Staying on board during excursions

[sverigecruiser]

49 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

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.

 

That's why I wrote that it depends on the ship. Our experience is that most bars and restaurants are closed on portdays.

 

Beverage packages can be used in the open bars even if most bars are closed.

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it depends on the ship.

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

That's why I wrote that it depends on the ship. Our experience is that most bars and restaurants are closed on portdays.

 

Beverage packages can be used in the open bars even if most bars are closed.

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it depends on the ship.

 

Maybe more by cruise line as most ships would operate with the same guidelines within a given cruise line.  Our experience with RCI / Celebrity (which is extensive covering most ships and with every ship class) is that many are open in port.  What cruise line are you referring to?

Edited February 18, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[sverigecruiser]

28 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Maybe more by cruise line as most ships would operate with the same guidelines within a given cruise line.  Our experience with RCI / Celebrity (which is extensive covering most ships and with every ship class) is that many are open in port.  What cruise line are you referring to?

 

NCL and MSC is what I have my personal experience from.

[leaveitallbehind]

44 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

NCL and MSC is what I have my personal experience from.

 

Thanks for clarifying.  Just shows some of the differences between the cruise lines. 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

I love staying on board.  The ship is quiet, more private, crew (although fewer during port stay) are less stressed, you have the pick of the lounge chairs or tables to dine.  I enjoyed watching other ships come and go. What a wonderful time to be had.  I'm usually on a smaller ship so I don't know whether the behemoths are ever truly quiet.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

I'm usually on a smaller ship so I don't know whether the behemoths are ever truly quiet.

 

I think the same proportionate amount of people stay on board a larger ship as with a smaller ship, so proportionately the ships would be similarly quite.  Not sure why a smaller ship would be any different from a larger ship in this circumstance.

 

But in this case I guess size does matter as the larger ships have larger spaces for those left on board - even if there are more on board.  

 

Not sure what you are defining as smaller, but our experience likely has been on larger than your ships (up to and including Oasis class ships) and our experience has been they typically are very empty and quite in port.

[Warm Breezes]

Port days are my days to break out the swimsuit and find empty jacuzzi's and lounge chairs in the adult only areas.

[Kate P.C]

Not really. The ship is almost empty and the little activities they have there is no one to compete against. I usually enjoy the spa and sunbathing and swimming, gym maybe if I don't get off in port.

Unless you have a good reason to stay on the ship, I suggest you go out in every port you can. 🙂

[Lois R]

I sailed last month on a ship that only holds 300 guests......lovely, much quieter experience on sea days and

port days and I think 300 is a small ship.

[George C]

We just returned from infinity yesterday, 3 ports stayed on board for two😀, we cruised most major lines , all specialty restaurants and our suite restaurant was closed for lunch but buffet was open pool bars and some others was also open. On msc yacht club restaurant is open, on oasis ships suite restaurant is also open for lunch. 

[Joebucks]

I would say your average 7 day cruise has about 3 sea days. I don't need more.

 

I never really understood the allure of wanting to go to the main pool deck on a port day. I think there's at least some psychological thing that says this is a coveted area that is hard to have such an exclusivity. The reason it gets so busy on sea days is because that is where all of the action is. Activities, bars, socializing, music, etc. On a port day, there is little to none of that. There are almost always places on every ship, every day, that are constantly quiet. So is it pool access you want? Maybe it's wanting to get more use of that drink package you spent a lot on or the included food. I could understand that.

 

I could understand if you really really don't want to go anywhere. No one has to do anything on a vacation. I've been to my local downtown hundreds of times and still go for entertainment, having a great time. So comparatively, 10 trips to Nassau wouldn't quite be that excessive, especially when they are months and even years apart. For me a day at the beach is one of the most relaxing days of vacation and even the year for that matter. I'd rather hear and see the ocean rather than staring at a small pool. I'm fortunate enough to be able to get about 2-3 weeks a year at the beach, but it's never enough.

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 I'd rather hear and see the ocean rather than staring at a small pool. 

 

Most of the time it is possible to hear and see the ocean from the ship!

[Warm Breezes]

On 2/23/2020 at 2:11 PM, Joebucks said:

I would say your average 7 day cruise has about 3 sea days. I don't need more.

 

I never really understood the allure of wanting to go to the main pool deck on a port day. I think there's at least some psychological thing that says this is a coveted area that is hard to have such an exclusivity. The reason it gets so busy on sea days is because that is where all of the action is. Activities, bars, socializing, music, etc. On a port day, there is little to none of that. There are almost always places on every ship, every day, that are constantly quiet. So is it pool access you want? Maybe it's wanting to get more use of that drink package you spent a lot on or the included food. I could understand that.

 

I could understand if you really really don't want to go anywhere. No one has to do anything on a vacation. I've been to my local downtown hundreds of times and still go for entertainment, having a great time. So comparatively, 10 trips to Nassau wouldn't quite be that excessive, especially when they are months and even years apart. For me a day at the beach is one of the most relaxing days of vacation and even the year for that matter. I'd rather hear and see the ocean rather than staring at a small pool. I'm fortunate enough to be able to get about 2-3 weeks a year at the beach, but it's never enough.

After 20 cruises, most to the Caribbean/Mexico, DH and I find port days on the ship to be most relaxing.  We still get off when we sail to a port we have never been to or a port we really enjoy and when we sail with family and friends, but if it is just the 2 of us and we are at a port we have been to a few times already we look forward to a quiet day on the ship.  Usually we spend some time in an empty jacuzzi or laying out in places where the sight and sounds are all ocean, just like the beach, without the hassle of getting to the beach or dealing with all the people or sand at the beach.  I come back from these types of cruises so relaxed and refreshed.