Experienced Cruisers: Your top three don't-miss ports

[SPacificbound]

:) Anywhere in New Zealand, anywhere in Australia. :)

[ContemporaryTraveler]

1. Istanbul, Turkey

2. Odessa, Ukraine

3. Moorea, French Polynesia

[operafan]

So many beautiful/fascinating places to choose from but my top three are:

 

Venice

Rome (from Civitavecchia)

Santorini

[canadarocks]

What a great idea for a thread OP! :cool:

 

1) Skagway, Alaska: we took a trolley tour, dog sled ride, White Pass Railroad bottomless champagne ride, and a walk through the town! Best day ever!!

 

2) Oslo, Norway: an overnight there allowed us to see and do so much!

 

3) St Petersburg: two phenomenal days and the steepest and the longest escalator ever to the subway!

Edited January 6, 2014 by canadarocks

[Lionesss]

Ok different cruise lines but:

 

1. Castaway cay (Disney)

 

2. Labadee (RCI)

 

3. Grand Cayman.

 

Sea Ya

[Bookish Angel]

Bermuda

Jeaneau

Edited January 6, 2014 by Bookish Angel

[jocap]

Santorini

Venice

Tobermory, Hebrides

[ldubs]

Venice is mentioned a a lot, and I agree.

 

I would add Zeebrugge/Brussels for Bruges. Then I would add Edinburgh (cruise docks at South Queensferry).

[Hlitner]

1. Istanbul

2. Venice

3. Santorini

 

But then there are places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Athens (Pireaus), and it goes on and on. After spending more then 3 years on cruise ships and having visited over 100 ports on 6 continents it all seems like a great adventure.

 

HHank

[cruisemom42]

I appreciate history more than scenery, so my favorite ports would be:

 

Civitavecchia (for Rome)

 

Istanbul

 

Toss up between Kusadasi and Naples

 

Athens

[Bonnie J.]

Without a doubt, San Blas. These are islands off the coast of Panama. The Kuna Indians live on them. They have the most spectacular molas & hand stitched shirts. Each stitch is so tiny you need glasses to see them. The shirts have all types of colorful birds, under water scenes and I bought on that had our ship on it! The only way you can get there is by boat/ship or 4 passenger planes- the runway is very short. They have no electricity on the islands, only generators.

When our ship arrived the natives came out in hand dug canoes and dived for the quarters we threw overboard to them. Woman had umbrellas open so we could see if we could throw the quarter into them. They weren't interested in any other coins, saw a necklace of many dimes.

Our divemaster (snorkeling) told us to bring apples with us as they are a delacasy (sorry I can't spell). Think about it-where do apples grow? Not in the Caribbean. Anyway as we canoed past a village, little boys came out in small hand dug canoes and we threw the apples to them. They dove into the water to get them.

The ship threw rolls to them and even a bed! One canoe had the box spring, another the mattress. Some one held up a coffee cup and the native shook his head yea so it was thrown to him- along with some other stuff!

I believe only the small luxury ships go there now. HAL used to go there on its threw the Panama Canal trips.

I was able to get their shirts when I asked for them in Panama.

 

Other port we loved was Tortola so we could go the The Baths!

[Texas Tillie]

Istanbul, Turkey

 

St Petersburg, Russia

 

Antarctica

[cruiserking]

Barcelona, Spain

 

Le Havre, France (Paris)

 

Monte Carlo, Monaco (French Riviera)

 

First Runner Up - Bruges, Belgium

 

Jonathan

[Sharon I]

Curacao

Antigua

Aruba

[5326jan]

Wow, I would have a hard enough time picking the three favorite ports from one cruise, never mind all of them!!! :D

 

Istanbul

Portofino

Athens

 

We haven't done Australia yet, but I'm sure those will be on the list! My favorite holiday was a safari in South Africa, but it wasn't a cruise.

[Blk_Amish]

JAMAICA (land vacation - Port Antonio):D

 

Alaska

 

I haven't done cruise but land vacations so I would add Rome, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Hawaii. I am looking forward to Florida (FLL) since I love seeing things in the US.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Blk_Amish

[K-Roo-Zers]

DH and I loved Dubrovnik and Istanbul but sailing into Venice Sydney, and Hong Kong are spectacular.

 

Nicki

[ldubs]

Venice is mentioned a a lot, and I agree.

 

I would add Zeebrugge/Brussels for Bruges. Then I would add Edinburgh (cruise docks at South Queensferry).

 

I'm amending by adding Barcelona and Hong Kong (sorry, can't do just three).

 

King of funny that some of the top 3's named are places I wouldn't want to visit again. No surprise that preferences vary widely.

[screwsmcernst]

I've only cruised the Caribbean, so I like:

 

1. Caymans

 

2. Belize (Beautiful place to snorkel)

 

3. St. Maarten (the Dutch side)

[TN Vol Fan]

Top 3 for us:

Shanghai

Venice

St. Petersburg

All for difference reasons.

[skrufy]

My three favorites.

 

1. Hawaii-------------- All the ports within the islands.

2.Panama Canal-------Though not a port but amazing.

3.St.Thomas-St. John- Great beaches, and so relaxing.

[need2cruisesoon]

My favorite port....Naples Italy. I know what your thinking not all that pretty but this place was vibrant, unpretentious, gritty and the ship's crew reminded you to be careful while in port.

 

 

[need2cruisesoon]

Number two...Monte Carlo. Monaco. Very cool port.

 

[need2cruisesoon]

Number three....Barcelona.