What to do Ashore ?

One of the great joys about cruising is waking up in a new destination most days. Cruising gives you the unique experience of being able to explore new destinations every day, without the need to be constatntly unpacking and repacking your suitcase !

When you arrive in port, usually quite early in the morning, you have a full day of exploration ahead of you and several different options for how you go about each days journey of discovery.

Cruise lines all offer their own shore excursion packages. These are usually available to book, shortly after you have booked your cruise, directly with your chosen cruise line. Shore excursions offered by cruise lines are generally the most expensive option but they do offer the added security of both usually being ‘door to door’ with pick up / drop off in the port, and should any mishap happen on the excursion which delays the return to ship, the cruise line are responsible for making sure that you get back onboard either by delaying the ships departure or get you to the next port of call.

You can also pre-book a wide range of shore excursions by using a specialist excursion provider such as Viator or Get Your Guide. Both offer a wider range of excursions than the ship will offer and are generally at a significantly lower price. Many of the excursions offered at the major ports of call will have pick up / drop off at the port – but always check the details as some excursions may require you to get to an alternative pick up point. Increasingly many of the excursions aimed at cruise guests will offer a guarantee to get you back to port in time for sailaway.

However you choose to spend your day exploring each destination we would always recommend aiming to back to the ship at least one hour before the scheduled ‘All Aboard’ time. No one wants be a ‘pier runner’ – dashing back to the ship just as it is sailing away – and we have seen them – more often than you may think !

Another alternative is to take a local excursion as you arrive in the port. Usually, as you exit the cruise terminal you will run the gauntlet of local taxi drivers and excursion companies all vying to show you around. We have enjoyed some great local excursions. They will often take you to some of the more ‘off the beaten track’ sights. But be prepared to negotiate the price – often the starting price offered will be much higher than the price that they would be happy with. Also make sure that you agree and then re-agree exactly what is included in the trip – often the drivers English may not be particularly good and genuine misunderstandings can happen but sometimes a driver will use their ‘bad english’ as an excuse for the trip not quite being what you expected. The road worthiness of the vehicles and standards of driving may also not be what you are used to in the UK. And always make sure that the driver leaves plenty of time to get you back to port.

In most ports you can also just exit the ship and do your own thing walking around, enjoying some local food or drinks or taking an open top bus tour. Some larger ports may also be container ship ports with restricted access which does not allow walking through the port area. Our guides to the main ports will help identify this.

You are also very welcome to just stay on board the ship and enjoy all of its facilities without them being busy with other guests. We have enjoyed some really relaxing days on board, in port, in destinations which we have visited several times previously – spa activities for example are often discounted on port days.