How developed do you like your ports?

[zekekelso]

29 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

But we don’t want to do it at maragaritaville or McDonald’s.

Well, duh. Senior Frogs is way better than those places. 

[SelectSys]

 

With port visits being short only permit one to get a small impression of an area while visiting a port on a cruise. This is why I prefer ports that aren't too far from whatever is the main local attraction. 

 

Riding the bus/train for a long time to visit a location isn't too attractive to me.  This is an issue of location more than the level of development as the cruise ships try and sell you thing like Livorno as Naples or, even worse I think, Le Harve as Paris.

 

That said, this topic allowed me to determine my least favorite port of Mahahual/Costa Maya as having just about the least authentic feel of anywhere that I have been.  

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

7 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

Well, duh. Senior Frogs is way better than those places. 

But isn’t Junior Frogs a bit livelier?

[navybankerteacher]

Just now, SelectSys said:

 

…

 

This is an issue of location more than the level of development as the cruise ships try and sell you thing like Livorno as Naples or, even worse I think, Le Harve as Paris.

 

…

 

 

I think you mean Livorno as Florence.  I don’t believe even NCL would try to peddle a Livorno port call as an opportunity to visit Naples.

[zekekelso]

4 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

the cruise ships try and sell you thing like Livorno as Naples

That is a bit of a stretch 🙂

[SelectSys]

37 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I think you mean Livorno as Florence.  I don’t believe even NCL would try to peddle a Livorno port call as an opportunity to visit Naples.

Correct - a typo on my part

[evandbob]

11 hours ago, SelectSys said:

That said, this topic allowed me to determine my least favorite port of Mahahual/Costa Maya as having just about the least authentic feel of anywhere that I have been.  

 

I remember when Marahuel had dirt roads and just a few food shacks run by locals.

 

Modern development followed with schlock souvenir and chain jewelry stores.  If I ever re-visit, I won't be surprised if there is a Margarettaville, Senor Frog's or Jimmy Buffet's there.

[Hlitner]

Getting back to the original topic about developed ports, DW and I really love variety in our ports, cruise lines, ships, where we travel, etc.  We know other folks that love familiarity and are happy to cruise on the same line (or even ship) to the same places year after year.  No right or wrong...just personal preference.   When we are considering the booking of a long cruise (30+ days) we prefer a mixture of some urban developed ports (or ports that are close to such places) mixed with some remote places.  The idea of moving around a port like Hong Kong on one day, and a few days later being in a quiet Indonesian port is our idea of travel perfection.     And the joy of taking a 60 day cruise to 25 ports without seeing a single Diamonds International cannot be overstated :).

 

Hank

[iancal]

Exactly out thought.  IF there is a Diamonds International store at the port then we are DEFINITELY not interested.  Probably why do seldom bother with Caribbean cruises any more.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, DRS/NC said:

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.

 

I have visited Greenland 3x on a HAL ship.  Tendering, yes.  But, it did not take hours.  One did have to be patient waiting for the tenders, but it was not unreasonable.  All that your mentioned (other than the fund raiser) were available.  Maybe not offered when you were there, and only twice when I visited, was a coffee/cake social at a gathering hall where we witnessed a folk type performance with participants of all ages.  Just simply a memorable delight!  

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

But isn’t Junior Frogs a bit livelier?

 

🤣!   Some of us "Senior Frogs" still have some "hoppiness" within us!  😀

[rkacruiser]

On 5/27/2021 at 10:43 AM, ilikeanswers said:

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?

 

Interesting questions you are asking, OP.  

 

It depends on the port.  If I am visiting Charlotte Amalie or Hong Kong, I expect and enjoy the shops, the hustle and bustle, and what touristy attractions that are available.

 

If I am visiting St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, or Bora Bora the beauty of the island takes precedence over any and all of anything else.

 

If I am visiting truly scenic regions like New Zealand or Alaska, the scenery and the really local attractions are of prime importance to me.  If Diamonds International, etc.is present, so what?  I will ignore their intrusion.  

