New subscriber here. Great tips. The worst cruise is subjective. Some ports that we love others hate and vice versa. We do love Belize but I know others don't. This is great information. Thank you so much for sharing.
Someone needs to send this video to all the major cruise companies. All five ports are not worth getting off the boat other than to stretch your legs. AKA gym and spa day on the boat.
You should specify that these are the 5 worst Caribbean ports. Because I did a Pacific Mexican cruise last year and all 5 of these ports you mentioned (I've been to them all) were paradise compared to Ensenada, Mexico. That is hands down the dirtiest, unsafest (feeling), hole I've ever been to. It was gross. We ALL got off the ship because our two previous ports, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas we weren't able to get off due to a hurricane. It was gross. The top 5 worst you put here, we liked them all. We had zero problems.
I think the biggest issue with Nassau is the sheer amount of times you end up there. If you decide to frequent cruise, you'll probably be in Nassau in most iteneraries. You can only do so many excursions before you've done all of them 😂
You’re perpetuating a stereotype that there is nothing to do in Costa Maya. Most don’t leave the port and shame on them. Get a taxi to downtown and hang out on the beach with a $30 massage. I always go to Krazy Lobster. It’s an inexpensive day on the beach. Been to that port more than 10 times and it’s one of the better ports - if you go downtown
Stereotypes develop for a reason and many commenters (and I agree) that there isn't a lot to do here compared to other options. That's not to say there's *nothing* to do in Costa Maya, and of course everyone has their preferences (even when they're unpopular opinions, like my love for Nassau), but it's just different strokes for different folks.
You are so right not many other ports you can just rent a golf cart and take off and drive it around to multiple places and Krazy Lobster and all the other shops right there near it are awesome. I will take Costa Maya over Cozumel or even Grand Turk
I just came off a cruise 9/24/24 and Costa Maya was our second port after Cozumel. We did the ruins and i got bit up by the fire ants and ankles still hurt a week later. So make sure you take off and check your feet and ankles. The final cruise port was Roatan, which was the best. The port beach was awesome, that is as far as i went this cruise. Prior cruises to Roatan, we always did excursions. But for those of you not planning an excursion, get off the ship and go to the "free" beach area there at the port.
Eh, there are always so many traveler alerts for so many places simultaneously, it's hard to differentiate which ones are legit dangerous, unless it's something extreme, like Haiti at the moment.
I go to Nassau several times a year an have never had an issue, and I'm not particularly good about being proactive against pickpockets... But yeah, this can definitely happen here or at any cruise port or tourist destination. I do need to be more cautious in general.
@@drizle80 yes but a few of them are particularly notorious. I’ve seen multiple people with travel channels list Nassau (I know Rome and Barcelona were on the list too) of one of the worst places. A cruise channel I follow said he got off the ship at Nassau just kind of walking around wanting to see for himself how it was. A group of young men were next to him bragging how many people they were able to pickpocket that morning. Just brazen, out in the open, not caring if anyone heard them. No thanks. I don’t need that on vacation.
My kids and I just got back from a cruise that stopped at Nassau. We got asked a few times to come in and look at stuff in the new port. Also if my daughter wanted her hair braided. No one was pushy, but they weren't afraid to ask as we walked by.
I disagree about Nassau. Just visited in April and found that the port area, several blocks, has been fenced in, stores have been built replacing all the previous shacks and the vendors are not aggressive.
I would rather venture into all five ports you mentioned than PORT CANAVERAL. PORT CANAVERAL is nothing but a big cargo unloading port and there is nothing appealing within walking distance. At least with the five ports you mentioned, there are things you can do or visit to pass away the time while the cruise ship is basically in "inactive mode" (i.e. - shops & casino is closed, far less onboard activities taking place, etc.).
@@nascarmadman No, sailing from New York City (on Royal Caribbean, MSC, Carnival, Norwegian) towards Bahamas always entails a one day stop at this joke of a port for cruisers who wish to get off the ship to explore the local area without having to pay for any excursion.
Let’s get real…there are nice beaches in lots of places besides these ports…just as there are shops and attractions…use your head…many, if not all, of these, and other ports, are legitimately not safe…period! Being cavalier about these stops is just ridiculous…and there is nothing wrong with staying on the ship and enjoying what is,hopefully, a lovely space…or…pick a cruise that goes to better places!! Use your head!!
I’ve been to Nassau in sept. I never had that problem. Yes they did ask me to see their shop.I always present my self with a positive attitude. Don’t act like a timid individual. I always say no thank you and walk away.
