Ports of Call--does it matter where you go?

[Atomicmickey]

Again, thoughts based on my first cruise, ever.

We stopped at Nassau and Castaway Cay.

I knew Nassau was going to be a bust, was told so and agree. Castaway Cay, well, that's Disney.

I wonder what a cruise would be like to lots of different ports, and I suspect it wouldn't be that different and wouldn't matter.

If a boat is docked for 8 hours, just about anywhere, all you really have the chance to see is the tourist district of a place. If you really want to buy a handbag, jewelry, etc. then maybe, whooeee. I don't know about that, shopping holds no interest for me and so I wouldn't care. I don't call 8 hours in a tourist district "seeing a country".

So the question is, is "the cruise" the thing, or are the ports the thing? For my part, if I was going to "port" at someplace like Cozumel, I'd probably rather just go to Cozumel.

I couldn't even think of cruising someplace like Europe--where you just dock and get eight hours to "see" Italy or something like that. Wow. That's not seeing Italy.

Is there a list of "best ports"? "Best itineraries"? Do you have one?

I think, for the Dream, the boat is the thing. Nassau is no great shakes--I know they are required to go there, so that's why. The
rest of the cruise we were just poking along at 5 miles an hour, so I know we could have seen and done so much more than we did, ports of call-wise.

Where will the Fantasy go? Or will it take this conservative schedule, and the Dream will take on a new one?

 

[DisneyJoe]

Where will the Fantasy go? Or will it take this conservative schedule, and the Dream will take on a new one?

The Dream and the Fantasy are committed to sail from Port Canaveral for at least a few years - 2014? or 2016??

That being said, I believe the Dream is committed to 3,4, and 5 night Bahamian Cruises, with the Fantasy going to do 7-night Caribbean cruises... I believe one of the recently announced Ports of Call for the Fantasy will be San Juan.


Re: Nassau - My wife and son took a tour of Nassau to see all of the historic sites and to visit Atlantis - they enjoyed it - that being said, they won't do it every time we stop there, but they would do it again on occasion.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

For me it's a big combination. I could stay on the ship most of the time and be fine. Other than Castaway Cay of course.

We have found something we loved in every port, though.

Atlantis is amazing in Nassau.
Tortola it was the dolphin swim.
St. Martin, beautful beach and shopping.
St. Thomas, snorkeling with sea turtles.
Etc. Etc.

The Mediterranaean cruise was actually my favorite. Partly because of how long we were on the ship, but the ports were incredible. Sure we only had about 8 hours in Rome, but we saw the Colisseum, the Vatican, the Spanish steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We wandered the streets and ate pizza from a local restaurant.

We walked through Naples and spent several hours in Pompeii.

We were in Pisa for a couple of hours and went back to the ship. We wanted to see the tower and we did.

The list of stops goes on and on. Did we see all of Italy? Absolutely not. Did we only see the tourist district? Definitely not.

Did we see a ton of things in 8 different European countries and even Africa? Yes we did.

 

[DisneyJoe]

So the question is, is "the cruise" the thing, or are the ports the thing? For my part, if I was going to "port" at someplace like Cozumel, I'd probably rather just go to Cozumel.

I couldn't even think of cruising someplace like Europe--where you just dock and get eight hours to "see" Italy or something like that. Wow. That's not seeing Italy.

For some, a cruise is the best of both worlds - you get to experience what the ship has to offer, the fact that it becomes your home away from home for the length of the trip (your room travels with you, you unpack once), yet you get to visit port destinations that give you a taste of what each place has to offer - without the full commitment of booking a full trip to that country.

Also, in many cases, especially with the Mediterranean cruises, you get more than 8 hours in a port - i.e. from http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...ope/itineraries/7-night-mediterranean-cruise/

Cannes, France - 7:45am - 6:30pm
Florence/Pisa - 7:30am - 7:30pm
Rome - 7:45am - 9pm
Naples/Pompeii - 7:30am - 9pm

For DCL Alaskan Cruises, the stop in Skagway Alaska is a 12 hour stop...

It's also very possible to get out of the tourist districts at a port.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

For some, a cruise is the best of both worlds - you get to experience what the ship has to offer, the fact that it becomes your home away from home for the length of the trip (your room travels with you, you unpack once), yet you get to visit port destinations that give you a taste of what each place has to offer - without the full commitment of booking a full trip to that country.

Also, in many cases, especially with the Mediterranean cruises, you get more than 8 hours in a port - i.e. from http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...ope/itineraries/7-night-mediterranean-cruise/

Cannes, France - 7:45am - 6:30pm
Florence/Pisa - 7:30am - 7:30pm
Rome - 7:45am - 9pm
Naples/Pompeii - 7:30am - 9pm

For DCL Alaskan Cruises, the stop in Skagway Alaska is a 12 hour stop...

It's also very possible to get out of the tourist districts at a port.

I totally agree. The first paragraph sums my feelings up perfectly.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Now you've got my mouth watering for Neapolitan Pizza.

