream either going to Grand Turk San Juan, Puerto Rico St. Maarten, NA St. Thomas, USVI or

 

Grand Turk La Romana, Dominican Republic Curacao Aruba

[barante]

Up to you, but I would prefer the one including St. Maarten and Puerto Rico..

 

Either way, you will be having a good time without having to spend too much money. Just stay away from the ship's excursions.

[celebrity]

We picked an 8 day cruise aboard the Carnival Dream either going to Grand Turk San Juan, Puerto Rico St. Maarten, NA St. Thomas, USVI or

 

Grand Turk La Romana, Dominican Republic Curacao Aruba

Tough choice. If you've never been to St Maarten or St Thomas, I would choose that itinerary. I'm not crazy about Puerto Rico though.

[barante]

Grand Turk is not much, but I like it. Basically there is a beach right at the end of a rickety wooden pier. Then a Margaritaville, which is best to avoid because it is a tourist trap.

 

The reason I like Puerto Rico is the Old San Juan, a marvelous historic neighborhood within walking distance from the ship. On approach and departure, regardless of the time, be sure to be on the deck to see El Morro, the fortress which also is within walking distance. (They may still have a free downtown trolley covering the oldtown).

 

St. Maarten is the best shopping destination in the Caribbean, whether it is cheap liquor or cigarettes. A reasonably priced day-ticket may be bought so you can use a water taxi that will take you straight to Front Street, one of two streets that are the heart of Phliipsburg. There is an okay beach right there, which free changing rooms at the pier. The cheapest t-shirts in all of Caribbean. Also electronics, but I don't advise. Buy in the U.S. if you need. Better prices, warranties.

 

Now the other itinerary:

 

La Romana I didn't like. It's a tender port that takes you to a place that looks and feels like the Philippines. Hot and humid. We went ashore and quickly returned.

 

I liked Aruba, where a friend of a friend took us around for a couple of hours. Curacao I have never been to but I hear good things. A bit like St. Maarten, all being old Dutch colonial outposts.

 

Either itinerary is a splendid one. Many experienced cruisers also choose to maximize their time on board, particularly on port days. The ship is quiet, uncrowded. And you have already paid for all food and facilities.

[Hlitner]

Most of our more then 10,000 posts involve helping folks plan how to do ports on their own. When you go to an island, Europe, Asia, etc. you have control over how much you spend in the ports (and on the ship). If you book excursions (especially the overpriced ones sold on ships) you are going to spend a lot of money. On the other hand, if you do ports on your own you can really keep the costs down. For example, the OP mentions Grand Cayman so lets talk about options. You can take public transit to get to a wonderful beach. A group of 4 can simply get a taxi to go to the beach (the best thing to do on this island). There is no rule that says you have to shop! We recently completed a long cruise (62 days) that went to 31 ports in 13 countries. Out of those 31 ports we only took one cruise line excursion and 2 private excursions. In the other 28 ports we did our own thing using rental cars, buses, trains, and walking instead of paying the inflated tour prices. In most cases we can duplicate the same things done on tours without spending the big bucks.

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

I would rather forego some things while cruising, if necessary to balance the budget, but heading back to the ship for lunch is something we very much enjoy. We like to sample local food, eat with locals, get more of a feel for the people and culture. Sure, it's a tiny photograph but it's one of the experiences of travel I don't think should be missed. To eat in Lido because it's paid for is short-sighted IMO

 

I fully realize many do not agree but it is just my viewpoint of things WE think of value in travel no matter where in the world.

 

We've had a few exceptions where we did not come upon a place to eat we felt safe, clean or appealing. In those cases, we returned to the ship and stayed aboard for the remainder of the visit.

 

We've been to the Caribbean a huge number of visits and our favorite ports/island include San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Bart's, Half Moon Cay (HAL's private island), Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire...... there are probably a few others I'm forgetting at the moment.

[sail7seas]

Most of our more then 10,000 posts involve helping folks plan how to do ports on their own. When you go to an island, Europe, Asia, etc. you have control over how much you spend in the ports (and on the ship). If you book excursions (especially the overpriced ones sold on ships) you are going to spend a lot of money. On the other hand, if you do ports on your own you can really keep the costs down. For example, the OP mentions Grand Cayman so lets talk about options. You can take public transit to get to a wonderful beach. A group of 4 can simply get a taxi to go to the beach (the best thing to do on this island). There is no rule that says you have to shop! We recently completed a long cruise (62 days) that went to 31 ports in 13 countries. Out of those 31 ports we only took one cruise line excursion and 2 private excursions. In the other 28 ports we did our own thing using rental cars, buses, trains, and walking instead of paying the inflated tour prices. In most cases we can duplicate the same things done on tours without spending the big bucks.

 

Hank

 

 

I agree with most of what you say except feel the need to add that to tour many of the sights in Europe (Asia, South America etc) without a guide diminishes beyond measure the experience and understanding of what you are viewing. To walk into St. Peter's in Rome is exquisite and anyone who can do so should but to do so without a guide cheats you immensely. If you go on your own, hire a good guide is my advice.

