What was your favorite overnight port?

[sverigecruiser]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Around 50% of cruise ship passengers are from the US. We can barely fly from one coast to the other for that cost, let alone fly to Venice and stay there. 

 

 

But you still have the cost go get to Europe. 

[cruisemom42]

15 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

But you still have the cost go get to Europe. 

 

Yes, that's exactly my point. Getting there isn't easy or cheap for us. If we wanted to just experience being on a cruise ship, we would book a Caribbean or Mexican or Alaska cruise. We tend to go to Europe for the experiences ashore. Or at least most say so.

 

I expect the real reason many return to the ship in the evening is because they are older and have done about as much as they can manage ashore.

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

21 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, that's exactly my point. Getting there isn't easy or cheap for us. If we wanted to just experience being on a cruise ship, we would book a Caribbean or Mexican or Alaska cruise. We tend to go to Europe for the experiences ashore. Or at least most say so.

 

 

 

And my point is that if you want the experiences ashore it should be cheaper to just go to the places you want to visit instead of taking a cruise.

 

I'm sorry for this off topic discussion. To answer the op:s question: I haven't experienced any overnight stays in port because we prefer not to have that. If we ever do a world cruise I might appreciate overnight stays in big cities in Asia or Australia.

[sverigecruiser]

28 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I expect the real reason many return to the ship in the evening is because they are older and have done about as much as they can manage ashore.

 

 

I think that is a very valid reason to go back to the ship early.

[cruisemom42]

21 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I think that is a very valid reason to go back to the ship early.

 

I agree. I'm not implying that it isn't. I seem to be having trouble getting you to understand my point. Maybe I should rethink and rephrase. I don't have the answers, I'm just pondering.

 

Let me try saying it this way:  Many cruisers say they value overnights in port and rate them highly (as cruise surveys indicate). Also, operational overnights tend to be in major cities or ports, not for example on small Caribbean (or Greek) islands. This would seem to indicate that people will want to take advantage of the extra time to see and do more in these ports, where there is more to see and do. 

 

Given this, why is there a disconnect between these ratings and the number of passengers who ACTUALLY take advantage of having an overnight in port?  This is what puzzles me.

 

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I agree. I'm not implying that it isn't. I seem to be having trouble getting you to understand my point. Maybe I should rethink and rephrase. I don't have the answers, I'm just pondering.

 

Let me try saying it this way:  Many cruisers say they value overnights in port and rate them highly (as cruise surveys indicate). Also, operational overnights tend to be in major cities or ports, not for example on small Caribbean (or Greek) islands. This would seem to indicate that people will want to take advantage of the extra time to see and do more in these ports, where there is more to see and do. 

 

Given this, why is there a disconnect between these ratings and the number of passengers who ACTUALLY take advantage of having an overnight in port?  This is what puzzles me.

 

 

 

 

I understand your point, I just don't agree with it and that is okay.

 

I'm also just pondering! Why cruise if what you want is the land part? I don't have the answer to that question, that's okay too!

[Aquahound]

So, trying to steer the thread back on topic....

 

My favorite overnight was in Venice.

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I expect the real reason many return to the ship in the evening is because they are older and have done about as much as they can manage ashore.

 

 

Yep, I'm a little over the hill to be pulling an all nighter!  😄   

 

I enjoyed the overnight in Venice because it was easy to get from the ship to Venice proper.  There are a lot of ports that offer this same kind of convenience.  If an evening visit involved a lengthy drive or excursion, I would probably skip it unless it was something I found extremely appealing.  An additional potential benefit to the overnight ports is you might be able to squeeze in two excursions.  

Edited June 28, 2023 by ldubs

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, that's exactly my point. Getting there isn't easy or cheap for us. If we wanted to just experience being on a cruise ship, we would book a Caribbean or Mexican or Alaska cruise. We tend to go to Europe for the experiences ashore. Or at least most say so.

 

 

Mexican Riviera and less frequent Caribbean cruises are pretty much as you say for us.  We usually only take those with a group.  It is about enjoying the ship while hanging with family and friends.

[SelectSys]

St Petersburg - probably not happening again for a while...

