Best ports for unique travel experiences?

[KatieCharlotte]

Our family has been bitten by the cruise bug, but I've had the travel bug since I was young and want to use family cruising as an another, affordable way to see the world and have the cruise experience too. I love beaches but I can spend the summer at a local beach. I enjoy seeing different countries and different sites. I'm not interested in good shopping or fun bars. I am much more interested in experiences than luxury -- for example, on our honeymoon in Mexico we waded out to a tiny motorboat "taxi" with locals (and their groceries), rode to an island, and went to a waterfall in the rain. Now, we have three children of varying ages, the youngest being almost five. They love animals and exploring outdoors. Only one has any interest in snorkeling. We've seen dolphins.

We have been on one family cruise, which included the river and ruins tour in Belize and a tour of "local life" in Roatan. We really enjoyed both ports.

 

Where do you recommend we cruise in the future? What activities do you recommend at those ports? We can find unusual things to do almost anywhere, but I know some ports are better than others for having travel experiences that we will enjoy. Flying to Europe is not in our budget, and neither is any cruiseline more expensive than Carnival.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Not sure which side of the US you live, but if West Coast, then one spot might be Puerto Vallarta with its Marietas Islands. They are an hour off the coast. There is an (almost) full-day tour out there so you can snorkel, kayak, go to the beach. I did it in December and loved the experience and the food on the boat too :). It was a bit cloudy that day, so not the most tropical of look, but still enjoyed it what with the number of whales, dolphins and other fish and birdlife we saw. It was high tide at the island which has the secret beach however so we could not go in there, but still had fun with the rest of the tour.

 

On the other day I caught the local bus into town and enjoyed walking around and also tried various foods at local food stalls. Happy cruising.

[ibcnusoon]

My kids and I love the beach and we make it a point to visit a beach when we are on a cruise.

 

My teen DD has been all over the Caribbean and after our last cruise asked if we could do a land vacation to St. Maarten so she can spend all week on Maho Beach and watch the planes land.

 

here's one on youtube, the jumbo plane comes in for a landing at about 1:20:

 

I think your boys would love that beach, too!

[SadieN]

Not sure which side of the US you live, but if West Coast, then one spot might be Puerto Vallarta with its Marietas Islands. ...........................

 

The Carnival Miracle will be doing several itins out of Long Beach including some that have 2 days in Puerto Vallarta.

[KatieCharlotte]

My kids and I love the beach and we make it a point to visit a beach when we are on a cruise.

 

My teen DD has been all over the Caribbean and after our last cruise asked if we could do a land vacation to St. Maarten so she can spend all week on Maho Beach and watch the planes land.

 

here's one on youtube, the jumbo plane comes in for a landing at about 1:20:

 

I think your boys would love that beach, too!

 

Thanks for the video. My kids would find that very cool. I was hoping for another reason to go to St. Maarten and practice my rusty French, so we'll have to find a way to tour both sides of the island. :)

 

We're in the middle of the country, so no port is really close, sadly. Puerta Vallarta is where we honeymooned. We rode the local bus and wandered the streets and beaches. It would be a strange experience to go back on a cruise with three kids in tow. :)

[golfadj]

Baths at Virgin Gorda (Tortola)

HMC

[Sauer-kraut]

Take a 7 day to Bermuda, the ship is a hotel and you get to see the whole island and experience everything it has to offer.

 

Southern Caribbean .... Martinique, Barbados, Dominica all off the beaten path.

 

St. Lucia, Belize, Dominican Republic... you might be surprised that other lines can be as low or lower for some destinations than just Carnival, so don't limit your scope when searching for cruises.

[2 cruzen]

I was going to suggest Belize, but since you've already been there....try Costa Rica, Panama, and go back to Belize to snorkel/day trip to Caye Caulker. We did this on the Glory in 2010 - 8 day cruise and it was FANTASTIC. Booked all private excursions from recommendations on the Ports of Call section of Cruise Critic. Best excursion ever in Panama - never remember if that is Colon or Limon.