 

Too developed?  Can't think of too many, but any port that causes me to feel unsafe--for whatever reason--is "too developed" for some reason for me.  Buenos Aires is a standout for me.  Even Madeira has caused some reasons for concern.  (I went wandering in search of their local market and found myself in what I perceived to be a rather sketchy part of the community.  I followed "my bread crumbs" back to where I felt more comfortable and quickly.)  

 

For me, the best ports are those that allow one to get well away from the port itself and experience other areas.  Viet Nam, India, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, etc. all meet my thinking in this regard.  

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

Exactly out thought.  IF there is a Diamonds International store at the port then we are DEFINITELY not interested.  Probably why do seldom bother with Caribbean cruises any more.

No no no!  You just do not understand :).  We love Caribbean cruises where we seldom bother to get off the ship in ports (unless it is a private island).  The ship is a fantastic place when most folks are ashore :).   Even the ship photographers are off the ship :).

 

Hank

[iancal]

Since retiring and having unlimited time for travel and snow birding,  Florida and/or the Caribbean (land or sea) hardly make it on our radar as a place to travel in the winter.   We are far more inclined to make it  Mexico,  Costa Rica/Panama, Thailand/SE Asia and/orAustralia.

Edited May 28, 2021 by iancal

[Joebucks]

I mean I get the hate for the big name stuff and stuff you see all over the place. I don't believe these places existing detracts from the trip as much as people make it out to be.

 

I have a Margaritaville close-ish to my house. I can't remember the last time I even considered going to that boring, generic, place. However, the one in Grand Turk was the best one I have seen. The huge, outdoor pool, and fun vibe doesn't bother me on what name is slapped on it.

 

For our last trip to Cozumel, we went to some resort and beach for the day and had a great time. Then on the way back, we hit up the Fat Tuesday when we had a few minutes left at port, and had another great time. So sue us because your cruises are only in the woods.

[JRG]

16 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We love Caribbean cruises where we seldom bother to get off the ship in ports (unless it is a private island).  The ship is a fantastic place when most folks are ashore :).   Even the ship photographers are off the ship :).

 

We do that at most of the western Mexico ports and places like St. Lucia which have lost their port charm to us (after getting paparazzied by the taxi vendors there)

 

We've also found out that we can hang out in the pool for really longs periods of time drinking our favorite alcoholic or foo-foo drinks and blended frozen concoctions avoiding the sun by lurking in the shadows of the stanchions around the pool.      That's how we roll when we aren't rolling on the high seas.

 

The solstice class ships are great for this and you have the run of the ship to boot.

 

So to answer the question of the thread,   we never really think about it as there isn't much you can do about it anyways and it seems to boil down to the 'port charm' factor anyways.

[Hlitner]

29 minutes ago, JRG said:

 

We do that at most of the western Mexico ports and places like St. Lucia which have lost their port charm to us (after getting paparazzied by the taxi vendors there)

 

We've also found out that we can hang out in the pool for really longs periods of time drinking our favorite alcoholic or foo-foo drinks and blended frozen concoctions avoiding the sun by lurking in the shadows of the stanchions around the pool.      That's how we roll when we aren't rolling on the high seas.

 

The solstice class ships are great for this and you have the run of the ship to boot.

 

So to answer the question of the thread,   we never really think about it as there isn't much you can do about it anyways and it seems to boil down to the 'port charm' factor anyways.

I would agree with your Solstice ship comments.  But we actually stopped booking Celebrity (even our beloved Solstice Class) when LLP decided to jack up the prices and lower the quality (I called it the "death by a thousand cut backs").   We actually took a 14 day Seabourn Alaskan cruise for less money then a comparable cabin would have cost us on X.   A few weeks ago when we decided to go to Greece this summer we looked at the Apex and again found ourselves booking Seabourn because we thought it was a much better value (and we do love smaller ship cruising).  

