POLL: Do you prefer more sea days or more ports?

[Missus_Aitch]

I realized in talking over a future cruise with the family that I far prefer sea days -- the enforced relaxation, the lack of a schedule, not needing to pack a bag with ten necessities (and somehow leaving at least one behind!).  My husband, on the other hand, thinks the ship exists to carry him to the next port, where there are excursions and museums and historic tours, etc. to be seen.  How about you?  Would you be happy if you never set foot on Nassau again (as I would)?  Or are you itching to try every last port adventure in every port Disney hits?

[Shmoo here]

29 minutes ago, Missus_Aitch said:

I realized in talking over a future cruise with the family that I far prefer sea days -- the enforced relaxation, the lack of a schedule, not needing to pack a bag with ten necessities (and somehow leaving at least one behind!).  My husband, on the other hand, thinks the ship exists to carry him to the next port, where there are excursions and museums and historic tours, etc. to be seen.  How about you?  Would you be happy if you never set foot on Nassau again (as I would)?  Or are you itching to try every last port adventure in every port Disney hits?

While I lean toward "more sea days", my husband is in the "more port days" group.

 

Most of our cruises were fairly evenly sea/port days, but not all.  

 

Even though I cruise for the cruising, the first time we visit any port, we always get off and do some sort of general "introduction" excursion.  That way, the next time we're there we have a better idea of whether we want to get off, and what we may want to do.

 

 

[OCruisers]

At this point as time has gone by  ...we really like more SEA Days.  

[Cedricandsophie]

Sea days!  If we have been to a port before we treat the ship as a floating resort.  Enjoy the pool, the movies, etc 

[STHCruising]

When we book a cruise we develop a mindset as to whether we are cruising for sea days and relaxation, or for visiting new places.  In the Bahamas, Caribbean or Panama Canal cruises tend to be relaxation cruisers and we don’t always get off the ship at all the ports or spend much, if anything, on excursions.  Cruises in Europe tend to me more port intensive and the excursion budget is higher.  We try to avoid all day excursions but many times that’s not possible if you want to see something special (Rome for example).  We especially like Alaska as its so majestic, scenic and relaxing, we have already done the major excursions and enjoy visiting the small Alaskan ports.  We will pick an excursion to do somewhere.  We also like Transatlantic cruises for the many sea days and collection of not frequently visited ports.  We will stay on the ship after that and do the next Med or Northern European cruise.  These cruises thus provide a mixture of sea days and port intensive activity.

[ArthurUSCG]

I would be happy with sea days and visiting Castaway Cay.

[ivrier]

For 1st time cruisers, port days are almost always fun. But with port-intensive cruises such as the Mediterranean cruises sea days are much appreciated I would prefer SEA days over ports anytime that is, if my intention is to relax on the ship. Having done multiple caribbean and Bahamas Disney cruises, I wouldn't mind returning to one of those cruises on the Fantasy and remain on board and skip the excursions. 

[iceman93]

Sea days.  One of our best Disney cruises was through the Panama Canal; due to two hurricanes we were forced to miss the first three ports on the Pacific coast of Mexico, so we unexpectedly ended up with 10 sea days in a row.  Disney really stepped up the on-board entertainment--it was more action-packed than usual!  The visiting performers (magician, juggler, etc.) who were unable to get off at their scheduled stops added additional shows, and really seemed to enjoy digging deeper into their repertoire than their usual one-and-done shows.

 

It was such a good time for all aboard that when the cruise director made his announcements the day before we were going to hit our first port, excitedly telling the ship that we'd finally be able to set foot on land, a loud (though good-natured) "booooo!" could be heard throughout the ship!

[SummerTraveler]

SEA DAYS!!!!!!

 

[footballmp]

More ports for me!

[NancyIL]

In general, I prefer port days. However, DCL does such a great job with sea days, that I love theirs. Since Disney's port-intensive cruises tend to be more expensive than those with a lot of sea days - I book the less expensive  repo cruises on Disney, and sail on other cruise lines for port-heavy itineraries.

