Least Favorite Cruise Port

[Disturbia]

I have only gotten off in Nassau once to go on a snorkeling excursion. I saw from a recent cruise the port area is all redone. I think I would like to check out Nassau a bit more on my next cruise.

I have been to Grand Cayman twice on vacation, last time we tender there to me things had changed a lot. Its a much better experience when you vacation there.

I was to Cozumel once back in 2010. My family did a really busy and fun excursion, the people were great.

I thought Tortola was okay, went to Cane's Bay Beach.

Unfortunately, the islands with cruise ports are the more populated and more city like areas.

I like how on some Bermuda cruises you are there for 2 days. Its a much better chance to explore larger islands.

Oh, St. John's New Brunswick, Canada. It's okay.

So, no definite complete dislikes. But to be honest no stand outs either. Oh wait...Bermuda.

We did grand cayman this spring and it was not great. Maybe choose anything other than the seven mile beach.

Nassau we did a tour guide (first cruise booked last min and didn’t know any better) and they kept stalling taking us back. This was a decade ago. He would stop at a gift shop for a long time to pressure us to buy. He did take us to a local restaurant that was great. We were worried if we were going to make it back on time.

 

[bbn1122]

We did grand cayman this spring and it was not great. Maybe choose anything other than the seven mile beach.

Nassau we did a tour guide (first cruise booked last min and didn’t know any better) and they kept stalling taking us back. This was a decade ago. He would stop at a gift shop for a long time to pressure us to buy. He did take us to a local restaurant that was great. We were worried if we were going to make it back on time.

Thank for the heads up.

 

[jwalk03]

Ocho Rios has been my least favorite.

 

[jwalk03]

This thread is making me nervous for my upcoming Western Caribbean cruise since nearly every port has been mentioned (Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman).

I know this won't resonate with most but so far my least favorite port has been Castaway Cay. We loved all the ports on our Alaska cruise and I preferred both St. Thomas and Tortola on our Eastern Caribbean. Hoping to fall more in love with Castaway Cay on the next cruise (this summer it was crazy hot, crazy crowded, and we had bad timing/experiences with food equaling very grumpy family).

Everyone has favorites and least favorites. I really like Cozumel and Grand Cayman personally. Don't fret. Just go enjoy your vacation!

 

[Carohs]

I dislike Cabo. It just seemed like anything there was to do was overly priced and marketed to tourists. There was a whole lot of shady going on from various vendors that I didn't like and a lot of aggressive sales people. It just felt like everywhere you went there was someone trying to get an extra dollar out of you. And if you get away from all that, the city itself didn't have much to see.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Not sure I have a least favorite port, but I do have a favorite view of the ports - Palo's.

As for the ports, for us a lot depends on the excursion. I find the quality to be hit or miss, which surprised me. I used to think Disney was more careful in vetting them.

But sure twist my arm and I will say Nassau. But I rather confine my drinking to on the ship so maybe that's why. My family and I like Grand Cayman, but that might be because we have vacationed there in the past and knew the touristy things to avoid.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Progreso has been my least favorite, probably Nassau next.

I really liked Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. Though in Jamaica we did Dunn River Falls, and with traffic I felt a little uncomfortable about how far it was from the ship. I've learned over time that I don't really like going too far away.

 

[Dug720]

As many others, Nassau.

I'm also not a fan of San Juan - but that could be the guide I had on the rainforest excursion. He was the WORST.

 

[juxtapose]

We got super lucky in Nassau and loved our stop there. I booked a beach day that was walkable from the port. We paid maybe $60 for our family, and we were alone on the beach. There were no services there, but we swam for a few hours alone and walked back to the ship for lunch. It was the beach just to the west of the Lukka Kairi Bar and Grill, this was back in 2021 so not sure if they still do it.

 

[imbelle]

Monte Carlo. We were there on a Sunday and everything was closed except the casino (I'm no gambler).

 

[anjuan]

Ensenada. I would take Nassau any day over it. (Although I rarely get off at Nassau.

 

[Geomom]

This thread is making me nervous for my upcoming Western Caribbean cruise since nearly every port has been mentioned (Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman).

I know this won't resonate with most but so far my least favorite port has been Castaway Cay. We loved all the ports on our Alaska cruise and I preferred both St. Thomas and Tortola on our Eastern Caribbean. Hoping to fall more in love with Castaway Cay on the next cruise (this summer it was crazy hot, crazy crowded, and we had bad timing/experiences with food equaling very grumpy family).

We did the Western Caribbean in June 2022. We enjoyed all the ports as we'd never been to any of them. Did Disney excursions for Cozumel (ruins/chocolate/beach break) and Jamaica (a historic house tour). We did Grand Cayman on our own --felt very safe there. Took the public bus ($2.50/ride) to the Turtle Centre, then another to Hell, and another back to the bus depot.

 

[LAS2AMS]

This thread is making me nervous for my upcoming Western Caribbean cruise since nearly every port has been mentioned (Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman).

I know this won't resonate with most but so far my least favorite port has been Castaway Cay. We loved all the ports on our Alaska cruise and I preferred both St. Thomas and Tortola on our Eastern Caribbean. Hoping to fall more in love with Castaway Cay on the next cruise (this summer it was crazy hot, crazy crowded, and we had bad timing/experiences with food equaling very grumpy family).

Don’t sweat it. It’s not a coincidence these are some of the most heavily visited ports. Some of us are fortunate to have cruised enough, that we’ve become both fatigued by some ports and spoiled by some more exotic ones. Hence the list.

With the premium Disney charges, staying on and enjoying the ship isn’t a bad idea anyway. Bahamas calls are quickly increasing due to agreements various cruise lines have reached in opening up new private islands/ ports.

As the industry moves to mega ships and stacked private ports - all with tremendous up sell opportunities - the cruise lines would prefer you stay on their ships anyway. Even today Disney makes more money when you’re enjoying the spa vs. most excursions…

 

[lizzyb]

Nassau.. got off the ship once and don't plan on doing that again.

 

[Drfate102]

Freeport, it is just sad.

 

[mjkacmom]

Been to Nassau several times, we just get a hotel day pass and have a great day. We’ve done Atlantis twice, the Hilton (not a favorite, harbor beach), Melia, and RIU (nice breakfast and lunch buffets, drinks included, this was my favorite). Definitely not a port to wing it.

 

[bbn1122]

As many others, Nassau.

I'm also not a fan of San Juan - but that could be the guide I had on the rainforest excursion. He was the WORST.

I stayed in San Juan a few days after my DCL cruise this past November. Old San Juan is worth a visit. The people were incredible.

 

[Chemist]

Aruba was my least favorite. Maybe it was the beach we went to, but it was really ugly.

FWIW I loved Puerto Rico. We explored the ports/old town on our own and had a really good time.

 

[Melissa55]

Granted I’ve only done one cruise (but my friend who’s done 4 cruises agrees) - Nassau. Part of the issue for my family was that one of the members of our party has a congenital lung issue and one has asthma. So getting off the ship and having to walk through a massive corridor of smokers before getting to the shops was a huge detractor.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Costa Maya. Limited options for excursions and if you didn't do an excursion there wasn't much to do outside of the tourist trap port area.

It would be interesting how many ports people have done when stating their opinions. Nassau is definitely one of the most common ports so it's not surprising it comes up often.

My top 3 would be San Juan, Key West, and Grand Cayman and 2 of the 3 were mentioned in this thread lol. Everyone likes different stuff I guess.