 

Perhaps this is another topic but in the past 5 years we started to realize that the price gap between the luxury cruise lines and comparable cabins on the mass market lines had gotten out of balance.  We also discovered MSC's Yacht Club (when it was about $300 per person/day) which was (in my opinion) the best bargain in all of the cruise world.  Unfortunately, MSC finally figured it out and their YC pricing has been quickly increasing.

 

Hank

[iancal]

This is exactly why we have never been so called 'loyal' to any one cruise line.

 

Bottom line for us is price and product.  We would never consider paying above the odds for a cruise simply because of cruise line loyalty when a similar or better product is offered at a what we consider to be a much more competitive price.   Price is one component but overall value based on our preferences is the deciding factor for us.

 

 Not interested in paying 25-30 points more for a Med or a SA cruise simply because of the logo on the funnel or the color of the hull.  These have been some of the price deltas that we have experienced when booking short listed cruises on the mass market line offerings-typically Princess, HAL, Celebrity, and RCI.

Edited May 29, 2021 by iancal

[Buck Turgidson]

We usually like to walk around the local area, beaches being our main goal, local shops,  food and drink, I stop at the port shops run by locals when going back to ship and look around and have a couple of beers. I pay a little more in the port  but don't really give a ship.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We really prefer the less developed ports, such as Dominica, and while it's fine to have a very developed port area, like St. Maarten's, we tend to get out of that area very quickly, whether by walking or taking a tour.

 

Some ports do make getting to the actual things we want to see/do difficult because of logistics, but those are often the exact places we want to see, so we deal with it.  I'm thinking of places like Livorno, the port for Athens, etc.

 

 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We really prefer the less developed ports, such as Dominica, and while it's fine to have a very developed port area, like St. Maarten's, we tend to get out of that area very quickly, whether by walking or taking a tour.

 

Some ports do make getting to the actual things we want to see/do difficult because of logistics, but those are often the exact places we want to see, so we deal with it.  I'm thinking of places like Livorno, the port for Athens, etc.

 

 

On our very first cruise while in Livorno, I managed to get us on the train going the wrong way.😢 DW figured it out, and we did get back. We managed to get to Pisa, but not Florence where we wanted to go. We did not get to Florence until 10 years later on another cruise.

 

BTW, the port for Athens is Piraeus.

[wowzz]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:44 PM, rkacruiser said:

Even Madeira has caused some reasons for concern

Virtually every city in the world has one or two dodgy areas, but I'm amazed you found any in Funchal. You must have really walked a long way from the port terminal to find anywhere remotely "iffy" !

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

Virtually every city in the world has one or two dodgy areas, but I'm amazed you found any in Funchal. You must have really walked a long way from the port terminal to find anywhere remotely "iffy" !

Agreed -I’ve stopped there several times (obviously not seeing every area), and found it probably the safest-appearing port ever.

[wowzz]

55 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Agreed -I’ve stopped there several times (obviously not seeing every area), and found it probably the safest-appearing port ever.

For us Brits, it is considered a very safe holiday destination. The real drawback is trying to land at the airport if the wind is unfriendly,  and you end up diverting to Lisbon,  and staying there for a few days. 

Funchal is ranked as the 9th most dangerous airport in the world, although, strangely, that is never mentioned in the holiday brochures!

[cruisemom42]

20 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

Some ports do make getting to the actual things we want to see/do difficult because of logistics, but those are often the exact places we want to see, so we deal with it.  I'm thinking of places like Livorno, the port for Athens, etc.

 

Over the past decade the port at Piraeus has become increasingly easy to navigate and DIY to Athens. Once upon a time you had to walk about 30-35 minutes to the metro station and get on the (above ground) metro line to Athens. Then they added a bus to the metro, which was still somewhat infrequent. Then they added an express bus from the port (stops at both piers) right into Athens, with a couple of stops. 

 

Also, Piraeus isn't that far from Athens. A regular taxi isn't prohibitively expensive. It takes about 25-30 minutes, whereas Livorno is more like 90 minutes.