Has anyone ever done a cruise with NO "days at sea"?

[Jeafl]

We are seriously thinking of booking a cruise that does 7 islands in 8 days. (They count the day you get off as the 8th day which I think is a ripoff...)

Anyway, I always enjoy the days at sea to just relax, but I know myself better than to think I could just stay on the ship when there is an island out there to be explored!

Do you prefer more ports, or more days at sea?

 

[MickeysMommy]

My first cruise was April 2008 and we did a Southern Caribbean cruise where we were at a different island everyday. I have to say I really enjoyed it and don't know if I would like "days at sea".

 

[disneyeveryyear]

DH and I did a NE/Canadian cruise for our 20th anniversary that had 1 day at sea. For my DH, that was 1 day too many

I think it depends on your expectation from a vacation. If you are looking for some "down" time to relax, that wouldn't be a good fit. If you enjoy exploring, and don't mind coming home a little tired, it would be a lot of fun.

We like seeing new places and doing new things, so it would be perfect for us.

 

[MM27]

I did a Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean that had only one day at sea and it was the last day. With early excursions every day after some very late nights, I was exhausted on the sea day. Personally, I like a day somewhere in the middle.

If it was an itinerary that I really wanted to do though, I wouldn't let the sea days stop me.

 

[LanaJayne]

We've been on a 4 night Disney cruise with no days at sea. We just got back from a 10 night cruise which did have 2 sea days.

That being said, if you want extra time on the ship and you still want to explore, head out first thing in the morning and come back for lunch with the rest of the day for relaxing or enjoy the ship in the morning and explore in the afternoon. This way the ship isn't as crowded as it would be on a sea day. I think the port stops each day would be wonderful. The ship will be much less crowded for an afternoon by the pool!

Nothing beats cruising!!! Enjoy planning for your trip!

 

[Jeafl]

My first cruise was April 2008 and we did a Southern Caribbean cruise where we were at a different island everyday. I have to say I really enjoyed it and don't know if I would like "days at sea".

I wonder if it is the one we are thinking of doing. It departs from San Juan, and here is the itinerary.

San Juan--embarkation
St. Thomas
Domenica
Barbados
St. Lucia
Antigua
St. Kitts
San Juan--debarkation

If it is the same one, did you enjoy these islands?

 

[Jeafl]

We've been on a 4 night Disney cruise with no days at sea. We just got back from a 10 night cruise which did have 2 sea days.

That being said, if you want extra time on the ship and you still want to explore, head out first thing in the morning and come back for lunch with the rest of the day for relaxing or enjoy the ship in the morning and explore in the afternoon. This way the ship isn't as crowded as it would be on a sea day. I think the port stops each day would be wonderful. The ship will be much less crowded for an afternoon by the pool!

Nothing beats cruising!!! Enjoy planning for your trip!

Thanks Can I ask where you went on your 10-day cruise?

 

[MM27]

I wonder if it is the one we are thinking of doing. It departs from San Juan, and here is the itinerary.

San Juan--embarkation
St. Thomas
Domenica
Barbados
St. Lucia
Antigua
St. Kitts
San Juan--debarkation

If it is the same one, did you enjoy these islands?

See, now with an itinerary like that, I wouldn't mind the lack of sea days. I was considering that one over New Years but we opted for a 7 day out of Galveston because of the price. Being a teacher, I always end up with the highest rates because of the limited times I can cruise.

 

[Darcy03231]

I wonder if it is the one we are thinking of doing. It departs from San Juan, and here is the itinerary.

San Juan--embarkation
St. Thomas
Domenica
Barbados
St. Lucia
Antigua
St. Kitts
San Juan--debarkation

If it is the same one, did you enjoy these islands?

We've done this one twice now and love it! I've also done a 4 day out of LA without any sea days and had a really good time on that one too, it just wasn't long enough.

