Favorite Port Adventure you have ever taken??

[Shelby109]

HI! We are looking at various cruises to take in the next year or two. While I love the ship, the destinations/ports are a big draw as well. We are looking into the ports and what excursions exist (DCL + private) but I would love to hear from all of you. We have had some great port adventures and some "meh" ones.

What were the best port adventures you have ever taken??

 

[DahliaRW]

Most surprisingly, my favorite ever was the Ovre Eide Farm Visit when we were in Bergen, Norway in 2015 (inagural fjord cruise). We booked this becaues we'd already been to Bergen and done the toursity stuff and we thought it'd be fun for my dd. We didn't expect much. However, it was fantastic. We felt like we were visiting family! The owner and workers were super kind and taught us a lot. Dd got to ride a fjord horse (on a lead with a handler) which she thought was awesome. I actually wanted to take her on a horse riding excursion, but she was too young, so this was a very nice surprise. They taught everyone about the history of the farm, how it works, the animals, etc. and we had a "snack" of traditional porridge, sausages, cookies, traditional beverages, etc. Some time to wander on our own as well. Dd still talks about it. It was a very relaxing, fun, and unique excursion. If you're in Bergen there is a lot you can do on your own for a lot less than DCL would charge. I'd recommend Haakon's Hall (take the tour included with admission) and the funicular (allow extra time heading back and wait to get to ride in the front spot down).

My second favorite was Time Travel on the Fjords when we were in Stavanger. I love history, so a recreation of a historic ship and all the historic information they gave paired with breathtaking views from the water was fantastic.

Outside of Europe, it's a tie between the Atlantis Submarine in Cozumel back in 2014 (breathtaking) and the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman (we LOVED snorkeling in the lagoon with the turtles). Both of these could easily be done outside of DCL.

 

[KristiMc]

In St. Maarten we did a private excursion with Soualiga Destinations. It was a speed boat tour that took us to various spots around the island to snorkel. We snorkeled right next to sea turtles. We also had an amazing lunch right on the beach and got to see the planes fly over at Maho beach. Very fun day.

On our Alaskan cruise we loved the Takshanuk Mountain Trail by 4x4. This was on our Skagway day. Fun drive up/down the mountain in our own 4x4 for our family. Beautiful views and yummy lunch and snacks.

 

[Dug720]

In St. Maarten we did a private excursion with Soualiga Destinations. It was a speed boat tour that took us to various spots around the island to snorkel. We snorkeled right next to sea turtles. We also had an amazing lunch right on the beach and got to see the planes fly over at Maho beach. Very fun day.

On our Alaskan cruise we loved the Takshanuk Mountain Trail by 4x4. This was on our Skagway day. Fun drive up/down the mountain in our own 4x4 for our family. Beautiful views and yummy lunch and snacks.

LOVE Capt Bob and Soualiga!! I am just sad that I cancelled for Feb when I initially moved to the Fantasy Western because now I am back on the Wonder Eastern but feel weird about contacting him to see if I can get back on.

 

[belac]

Secret River - Cozumel
Terrible getting there but worth it. It was beautiful.

 

[littleaussie]

We took a Southern Caribbean cruise in 2014 and our favorite excursion was Silver Moon Catamaran in Barbados.

The cat was spacious, the cruise was delightful and we swam with the sea turtles, snorkeled and had lunch and a swimming spot included. The crew was fabulous and it was the highlight of our trip.

 

[Rabb it]

Stingray City in Grand Cayman, it was really magical and the water was so clear! The Dolphin Swim was meh..

 

[SLK1]

Jamaica - we rode horses in the ocean and then climbed Dunn's River Falls. Wonderful excursion. In Alaska we did 4X4's up a mountain - very cool and off the beaten path.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

Puerto Vallarta - we booked a private tour through Vallarta Food Tours called the Taste of Pitillal Tour. It was a roughly three-hour walking tour through the Pitillal neighborhood, about a twenty minute cab ride from the port.

In a roughly four by four block area we visited about a half dozen locally owned restaurants, as well as some "eats on the street" - we ate churros on a cobblestone street, straight from the fryer. We had the softest, puffiest tamales, amazing carnitas tacos, ceviche tostadas, and goat stew (which both I and my vegetarian husband claimed was the best food on the tour!).

We loved this tour so much we went to the port adventures desk to recommend DCL sponsor it. There is a tour closer to the ship as well, but we liked the sound of this one. We had plenty of time to get there (in fact, we went to Puerto del WalMart first to get coffee beans and vanilla) and back with no worries of being late. Our tour guide got us into a cab back to the ship, so no worries there.

We cannot recommend this Adventure highly enough!!

 

[Pens Fan]

I'd say it's a tie for our favorite. We did a private Golden Circle tour in Reykjavik, Iceland with Discover Iceland in their "super jeeps" that included jeeping across a glacier. What an amazing, exhilarating day! The other would be one we just did out of Ketchikan, Alaska. We used Island Wings for a float plane excursion to Anan Creek - so many bears! We did another bear excursion out of Homer through Alaska Ultimate Safaris on the land portion of the trip that was even better, but that wasn't a cruise port, so you're probably not looking for that kind of info.