[MCC retired]

Was always and still is Bermuda

[Charles4515]

Hamilton Bermuda, St. George's Bermuda, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Venice, Copenhagen. Aruba. I put them in somewhat order but they were all good, Royal Naval Dockyard Bermuda. Notice I list Bermuda 3 times seperatly because all 3 are different. The Dockyard is my least favorite of the three but still good. We  did something special in the evening at all of them. 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

On 6/26/2023 at 6:26 AM, ontheweb said:

Our favorite overnight was in St. Petersburg. Obviously, no one is going to get the opportunity to do that again any time soon, or possibly ever.

Never say never. 

[Charles4515]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:44 AM, mom says said:

For Copenhagen, you might want to consider an evening at Tivoli Gardens.

I second that recommendation. Way better in the evening than in daytime. 

[Charles4515]

On 6/26/2023 at 9:37 PM, cruisemom42 said:

In Istanbul I enjoyed a full day sightseeing on my own, then had dinner at a traditional restaurant, seated outside with a view of the lit-up Blue Mosque in front of me. I took the tram back to the ship around 10:00 pm at night by myself, never had any problem. On my next Med cruise I'll have an opportunity to duplicate this with another overnight in Istanbul.

 

You can do Iskitlal ,Taksim Square and the Galata district .at night on your own . 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Never say never. 

How about not anytime soon?

[eyecantwait]

On 6/26/2023 at 7:26 AM, ontheweb said:

Our favorite overnight was in St. Petersburg. Obviously, no one is going to get the opportunity to do that again any time soon, or possibly ever.

same

 

[SPacificbound]

I actually don't remember any overnights other than Venice and St. Petersburg (not Florida).

 

For favorite, that would be Venice. 

 

Cruisemom42  We come under the heading of had enough for the day, or as much as we can manage.  🙂

Edited June 29, 2023 by SPacificbound
added to content

[SPacificbound]

To change direction just a bit, we do both cruise and land travel. I book a cruise for itinerary, but also I book for destination. We have done a lot of TAs and we stay in Europe and the UK for a few weeks and then return to the US on Queen Mary 2. We're doing this again in 2024, it's a lovely way to travel, plus we do enjoy the ships.

 

I don't book Caribbean because we have already done that multiple times via air and land back when the grandkids were young. Everyone has preferences of their own. We are all incredibly fortunate that we can even have this "conversation".  😀

 

[newoncruise]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:01 PM, sverigecruiser said:

Why cruise if what you want is the land part?

 

Either you get an idea of a city or region you might want to visit for a longer time in the future or you can visit again a spot you like - and as a bonus you have the amneties of a cruise ship.

[wwarren57]

It occurred to me that I have actually been on four cruises that stayed overnight in port. Aruba 2003, Key West (unplanned) 2008, Curacao 2016, and Bermuda 2017. Key West is still #1 in my book.

[navybankerteacher]

14 hours ago, SPacificbound said:

To change direction just a bit, we do both cruise and land travel. I book a cruise for itinerary, but also I book for destination. We have done a lot of TAs and we stay in Europe and the UK for a few weeks and then return to the US on Queen Mary 2. We're doing this again in 2024, it's a lovely way to travel, plus we do enjoy the ships.

 

I don't book Caribbean because we have already done that multiple times via air and land back when the grandkids were young. Everyone has preferences of their own. We are all incredibly fortunate that we can even have this "conversation".  😀

 

Same here - we visit family in England at least every other year and coming back on QM2 (which drops us off less than an hour from home) is not only a good way to spend a week, it is less expensive than all but the most dismal of air flights.

[winifred]

Favourite so far for an overnight was Cuba, it was amazing! The people were so lovely and we hailed a taxi a  pink Cadillac to take us to the famous Hotel National de Cuba where we had a mojito sitting after dinner in the beautiful gardens with no rush to go back to the ship! 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

It was years ago, on one of the Seabourn Triplets which is small enough to dock at Bordeaux.  Due to a labor dispute in La Rochelle, we had to overnight in Bordeaux, rather than sailing at dinnertime on Saturday.  We left the following day (Sunday) at noon.

 

It was wonderful for everyone.  Saturday night in Bordeaux!  The crew got an unexpected night off the ship and many of them went to some clubs in Bordeaux.  We were able to attend a concert in town.  There was a large farmers market on the piers that Sunday morning.  

 

All in all, still memorable.