That Mediterranean cruise does sound awfully nice. I've backpacked through Italy before, so it's OK to just hit the highlights and pamper yourself, right? Right? :lol:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Now you've got my mouth watering for Neapolitan Pizza.

That Mediterranean cruise does sound awfully nice. I've backpacked through Italy before, so it's OK to just hit the highlights and pamper yourself, right? Right? :lol:

Right!! My 13 year old has now seen places (the highlights) that many people will never see in their lives!!

Here's my trip report if you ever want to know more!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=581876&highlight=mediterranean

 

[Phonedave]

I think, with enough advanced planning, you can make a port of call pretty interesting.

Here is what I am basing that on. My friends have two time shares in the Grand Caymans. I have been lucky enough that they let me (and other friends) use one of them for a week the last two years. I know the island pretty well now.

Quite a few cruise lines make stops at the Grand Caymans. The ships come in, and tender you (no deepwater harbor) to the tourist trap part of the island. Margaritaville, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. You know the kind of area. The thing is, there are some 'real' island areas and interesting local things not more than a 5 minute taxi drive from there. There are also a lot of other intersting places you can go and see, but you do not have time to wander around. You have to know where you are going.

I suspect most ports of call are like that. There are 'non-touristy' things you can do in the area, but you have to know about them and go right to them, not waste time poking around for things you can find. It's not a like staying at a location where if you miss you are a bit late for dinner reservations, well you work something out. At a port of call, you don't want to be a bit late for departure.

-dave

 

[Atomicmickey]

Right!! My 13 year old has now seen places (the highlights) that many people will never see in their lives!!

Here's my trip report if you ever want to know more!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=581876&highlight=mediterranean

Great trip report, I read all of your installments, thank you for that!

I'll admit you got to see and do a lot more than I thought you would on a cruise. You seemed very motivated, though! That's my travel style also, I imagine a lot of people just take the closest excursion, though.

Gives me a lot to think about as I ponder possible future cruises.

 

[tracyandalex]

We plan on taking one of hte mediterranean cruises in the next couple of years and using it as research for when we hopefully actually go to some of those countries on vacation. as for the other stops - we would love to go everywhere so we count those as added bonuses!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Great trip report, I read all of your installments, thank you for that!

I'll admit you got to see and do a lot more than I thought you would on a cruise. You seemed very motivated, though! That's my travel style also, I imagine a lot of people just take the closest excursion, though.

Gives me a lot to think about as I ponder possible future cruises.

I read it again after I found the link! Sigh. I want to go back!

We were very motivated. We were motivated by a mixture of saving money and wanting to see some don't miss sites! We made a list of each port and what we each wanted to see. That involved splitting up one day, but we all saw what we wanted!

We plan on taking one of hte mediterranean cruises in the next couple of years and using it as research for when we hopefully actually go to some of those countries on vacation. as for the other stops - we would love to go everywhere so we count those as added bonuses!

That's a good point too. We enjoyed Atlantis enough we decided we want to go back and stay. Our son did just that this summer for four nights.

 

[ImaYoyo]

As long as you do some homework, you should be able to get a good taste of that country/city.

Ex: Many people hear absolutely hate Nassau... but I would guess many people know Nassau to be the Port District (read - straw market) or Atlantis. But I absolutely LOVE that Island! We enjoy going to The One and Only Ocean Club and walking around the Versailles Gardens, or headed to the back side of the Island near millionaire row, checking out some of the most beautiful beaches you will ever see.

Just be sure to do some homework before you go and you can have a fantastic time at any of the ports of call.

BTW, my other favorite would be Virgin Gorda on the Tortola cruises. The Baths can be a lot of fun to explore, and there are some great desert paths and trails with beautiful views on that island.

 

[ChuckElias]

The Mediterranaean cruise was actually my favorite. Partly because of how long we were on the ship, but the ports were incredible. Sure we only had about 8 hours in Rome, but we saw the Colisseum, the Vatican, the Spanish steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We wandered the streets and ate pizza from a local restaurant.

We walked through Naples and spent several hours in Pompeii.

We were in Pisa for a couple of hours and went back to the ship. We wanted to see the tower and we did.

The list of stops goes on and on. Did we see all of Italy? Absolutely not. Did we only see the tourist district? Definitely not.

Right!! My 13 year old has now seen places (the highlights) that many people will never see in their lives!!

I could not agree with these comments more!! The fact that my daughter (15 years old) has seen the Tower of Pisa, Catherine's Palace (in St. Petersburg), the Vatican and Colosseum, and the Berlin Wall are irreplaceable gifts to her.

Yes, it was a lot of money, but I have to be honest and say that it was worth every penny. We could've gone on another cruise line, I'm sure. But our familiarity with the Disney ships and staff and the service onboard made it worth it to us.

Those were very special cruises, of course, and so we made a huge effort to see as much as we could. On the Caribbean cruises, though, I tend to enjoy the ship more than the ports.

At St. Maarten, I enjoyed taking the ferry to St. John, actually, and wouldn't mind doing that again. And at Tortola, we took a boat to Virgin Gorda and went to "the Baths", which were amazing. I would recommend that highly.