The only port I've ever been that you didn't get harrassed to buy things is in Bermuda which is my favorite port not just for that reason but that you get multiple days there. Nassau is my least favorite. I had a good time renting a golf cart in Costa Maya and riding it around and then going to Krazy Lobster. Cozumel I was offered a guy's sister after I declined at least 6 other things he wanted to sell but wouldn't mind going back and exploring more there. I really love Amber Cove and do an excursion there every time. Grand Turk is alright also.
Disagree we loved renting a golf cart and visiting all around the island with some several gorgeous beaches, yummy local food and the Casino was fun. I want to go back. We also loved Rotan booked a private tour with Daniel Johnson and did Sloths, and Ziplines which was amazing. Beaches and snorkling amazing! People just need to venture out of Port areas and embrace others culture...why do people expect other Countries to be just like the US.. hint most aren't!
@@526renee We did like Rotan but two major issues we had in Bimini... keep in mind we have traveled the world and seen everything! The golf cart guys were pushy and scammers for the most part. Number two, the food quality/safety standards were terrible. If you look at the back of house of most of those restaurants you would never eat there. The beaches are beautiful but honestly...beautiful beaches are a dime a dozen. Beyond that the island had no real activities, no interesting shopping, no significant historical locations, it's really just a beach with a very poor island vibe. Not a "bad" place, just not someplace we'd say, hey... you should go there!
We go to the beaches mostly on port days. Freeport is one of my favorite ports. Yes, you have to get an excursion or Taxi, but the most beautiful beaches are not far away. I'll be there again in a few weeks. I look forward to Celebration Key and everyone learning about the real Freeport!
We enjoyed Progreso - maybe it was that authentic Mexican feel. We took a bus tour through town and learned about the history of the area. We ate at a little eatery downtown and had some amazing tacos. We've only been once, so I can understand running out of things to do there.
If you to Belize with Norwegian, the port is an island. Belize left a much better first impression on me, probably because we docked on that island and then went across for our excursion. We went deep into Belize and did some river tubing. It was great. Same for Honduras. Norwegian seems to dock at a different port and it is picturesque and lovely. I had one of my favorite excursions there - jungle hiking. I'd advise taking excursions that get you out into nature. Manmade structures and towns might disappoint, but nature won't!
We moved to Merida, Mexico about three years ago. On our first visit, we took a day trip to Progresso. Had a great meal on the beach and great service. Things were pretty dingy. A lot has happened in three years. The Malecon has been completely redone. Vert nice. Lots of new restaurants and generally much nicer. We live in Centro in Merida and we see a lot more tourists these days. I would recommend an excursion with cenotes, Merida and perhaps Isamal. Or try Crabster or Casa del Pastel. Great food and if you are eating at the restaurant you can sit on the beach under a palapa or an umbrella and be waited on. Have to get away from the pier.
What about Santorini? You get dropped off at the bottom of a cliff where the options are to pay for the gondola that holds about 20 of 500 people waiting, walk up the hundreds of donkey poo covered steps (no exaggeration), or pay to ride the donkeys up the donkey poo covered steps! Then when you get to the top there is nothing to do. I have been on many cruises and Santorini was by far the biggest disappointment.
You have got to be kidding me. Santorini has to be one of the top 5 most beautiful places in the world, evidenced by the countless breathtaking photos taken from the towns above in almost every travel magazine.
@@MarcL1313 Yes, the pictures are beautiful but still a bad cruise port for the reasons listed in my original post. Also, I noticed you disputed none of the points that I presented in my comment.
Maybe things have changed in 20 years, but we had to anchor outside the reef in Belize and were tendered in. We did a river boat cruise up to the ruins and then bussed back. The port area wasn't worth mentioning so that part is right. I never heard of Progresso. I have also NEVER heard of ANYWHERE in Mexico that didn't take dolar$ so that IS weird! And Cozumel doesn't have aggressive vendors? My wife wanted to buy a gold stingray charm. The price tag was kind of vague and we thought it was in USD (55.00) when the peso was an even 10:1; so $55. No, it was 5500 MXP so $550! Thy guy said it was solid gold. Well, we knew that. AND my Mom is a jeweler so we knew better. But he wouldn't back down. Other vendors practically tackled us if we even slowed down an inch per hour and took a glance into the store. I will NEVER set food on Cozumel EVER again!
