How developed do you like your ports?

[ilikeanswers]

Do you prefer ports that are completely touristfied? Where you step of into something like a shopping mall with lots of tourist services, facilities and cruise line owned shops, international franchises, a safe, clean, controlled environment or do you prefer ports that set you straight into the local world of your destination, where it is just local shops and businesses and maybe not as many tourist facilites. Do you like some sort of mixture of the two? Is there ever a point where ports are too developed? Or are there ports your wish had more cruise line facilities, businesses and services?

[c-boy]

Hmmmm 🤔  I like a mix of both.

[evandbob]

In the Caribbean, I like beaches, waterfalls, local cuisine from food trucks or corner chefs.  Don't do much shopping, so I avoid malls and enclosed "safe" shopping corrals, etc.

 

In the Mediterranean, I enjoy viewing ruins and hearing history, as well as local restaurants.  In Alaska and Scandinavia, I prefer the great outdoors, wildlife, and scenery.

 

There are certain places where being on a cruise may detract from enjoying a foreign port to its fullest, such as New Zealand and Australia.  We preferred a more intensive land vacation in these 2 countries to get to sites not accessible from a cruise ship.

 

I may as well stay home if I just visited fast food joints and cruise built shopping centers.

 

JMO, YMMV

[zekekelso]

The ideal is you step off the ship into a familiar world of services and stores. But then - if you want - you can get past all that and into an authentic local world pretty easily. 

[navybankerteacher]

If you are talking about a winter getaway to the Caribbean, I would like good, inexpensive transportation to reasonably well maintained beaches.... and would prefer to not have to walk through a mall.

 

If its European - especially Mediterranean - the point of the exercise is to see it the way a couple of thousand years of (more or less) civilization developed it --- rather than some department of tourism functionary's view of what spurs Americans to spend money.

[mom says]

If all I wanted out of port visits was a mall experience, I might as well stay home. However, unlike many cruisers, we travel for more than shopping and cheap drinks. 

 

Of course I want the port facility to be a clean and safe environment. But I'm more concerned that they provide services over shopping possibilities.  A well staffed and knowledgeable  tourist information desk. ATMs and/or Exchange bureau. Safe and easy  transportation options. Air Conditioning and decent WiFi would be nice. Anything over that is unnecessary for us 99% of the time.

[c-boy]

 "If all I wanted out of port visits was a mall experience, I might as well stay home. However, unlike many cruisers, we travel for more than shopping and cheap drinks"   

 

[cruisemom42]

Not sure I can answer the actual question. I don't like "touristified" ports, but then I also don't sail places looking for natural, unspoilt beauty. 

 

For me, I like big, real (meaning occasionally gritty and not too Disneyfied) European cities, and archaeological sites. Infrastructure is a plus. Diamonds International and Margaritavilles are a minus.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, c-boy said:

 "If all I wanted out of port visits was a mall experience, I might as well stay home. However, unlike many cruisers, we travel for more than shopping and cheap drinks"   

 

Love...Dexter !!!!

[Ashland]

A mix of both depending on the port..I however don't care for those very industrial ports.

[mom says]

Wait- did I misunderstand the OPs  question? Were you referring to the actual port facilities, or the port city?

Edited May 27, 2021 by mom says

[Heidi13]

We definitely avoid touristy ports with cruise line shopping venues, shopping malls, etc. Also prefer to avoid overly industrial ports, where you are walking around containers and gantry cranes, etc. Spend way too many years dealing with these types of ports

 

A clean and safe berth with ready access to private tour operators, or local public transport. It should also be reasonably close to points of interest, rather than being isolated up a river, or in some distant suburb.

[cruisemom42]

8 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

We definitely avoid touristy ports with cruise line shopping venues, shopping malls, etc. Also prefer to avoid overly industrial ports, where you are walking around containers and gantry cranes, etc. Spend way too many years dealing with these types of ports

 

A clean and safe berth with ready access to private tour operators, or local public transport. It should also be reasonably close to points of interest, rather than being isolated up a river, or in some distant suburb.

 

A couple of good examples spring to mind:  Naples (Italy), Barcelona and Istanbul. All very close to what's going on and what you want to see and do.

[Joebucks]

I lean towards developed.

 

Being dropped off at an industrial port at Montego Bay or Freeport is a huge buzzkill

 

Grand Turk is an awesome one. Walk right off onto beaches and entertainment

 

I am even ok with developed ports like St Kitts, etc. It's nice to get off and have your options. It's also nice to go venture out if you want that too. No one is forcing you to do anything.