 

We also just got back from Ocho Rios, Jamaica and had a blast with another local showing us around and river tubing. This is a definite port to have a guide. Drove up part of Fern Gulley and bought some homemade crafts from local artisans. They were very appreciative and it is nothing like the port shopping.

 

Have fun planning.

[novalab]

Not sure which side of the US you live, but if West Coast, then one spot might be Puerto Vallarta with its Marietas Islands. They are an hour off the coast. There is an (almost) full-day tour out there so you can snorkel, kayak, go to the beach. I did it in December and loved the experience and the food on the boat too :). It was a bit cloudy that day, so not the most tropical of look, but still enjoyed it what with the number of whales, dolphins and other fish and birdlife we saw. It was high tide at the island which has the secret beach however so we could not go in there, but still had fun with the rest of the tour.

 

On the other day I caught the local bus into town and enjoyed walking around and also tried various foods at local food stalls. Happy cruising.

 

Have to agree with Puerto Vallarta if you are on the West Coast. We did the zip line there. The Los Veranos Canopy tour was the best! You zip over a jungle gorge with a stream below, 400 feet down. The lines traverse all the way down the hill, over the gorge, until you reach 'Basecamp'. Basecamp is a picturesque bar/restaurant overlooking the river with slides that go into river pools. Had a GREAT time & that's coming from someone who is VERY afraid of heights!LOL:eek:

[iceleven]

ALASKA! Perfect for the entire family. Everyone loves wildlife and there it is abundant! Take a whale watching tour in Juneau. You will not be disappointed. Your children will be awestruck. Snow-capped mountains, glaciers, bald eagles, bears, sea otters, orcas, dolphin, puffin. Of course, all depending on the month and ports. We zip-lined through a rain forest. Flew in a helicopter and landed on top of a glacier and walked about. The ships go to a variety of glaciers and almost always we see calving. (Glacier walls falling into the sea)

 

Create your own "new" memories with your children.

You can cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver...even a 10 day RT out of San Francisco (not Carnival). We've taken three different cruise lines to Alaska. They are all GREAT!

[skittl1321]

Our favorite thing we've done is Adventure Antigua's Eco Tour in (obviously) Antigua.

 

We also really enjoyed snorkeling in Cozumel (always tried to avoid this 'tourist trap' town, and then when we got there realized it was beautiful and unique.)

 

Loved seeing Mayan ruins at Uxmal (from Progresso). Our beach day in Zihuateneou was also amazing, so different from Carribean beaches.

[cflips7]

Barbados is a great island for animals and sight seeing. They have green monkeys and a cavern with a guided tour very fun.

[bguppies]

Grand Cayman and Sting Ray City done independantly, is still my favorite excursion in 12 cruises now....

 

Wild sting rays (versus the peened up one's everywhere else) up close and personal is amazing everytime we stop in Grand Cayman.

 

Bill

[lgsshedden]

almost by definition if you are on a cruise you are restricting and limiting your opportunity for an authentic and distinct tourism opportunity. There will be some variety but the time constraints and the requirements of effectively servicing an ongoing visitation by cruise ships means that there is more standardization than distinctiveness amongst ports of call. That is not to negate the enjoyment or pleasure to be derived and experienced in each port, but a reality of the vacation choice implicit in a cruise. Cruises are best viewed as an exposure to different locales such that you can plan a more extended visit on a later occasion.

[KatieCharlotte]

almost by definition if you are on a cruise you are restricting and limiting your opportunity for an authentic and distinct tourism opportunity. There will be some variety but the time constraints and the requirements of effectively servicing an ongoing visitation by cruise ships means that there is more standardization than distinctiveness amongst ports of call. That is not to negate the enjoyment or pleasure to be derived and experienced in each port, but a reality of the vacation choice implicit in a cruise. Cruises are best viewed as an exposure to different locales such that you can plan a more extended visit on a later occasion.

 

I could never limit my travel to just cruising for that reason, but there are things we enjoy about cruising too, especially with kids who need to break up sightseeing with playing on waterslides and mini-golf, don't like trying new foods, don't like to carry their own suitcases from place to place, and get cranky when they're tired. It lets us all have a taste of the travel I enjoy, and it's a good value. Our experiences in Belize and Honduras, while still "touristy," did feel as authentic as other travel.