 

[Karysa]

Grand Turk is not much, but I like it. Basically there is a beach right at the end of a rickety wooden pier. Then a Margaritaville, which is best to avoid because it is a tourist trap.

 

The reason I like Puerto Rico is the Old San Juan, a marvelous historic neighborhood within walking distance from the ship. On approach and departure, regardless of the time, be sure to be on the deck to see El Morro, the fortress which also is within walking distance. (They may still have a free downtown trolley covering the oldtown).

 

St. Maarten is the best shopping destination in the Caribbean, whether it is cheap liquor or cigarettes. A reasonably priced day-ticket may be bought so you can use a water taxi that will take you straight to Front Street, one of two streets that are the heart of Phliipsburg. There is an okay beach right there, which free changing rooms at the pier. The cheapest t-shirts in all of Caribbean. Also electronics, but I don't advise. Buy in the U.S. if you need. Better prices, warranties.

 

Now the other itinerary:

 

La Romana I didn't like. It's a tender port that takes you to a place that looks and feels like the Philippines. Hot and humid. We went ashore and quickly returned.

 

I liked Aruba, where a friend of a friend took us around for a couple of hours. Curacao I have never been to but I hear good things. A bit like St. Maarten, all being old Dutch colonial outposts.

 

Either itinerary is a splendid one. Many experienced cruisers also choose to maximize their time on board, particularly on port days. The ship is quiet, uncrowded. And you have already paid for all food and facilities.

 

 

The "okay" beach in the town of Philipsburg, St. Maarten is polluted. For more information you can do a search on the St. Martin board on Pollution issues at Great Bay Beach. It has been going on for years and there was another article about it in the Daily Herald (local newspaper) as recent as a week or two ago on this subject.

[wwcruisers]

We have never let high land prices affect our cruise selection. The beauty of cruising is that you can have a good time without spending much money at all. We certainly don't. We eat ship's food for main meals even while in port, etc. We have taken more than 15 cruises and never bought a ship's excursion. On CC rollcalls there is usually someone arranging far cheaper alternatives.

 

Another great destination that can be expensive is Bermuda. But it's one of the most pleasant destinations anywhere.

 

You make an excellent point! Cruising is indeed one of the most cost-effective methods of visiting expensive destinations! :cool:

[cb at sea]

You should research your intended ports, so you'll know something about where you're going,...no surprises!

At almost every port, there are plenty of things you can do on your own, without paying for an excursion or tour. But, to do that, you must have information! Get a guidebook before you take your next trip!!!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Any cruise is a great cruise ..

[Hlitner]

I agree with most of what you say except feel the need to add that to tour many of the sights in Europe (Asia, South America etc) without a guide diminishes beyond measure the experience and understanding of what you are viewing. To walk into St. Peter's in Rome is exquisite and anyone who can do so should but to do so without a guide cheats you immensely. If you go on your own, hire a good guide is my advice.

 

 

Given a choice of being herded into St Peters as part of a cattle herd of 50+ folks (this is like a cruise line excursion) or doing it by ourselves is a no brainer to us. We have never enjoyed being herded like a catlle herd, following the lead cow (guide), grazing where the guide takes us (eating), and shopping where guided (in places that usually kick-back to the tour company), etc. That being said, we do think there are many advantages to a good private tour (we have done this ourselves in quite a few exotic places such as Egypt). We have been in St Peters with and without guides and prefer being there on our own so we can wander at our own pace. When we are interested in history we might get an audio tour of a decent guide book.

 

By the way, we once had a very interesting experience at Ephesus where we have been with a large group, private guide (for just the two of us) and totally by ourselves. The time when we went out to the ruins on our own we listened in on many different tours as they went through the ruins. Must to our amazement, we heard totally different stories and descriptions of the same places...and at times it was so funny we had to work at not laughing. So the next time we returned to Ephesus we hired our own professional guide (2 college degrees in history and archeology) and told him about that experience. He told us it was not unusual for some guides to make up stories so as to enhance the experience. He also told us when he took cruise line groups through the ruins he often had to bypass some of the best spots and cut his explanations short in order to keep on schedule and get his charges to the carpet factory or pottery factory where the tour companies make much of their profit. Go figure.

 

Hank

[kitty9]

we went on our first cruise last year. and We had a good time but were a little shocked at how expensive everything was on our last stop in the Cayman islands. We are a family trying to cruise on a budget, are there any ports we should avoid on our next cruisr (2/2014 is our target sail) any advice would be appreciated

 

There's no reason to spend any money on any island, so why even worry about that? No one forces you to spend a dime on an island, so just get off the ship, walk around and don't open your wallet. No need to avoid an itinerary because some things on an island may be expensive.

