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Anyone else fancy the idea of more 2 night stays in port?


Harry Peterson
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Rather like St Petersburg, where 2 night stays are the norm, there are quite a few other places where an extra night would provide more opportunities for proper exploration.

 

I’d be pretty keen on that - fewer ports but more time in each. I’m thinking cities such as Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki for example, but there are plenty of others.

 

Any thoughts?

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5 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

A cruise is a cruise and I prefer to be at sea.  Time in port just gets in the way.  Maybe if you want more days, you should consider flying.

Fair enough. Though for me it’s the places, rather than just the sea, I go for.

 

Flying these days isn’t a pleasant experience, and we enjoy the food and all the other facilities of a floating hotel taking us from place to place. Not possible by air.

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I quite agree, I’ve done my share of long haul flights.  I also need to fly to Southampton to pick up the ship.    What about finding a cruise that starts in one place and ends somewhere different, you might find something which returns to GB.

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Two days in one port does have its advantages. You can enjoy a full day away from the ship, without the fear of missing it's departure. The evenings and the night life are also an experience, especially places like Hong Kong, Singapore and New Orleans.

Having said that, I agree with 'Tablelamp', I very much enjoy the sea days. To combine the two try a leg or two of the world cruise.

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We are really looking forward to spending three night in New York next month. We will be spending time with dear friends out there. They are flying from Las Vegas to meet us and it wouldn't be worth it for them if we were only there for one night.

Kate.

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Oh it's lovely to be in port overnight.  We did a Fred O to Seville, went right up the river and stayed overnight in Seville.  We also overnighted in Bordeaux right in the heart of the city.  No need for ship excursions, not that we ever do any, you are right there and can do it yourself.

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For a cruise of a given length, more overnight stays are going to mean visiting fewer ports. So there's a balance that has to be struck. I think St. Petersburg justifies an overnight stay, even if it means that some other port has to be omitted, but I'm not convinced in the case of Copenhagen, Stockholm or Helsinki. Of course the cruise could be made longer, but then it's going to cost more.

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Part of me likes the idea of an over night stay - have done one in Madeira and Venice in the past and that was great. The one thing we 'dislike' about cruising is that you never get the chance to 'get the real feel' of a place when you're back on at 5.30pm and sailing away so quickly. There is always something special about a place at night when all of the lights come on and reflect in the water. Probably wouldn't want more than one or two in a 12 - 14 night cruise though as I like to be on the sea.

Like to stay somewhere else before the cruise - 3 nights in Venice last year and 3 nights in Rome this year. Even if we sail from Southampton we tend to stay for 2 days first ! :-)

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2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Part of me likes the idea of an over night stay - have done one in Madeira and Venice in the past and that was great. The one thing we 'dislike' about cruising is that you never get the chance to 'get the real feel' of a place when you're back on at 5.30pm and sailing away so quickly. There is always something special about a place at night when all of the lights come on and reflect in the water. Probably wouldn't want more than one or two in a 12 - 14 night cruise though as I like to be on the sea.

Like to stay somewhere else before the cruise - 3 nights in Venice last year and 3 nights in Rome this year. Even if we sail from Southampton we tend to stay for 2 days first ! 🙂

 That’s pretty much the way I feel about it. Always the sensation of just scratching the surface of any places visited. Ideally I’d be looking for two or three on a 16 to 18 day cruise but I do appreciate that that’s not what a lot of people want. Just thought it might be an idea to sound out opinion.

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2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

 That’s pretty much the way I feel about it. Always the sensation of just scratching the surface of any places visited. Ideally I’d be looking for two or three on a 16 to 18 day cruise but I do appreciate that that’s not what a lot of people want. Just thought it might be an idea to sound out opinion.

 

2 or 3 on an 18 day cruise seems a good compromise to me and would give some variety on a long cruise.

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Not for me I don't think- the maximum I'd want is one overnight. Part of the reason I love cruising is getting to sample so many different ports and locations and waking up somewhere new every day. I don't mind that the time is restricted as I still feel like you get an idea of the place and can hit any big attractions you want to do.

If I wanted to do a break in Copenhagen or wherever it would be cheaper to just fly there for a few days rather than take a cruise.

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I prefer relaxing sea days to being in port but for those who think differently, it is not a bad idea. Comparisons with St Petersburg are a little wide of the mark though because for me, it would have to be a port where you can freely get off the ship at night and wander around without the need of a shuttle bus from the port.

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34 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I prefer relaxing sea days to being in port but for those who think differently, it is not a bad idea. Comparisons with St Petersburg are a little wide of the mark though because for me, it would have to be a port where you can freely get off the ship at night and wander around without the need of a shuttle bus from the port.

Yes can’t compare with St.P. I don’t know but I suspect that there is some sort of rule/law which says ships must stay overnight. I have never seen any cruise by any cruise line which was only one night in St.P.s 

Quite like an overnight but I do like a few extra sea days to compensate.

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We had a whole day and evening in Dubrovnik once.  There were 4 humungous ships in as well as Oriana, so we went ashore and literally couldn't move.  It was awful.  Went back to the ship and then went back ashore about 6pm.  Sat in a square with a few locals sipping a glass of wine and listening to a young guy playing the piano.  It was magical.  Then went back on board for our 8.30 dinner.

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2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

We had a whole day and evening in Dubrovnik once.  There were 4 humungous ships in as well as Oriana, so we went ashore and literally couldn't move.  It was awful.  Went back to the ship and then went back ashore about 6pm.  Sat in a square with a few locals sipping a glass of wine and listening to a young guy playing the piano.  It was magical.  Then went back on board for our 8.30 dinner.

 

Last year we were in Dubrovnik and it wasn't too bad during the day. The ship stayed over night but when we went back in in the evening it was just terrible. It was a big disappointment as there were no seats anywhere and we were packed like sardines. I can't remember what other ships were in - am pretty sure it was just the Constellation, a smaller one (may have been Seabourn) and the rest of the people were just tourists on holiday. (It was mid August).

I can see why some places are limiting the number of ships that come in to port each day ….

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We had an unexpected overnight stay in Venice and it was fabulous - we stayed until late in the city and wandered about and had a lovely meal outside in a narrow atmospheric street near St Mark's. The next morning, we went in again after breakfast. This was October.

 

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 I enjoy overnight stays but i would also be very happy with more late nights so you can experience the night-life in the town. We did  a Fred Olsen cruise last year and we ate dinner out for 4 nights which just gave us a different perspective on the ports. On Iona in Feb 2020 we have an overnight in Barcelona and I'd prefer just  late night because we've been to Barcelona so many times I don't know what we'll do for 2 days really. However we always have an overnight in New Orleans and that is a fantastic experience and it would be pointless to go and not enjoy the city at night. 

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Sorry if I am missing something but the OP asked about 2-night port calls and most people seem to be talking about one overnight?  Please tell me if I'm wrong!  I don't mind the odd overnight in particularly interesting places and agree it is sometimes nice to sample local restaurants in the evening or the nightlife.  Don't think I am keen however on having two night, two & a half/three days in port.  This is also being discussed in another thread as a result of a recent P&O e-mail survey.

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