 

I highly recommend Costa Rica as a non-cruise destination, btw. We went without the kids and rented a car.

[gtalum]

Any port can provide unique experiences. Research the ports and surrounding areas, and find things that are more than a few miles from the port itself. Focus on local providers and ignore the cruise line's offerings.

[Pdljmpr]

Grenada...

[gtalum]

Oh and if you find yourself in one of the "disneyfied" commercial ports (Mahogany Bay in Roatan, Falmouth Jamaica, and Costa Maya Mexico to name a few) get as far away from the dock as you can... Even in those sterile places, adventure and real local culture can be found if you look for it.

[katisdale]

If you need to sail from US ports then consider one that goes to the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands. We never thought we could afford to cruise in Europe but we got an airline credit card and amazingly we have now gone several times using frequent flyer miles. We put everything on our "airline" card and pay it off every month. We pay to fly domestically which adds miles as well but haven't paid for a Europe flight yet. Just a thought.

[kingoftheicedragons]

I would say Panama (the canal, even if not a full transit, just being on a small boat looking for wildlife is great) and Costa Rica. I don't think Carnival really does these ports any more, though, and if you go, be prepared to step outside the comfort zone of a lot of Americans. Carnival had a warning for it's stop in Panama to tell people to not really leave the port area unless they had excursions. I don't think they did it because it was really unsafe, but rather it being outside the comfort zone of most passengers and people may not necessarily be street smart.

 

San Juan is another good stop, I think, and would definitely return there.

[dclark]

Hands down, the most unique port is Dominica.

Want to go snorkeling? About Champagne Bay, where bubbles stream up from the earth.

Want to sight sea? Gorgeous water falls, see where they filmed "Pirates of the Carribean and jump off a little waterfall in a cave.

Like to relax? They have a HEATED stream, water is heated from the volcano. When you drive by it, you'll see steam.

Want a safe, friendly place? Dominica has lowest crime rate of any island.

[airhead22]

I agree with Dominica and the champagne dive. Also, independent sting rays on Cayman (Capt. Bryan), snorkeling with turtles on St. Thomas (Island Girl- Capt. Mike), Costa Rica white water rafting and the zip line in St. Lucia is great!

[KatPem]

Hands down, the most unique port is Dominica.

Want to go snorkeling? About Champagne Bay, where bubbles stream up from the earth.

Want to sight sea? Gorgeous water falls, see where they filmed "Pirates of the Carribean and jump off a little waterfall in a cave.

Like to relax? They have a HEATED stream, water is heated from the volcano. When you drive by it, you'll see steam.

Want a safe, friendly place? Dominica has lowest crime rate of any island.

 

 

I too vote for Dominica! Very cool with lots of activities unique to there. Champagne beach is very cool snorkeling, even if someone has snorkeled before. I recommend Trafalgar falls...for a tip, we had a guide take us to the pool at the base and had it to ourselves for about 30 minutes!!

[MrSchwump]

One of the most authentic, non-touristy islands we've visited on a cruise was Dominica. It's very lush and scenic. We enjoyed going to Screws Sulfur Spa which is a very rustic and interesting enterprise that appears to be run by a local herbsman.

I really love the port city, Roseau. It's a great place to walk around, very vibrant with minimal concessions for tourists. You really get a sense of what real people do there. You can buy chicken from a lady grilling it right along the sidewalk or get some curried goat from a small diner.

[dclark]

The people are very friendly, for good reason. Our guide picked up a hitch hiker on the way to the falls, then told us that the people have lived on the island for a long time, families know families know families. The people that you give a ride to can be family.

The land, though in demand and valuable, is seldom sold, it is passed down from generation to generation, otherwise family doesn't have a place to live.

It is a shame that few ships go there, but then if more did, it would get all those crappy senor frogs/del sol type places.

It is one of the rare places where you feel blessed to see it.