Does anyone stay on the ship on excursion days?

[LisaDisney]

I was just wondering - I'm not too excited about the excursions in Mexico, I've been to those cities a lot... They're not too exciting - Puerta Vallarta is very pretty though, we will probably do something there. Anyway, I was wondering if people ever just stay on the ship? I hate to feel forced to spend $300 on something that we really don't feel enthusiastic about. (Dd is not old enough for a lot of things, and we refuse to separate from her in Mexico).

 

[soccermom10]

Hi Lisa. I have not done it myself (yet), but I hear the ship is great on port days. They still have activities planned, the pools are empty, plenty of chairs, etc.

 

[Brooklyn]

We stayed on during some days last cruise. It was pretty empty. It makes for a nice time. There really are not activties going on though. It is a great time to enjoy the pool. The kids clubs are open so you could always get some alone.

 

[Stinkerbell2007]

We stayed on during one of the ports because of a horrible migraine. My son, however, was one of very few in the family pool and there were NO lines for anything that day!

I just slept in a lounge chair while he played...

 

[flexsmom]

We love the ship on port days. We've traveled overseas a lot so our cruises tend to be more about relaxation and the ship than sight-seeing. So, this past year we stayed on the ship on Christmas Day and our two kids (age 8 and 4 at the time) ended up having a near-private dance party with CMs at the Goofy Pool. I think there were about 5 or 6 kids participating. Then Chip and Dale came out and they had some practically-private time with them! We had most of the pools to ourselves, no wait for ping-pong, etc. It was fabulous! We've done this a few times, but I think the impact of doing it on Christmas Day, which always seems to be so hectic for me at home, was just tremendous.

DH pretty much doesn't care if we do Eastern or Western - he's not remotely interested in the ports and is perfectly content to have time all together or alone as adults on port days.

 

[cmash95]

i plan on staying onboard in cabo because I don't like tendering. I might just get off for a bit in puerto vallarta to do some shopping and we have something scheduled for acapulco. with there being so many sea days on the repo cruise, it's good to get off just to stetch your legs but you don't have to really do anything.

 

[binky1]

We stayed on the boat while everyone else went into Cozumel. It was AWESOME!! My DH said he felt like it was his own private boat - the CMs were more relaxed too - not so many people to take care of!

 

[Verandah Man]

We've spent more time on the ship than doing excursions while in port. We cruise to relax, and that's just what we do. To us, the ship is more the destination, than the ports.........

 

[metzfan64]

We stayed onboard during our Grand Cayman day...it was great...we hung out by the family pool for a bit until DD went to the club and then DH and I then went to the Quiet Cove pool...ship was empty...it was great.

 

[LisaSp]

We've spent more time on the ship than doing excursions while in port. We cruise to relax, and that's just what we do. To us, the ship is more the destination, than the ports.........

We feel the same. We have only done 2 cruises, both Eastern. On the first one, we got off in St Maarten and St Thomas for a brief time, and enjoyed most of the day on an empty ship.

On our second one we stayed on board at both of these ports and really had a great time...kids had the pools to themselves, we had lunch in Lumiere's one of the days, etc. We put kids in the clubs in the afternoon and enjoyed some quiet time and adult beverages at the Quiet Cove pool. It was really relaxing and quiet and so nice to be on Deck 9 for most of the day with very few other passengers around.

 

[aan1701]

i plan on staying onboard in cabo because I don't like tendering. I might just get off for a bit in puerto vallarta to do some shopping and we have something scheduled for acapulco. with there being so many sea days on the repo cruise, it's good to get off just to stetch your legs but you don't have to really do anything.

I am on the same cruise as you and I could not agree with you more. I don't think I will get off at CC, if I do it will be for lunch and back on, but I literly just got a phone call from one of my friends on that cruise about hooking up at the knoched out bar after lunch, so I will most likely do that. In Aruba, just want to find a nice bar by the port. In Acapulco I will walk around the dock maybe. It will feel good to put the legs on land after 4 days at sea. PV, find a good bar by the port. Not planing on getting off again till I get home to L.A. I think I see a pattern here.

 

[crazed'boutmaryP]

We stayed on board this week on Grand Cayman day. It was wonderful. Pools were totally empty. Anytime I spoke to another guest, we just smiled and said "this is great". It seems everyone returned around 3-4pm and wanted to eat, so that's when we left deck 9. Kids clubs had some activities too. My daughters both had their hair braided, some characters roamed around deck. I would highly recommend this. Have fun.

 

[HiddenMickeys]

My family is not all that keen on St Maarten, but DW and DD love to shop, so we'll prob. get off for an hour or two, but definitely not until 7pm lol. I know the shops on the ship are closed while in port, but is everything else open? (ie, food places near the pools, and such? Do they still bring around drinks of the day and things while in port?) Just wondering.

 

[EmEyeSeeKayEeWhy]

I was just wondering - I'm not too excited about the excursions in Mexico, I've been to those cities a lot... They're not too exciting - Puerta Vallarta is very pretty though, we will probably do something there. Anyway, I was wondering if people ever just stay on the ship? I hate to feel forced to spend $300 on something that we really don't feel enthusiastic about. (Dd is not old enough for a lot of things, and we refuse to separate from her in Mexico).

This is my family's first DCruise, and our thought was that we would enjoy the ship. We've got an excursion planned for PV, but we figured at that point in the cruise, we'd need to get off and enjoy an excursion. But I agree with you...we're not really wanting to spend money on an outing that we only feel 'so so' about. BTW...we'll be getting off our cruise on the day you're getting on yours...enjoy!!