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Least favorite Carnival port of call

MaiTaiMary

By MaiTaiMary,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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k2excursion

k2excursion

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Even at the bad ports, there are going to be fun things that could be done. In some cases (Belize), you will have to pay plenty of money to do anything worth doing, and it might not be what you would prefer. I think of a bad port as being one that has a lack of overall variety & a lack of cheaper options to do safely. With that in mind, Belize would be the worst of what I've been to, then Jamaica & Nassau. I haven't been to Freeport.

 

In contrast to an earlier post, I think that Grand Turk & Roatan are 2 of the best ports out there. I also love Grand Cayman.

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The4Cruisers

The4Cruisers

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Nassau and Freeport.

 

We just started staying on the ship in Nassau. That is great!

 

Haven't been to Freeport enough to hate it more than we already do. Give it time!

 

We did like Progreso although we've only been there once. Enjoyed the double decker bus ride and hanging out in the restaurant that American guy owns by the beach. Look forward to going back.

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ladygal4.4

ladygal4.4

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Belize here too. I actually enjoyed the tender, because I like open air boat rides. But the port has only shopping/eating and the security warnings are "don't do anything on your own". And considering there are armed guards at the end of the fenced in port, I believed them and went back to the boat.

 

 

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Ykgorbie

Ykgorbie

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#1 was Belize - from what I can remember, in order to get past the gates with the armed guards in this extremely tiny port area, you had to spend $$$$ to do a Carnival excursion. Looking back now (and out my window to the snow covered lawn, lol) I wished we had just shelled out the money to do something there. As it was, we took and enjoyed the 5 mile tender to shore and had a couple of beer overlooking the amazing water. Live and learn I guess.

#2 would be Ocho Rios. We've been there twice now and the people are constantly in your face and at some points, we were quite uncomfortable.

#3 Nassau. Though I would kill to be in any Caribbean port right now instead of in the -22C Arctic chill I live in.

Edited by Ykgorbie
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shellsd

shellsd

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#1 was Belize - from what I can remember, in order to get past the gates with the armed guards in this extremely tiny port area, you had to spend $$$$ to do a Carnival excursion. Looking back now (and out my window to the snow covered lawn, lol) I wished we had just shelled out the money to do something there. As it was, we took and enjoyed the 5 mile tender to shore and had a couple of beer overlooking the amazing water. Live and learn I guess.

 

We did a very well reviewed non-Carnival excursion and had a blast (ziplining)

I agree that Jamaica was my least favorite port due to the pushy locals.

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hotsauce126

hotsauce126

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Falmouth. All of the excursions either take you to Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, there's no free beach, all of the stores and restaurants are inside the port and therefore overpriced. If you venture outside the port there's nothing to see and you get bombarded by people trying to sell you things. At least in Ocho Rios you can have fun without spending a ton of money or booking an excursion.

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scorpluvsdolphins

scorpluvsdolphins

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For those of you that don't care for Nassau, have you tried taking bus number 10 to The daiquiri shack.

It's the only thing I do in Nassau. There are also a few shops there and they don't drive you crazy, not pushy at all.

 

The scuba diving is just OK and way overpriced, no safe private operators, so you have to go with the ships operator.

 

In Belize I walked out of the port area to where you go get the ferry. I forget the guys name that runs very safe excursions. He called someone he knew to take me in a taxi to the airport and I took a jumper plane and went over to a private island to scuba dive. Totally awesome.

 

I also went scuba diving with the ships excursion in Belize, Way overpriced, and I probably won't do that again, even though the diving was totally awesome.

 

Costa Maya diving was fantastic. I, of course, booked privately.

 

Royal docks in Falmouth, Jamaica.

I walked out of the port area and into the city and I was just with another female and we were fine.

 

 

 

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richstowe Great Review Rare

richstowe

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Cape Canaveral. This is often the first stop from northern originating cruises and it is a letdown .

It was Cozumel... but wow, at least they are building up downtown and cleaning it up...

 

The worst is now Key West... what a cesspool... place smells like urine and puke... and is run down.

Key West ? Wow, that is surprising . Love almost everything about it except the public beach which is just so so . Food is great, people are fun and there are a bunch of great stops .

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steph7021

steph7021

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It seems as most people are answering this question based on the actual port and not the surrounding area/city/island. I could care less about the port area and I think with proper research you can always find a way to experience the area outside of the port. That said, everyone has a least favorite and I guess mine is Nassau.

 

We loved Freeport because of Tony Macaroni's and would return. Belize; the ruins were fantastic. Cozumel for diving, same for Roatan. Montego Bay has great local catamaran tours. We are always looking for less touristy ways to experience places of possible.

Edited by steph7021
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tattoos

tattoos

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When you are stopping in Port Canaveral and don't wish to book a shore excursion and like the beach but want to stay close....take a taxi to the Cocoa Beach Pier and have a great fish sandwich and cold beer at Pelican's Bar & Grill. You can eat outside and watch the surfers, rent loungers and umbrella and work on your tan or play some beach volleyball. I believe they charge $2/person to walk to the end of the pier where there is another bar. It is a 5 minute taxi ride to the Pier. Or, you can take a taxi to Ron Jon's Surf Shop, a five minute ride. There are lots of restaurants, souvenir stores and beautiful beaches 5 minutes from where the ship docks. There is also a Publix supermarket and Dunkin Donuts.

 

There is also a wide variety of restaurants at the Port, including Fish Lips where you can have lunch on the open deck and take photos of your cruise ship. I heard a walkway from the cruise docks is being constructed so visitors can easily access the area where all the restaurants are...don't know how true this is.

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kruise runner

kruise runner

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Least favourites

Well the ports we really don't even get off the ship for are, Nassau been there ,just nothing of interest anymore, Jamaica way to pushy . Just not comfortable, Grand Turk Twice that's enough. But we're still looking to cruise. Just different ports of call.

kruise runner:cool:

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