What do you do in port?

Mebert · December 19, 2003

I have an inclination to seek out the little towns and cities. I might stop in a restaurant that frequented by the locals so I can get some inkling as to what the population is like. I've visited the "downtown" areas of St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbados and Aruba. I've always had a great time and was able to purchase souvenirs and liquor in those towns.

Mebert · December 19, 2003

I have an inclination to seek out the little towns and cities. I might stop in a restaurant that frequented by the locals so I can get some inkling as to what the population is like. I've visited the "downtown" areas of St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbados and Aruba. I've always had a great time and was able to purchase souvenirs and liquor in those towns.

GottaCruz · January 21, 2007

Although this topic was posted quite a while back, I think that this topic DaCruzNut posted was great, with great info and great photos. Bumping this up so everyone can enjoy this.

Gregswife · January 22, 2007

We always do shopping in every port - usually for souvenirs for the family. We also like to take a tour of the town - usually by taxi. We usually see if there is any place that has good beach snorkeling, and of course, make those calls home...

Lisa63 · January 22, 2007

If it's a port I've never visited, I usually take a cruise line's "port highlights" tour. If the town is small and within walking distance of the pier, we'll do some research before we leave and set out on our own walking tour.

If we've visited the port before, we'll usually have lunch in port and get to talking with some of the people who live there. We also enjoy visiting museums in the cooler-weather ports, and beaches in the warmer-weather ports.

My favorites so far:

Halifax, NS - Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and Pier 21 Immigration Museum

Quebec City - Walking around the wall that encloses the old city

Mazatlan - Colonial Villages Tour (5 hours visiting small villages in the Sierra Madre)

Ocho Rios - Plantation tour (I don't recall which one, but it was so plush, and we were treated to a buffet lunch and allowed to use the pool. This was back in 1992, and is still remembered as a highlight.)

JohnG · January 22, 2007

I'm a snorkeling fan. I have snorkeled in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, Grand Cayman, Curacao, St Thomas, St John, Barbados, Antigua, Martinique, Dominica, Isle de Sainte, Anguilla, Peter Island, Key West, Gulf of Siam, Hawaii, Puerta Vallarta, Zuijuatenajo, Acapulco, and perhaps 1 or 2 I have overlooked in this list. I bring my own mask, fins and snorkel.

rogue · January 22, 2007

We'll tour the island then do a little shopping. At least one port on a cruise will be for snorkelling.

sailingrose · January 22, 2007

Jeff we too have our favorite haunts but we rarely get off the ship anymore but there are a few exceptions.

In Cozumel I hit one of the Beach clubs, usually Paradise Beach.

Jamaica tubing down the river or the raft trip, both very restful!

Aruba, Curacao, St Thomas definately beach and snorkeling time.

Suzila · January 23, 2007

First choice is a city tour, in a new location.

In Ensenada, Mexico, where we've been countless times, because we take that cruise as often as possible, we get off the ship with a giant box of Oreos from Costco, and hand them out to the Indian kids who are selling Chiclets. It's a thrill to see their faces light up when they are offered cookies. We also head to one specific store that sells stained glass and add to our collection.

In Juneau we go white water rafting.

In Skagway we like to do the dog sledding.

We're not fans of the beach or water, so our snorkeling days are over. If we are in the Caribbean, we try to do whatever city tours are available, but so far we haven't found anything we really raved about. We tried to do the ruins in Cozumel, but it was two weeks after the first hurricane in 2005, and they cancelled the tour. The reason was the ruins were ruined! Ha ha!

In Victoria we did the Butchart gardens and loved it- would go back again and again. In Vancouver we've done the suspension bridge and would do that again too.

YellowBird · January 23, 2007

We normally do a snorkeling type excursion, okay...you got me...I tend to look for the fiesta party boats that pour mexican beer and rum down you after snorkeling..then stumble my way back to the boat. I just love these type of exursions. It has a fun atmosphere with people doing conga lines, limbo sticks, etc. We also have done the submarine. That is a must if you have never done it before.