[Cruisin' Chick]

we went on our first cruise last year. and We had a good time but were a little shocked at how expensive everything was on our last stop in the Cayman islands. We are a family trying to cruise on a budget, are there any ports we should avoid on our next cruisr (2/2014 is our target sail) any advice would be appreciated

 

 

Here's a better suggestion to you, rather than trying to eliminate itineraries:

1) You and your family members discuss what places you would like to visit. Maybe your spouse has a "bucket list" (I would rather call my family's list a "dream list"). No censoring, just write the places down.

 

2) Then look on a map and see which ones are accessible by water. Maybe the #1 destination everyone wants to see is Peoria -- then you know maybe your next vacation won't be a cruise.

 

3) Compare your places to cruise itineraries that are available. If Aruba is on your list, you can consider a Southern Caribbean cruise, for example.

 

4) Think about what your family likes to do on a trip. Physical activities such as scuba diving. Sightseeing. Shopping. Historical sites. Just lazing on a beach. Compare to your finalist cities or countries.

 

5) Think about what time of year you want to (or can) go. If in the summer, maybe you don't want to risk hurricanes (or else be prepared for a change of ports). If Alaska, May to September is the time to go.

 

6) If you narrow down approximate areas, you can check out what ports sound interesting. Some routes don't have a lot of choices (again Alaska, you often have the same Alaskan ports plus a Canadian one, but some ships will have a slight variation...the Mexican Riviera usually has the same three ports, but some ships will have a variation).

 

7) If you're down to one itinerary, and a set list of ports, you can then decide, if you want, what you want to do in each port. Don't forget, you don't have to really do anything. You can just sightsee (which could mean walking around if the dock is close to the port) or get a taxi to the middle of town. You don't have to buy anything. Or, you can pick one or a few ports to go into, and stay onboard for the rest of them.

 

As I said, we have a dream list, but many of the cruises would involve expensive flights that would be more than the cruise itself. Especially as right now we can only go at certain times of the year. So hopefully one day we can try one or more of these cruises.

[sail7seas]

Given a choice of being herded into St Peters as part of a cattle herd of 50+ folks (this is like a cruise line excursion) or doing it by ourselves is a no brainer to us. We have never enjoyed being herded like a catlle herd, following the lead cow (guide), grazing where the guide takes us (eating), and shopping where guided (in places that usually kick-back to the tour company), etc. That being said, we do think there are many advantages to a good private tour (we have done this ourselves in quite a few exotic places such as Egypt). We have been in St Peters with and without guides and prefer being there on our own so we can wander at our own pace. When we are interested in history we might get an audio tour of a decent guide book.

 

By the way, we once had a very interesting experience at Ephesus where we have been with a large group, private guide (for just the two of us) and totally by ourselves. The time when we went out to the ruins on our own we listened in on many different tours as they went through the ruins. Must to our amazement, we heard totally different stories and descriptions of the same places...and at times it was so funny we had to work at not laughing. So the next time we returned to Ephesus we hired our own professional guide (2 college degrees in history and archeology) and told him about that experience. He told us it was not unusual for some guides to make up stories so as to enhance the experience. He also told us when he took cruise line groups through the ruins he often had to bypass some of the best spots and cut his explanations short in order to keep on schedule and get his charges to the carpet factory or pottery factory where the tour companies make much of their profit. Go figure.

 

Hank

 

 

Long before we ever started cruising, we did a great many trips to Europe by plane, train, tour bus and had amazing visits. This was long before 'cruise ship tours' for us. We hardly do cruise ship tours even now. However, we hired guides and found it invaluable. Who wants to be looking at a guide book, scanning through looking for description of what you are viewing when you can be doing the viewing.....

 

JMO

 

For US, a knowledgeable guide was very valuable in places such as Vatican Museum, St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel,,,,,,,,, Acropolis, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral etc etc etc

 

JMO

[Karysa]

Long before we ever started cruising, we did a great many trips to Europe by plane, train, tour bus and had amazing visits. This was long before 'cruise ship tours' for us. We hardly do cruise ship tours even now. However, we hired guides and found it invaluable. Who wants to be looking at a guide book, scanning through looking for description of what you are viewing when you can be doing the viewing.....

 

JMO

 

For US, a knowledgeable guide was very valuable in places such as Vatican Museum, St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel,,,,,,,,, Acropolis, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral etc etc etc

 

JMO

 

We vacationed in Spain last month and when in Seville we knew that we wanted a guide to take us through the Cathedral which is the 3rd largest in the world. My husband arranged an official guide for our family while entering the Cathedral. The guide that was sent for our tour introduced himself and began the tour. About a minute into the tour I said "You speak English right?" and he responded "jes" . Well none of us could look at each other the whole tour but boy did I pay attention because I was determined to learn the history of the church. It definitely took effort on our part but this was one tour that we will never forget.:D

[sail7seas]

:D :D Yes, the accents can be hard to understand sometimes. Makes us pay close attention.

We've toured that Cathedral in Seville and it is gorgeous. Aren't Christopher Columbus's remains there?