Least Favorite Port and Why

[lenquixote66]

On 8/5/2019 at 5:42 PM, coevan said:

 

 

We agree, it's a great day on the ship. Choice seats in the Serenity Area, no lines for food, slide is wide open, the tenders are a cluster, and we have Cheers.

 

As to Nassau it is an excellent island for a land trip and NOT Atlantis, it's a zoo. There is so much to do at the resorts, food is outstanding as well as the snorkeling and diving. 

 

 

 

This one is a shocker. San Juan is a beautiful vibrant city with so much to do and again excellent food. A side trip to El Yunque was awesome. 

I second that.We have been to San Juan many times including El Yunque.

[lenquixote66]

We have been cruising since 1973 and have yet to be at a port that we did not enjoy.

[Thad409]

Good stuff, lots of opinions keep the comments coming. 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

Basically the same thread as the one called “What ports do you just stay on the ship”

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2681931-what-ports-do-you-just-stay-on-the-ship/page/9/#comments

[ilikeanswers]

On 8/6/2019 at 2:39 AM, Thad409 said:

I'm sure this has been asked before but I'm asking again. What is your least favorite Port to visit and why.

 

 I did a thread about ports people liked and it received less than half the response the dislike thread got and then when that dislike thread got pushed to page two, someone started another one😄. I would love to know why disliked ports is such a favourite topic🤔. For places people are tired of visiting, as a source of conversation it seems to never get exhausted😜.

[evandbob]

No one mentioned this yet ......the port where I have to depart the ship!

[ducklite]

Nassau would be far and away my #1 worst port.  I'd say that Labadee would be my second.  Yuck.

 

[Deesquared]

Ensenada and Santa Barbara. 

 

But I've only been on West Coast/Alaska cruises.

[Tapi]

I had read over the years how dumpy Progreso is, but I had never been there until last February. So needless to say, I went with very low expectations. The verdict? We found it to be a fascinating port. We didn’t take any excursions, just did a bit of research in advance, figured out where to go on our own, and had an absolutely fantastic time.

 

The thing that I enjoyed the most about Progreso is that it isn’t overly developed. It still feels like Mexico, not like a shopping mall filled with Americanized chain stores like what Cozumel has become. 

 

We walked around, checked out points of interest, enjoyed some beach time, had a light lunch at one of the beach front restaurants, and mingled with the people. Our waiter also told us about  places to visit on a future visit. 

 

I’d return to Progreso in a heartbeat. We had a wonderful day and it was a nice departure from the overcrowded and Americanized ports of call that now plague Caribbean itineraries. And we didn’t even see the main attractions that this port of call is known for like the colonial city of Mérida or Chichen Itzá. Those will be for a future visit! 

[screwsmcernst]

For me there are a few.  I don't ever want to set foot in Columbia, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua again.  All four ports have horribly pushy people. 

In Columbia, my DH was surrounded by women who kept rubbing their hands all over him until he gave them some money to go away.  I think he was lucky that he didn't get his pocket picked.

The first time in Antigua the tour guides and taxi drivers wouldn't take no for an answer. We felt like we were running the gauntlet.  After we said no to one, the next guide, who heard us say no to the previous, pounced.  We turned around went back to the boat.  Bought an excursion from the ship.  Now we stay on the ship when we Antigua is a port of call.

 

Been to Jamaica once.  Don't care to ever go back.   Been to the Bahamas enough don't want to go back there either.

[Thad409]

14 hours ago, evandbob said:

No one mentioned this yet ......the port where I have to depart the ship!

I like it

[blloydtbird]

I suspect you mean Colombia 🙂 rather than Columbia (the latter is specific to the University and cities in the US for the most part).  

 

In terms of Jamaica, I've seen quite a few folks comment negatively concerning the island, which saddens me.  I am biased as both of my parents were born in the country and I spent a significant portion of my upbringing on the island. I agree that some of the vendors can be a bit pushy; unfortunately, many are competing with others to put food on their tables.  Certainly does not excuse the behavior, but something perhaps to consider.  I promise you (and others), if you were to venture away from the cruise ports (hard to do while on a cruise, I know), the island becomes quite a bit more special.  The general Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, etc. runs don't do the country much justice.  There are far nicer and pleasant places on both the north and south coasts of the island.

 

I fully understand where you are coming from though.  Your comments remind me of some of the general tourism sites in Cambodia.  Far too pushy for me. 

 

Cheers

[slidergirl]

On 8/5/2019 at 1:48 PM, VentureMan_2000 said:

Ensenada Mexico.

It's just a City... not a destination.  Cruise ships on the West Coast stop here because it's the nearest port to the States and US cruises have to stop at a foreign port... so very convenient for the cruise lines.