[jocap]

I like having some sort of terminal to pass through, and if they add a couple of shops, I'm OK with that. I think of Corfu, with the hire car placed handily opposite the terminal, or places like Newcastle which is also a ferry terminal with basic services.

I love being able to walk straight into town- the Spanish Atlantic ports, for instance.

 I disliked being in Antigua when there are several ships there; the last time there I was overwhelmed at the crowds pressing close along the pier, to be met by the "official" taxi drivers, and then the unofficial ones immediately after. 

[DRS/NC]

In Aug. 2019, I visited 3 ports in Greenland. 

Nook (capital city) had a small port geared to cargo ships but handled the Caribbean Princess (2600 passengers) well -- some tour buses, some local buses (go into the town & back).  The 2 smaller ports (Qaqortoq & Nanortilk) were tiny (less than 2000 locals).  Their "ports" were the 1 or 2 jetties for their fishing boats.  We tendered (took hours!) & just walked around the villages, talked a bit w/Greenlanders, saw rock drawings, a small fish market, church, supermarket , and middle school kids' fund raiser.

 

At the start of the cruise, we'd stopped in Halifax; last port was St. John, Newfoundland -- both w/large, very busy ports.

 

This cruise had the most diverse ports I've ever encountered -- one of the reasons I booked it.  It was great!

 

[George C]

In the Caribbean my favorite port is St Maarten, great beaches, with nice restaurants and bars , shopping for my wife. Now Europe I love history, love the walled cites like Dubrovnik and Kotor and everything about Italy , history, art and of course the food and wine.

[lissie]

5 hours ago, zekekelso said:

The ideal is you step off the ship into a familiar world of services and stores. But then - if you want - you can get past all that and into an authentic local world pretty easily. 

Your ideal is my idea of hell - why would you bother leaving home?  I've never seen such a thing - if you come to Australia / NZ you will walk off into a foreign country - even more so in Asia / Pacific Island. Its called travel 

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, mom says said:

Wait- did I misunderstand the OPs  question? Were you referring to the actual port facilities, or the port city?

 

Your answer was great🤗. So far everyone's answers have been informative and interesting👍

[getting older slowly]

Ports.... you get a big difference between tying up at a wharf to being tendered ashore...

 

Despite the the bother and time of tendering..... when you arrived you are there... not a bus ride or what ever to get  out of the port, or into town...

 

So my vote is for a port where tendering is required  ..

 

Don

[iancal]

We do not particularly like the well developed tourist ports. Dubrovnik, Corfu and Santorini come time mind.    Spending time in these ports on a land trip was/is so  much more enjoyable and rewarding for us than visiting on a port day.  In the case of Dubrovnik and Santorini we experienced a day and night difference.  Same for many of the usual Caribbean ports.  Even more so for Key West.

 

It is one of the drivers behind us doing fewer cruises and much more independent travel since retiring.

 

The other issue is time in port. Six or eight hours in interesting port locales is not enough time for us.

Edited May 28, 2021 by iancal

[navybankerteacher]

23 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

Ports.... you get a big difference between tying up at a wharf to being tendered ashore...

 

Despite the the bother and time of tendering..... when you arrived you are there... not a bus ride or what ever to get  out of the port, or into town...

 

So my vote is for a port where tendering is required  ..

 

Don

There is no guarantee that the tender will drop you off in the best/prettiest/most interesting part --I recall tendering to a cargo terminal.

[Donald]

I rarely drink ports younger than 20 years old. They really develop in that second decade.

Although I prefer Vintage, the prices for good vintages are skyrocketing.

Better to go with LBV bottles and save a bit of money.

[sanger727]

When we exit the ship into a big developed pre-planned port area with diamonds international and booze stores, the first thing we do is walk to the exit. But, I also do like to have some local restaurants/stores near the port area rather being dropped off in the middle of a goat field. So I guess my answer is somewhere in the middle? We always return to the ship in plenty of the time so enjoy having lunch/drinks and surfing wifi near the ship. But we don’t want to do it at maragaritaville or McDonald’s. 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Donald said:

I rarely drink ports younger than 20 years old. They really develop in that second decade.

Although I prefer Vintage, the prices for good vintages are skyrocketing.

Better to go with LBV bottles and save a bit of money.

Because it is not an everyday thing, I think Graham's 40 year old tawny is a fine way to finish a meal -- with just a bit of hard cheddar to accompany.  Sometimes it's good to treat yourself.