Some people love to cruise. If this describes you and you live in Florida, you might have seen the Caribbean ports more times than you have fingers and toes. As hundreds or thousands of passengers line up at the gangway with shore excursion tickets in hand, other veteran cruisers tell their friends “We are staying onboard today.” What can you do?
Be aware when a ship is in port, several of the activities shut down. The shops are closed. The casino is closed. Simply put, if it is a business that might compete with a land-based alternative, it is closed.
Let us look at ten activities smart cruisers engage in when choosing to stay onboard:
- Relaxing in the sun by the pool. One of the problems on cruise ships in sunny climates is the lounger or desk chair hog. These are people who secure a lounger early, then leave person items as a marker, similar to placing an orange traffic cone in your favorite parking space back home. Put another way, the best locations are always taken. When the majority of the passengers are on tours, many of the loungers around the pool are available.
- Will the dining room do special orders today? Cruise ships want to keep their passengers happy. They also need to function as a finely calibrated machine. At dinner, the servers are flying around taking and delivering orders. You need to be in a higher-grade suite with a separate dining room to get a special order. Port days might be different, depending on the ship. Ask the headwaiter or maître d’ in the main dining room the day before if it might be possible to get a special-order during lunch on the following day while you are in port. The dining room will probably be pretty quiet at lunchtime. If ever they can do it, this would be the day.
- The wine stewards have free time. The sommeliers are flying around just like the servers on a regular dinner seating. They have no free time. Things are quieter at lunch most days and even quieter when the ship is in port. The ship might have a “bin end list” which is the selection of wines where they only have a bottle or two left or the wines remaining from the last list after they introduced the new list. These are discounted to clear them out. The wine steward will need to check if they have one, then bring it back to you. This takes time. A port day is ideal. We have done this before. How many bottles of this one do you have? Set aside six for us. We will finish them at dinner during the remainder of the cruise.
- Getting laundry done. Laundry sounds boring, but it is free. You can send it out with your cabin steward, but that costs you. If you pick a time on a lazy afternoon at sea, you will discover a dozen other passengers had the same idea. All the machines are spinning! Check out the launderette. If it looks empty, run back to your cabin and bring your laundry!
- Booking a specialty restaurant for that evening. The themed restaurants can book up quickly, especially towards the end of your cruise. Once the ship leaves the pier, “normal service is resumed” and the restaurants are back to serving dinner. They might not be as busy on a port day because people coming back from tours might assume they are tired and sweaty and don’t want to dress for dinner or have a formal meal. It should be easier to get seated.
- Using the hot tubs. Have you passed the Jacuzzis or hot tubs and noticed lots of young children in them? Sharing space is not the experience you had in mind. On a port day, if the seating around the outdoor pool is limited, at least one of the hot tubs should be available too.
- Visiting the gym. You might have too much going on most days to find time to visit the onboard gym. Ideally you want 60-90 minutes. You do not want to feel rushed. You do not want to dash from one piece of equipment to another. The gym should not be too busy for the same reason all those sun loungers around the pool are empty.
- Check out duty free liquor on the pier. In my opinion, walking from the gangway to the shops on the pier does not count as “leaving the ship.” You are not exploring town or going on a tour. In Dominica I found the closest shop to the pier carried liter sized bottles of Bombay Gin at about $17. They were about twice that onboard. The ship has a price match guarantee. I bought a bottle on shore, kept the receipt, took a picture of the price, showed it at the ship’s duty-free shop and bought another bottle.
- Buy the tonic for your gin and tonic cabin party. Why am I buying gin? Lots of reasons like “It makes a great gift” but “Lets plan a cabin party” is another reason. You need large bottles of tonic and at least one huge lemon or lime as a garnish. You might buy plastic cups, but your cabin steward can probably supply glassware. You can host a pretty good cocktail hour before dinner on a formal night.
- Can you pick up internet access from the island? The good news is technology has improved and cruise ships now have great internet service. The bad news is that it is expensive. You are used to using WIFI, but cell service is an option too. Your wireless plan might allow for calling from overseas. At least you should have some options. Get out on deck and give it a try.
There is plenty to do on a port day even if you choose to stay on the ship while most other people head ashore.
Cover photo: Windstar Wind Surf in port of Kotor, Montenegrocredit © Dennis Cox/WorldViews
Browse Cruise Ships and Cruise Lines
Ed. Notes: CruiseCompete and its member travel advisors provide many curated cruise and land deals, offers and amenities on over 50 cruise lines with over 500 cruise ships sailing all around the world.
Shore Excursions – Ports, Day & Weekend Trips
