Choosing Cruise Itineraries

It's time to get back to posting here. I've spent some time concentrating on finishing up a book that will be published next month. So perusing some of my saved newsletters from Cruise Critic, I came upon an article that listed the writer's 7 Worst Cruise Ports for a Repeat Visit. There were actually a couple we've never been to yet, Halifax (on the bucket list), Bahrain, and Flam. My list would be much different.

We have sailed the usual Caribbean itineraries so much over our more than 25 years of traveling that there are some ports where we don't even get off the ship. Cozumel is one. We sometimes just get off to walk a bit and then remember why we don't like it, cheap stores, questionable restaurants and well, just nothing that interests us. Now if you're a beach person, you might escape to one of those.

Another port that we have found an alternative to is St. Thomas. We take a water taxi to Water Island where you can catch a shuttle to Honeymoon Beach or even walk to it. There are two places there that offer light food fare and drinks and its a beautiful beach. Unfortunately many others have discovered it too but it's still not too crowded. It beats the traffic in Charlotte Amalie. It's a little tougher to do though if your ship is docked at Havensight. In that case, we stay on board and enjoy a quieter ship and its amenities.

Grand Turk is another that we have visited much too often. There is little to do outside the port which is built specifically for the ships. Again, a little walk around for some exercise and we are back on board. Occasionally we will park by the pool for a bit but the pool area fills up quickly and the ship usually provides the quiet and the view we're looking for.

The article mentioned Monte Carlo as a dull repeat visit. With that I disagree. It all depends upon what you are looking for. If you are a bit adventurous, you can take a bus trip to a little place called the Village of Eze. It is quaint, picturesque and has some neat little shops and restaurants. Besides that, in Monte Carlo there is a wonderful park you can walk through or if you are a people watcher, you can sit and enjoy the luxury cars and exotic people who come and go to the casino.

I could go on but it all comes down to what do you want to see and do when you choose an itinerary. Some of the cruise lines are varying their itineraries so that while you may have been to some of the ports  there are new ones added. Then there are times where the ports are not as important as just relaxing and enjoying the pampering of a cruise.