Sunday, September 1, 2013

Cruise question? When you go on a cruise, what do you do at the ports if you don't do an excursion?

Cruise question? When you go on a cruise, what do you do at the ports if you don't do an excursion?
My fiance and I are going on our first cruise in August with Royal Caribbean and we are stopping in San Juan, Labadee, and Phillipsburg. We don't want to spend too much money on excursions but the website makes it look like it's $50 just to sit on the beach!! If all we want to do one day is relax, swim in the ocean, and walk around, is that ok? We did book one excursion jet skiing and we might do snorkeling as well. Any suggestions on excursions that you liked?? Sorry, this is long I know. Any info you can give on cruising in general would be great!
Cruise Travel - 8 Answers
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1 :
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2 :
Of course you can walk around! I haven't been on a cruise to Phillipsburg, but I've been to San Juan and Labadee. I walked around in old San Juan and in Labadee I hung out at the beach all day! =)
3 :
When you stop you can do whatever you want as long as you are back in time for departure. When I went on a cruise we did one excursion and then the other stops we walked around and went shopping, swam in the ocean, sat on the beach, went to a restaurant, and took a crazy taxi ride. At one of the beaches there was a place where you could rent out kayaks, jet skiis, and you could go on inflatable climbing walls that were about thirty feet from shore. That was really fun. At one stop there was this amazing outdoor mall that we stopped at and another popular activity among kids and teens is to get their hair braided in tiny braids or cornrows. I would suggest maybe one or two excursions and then use the rest of the shore time to explore the area yourselves. -Cruises are amazing. There is so much food to eat and all of it is all you can eat. At dinner be adventurous and try things you normally wouldn't, because if you don't like it you can just order something else afterwards. -Don't worry about bringing towels, the ship will hvae plenty and you can take some with you when you go ashore. -You will get an iterary everyday, look at it and note the things that you want to do. -If you want to go to the spa or salon, book an appointment early as it will fill up fast. Have fun!
4 :
San Juan you can do on your own, depending on what you want to do. Old SJ is interesting, and you can easily walk up to El Morro. Walk back down and take the free trolley to OSJ. Labadee is the cruise line's "private island", so you can hang out at the beach there for free. You wouldn't be doing any true excursions, although they call ziplining, etc. excursions, as you have to pay extra for them. In StM, you can get a cab [of course, this will cost some money!] and go to one of the beaches and just hang out. A relatively quiet and out-of-the-way one is the one near the butterfly farm [can't remember the name off the top of my head!]. There's a beach bar/restaurant there and they rent chairs and umbrellas, but it's not at all busy or crowded, especially if you go "first thing". Arrange for the cabbie to come back for you at a particular time - pay him when you get back to the ship for both rides. You can walk around Phillipsburg for free, of course. Go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then go to "Ports of Call" and find these ports for more advice from experienced cruisers. Of course, you can also just stay on the ship and enjoy the "emptiness" of the ship. The spa will have special deals on port days. The casino and bars probably won't be open. If you do go out on your own, you must make sure that you get back to ship on time, because it won't wait for you if you're late unless you are on one of the ship's excursions.
5 :
YES!, that's OK. I cruise Royal Caribbean regularly and can tell you what to do that's not gonna cost you. Whenever you get to any port with any cruise line its your choice as to whether you get off the ship or not. So first is you can stay aboard and lounge around the pools and hot tub. Those things, along with eating places, will be open. The pool bars and a couple others will also be open and some of the on-board activities will be available, like the mini-golf, basketball court, the gym, and a few others depending upon which ship. When you get to Labadee its not gonna cost you anything to do the beach and swim all day. Its not gonna cost a thing unless you want to buy drinks or souvenirs. That is Royal Caribbean's private island stop and you can get off the ship and back on any time you want and you will be right at the beach; bring your own snorkel stuff if you have it. The island (actually a peninsula) is huge with several beaches and there will be plenty of free beach chairs and lots of shade as well as sunny areas. The ship will bring food ashore and serve lunch starting about 11:30ish. The lunch will be a buffet with burgers, dogs, chicken and maybe some ribs, plus salads, deserts, and punch, all free. The island has a market area where you can buy souvenirs and they have the jet ski and other tours available that you have to pay for. When you get to San Juan you would need a taxi or tour to get to a beach. The two main attractions in San Juan other than beach are the Rain Forest; a tour is required, or a taxi, since it's about an hour from the port. You can walk to the Old San Juan, the other attraction, if you ship docks in town (last time there we docked right by the city but there is another dock which is further away.) You can walk through the old city and also walk up to the National Park Service fort, San Cristobal, and El Morro. There is an entrance fee for the fort but you don't need a tour to get there. This web site will give you some guidance for San Juan: http://www.gotopuertorico.com/puerto-rico-old-san-juan.php. In Phillipsburg you will dock very near town. A $4. water taxi will get you from the pier to town and there is a small beach right there. If you want more exclusive and private beaches you'll need a taxi. You can browse the town for a while and then go back to ship and enjoy the quiet as most people will be gone all day long. This link has information about St Maarten and its beaches if that's what you want to do: http://www.st-maarten-info.com/St-Maarten-Beaches/OrientBay.html HERE ARE SOME CRUISING TIPS: The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM, so take: -swim wear (at least 2), shorts, tank tops and "T's", sandals, beach shoes, your snorkel equipment if you have it, sun glasses and sun screen, lotions, a cap or big hat for the sun, -a book if you are a reader, your music player, -your camera and extra batteries, -sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym, good walking shoes, and -other personal toiletries including tooth paste, mouth wash or lotions. Your cabin will have towels and soap provided, including pool and beach towels, and a hair dryer. It will also have a generic hair shampoo so you do not need to bring that unless you like a specific brand. After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc. Don't over pack , take clothes that you can mix and match tops and bottoms and plan to wear each piece twice. Since you are going to the Caribbean you will likely be in shorts and/or swim wear most of every day so evening clothes don't usually get much wear. Your cruise will have two formal nights when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the ship’s Captain. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. You will not be denied entry to the main dining room if you decide not to dress up, as long as you are at least sports casual. But most people do dress up. A gown or party dress for women and a suit or tux for men. Some people dress up both formal nights, some don't. We always take the formal stuff off after dinner and a photo or two and go back to casual stuff. - Its best to pack using soft-sided luggage because with space limited in your cabin it fits under the beds better if its not hard sided luggage. Pack using the vacuum clothing bags (about $20 for 3 at Target) so that you can get more in your bag AND so that if the TSA at the airport opens your bag they can see what's inside without rummaging through your things. -Take a small carry-on bag for the last night of the cruise. On the last evening you will be required to put
6 :
Well you can just go around the island and do whatever until time to leave.
7 :
You can do whatever you'd like. You can stay on the ship, you can walk around the port city, or you can take an excursion. I would suggest that you do not take the ship's excursions. As soon as you get off the ship, there will be loads of cabs with drivers that are tourist guides. They have a great deal of knowledge. They will take you where you want to go, and they cost much cheaper. They will also take you to a beach. There is no reason for an excursion in Puerto Rico. All of old San Juan is 1 square mile. San Juan has free trolleys that run throughout the city up until 7PM. In Labadee, You'll be on a beach, and most everything is free. I took a tour of St. Martin. It was inexpensive, and we got to see the French and Dutch side, with many stops. You could visit the butterfly farm or the botanical gardens. Whatever you do, you should have a wonderful time. I just came back from a Royal Caribbean cruise.
8 :
You can walk view the sites in the cities there is heaps to do even though you don't have a tour. You can stay on board and have the pools or spas to your self. as everyone hops of at ports.



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