NLeeB Posted February 4, 2020 #1 Share Posted February 4, 2020 If one decides to stay on board ship while ship is in port during an excursion is there anything to do onboard the ship? Do they have any shows that you can go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookwife Posted February 4, 2020 #2 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Not really. There might be some activities, but the big shows are not until evening. The shops and casino will be closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted February 4, 2020 #3 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Spa usually offers discounts on port days - and if it's a ship with fancy stuff like climbing walls, rope courses, go-carts they'll probably be running too (and easier to get into due to all the folks off the ship). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNcruising02 Posted February 4, 2020 #4 Share Posted February 4, 2020 It's a nice time to enjoy a virtually empty pool. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getting older slowly Posted February 4, 2020 #5 Share Posted February 4, 2020 A few thing happen , but it is quieter... go to the spa, sun round the pool.... relax have a drink to two Also if it is a tender port more people stay on board than then being docked. Sometimes if we have been to the port before... we will just get off for an hour or so. Cheers Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted February 4, 2020 #6 Share Posted February 4, 2020 While the stores or casino will not be open, everything else is and it is a very nice way to spend a relaxing day on board a mostly empty ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted February 4, 2020 #7 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I remember on one Carnival ship we sailed on there were trivia contests. One person who generally did not get off the ship won several Ships on a Stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovccruiser Posted February 4, 2020 #8 Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) To a large extent it will depend on where your are docked. Some ports will not allow pedestrians so you will need to take a bus to the dock gates before walking. I usually try and get off the ship for a couple of hours or so to see what the area is like and on many occasions have been pleasantly surprised, Barbados being one of them. Before we cruise, I google the area we are travelling to and study the maps. Use something like google earth and you can zoom in and have a good look around before you travel. Edited February 4, 2020 by ovccruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AF-1 Posted February 4, 2020 #9 Share Posted February 4, 2020 On Princeess Cruise you can check the daily patters and it tells you what is happening around the ship all day long. We stayed onboard and played a few trivia games, they had movies playing at the pool. There were no bands playing in the lounges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike981 Posted February 4, 2020 #10 Share Posted February 4, 2020 We over did staying on the ship this last trip. Five stops and only got off once. Admittedly, one was due to a lack of communication (my explanation). My wife says it was me giving her the wrong information. 😕 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnowTheScore Posted February 4, 2020 #11 Share Posted February 4, 2020 As per other's replies staying on-board can be a very nice relaxing thing to do provided there aren't too many people having exactly the same idea! If it's a nice day you can go find a sun chair of your choice without any crowding. You can pop into any of the lounge areas for a lovely quiet period to read a book. The Crow's Nest if there is one, is often a good option for that. You can probably go and watch a film in the ship's cinema if it has one and not have any trouble getting a seat. You could take a nice lunch in one of the alternative dining restaurants without it being overly busy You could enjoy a swim in one of the pools without it being over-crowded and so on Basically a great relaxing day We have often done exactly this when visiting ports that are renowned for being over-crowded. For example if you visit Dubrovnik in Croatia and have been before then it's worth counting how many ships are berthed there and if it is 4 or more just stay on board because with than many 1000s of passengers all cramming into the walled city is it simply unpleasant and feels unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted February 4, 2020 #12 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Totally love relaxing by near empty pool during port days , we do it often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XBGuy Posted February 4, 2020 #13 Share Posted February 4, 2020 We often spend port days on the ship. A couple things to keep in mind are that the dining rooms may not be open for lunch on port days (other venues, such as the buffet or burger/pizza grills will be open), and often crewmembers are required to participate in emergency drills and, as a result. areas that might, otherwise, be available to passengers might be temporarily roped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted February 5, 2020 #14 Share Posted February 5, 2020 First...you need to know that NO ONE has to get off the ship in ports...totally up to you. And, even if you DO decide to go ashore, you do NOT need an "excursion".....lots of things can be done ashore, especially if you research your ports a bit! We rarely take any excursion...we do our own thing. The only things close while the ship is in port will be the casino and shops and MDR during lunch. Everything else is up and running as usual. Some smaller dining venues may have reduced or changed hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyscandy Posted February 17, 2020 #15 Share Posted February 17, 2020 We stayed on the ship because we had been to Nassau several times and a storm was coming and didn't want to get caught in that. We had a nice time looking around the ship. No crowds, no waiting. Try it you might like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted February 17, 2020 #16 Share Posted February 17, 2020 The more Caribbean cruises you have had, the more likely it will be that you will stay on board. Except for the casino and shops, pretty much everything else will be as usual. There never are shows during the day anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted February 18, 2020 #17 Share Posted February 18, 2020 On my last cruise I was not physically able to get off the ship in most of the ports. There were outdoor movies by the pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lois R Posted February 18, 2020 #18 Share Posted February 18, 2020 I took a cruise in January and we had 4 ports....I got off in Key West (had to go to CVS) but that was it. I stayed on board the rest of the time. Relaxed, read, napped...….just chilled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted February 18, 2020 #19 Share Posted February 18, 2020 58 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said: There were outdoor movies by the pool. Possibly. If the ship has outdoor movies. Not all ships are equipped for this, and not all that are equipped show movies during the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted February 18, 2020 #20 Share Posted February 18, 2020 3 minutes ago, mom says said: Possibly. If the ship has outdoor movies. Not all ships are equipped for this, and not all that are equipped show movies during the day. This was Anthem of the Seas .Many other ships that I have been on had outdoor movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted February 18, 2020 #21 Share Posted February 18, 2020 5 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said: This was Anthem of the Seas .Many other ships that I have been on had outdoor movies. The OP may or may not be on AOTS. I've been on plenty of ships that didn't have outdoor movies during the day, which was why I said it was only a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted February 18, 2020 #22 Share Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, mom says said: The OP may or may not be on AOTS. I've been on plenty of ships that didn't have outdoor movies during the day, which was why I said it was only a possibility. Absolutely,I agree . I am sure that all the Disney ships have outdoor movies . Edited February 18, 2020 by lenquixote66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That sinking feeling Posted February 18, 2020 #23 Share Posted February 18, 2020 On 2/4/2020 at 3:35 PM, George C said: Totally love relaxing by near empty pool during port days , we do it often Agree 100% with this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sverigecruiser Posted February 18, 2020 #24 Share Posted February 18, 2020 On 2/4/2020 at 2:32 AM, leaveitallbehind said: While the stores or casino will not be open, everything else is and it is a very nice way to spend a relaxing day on board a mostly empty ship. That depends on the ship. Most of the bars are probably closed during the day on a portday. Some restaurants may be open for lunch on a seaday but closed on a portday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted February 18, 2020 #25 Share Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said: That depends on the ship. Most of the bars are probably closed during the day on a portday. Some restaurants may be open for lunch on a seaday but closed on a portday. Not in our experience. While some of the restaurants - particular the MDR for lunch - are closed, many food venues are open. And most of the bars are also open. Keep in mind that many cruise lines promote beverage packages which are sold for consumption on an every day on the cruise basis, which includes port days. Most bars remain open to serve anyone who remains on board. Edited February 18, 2020 by leaveitallbehind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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