Sometimes It Isn’t Worth Leaving The Ship

Florida is the cruise ship center of the world.  Port Miami and Port Canaveral are the two top cruise ports in the world. The #1 cruise ship line is Carnival with 90 ships and it is  headquartered in Miami, as is #2 Royal Caribbean and #4 Norwegian Cruise Line. #5 is the Disney Cruise Line in Orlando.

Too many of us do NOT do our homework.  We assume all Caribbean and tropical ports have lovely beaches and exciting tours. To be honest, there are places where you might not want to leave the ship! The cruise industry is quite competitive and there is a need for good destinations. It is OK to turn a Bahama island into a beach stop although it is very commercialized. I am not sure this works when you make an artificial port that resembles a movie set and stock it with job seekers.

In this article, we selected those destinations that are on regular weekly cruise schedules rather than the less frequent long cruises into the Eastern Caribbean.  We will cover them later.

KEY WEST  B

For people who have never been to Key West, the town is a cool looking place. But the streets get crowded when ships arrive, the mostly man-made beaches are average (the one hidden behind the fort is best), and the prices and products are American resort levels. Good restaurants but limited time for snorkeling and boat tours. If you like shopping for resort goods, Key West is fun. And everyone speaks English maybe with a Conch accent.

Key West is compact making for quick shopping and local tours

FREEPORT, Bahamas   C-

They need the tourist money after the terrible hurricane hit Grand Bahama Island, but Freeport is an ugly container port, and you need a REAL taxi to flee fast to Lucaya Beach with its shops and water activities. Go online and look at some of the interesting tours on the underdeveloped East End of the island. ALSO check to see if you have enough time in port to do anything more than hit the beach at Lucaya.

NASSAU, Bahamas    B

Overcrowded with cruise ships and a giant junk festival at the huge Straw Market, people need to get REAL transport to get over to Paradise Island or Cable Beach with its great beaches and upscale glamour. Don’t go anywhere “over the hill” in Nassau. Royal Caribbean has the advantage of running the Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island. The local resort people will steer you away from many bad places but not expensive places.

Escape the Straw Market and head for Paradise Island or Cable Beach for recreation

PRIVATE ISLANDS    B+

Most of the major Florida cruise lines own and operate private islands in the Bahamas that have been turned into multi-beach spots (adult and family), extensive water parks, restaurants and bars, and facilities. They are great for families and couples who enjoy outdoor activities but are less of an attraction  for seniors or people who fear getting barbecued in the sun.

The top ones for facilities and activities are Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean), Celebration Key (Carnival) Castaway Cay (Disney), and Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian, Regent). More subdued are Ocean Cay (MSC) and Princess Cays (Princess).

Harvest Caye (Norwegian) is an island off Belize, a land where visiting other islands require boating from the ugly Belize City Pier. Local people operate the facilities and restaurants.

GEORGETOWN, Cayman Islands   B

A great huge beach, friendly people, devoid of scams, and the English language. So why not achieve a higher mark? The Caymans have no cruise port dock and when two or three cruise ships line up it takes over an hour to get passengers ashore. In rough weather a boat may have to cancel this port! It is also an expensive island so choose your activities with care.  The STINGRAY SANDBAR tour is a great trip for snorkeling and swimming.

COZUMEL Mexico  B-

Unlike the Caymans, Cozumel has giant docking facilities – too great for it is a long walk to get to a taxi. The town has good restaurants and shops, but they are downtown and the best beaches are not nearby and require some overpriced transportation.  You don’t visit Cozumel to tour Mayan temples, so people have to choose the available tours. The Mayan ruins on this island are small.

The dock location requires transport to the town shops and restaurants or the top beaches.

SAN JUAN  B+

The cruise dock is in Old San Juan with its magnificent fortification, shops, and historic restaurants. This is good for people who don’t want a trip to the beaches. Planning is a key. What do I do? I rented a jeep, took a swim at Luquillo Beach and drove up the rainforest trails of El Yunque.   WARNING: If you do this, be sure the windshield wipers work for the rainforest will rain!

A very urban port makes shopping and fort tours quite easy.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St Thomas American Virgin Islands  B+

I admit that the cruise port is overcrowded. I know that the shoppers were too frenzied. The town is too packed (40% of the residents are from other islands). It is a great place if you like to shop and dine. Otherwise, flee the town for the beaches on the other side of the hill like Magens Bay or take the gondola up Paradise Point..

BELIZE CITY  Belize D

There is no dock – it is a tender port and the time to get ashore to the rundown waterfront could have put you on a fast boat to the wonderful islands and water sport sites of Belize. Geography and transportation time separate tourists on cruise ships from appreciating this English-speaking nation’s inland tours. Belize City has an enclosed Fort Street Tourism Village guarded by tourist police.  There is a reason most of the Belize travel photos are of Ambergris Caye and scenic jungle resorts and not urban Belize City.

ROATON Honduras    D

This island is beautiful and the locals are very nice but there are few attractions. The “third world feel” to the town scares many tourists from wanting to get off the boat.  This island is perhaps the safest area in Honduras. Tours are not well organized. Carnival owns the Mahogany Bay terminal, and it has a self-contained shopping area and private beach. The Port of Roatan terminal is more urban and rustic. This port is best for adventurers.

Roaton is a good stop for adventurers but is no place for shopping and historic sites.

PROGRESSO Mexico  C

Mostly cruise ships from Texas visit this rustic Northern Yucatan port with a gigantic four-mile pier and 15-minute bus ride. The city beach is fair in summer but too turbulent in windy winter days. The shops and restaurants are authentic Mexico, but many will find this place a too small town with few sights. This port is the closest to Merida, which would be a good tour destination if you have enough time in port.

COSTA MAYO Mexico   C-

This is a movie set and not a real town. Due to docking issues this port is often canceled by cruise ships when there are rough weather conditions. . Although everything a tourist might want is packed into the village, veteran travelers are going on tours to Mayan ruins (a rugged trip). The nearest real town is a small fishing village still recovering from some hurricanes.

FALMOUTH & OCHO RIOS Jamaica   C

Crime is not an issue if you stay within the secure tourist complexes on the docks or take official tours to Dunn’s Falls or river rafting or the Ian Fleming complex. Jamaica has fun restaurants and bars but taking a taxi may be the best transportation even for short trips.  If you stay in the port area, however, you will feel you have been surrounded by a large commercial tourist trap.

GRAND TURK  Turks & Caicos   B+

Virgin is offering five-day cruises to Grand Turk with a stop in the Bahamas. This is a great port if you like swimming and water sports. Shopping and historic sights are not part of a vacation on these English-speaking islands east of the Bahamas.