Convince me to stay on the ship - Eastern Caribbean

[luvcruzing]

Does the free trolley only go to the fort?

[May1cruiser]

Amber cove. We have been there almost three times. 3rd time we missed port due to weather. First time was carnival excursion that was similar to top ten, included art - fort - and tour with a stop at rum factory - and an amazing lunch at someone's home/museum. Great tour. Second carnival excursion was tour of Christopher Columbus history tour, was really good also. Our plan for the third port day was a simple get off ship, go to the restaurant near the top of the hill above the pool and just relax for awhile and then work towards empty ship.

 

The only ports we tend to stay on ships is Belize (tender port) and grand Turk since we have been so many times and done the excursions we liked. 

 

If this is just your second cruise, you may want to get off the ship and explore. 

 

Other posters have mentioned private tours. We tried our first private tour in Cuba and found it was far superior to ship tour since we could make it our own and customize the day. We will be doing more private tours. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Martini Mom]

I always get off the ship, even when it's some less than awesome port we've been to several times. I like to explore, meet new people, eat at local restaurants, etc. I'm always glad I did. 🙂

[mnp75]

Amber Cove is nothing special, unless you get the excursions. You can walk around in port area for 30 minutes and get back on the boat. Just got back from the same ports on Sunday, cruise was on Magic. All the other stops are worth leaving the boat! 

[Doggielover68]

In my opinion it is worth getting off even if it is just for a little while to explore the shops in the port area. I generally don't shop but they had some interesting crafts. There was a guy who was making customized glass blown decorations over a tiny flame which made a neat souvenir. There is also a great coffee shop right in the port area that sells delicious coffee beans/ground coffee to take home as well as made to order drinks and wifi. We usually spend a couple of hours off the ship and the rest of the day on the ship, having a leisurely lunch, taking pictures from the upper decks or of the emptier than normal ship, people watching from above, looking at other ships that may be in port, etc. 

[WorkerBee74]

On 11/24/2018 at 3:23 PM, momof3cruisers said:

We are going on that same itinerary in Jan. and are also considering staying on the ship for a port or two. Here's the thing though...we have been on several cruises. We have been to all of these ports at least once, St Thomas half a dozen times, SJ, three times.

 

This early in your cruising experience, I have a hard time advising you to stay on the ship. We are doing a quick local island tour on Grand Turk because we've never left the beach area there ad then going back on the ship. Maybe something short in one of the ports and then play it by ear? 

 

I do know what you mean... I'm always one for exploring!  We are going to probably just play it by ear anyway, stay on ship for a couple hours first thing and then venture out to just the port area, kind of like what @Doggielover68 suggested but in reverse.  Perhaps I should also explain that we are spending the entire previous week at DisneyWorld with our 3 and 5 yr old nieces so we are very likely going to want a break haha!  I'm thinking AC is probably the best port to do this at if we do it at all 🙂

 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by WorkerBee74