Are you going on a cruise and wondering if you should stay on the cruise ship in port? In this video I go over the best reasons to stay on your cruise ship when in port, as well as the reasons not to! Port days are a great time to stay onboard your ship and enjoy the activities and ship amenities. However, there are some things to be aware of to avoid being disappointed!
These cruise tips are helpful for first time cruisers and those who usually plan shore excursions.
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ABOUT ME
Hi! I’m Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travelers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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39 Comments
I often stay on board and never find it difficult occupying my time. I love that it’s quieter.I never use the laundry room or sent laundry.it’s just not something I would want or need to do . As am over packer I always have spare outfits in case of mishaps and extra lingerie etc.. Useful information for people who may not realise staying on board can be a thing.
At some ports you will need to pay tax on drinks even if you have a drinks package or is that only in Florida?
There are good specials for massages on port days. That is usually when I book mine for.
We're coming up (May to July) to a B2B2B2B cruise for 43 days. We're going to have to do laundry a few days. We plan on getting some laundry deteregent/dryer sheets before we board.
Looking at your ultimate cruise planner, but one question: Are the forms fillable? Easier to change my personal inputs that way, not looking to modify your product.
Hey Ilana, we enjoy your videos quite a bit. My wife and I watch you often. I do have a quick question. I know the space is pretty full with You, Tony, Don, Matt, Emma, Gary, and many more but I think I might have a unique voice and i'm considering starting my own Cruise channel. Any advise? What type of Video editing software do you use?
I would do laundry and a spa day if I stayed on the ship
We are on the Sapphire Princess in October, RT from Los Angeles to Hawaii, four islands plus Ensenada. We've done this cruise twice before, plus had a condo on Maui for 25 years ending a couple decades ago. I love the sea days! Five days each way. We have seen all the visitable islands and have stayed many days (like a week or more) on four of them, with rented car. I'm not certain what excursions we might take this time, but we may rent a car for Maui and the Big Island. Still, we may opt to just walk off on Kauai to that park and shopping area close to the ship, and most likely will stay on the ship in Honolulu. Have you cruised to Hawaii? Or maybe cruised AROUND Hawaii on the Pride Of America (NCLA)? It's a wonderful trip, either way–no flights for me, since we drive from Tucson and leave our car at the terminal in Long Beach.
I would like to know more about booking back-to-back cruises.
On Carnival (3 cruises) they closed the waterpark and A LOT of the activities & food places on the sea days.
I have done laundry on the Carnival Vista and it is an extra cost and the equipment is bad. I had the dryer to go for 2 of the 30 minutes sessions and the clothes were still damp.
This cruise starting April 2, we are staying on board. We have always got off the ship. This time we want to enjoy the ship while people are off the ship.
Just got another sub
We love to stay onboard while everyone is out. Those ports that we have visited a lot, we don’t get down anymore!
We got off for an hour and shopped. And when we got back it was nice to have a quiet lunch and then layout by the pool and the little one could swim.
I have question. This will be my first cruise with royal Caribbean, I put my credit card/ debit card as my form of payment, can I do a cash account towards my sea pass card once onboard.
We cruise western Gulf of Mexico and I seldom get off at ports. I love the quiet ship, often do a spa day.
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Only stayed on once, in Nassau and mainly because we arrived late so we weren't going to be there all that long.
I guess I'd just do my laundry on land. I have, in Nagasaki and Seoul. I had come prepared with a prinout of a translation of the important terms into Japanese, such as "cold temperature", "30 degrees", "detergent" etc. which I showed to the very helpful staff member. For Korean, I just winged it and explained that I didn't want my shirts to shrink to the cleaning lady at my AirBNB. She started the washing machine for me and it all worked out well. 🙂 And got me some nice photos of those tiny trams in Nagasaki, as I was waiting for my washing to be ready.
We love to stay on the ship while in port. We cruise a lot and have been to most of the ports. We just came off a cruise today and was telling my husband yesterday that I hate sea days cuz the ship was so crowed
Great video and OMG I love your top/dress!
We don't get off at any ports now. We got off once in wheelchairs and the exit plank was at a slight slope which was great. Because of tides and ships sitting at different levels, to get on it was at a huge incline. We had staff pulling the chair up and staff pushing and making sure we didn't fall backwards but every wooden lug on the plank we bumped over. The staff were great but we were on bed rest for a few days after. No we didn't complain they did a great job but we won't ever get off again unless the new ships have a better set up. We go Arvia P and O next year so will look into it. (We were like rag dolls going up it 🤣😂🤣)
I stayed on the ship once in the Bahamas when most went to one of the ship islands….. I located a class where you make your own jewelry and everything was free! I made a set of the jade looking necklaces, bracelets, and earrings! Loved it 😊
I enjoyed a 2 hour Swedish massage/facial on Harmony of the Seas during a port day for $149 plus gratuity…this was my first time to indulge but it won’t be my last. Also, the ship special is all day while in port so you can schedule for a time after you get back from a shore excursion.
If I have been in the port before, I sleep in, maybe leave for lunch, a short shopping trip and then get back on the ship well before the crowds come back
Seems like the good sales at the spa are.non existent. We were on Oasis in June and they weren't really sales at all.
I would consider it RC had self service laundry…but not dry cleaning service
We always take a day or so and enjoy the quietnesses of the ship it’s wonderful
Great tips as always thank you!
Very informative! I've been on 3 cruises, but the last one was 20 years ago, so Thank You!
Favorite day on our last cruise was staying on the ship in port. So very relaxing and service was incredible.
Why are shops only open on seadays and not port days?
I love being on a cruise ship on both sea and port days 😀
we were on an Alaskan cruise on Princess, and we had already spent a day traveling from the east coast to Seattle. we then spend a day and a half in Seattle, and we were taking a 5-day Land tour with Princess at the end of a 7-Day Alaskan cruise. we were lucky enough to have access to the washers and dryers. the cost was very reasonable. just like going to a public laundromat. the area was kept very clean by the staff. truly I wish this was on more ships especially on those longer cruises.
One reason not mentioned, I found out on my first cruise, many ports, for me Bermuda, everything is closed on Sunday. Many ports in Latin America still have blue laws and life on Sunday revolves around the Catholic Church.
I just experienced my first cruise and so I'm still a fresh starry eyed newbie. I'm was on Go-Mode and probably will be for my next one that it feels almost "wasteful" to not go and experience each port with a good excursion. Tiredness didn't kick in til I got back, sleep was very much optional and a suggestion the whole time lol.
We cruised Royal Carribean Jan of 2020 and the kids ocean adventure place was closed on port days.
I've been trying to find videos or articles about what the process is like getting back onto a ship in foreign ports.. any insights?
I'm cruising to Alaska this May on the NCL Bliss, didn't see much to do in the Sitka port, so am planning on staying on board and maybe buying "the ultimate shave" package at the spa/barbershop, hopefully there will be a discount of some sort.