Least favorite was the St. Thomas Coral World by Land and Sea through DCL. If you live anywhere near even a halfway decent aquarium, it will most likely be better than this one. To be fair, it was undergoing some renovations when we were there and some parts were closed. Maybe it's better now, but we couldn't wait to get back to the ship. The most interesting part was watching the iguanas that ran around in the snack area while we were waiting for our transport back to the ship.

 

[lspst8]

My husband and I did a Rum Passage private tour in Nassau that was a lot of fun. We booked thru Islandz Tours. I tour guide was really personable and informative. We visited several locations, including the Greycliff Hotel and the John Waing distillery, in Nassau, drank a lot of rum, and had several snacks all included in the fee. It was about $60pp and worth every penny.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Stingray City in Grand Cayman

 

[KDG]

HI! We are looking at various cruises to take in the next year or two. While I love the ship, the destinations/ports are a big draw as well. We are looking into the ports and what excursions exist (DCL + private) but I would love to hear from all of you. We have had some great port adventures and some "meh" ones.

What were the best port adventures you have ever taken??

St. Petersburg, Russia. We had a private tour with Anastasia Tours. Completely customizeable to what you want to see (chosen in advance). We had a nice van with a driver and a great English speaking tour guide. We went with another couple, so 4 of us on a 12 hour tour. We saw the cemetery of composers and poets, Catherine's Palace, Peterhof Palace, a hydrofoil ride across the sea back to the city center, the Hermitage, The Church on Spilled Blood and an evening canal ride past other great landmarks. We got a welcome pack of snacks and water and rain ponchos and a very nice parting gift at the end of our day. We paid for our own lunch at Catherine's Palace.

Anastasia Tours arranged for our visas (no extra charge since it was a local tour company) and communicated frequently via email a few months before our Northern Europe Baltic cruise. We purchased some rubles through our bank to pay our guide's tip and she earned it. She taught us a lot of Russian history throughout the day.

 

[mhconley]

Here is another vote for Soualiga Destinations Beach/Snorkeling Boat Tour on St. Maarten.

Martin

 

[dcassetta]

Adventures in Alaska whale watching in Juneau with Captain Andy on the Scania. He never takes more than 10 people, there were only 5 when I went, and it was an excellent day.

 

[stephmarty]

Another vote for Stingray City, booked privately with Captain Marvin. Just so unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Tied for favorite is Aquaventure at Atlantis on Paradise Island. Our whole group of about 30 people from ages 2-45 had sooooo much fun! We also book that on our own by booking a room at the Atlantis or nearby Comfort Suites, whichever is cheapest for us. We've done both.

 

[GPaLarry]

Sometimes the best excursion for me is watching someone else have their most memorable excursion/experience in forever. Mid-June, wife and I were in Juneau with our granddaughter (7) in tow for the DCL Alaska Whales & Science Adventure (JU33) with Gastineau Guiding. She was too young to zip-line with her parents and sisters. The first half of the adventure we were bused to a creek near the Mendenhall Glacier. Guide Katy Bear lead the five kids (some of the 10 adults, too) down a path to a stream where a sample of the water was taken and the nearly microscopic critters in it were studied. Leah was fascinated. The guide helped her get off the sand bar and up the hillside. On to the shore of the glacier where she threw rocks while Katy highlighted a history of the area.
The true test of the character of the excursion staff came next, during the boat ride out to check a crab trap and look for whales. Because of an earlier traumatic experience with a small boat, speed, rocking and a crazed driver, Leah was in tears as we picked up speed leaving the harbor. She cringed in grandma's lap for a while until Katy showed her a great picture book of some of the critters we hoped to see, especially seals, her favorite. Later, an older girl on the trip came over to her and helped calm her down. When we got to a nearby island and the crab trap, Leah was very curious to see that a sea star showed up instead of a crab. Just as we were about to leave, Captain Lee took Leah's hand and brought her up to the captain's chair. He sat her down, showed her all the controls and said she was going to steer us to our next stop, a small island with seals. He guided the boat with her hands and she forgot to be afraid. Shortly, we came on maybe 40-50 seals in and out of the water around a little rocky isle. She yelled to them, "I love you, baby seals!" After a few minutes there and 20 minutes viewing whales we were ready for the long trip home. Captain Lee asked if Leah wanted to help...she didn't hesitate. He put her on his lap and she helped get us back to the dock. At the end she said her trademark, heartfelt statement, "best day ever!"

 

[SteveMP]

I tend to like the Mayan ruins ones whenever we can. its one of the few things we can't really do here in SoCal.

 

[ludari]

I absolutely love going scuba diving so if I can dive at a port I will. I would say that my best diving experience was at Nassau with only three of us from the ship diving and one of them was the security officer from the ship. Anyway, the drive took a while to get to the diving location but the diving conditions and the dive sites where absolutely amazing! It was a two tank dive and both dives included numerous wrecks including a plane. My favorite land port adventure would have to be at Malaga, Spain where my TA arranged for a private tour of The Alhambra. Yeah, DCL did the same port adventure but for the same price my TA arranged for a private shuttle, excellent tour guide, lunch, and a bottle of local wine for each person as we returned to the ship.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

My favorite so far is the schooner ride to Turtle Cove in St. Thomas (booked through DCL). The crew is knowledgeable and fun. We saw sea turtles (one swam just beneath me), a stingray, and lots of colorful fish. Rum punch was flowing on our way back to the port.