[Cedricandsophie]

As many sea days as possible in the Caribbean. In fact we hardly ever get off.  In Europe we would prefer more sea days although if we have been to a port before we generally view it as a sea day.  

[cantgetin]

Sea days.  If I'm paying DCL rates, I like to take advantage of the ship.  If I want a floating hotel, I can do a much cheaper line to visit ports.

[gometros]

On 5/25/2019 at 12:34 PM, cantgetin said:

Sea days.  If I'm paying DCL rates, I like to take advantage of the ship.  If I want a floating hotel, I can do a much cheaper line to visit ports.

 

I like the way you think.

[cantgetin]

Thanks...Each line has things they do better than other lines.  My logic is to take advantage of what they do best.  For DCL, that's beautiful, well maintained ships with great entertainment. 

 

We stuck to just DCL for many years, but started exploring other lines when their prices went up significantly.  What we found were other reasons, in addition to price,  to choose other lines. 

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by cantgetin

[PopPopBear]

Sea days especially for itineraries we are repeating. A couple of years ago we did B2B cruises on the Magic, the Mediterranean then the WBTA. Loved the sea days on the crossing after the port intensive itinerary.

[richg35]

At this point, for Caribbean cruises, sea days. A lot of the ports are "been there, done that". We pretty much only cruise to Bermuda from NYC now because you get a bunch of sea days, and 3 relaxing days in port where you can come and go as you please.

 

We are doing a 4 night DCL in 2020 which stops at Castaway Cay twice and Nassau once, but even that won't be rushed. Castaway Cay we will have relaxing beach days and Nassau may not even get off the ship. It won't be a runaround where every day is a rush to get off, see what we can see and get back on.

 

That said, if I was touring Europe then I would want more port days to see as much as possible because you're also spending a lot of time flying to and from. But that's a completely different kind of vacation than going to the Caribbean.

 

 

 

[ivrier]

On 5/25/2019 at 9:34 AM, cantgetin said:

Sea days.  If I'm paying DCL rates, I like to take advantage of the ship.  If I want a floating hotel, I can do a much cheaper line to visit ports.

 

On 5/28/2019 at 6:44 AM, gometros said:

 

I like the way you think.

I totally agree. I don't want to take a cruise ship that looks like a mall. I can do that in any city.We have climbing walls, skating rinks and flow riders in our city. Why do I need that in a ship. I love DCL because they feel and look like cruise ships, they way they should appear.

[Qbie]

I'd choose Sea Days but they are so crowded.  We actually prefer Port days since we have the option of wandering off the ship if we want to but we also have a ship that is not crowded :) Best of both worlds!

[AngelDisney]

It’s a hard decision! I finally decided on more port days, but would like a minimum of 2 sea days out of a 7-night cruise so there’s a higher chance of booking a Palo brunch. 

[carterd2002]

I prefer more ports so we can experience more of the countries that we sail to.  We like to check out new places or take different excursions than we have in the past at a port we've visited frequently (like Nassau).   

[puppycanducruise]

Port days for me.

[nolatravelgirl]

On 5/25/2019 at 11:34 AM, cantgetin said:

Sea days.  If I'm paying DCL rates, I like to take advantage of the ship.  If I want a floating hotel, I can do a much cheaper line to visit ports.

I am with you! There is no way I would pay Disney rates just for a floating hotel.  We are doing the  7 night Disney Wonder over New Year's Eve which is astronomically expensive. I could do any other line for half the price.  Heck i have paid practically the same per person per day rate for Seabourn which is an all inclusive all suite luxury line for what I am paying for this NYE cruise. 😮😮

[c-cruise]

I would say port days... then I have the option of touring or just staying onboard and enjoying the ship when it is less crowded. I also enjoy watching the mooring operations and just the sailing in and out of harbors, etc.

[NinjaTiffie]

Sea days! I need some days among all the touring at ports to sleep in, relax and enjoy the ship!!