Days on board

[Belfast Castle]

We are on a 12 night Explorer Southern Caribbean cruise starting next Sunday.

 

We are first time cruisers so we would like to get the good of the ship but also want to visit some ports of call. Now we are at sea 4 full days and then have 7 ports of call. I have already booked private tours on 4 of these ports - one day we just want to rela on the beach and think we can do that ourselves. Now my real question is is it acceptable to stay on board during a port call. Or would we be one of few on board. One of the stops is n St Juan and for 6 hours - we were thinking we might just stay on board - or would we be missing something? Any tips please

[Sue L]

We are on a 12 night Explorer Southern Caribbean cruise starting next Sunday.

 

We are first time cruisers so we would like to get the good of the ship but also want to visit some ports of call. Now we are at sea 4 full days and then have 7 ports of call. I have already booked private tours on 4 of these ports - one day we just want to rela on the beach and think we can do that ourselves. Now my real question is is it acceptable to stay on board during a port call. Or would we be one of few on board. One of the stops is n St Juan and for 6 hours - we were thinking we might just stay on board - or would we be missing something? Any tips please

 

 

You can stay on board yes you will be one of the few, but you will have the ship to yourself. San Juan is very nice but with only 6 hours and very port intensive you might need that day to relax. If you want to get off for a little while I would say go to El Morro which is a fort , walk back down through Old San Juan and then get back on the ship. San Juan is one of my favorite ports but there are many opinions.

[Old Cars]

You might want to consider going ashore in Old San Juan. It is an old city with narrow cobblestone streets and many good restaurants.

 

As far as staying on the ship at some ports, this is not uncommon. You will have plenty of company.

[negc]

It is always acceptable to stay onboard the ship while it is in port. If you have not been to San Juan before, however, you might want to reconsider. There is a lot of history in Old San Juan and some nice beaches in the Isla Verde and Condado sections of New San Juan. You might want to see if there are other ports where you might either forego getting off the ship, or where you might limit your time onshore. You don't have to be off the ship as soon as it is cleared by the local officials or the last one to reboard before she sails. Perhaps by spending a bit less time in each port, you might be less affected by your port-intensive itinerary.

[cruise_lover]

WOW - 1st cruise - 12 days. I am really really wishing this was me. To answer your question, no you will not be by yourselves on-board. About 1/4 of the passengers stay on-board during a port stop. It is a nice feeling. No standing in line at the buffet lines or even greater service in the main dining room because it is not crowded. You can actually go to the photo gallery and look at each and every photo posted without someone breathing down your neck looking for their photographs. You can pick your own lounge chair at the pool, sit in the Atrium (spelling ??) and read a book without a lot of noise distracting you and even catch up on your sleep. By all means stay on the ship and enjoy yourself.

We are on a 12 night Explorer Southern Caribbean cruise starting next Sunday.

 

We are first time cruisers so we would like to get the good of the ship but also want to visit some ports of call. Now we are at sea 4 full days and then have 7 ports of call. I have already booked private tours on 4 of these ports - one day we just want to rela on the beach and think we can do that ourselves. Now my real question is is it acceptable to stay on board during a port call. Or would we be one of few on board. One of the stops is n St Juan and for 6 hours - we were thinking we might just stay on board - or would we be missing something? Any tips please

 

[RevSmith]

You have eight days in port if you have four sea days at sea...you can do what ever you want on any of the days you wish. Understand that the dinning room is not open for lunch on the days you are in port...nor is the casino or the shops, and they do cut down on the services because many of the crew do go ashore. If you like sitting by the pool, or just plain relaxing it is a great plan...the ship will be less crowded. I usually take a day to sleep and pamper myself on those long cruises...so I do miss a port or two. There are also some services that are discounted on those days...so you are free to make your own decision...it is your cruise.

[raytownlady]

The Spa will run port day specials on some of their treatments so if you're so inclined, take advantage of those! We generally stay onboard on at least one of our days in port especially if its an island we've visited on several occasions.

[cb at sea]

You've paid for the ship--I think it's a great idea to actually USE it! We routinely stay onboard when in ports that don't interest us! Its a wonderful way to "pretend" you're on your own yacht!! Not everything will be open, but the pool and the bar will be, so......It's ok by me!

Our last 10 day cruise, we booked NO excursions at all! You don't HAVE to! There's no rule!

[Belfast Castle]

thanks to everyone for your advice - think we may go off for a little while and just take a walk about.

[cctn]

thanks to everyone for your advice - think we may go off for a little while and just take a walk about.

 

 

HI Belfast: Are you leaving Nov 11 from Cape Liberty New Jersey?

If so, we will be with you - we normally walk around San Juan - they have some stores not too far from the pier and we enjoy shopping around a bit. As far as staying on board, nothing wrong with that - you can have the entire ship to yourself - lots will be staying, lots will be going out..

 

Carol