Some of us who grew up in Southern California and remember those trips down to Ensenada, may disagree... 😉

[VentureMan_2000]

Is Ensenada the same today as it was in your memories ?  I have fond memories of Mexico in my youth too.  

 

[clo]

L. O. L.  Do you see a trend here?  Are there any European, Asian, S. American, etc. ports listed here????

[DarrenM]

On 8/7/2019 at 2:01 PM, evandbob said:

No one mentioned this yet ......the port where I have to depart the ship!

This. Exactly this.

[geoherb]

The port we avoid is Ocho Rios. We felt unsafe there after being dropped off in the town after our excursion to Dunn's River Falls. The first instance was a guy who wanted to be our tour guide and would not take "no thank you" for an answer. We finally lost him by going into a nice shop and staying around 10 minutes. The second instance was the aggressive vendors in straw market. The third strike is the island's human rights record. 

[tip]

We have been on thirty cruises and have visited dozens of ports.  The only place where I have felt unsafe is Jamaica.  As a result I will not even book a cruise that stops there.

[Hlitner]

We have two "least favorite ports."   Murmansk, Russia and Constanta, Romania.   

 

Hank

[jocap]

18 hours ago, clo said:

L. O. L.  Do you see a trend here?  Are there any European, Asian, S. American, etc. ports listed here????

I mentioned Casablanca...  😀

[George C]

We always liked Ocho Rios been there about ten times and also stayed at resorts in area. Total of a couple of months in Jamaica and would return, dislike new rccl Jamaica port Falmouth not much there. 

[crystalspin]

On 8/11/2019 at 8:03 PM, clo said:

Are there any European, Asian, S. American, etc. ports listed here????

I don't know why 90%+ of ports mentioned are Caribbean or nearby. The only one that people have mentioned that we have been to is Nassau where we went to the zoo; it was fine. 

 

Least favorite is probably Monte Carlo. We do not gamble; the HoHo bus did not stop at its numbered stops; we did not see a point in paying big bucks to go on a ship-sponsored bus ride to the Riviera or wherever they wanted to take us. We wound up drinking wine in the strip mall abutting the port and using their wifi. And might do that again, although we tend to cruise with drink and internet packages nowadays.

 

Next least favorite would be Cartagena, Colombia, although the HoHo bus included a guided walking tour, with or without a lift back to near the port. We walked back from town -- I don't remember any pushy vendors or feeling at all unsafe, but it was SO oppressively hot and humid! OTOH it is the only Hard Rock Cafe I have ever been in (we were hoping they had A/C to go with the wifi but were sadly disappointed on that front). 

 

So there you have it: a European and a South American port I would not choose to return to.

[pacruise804]

I think a significant amount of those on the boards sail from the US East Coast (and Gulf), with most of those cruises going to Bahamas and Caribbean.  I also think there is some truth to the saying "familiarity breeds contempt" so it is harder for the same-old stop to be a favorite.

 

We haven't chosen to sail from international ports yet, and are generally limited to 7 days max so we fit in that category.  Since I know those are my options I try to find the good in ports or enjoy an extra day on a less crowded ship.  Least favorite to me is different than most disliked 😉 

[ldubs]

12 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I don't know why 90%+ of ports mentioned are Caribbean or nearby. The only one that people have mentioned that we have been to is Nassau where we went to the zoo; it was fine. 

 

Least favorite is probably Monte Carlo. We do not gamble; the HoHo bus did not stop at its numbered stops; we did not see a point in paying big bucks to go on a ship-sponsored bus ride to the Riviera or wherever they wanted to take us. We wound up drinking wine in the strip mall abutting the port and using their wifi. And might do that again, although we tend to cruise with drink and internet packages nowadays.

 

Next least favorite would be Cartagena, Colombia, although the HoHo bus included a guided walking tour, with or without a lift back to near the port. We walked back from town -- I don't remember any pushy vendors or feeling at all unsafe, but it was SO oppressively hot and humid! OTOH it is the only Hard Rock Cafe I have ever been in (we were hoping they had A/C to go with the wifi but were sadly disappointed on that front). 

 

So there you have it: a European and a South American port I would not choose to return to.

 

I would agree with both your choices.  I am glad I went to Monte Carlo to just walk around and take it in.  Nothing there to draw me back.  Our experience in Cartagena was very similar to yours, but we did at least have a bus ride back.   

[simplelife]

I don't care for Nassau, but at least there's a site or two you  can  explore on your own and a few decent excursions. Freeport is even worse, as the ship docks  is in an industrial area and there's  nothing to do and not even any decent excursions.

I usually stay on the ship for these ports.