Favorite port of call and shore excursion/sightseeing experience
 

I know we've had the debate several times in this forum about whether cruise line shore excursions are a good or bad deal and didn't really start this thread to reopen that debate but wanted instead to ask about what everyone's favorite port of call is and why? What they rated as a top sightseeing experience, independent or cruise line shore excursion, and what made it so memorable for you? Are there off the beaten track spots worth visiting, for example, in the Caribbean and notorious spots to avoid? Do you plan far inadvance or go with the flow when you step off the ship?

I'm curious to hear how everyone who enjoys cruising feels about ports of call so thought I'd seek some input. :)

My absolute favorite port thus far is Samaná, DR. We usually travel on our own in ports of call, but in this case we (me, my wife, and our 3-year-old daughter) arranged with a group on Cruise Critic to take a 10 person locally-booked excursion to Playa Rincon, which is thus far the most fantastic, beautiful, and secluded beach I've ever seen.

We spent the day drinking $2 24-ounce Presidente (me) and various fresh coconut drinks made with fresh fruit and a machete (Mrs. SRQ Guy) and enjoying the empty beautiful beach. We had the most delicious fresh grilled snapper (that's what they had that day) for lunch in a nearby seafood shack. There were maybe, at the peak of the day when the cruise ship excursion got there, 100 people on the 3 km beach. The people who visited the beach via the cruise line excursion (limited to those 5 years old and up, so happy because otherwise we'd have probably taken this tour) showed up 2 hours later in very uncomfortable trucks, spent an hour at the beach, then herded back out. Overall we spent about 5 hours at the beach, and had a glorious day in the DR.

Incidentally most people we talked to on the ship hated the stop. I suspect most were just coddled Americans a bit fearful of leaving their comfort zone. Samaná is very undeveloped compared to other Craibbean cruise ports. It's definitely a good port to have some kind of organized tour booked if you're visiting on a cruise with a tight time limit. I'd like to go back and spend a week sometime, before the place is ruined by the new highway to Santo Domingo.

Of the highly developed ports, my favorite is Cozumel. It's somewhat overdeveloped but IMHO unpretentious. It's a nice place to spend a half-day at the beach and a half-day lazing about the town square, perhaps enjoying a cerveza and a siesta.

It's also a decent jumping off point for the amazing ruins at Tulum if you have a long enough stop (though Calica and PdC are closer).

For the untraveled it's a fantastic place to get hammered at Carlos n' Charlies and pretend you've had a great adventure.

I'm not ashamed to say that I've enjoyed it all three ways over the years. :D

FWIW, I have yet to visit a port that I would actively avoid.

I've got two that come to mind immediately:

St Lucia - we ignored the 1,000 ship's tours and hired a cab to go to Pigeon Island (more like a peninsula now) and climb both the hills - a fort on one and a great view on the other. Best part: maybe 5 other people in the park. When we went back to Castries, I remembered we were at a port call (1,000s of passengers milling around, and hard to walk with the crowds).

Curacao - rented a car and drove to Christoffelberg Park, climbed the mountain, saw some great sights, met some really friendly families climbing the mountain. Also, maybe 10 other people we passed.

Edit to add: I also liked Juneau as you can quickly get away from the crowds on Mount Roberts, plus fabulous views.

The best Holland America: DOMINICA in the Caribbean: the river rubber tubing - beautiful scenery, just enough thrills and spills, very well organized, accesssible for all ages, warm water and an unexpected delight and lovely drive to get the river.

SOUTH AFRICA PHINDA GAME PRESERVE: The most expensive one we ever took, but our feeling was we are here and may never come back so let's just do it: the overnight Phinda Game Reserve connecting between two ports stops in South Africa, returning to the ship in Durban. Superb facilities and professional organization.

Best most knowledgeable game driver and staff - small 6 person open air jeeps. Fabulous facilities and great food. A priceless memory at a very high price but could not have picked a better thing to do and also see a lot of land in South Africa getting to and fro from the resort. I will never forget the early morning mist and warmth from the 5 am drive the light, the sights, sounds, smell,l and feel of this area at that time were alone worth the price of admission.

The priciness of this excursion bought us the privacy and intimacy this large, exclusive game preserve has to offer compared to other more mass tourism options. So overall, this was money well spent.

Did the zip line tour. This was a cruise tour through HAL. Had a great time. Himself and me were the last two people to go. It was brilliant and the guide was a lot of fun. We literally felt like the only two people zip lining. This was a few years ago in Roatan, Honduras.

Mine had to be dog sledding in Alaska. The helicopter ride out of Skagway to the glacier was interesting by itself, but meeting "my" dogs and going out with them for a couple of miles is still a highlight of my cruises!

I'll second SRQ Guy's love of Cozumel. It's small, freindly and lots of fun.

Loved Cozumel, but swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman has to top my list.

I have this on my list to do on a cruise when my daughter gets a bit older. In the meantime whenever in Grand Cayman I go diving.

Hmm, I'd have to say one of my absolute favorite cruise excursions was one that was arranged independatly out of Manaus, Brazil. 8 of us took a speedboat up the Rio Negro a ways to a spot where we could get in the river and feed and swim with the pink dolphins. Then we spent some time at a sandy beach on the river, then headed to a native's house for lunch. Finally we visited a native tribe at a reservation set up for them to practice their traditions and went through a welcoming ceremony. Sunburnt pretty badly that day, but it's a trip I'm always going to remember.

Now I've had a chance to think on my favorite sightseeing time away from a cruise I would think back to a warm memory from May '09 Ketchikan, Alaska when I did a shore excursion with HAL that was an afternoon sea kayaking.

The weather was wonderfully warm, around 15 C or around 60 F, and we spent a few hours first learning how to kayak and then explored the small coves and bays around the area under a bright sunny, cloudless day. I really loved the experience as it was so tranquil it was relaxing even though you were physically putting out some degree of effort which I noticed later in the day in my arms and shoulders. Our group of around ten with guides even managed to sneak up on a small deer on an island we passed and it seemed to stare back with almost as much curiosity as we were showint it.

The guides were friendly, professional and added to the whole experience paddling over to take your picture, explain the area, etc. so it made for a very pleasant day and has made me consider taking a longer kayak trip maybe in B.C. or Alaska. I'm no photographer but one shot I took with my little Canon digital turned out quite well so have used it for screensavers, etc. as it's a warm memory on a cold Canadian winter day.

FWIW I enjoy trying different things while on shore excursions such as sea kayaking or rock climbing, both of which I tried for the first time in Alaska. I'm reading the shore excurions list for an upcoming HAL E.Carib cruise in Jan. '11 and am drawn to more of the slightly active variety like snorkelling or scuba but the hard part seems deciding which ones to take.

I will agree that St. Lucia is magnificent. Did not do a ship's tour but instead used independent tour guide "Cosol". He was amazing, taking us to a local bakery (tasing included), a banana farm, botanical gardens, al kinds of local and interesting things.

Another favorite excursion was the Yacht Racing on St. Maarten. It is tons of fun as the patrons become the crew and the yachts race. Great fun.

Gotta agree, we did that tour ourselves, and it was a real good one.