Does anyone eat lunch on the ship while in port?

[StarSeven7]

We’re going on a Southern Caribbean cruise in January and we plan on getting off the ship in each port and doing some sort of activity. I was just curious if anyone comes back to the ship at lunchtime to eat, and then goes back off to explore the port some more. This is assuming we would be fairly close by the ship at lunchtime (we wouldn’t come back across an island specifically to do this). We’ve never been on a cruise before so I’m not sure how quick and easy it would be to hop on for lunch and then go back off. Thanks!

 

[dclpluto]

We’re going on a Southern Caribbean cruise in January and we plan on getting off the ship in each port and doing some sort of activity. I was just curious if anyone comes back to the ship at lunchtime to eat, and then goes back off to explore the port some more. This is assuming we would be fairly close by the ship at lunchtime (we wouldn’t come back across an island specifically to do this). We’ve never been on a cruise before so I’m not sure how quick and easy it would be to hop on for lunch and then go back off. Thanks!

Yes we do. If we are close to the ship. We figure we already paid for the meal on the ship.

 

[diznymom]

We do. We did this in Alaska. We did our Port Adventures early and then just walked around at the ports. We came aboard for lunch and then went back out to explore some more.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im doing a 5 night European on 2020 and I plan to do this in at least 1 port. Im planning on doing most of the posts on my own, no excursions.

 

[Chemist]

Depended on where we were.

Had planned to eat lunch in Puerto Rico. It was HOT, my children were miserable. Went back to ship after touring a fort, ate lunch on ship. Then left kids in club and went and explored some more.

 

[bcwife76]

Unless lunch is included in our port adventure (or we are left to our own devices during the port adventure for lunch) then yes, most of the time we will come back to the ship to eat and then either hang out and enjoy a quieter ship or maybe get off again to do some shopping (if it's right at port).

 

[StarSeven7]

Ok good! There’s a few spots where I was considering this but I wasn’t sure how feasible it was! There’s a few islands where I was considering doing a short morning tour (or taxi to a site) and then a beach in the afternoon and I was wondering if it would work to eat on the ship in between or if that would be too much of a hassle.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Yes, unless there’s a famous restaurant like Senor Frogs to try, we always eat onboard.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Depended on where we were.

Had planned to eat lunch in Puerto Rico. It was HOT, my children were miserable. Went back to ship after touring a fort, ate lunch on ship. Then left kids in club and went and explored some more.

We did this in Aruba. It was the first time we left her onboard alone. it worked out beautifully.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We have eaten lunch on the ship if we have an early half-day excursion and the ship is docked close by.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Yes! The food on the ship is amazing..we got off the boat asap at the port and explored / shopped a little then went back for lunch and enjoyed the pool and hot tubs and ship while everyone else was checking out Nassau...the ship was almost empty

 

[DahliaRW]

I've done this. It depends on the port. Last year in Europe we ate in port to try local food. But in the Caribbean it wasn't as big of a deal. Also when we were on our Norway cruise I ate lunch on the ship a lot because we'd spent time in Norway pre-cruise and tried the local cuisine (and it's expensive). The best part about eating on the ship in port, at least with the sit down MDR, is that the kids got a lot of attention. The dining room was really empty. They loved it!

 

[bfamily5]

we did this on our Southern last year too. Worked great! The islands are very small geographically. In Aruba we went shopping then went back to the ship, had lunch, changed into beach gear - picked up our snorkeling stuff and hopped a local bus to the beach - works beautifully!

 

[Quellman]

If I am somewhere with amazing ports and local cuisine, I will probably eat off ship. Alaska for crab - yes please. Spain, tapas for sure. Nassau, no thanks.

 

[StarSeven7]

Ok, awesome! Thanks for your replies everyone! I guess my idea was not so crazy!! I’m not too concerned with local cuisine since it’s the Caribbean and we’ll definitely try some in a few spots, but my kids are picky so I’d rather not waste a ton of money eating in port when they may or may not even eat the food!!

 

[mmouse37]

95% of the time we will come back to ship for lunch. If an excursion includes lunch fine or unless I am really dying to have something local (not that often) then we return to the ship for lunch.

MJ

 

[ajlsjl]

Granted, I've only been on two cruises, but on both cruises, I've always come back to the ship for lunch. Like a previous poster mentioned, I do a half-day excursion, come back, eat lunch, and spend the rest of the day enjoying the ship.

 

[BlueRibbon]

The few times I've eaten lunch on the ship during a port day, I'll hit up one of the MDR's and there are typically only a handful of ppl eating there.

 

[manateemickey]

We’re going on a Southern Caribbean cruise in January and we plan on getting off the ship in each port and doing some sort of activity. I was just curious if anyone comes back to the ship at lunchtime to eat, and then goes back off to explore the port some more. This is assuming we would be fairly close by the ship at lunchtime (we wouldn’t come back across an island specifically to do this). We’ve never been on a cruise before so I’m not sure how quick and easy it would be to hop on for lunch and then go back off. Thanks!

WE do all the time, the food is the same as Days at Sea and quieter because most are off the boat.

 

[xQuizx]

I try to plan excursions early so that we can eat on the ship. The meal is already included. But again it all depends on how far away from the ship you are.