 

[clori]

I did a RCCL 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan. I only had one sea day. I don't remember the exact order but it something like

day 1 San Juan
day 2 sea day
day 3 ST Marten
day 4 Angiqua
day 5 Barbados
day 6 ST Lucia
Day 7 ST Thomas
Day 8 San Juan (departure in am)

I much prefer lots of port days over sea days. One reason is I do have a tendency for seasickness (though bonine works well for me).
Another reason is that the ship is less crowded during port time if you are onboard for any/all of it.
I love seeing the islands, swimming in the Caribbean etc.

Oh for kids some cruise lines don't operate kids club while in port. Disney does so that is a non issue. RCCL closed from 12-2 on sea days but was open then on port days.

We also did a similiar RCCL cruise out of San Juan that had two sea days and we went to ST. Thomas, ST. Marten, Curacao, and Aruba.

Even though St. Lucia was 3 summers ago my dd9 still talks about our St. Lucia tour and how much she loved it. We did Cosol tours.

 

[LoraJ]

The last cruise I went on we had 1 sea day and it was the first day. I prefer them at the end so you can spend the last day unwinding. Our last day on this cruise was St. thomas, we went to a beach in the morning for a couple of hours and then came back to the ship and lounged by the pool. The ship was empty and it was so relaxing! So if you feel you need a break, maybe do a half beach/half ship day.

I loved Dominica!!! We did the Ti Tou Gorge and hot springs tour. The island is so lush and beautiful.

 

[lecach]

We prefer sea days actually. We would never pick a cruise that had less than 2 sea days. We went on one cruise that had 3 sea days and we still didnt get off the ship at one of the ports.

 

[Camicar]

That sounds like my kind of cruise. We hate sea days because we figure we could sit on our butts at home for free.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I also prefer a cruise with more sea days. I would prefer at least 2 sea days but 3 is better. I can't wait until I can retire and take a long cruise across the ocean with like 5 days in a row at sea!

 

[Jeafl]

Being a teacher, I always end up with the highest rates because of the limited times I can cruise.

That is my problem as well. Unfortunately, I can't even go over spring break because my kids' spring breaks are not all at the same time. I am finding that the summer cruises are not only more money, but your choices are limited if you want to go to the caribbean. I guess a lot of the ships are redirected to Alaska during the summer months and no one in my family wants to go to Alaska but me.

 

[Darcy03231]

Jill:

If you decide to take the cruise and plan to fly into PR a day or two ahead of time a great place to stay in Old San Juan is Da House. DH and I found it on-line and we had a great stay there. It's only a couple of blocks up the hill from the cruise ship terminal. We only stayed one night precruise the last trip but plan to spend at least two days precruise and one post cruise the next time we do that itinerary.

Darcy

 

[GeorgeG]

I've never heard of a cruise with no days at sea, but it figures since they are probably in trade deals with the ports they hit.

Personally, I'd like a cruise that stays at sea until it's over.

 

[Jeafl]

Jill:

If you decide to take the cruise and plan to fly into PR a day or two ahead of time a great place to stay in Old San Juan is Da House. DH and I found it on-line and we had a great stay there. It's only a couple of blocks up the hill from the cruise ship terminal. We only stayed one night precruise the last trip but plan to spend at least two days precruise and one post cruise the next time we do that itinerary.

Darcy

Thanks! I will check it out. We were actually thinking of spending a few days in San Juan after the cruise too. Would it be ok for an extended stay? Is it near a beach?

 

[LoraJ]

Maybe stay in Old San Juan the day before but then stay on the beach when you get back. We stayed in the Condado area at the Marriott Stelaris and really enjoyed it.

Not sure which cruise line you are on, but not many of them embark from the Old San Juan side. Those piers are mostly used for the ships just stopping for the day, not unloading and loading. Royal Caribbean and Princess both used the pier across the water when we departed from there. Carnival was on the Old San Juan side.

Here's our San Juan pics:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/571010119PSLxXo

 

[dahirsh]

I picked my first cruise for the most port days. I was afraid sea days would be boring. Now I don't really care if the ship stops at all. Love my sea days.