The overly aggressive vendors at Dunn's River Falls completely turned us off from ever wanting to go back to Ocho Rios. A vendor who had a large knife in his hand approached me as we were trying to exit the site and asked me my name. I told him - and he immediately carved my name into a wooden figurine and gave me the "Don't disrespect me, mon" bit to get me to buy it. Which I did - and I won't go back there.
We’ve been to Costa Maya, and will be there again soon. We love going to Maya Chan Beach-they provide comfortable transportation, and they restrict the number of guests so it’s not crowded. The food is good, the drinks are great, they have activities and massages on site that can’t be beat. Reservations are required, so plan ahead!
@@deepshotone they provide transportation outside of the port area-maybe a 2-3 block walk. It’s about a 15-20 minute ride. They bring you back to the port whenever you’re ready-they make sure to have you back in time to get to the ship.
I did an independent excursion (Montego Bay Iberostar with Resort for a Day) with my young daughter (by way of Falmouth) a couple months ago and had no issues and never felt unsafe.
Looking for something to do in Nassau? Take a walk to the Graycliff Hotel. Get a reservation and have some lunch. There’re also a lot of other experiences you can have at the hotel. But make sure you stop at the chocolatier. Get some brownies. They’re worth the walk all by themselves.
Freeport and Costa Maya are my least fave. Haven’t been to Progreso (booked in Jan 2025) or Belize. Freeport was a sketchy port area that reminded me of a run down flea market. We did take a bus to an “all inclusive” beach, where nothing at all was actually included 😂 It was also packed so we didn’t stay long. Costa Maya port area is one of my least favorite places. We took a taxi to the Krazy Lobster and we did very much enjoy our time there, and haggling with the shopkeepers in that area. It felt authentic. Our taxi driver drove like a bat out of hell and scared us 😂 But the reason I’m not a fan is because the port vendors are incredibly aggressive (especially the skincare people) and the layout felt like a seashell - it took us FOREVER walking in circles to finally get out of that place to get a taxi. And it seemed like they designed it that way to 1. Pack more vendors in to sell more stuff, and 2. Keep people in the port area to spend money there instead of exploring on their own or through an outside vendor. Nassau was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. We got off the ship there at 7:30am the morning after we hit our drink limit on the ship the night before. It was a little rough. We took a carriage ride (mostly cause we didn’t know what to do and were tired of walking) and the guide was great, pointing out different places and told us where NOT to venture. After that we started walking to Junkanoo beach because we didn’t have anything booked. We were hot, tired, hungover, and tired of walking. (Note: drinking coconut milk from a coconut in this situation will NOT cure a hangover, no matter what the nice Bahamian lady at the cart tells you. It’s very insta-worthy but this was before that was a thing.) About halfway down the sidewalk or sea wall to the beach, there was a man in a small boat who yelled that he did private fishing and snorkeling tours. We got him down to $300 for the two of us I think. In retrospect, this could have been a dangerous choice, but we clearly weren’t thinking there was anything suspect. It was 10 years ago too, so maybe we were more sheltered. Idk. Anyway, this guy was one of the nicest people, and as he took us out of the port area where we were allowed to fish and snorkel, he explained why we had to go elsewhere, and pointed out all the fancy beachfront mansions and told us what famous person owned each one. He took us past Atlantis. He had water and sodas and juice, fishing poles and bait, life vests and snorkel gear and towels. We didn’t need anything. He helped set the bait if we asked, we caught what he said were mostly junk fish but much different and more colorful than what we’re used to in Texas. The snorkeling was wonderful. He made sure to remind us of the time to get us back to port in time to board the ship. I still have his card, and we are planning a trip in 2025 with our kids. I’m 100% calling that guide! Had it not been for him, we probably wouldn’t like Nassau very much lol
Agree with Freeport, but Nassau in 2017 was a lovely walk around. We found a fun outside bar but not rambunctious. Our bartender was great. First "taxi" on a passenger bicycle. Still don't know how he did it with me and my friend up and around some elevated streets 😅
We went to Nassau and Junkanoo beach when cruising first opened up after COVID, the new port was under construction, there was only our ship at 50% capacity, I loved it! Bimini is the worst cruise port, in my opinion, it’s so dirty and boring. Second worst cruise port is ANYTHING in Dominican Republic 🇩🇴, that entire country just makes me feel uneasy every single time.
New to cruising life and the wife and I are loving so far. Freeport is one of our next trip (Grand Turk, HalfMoon, and Freeport) our plan is to stay on the ship that day and enjoy the pool with less of the crowd.
I've yet to do a "stay on the ship" day, but there are a few ports that if I get back to, I might be tempted to do that. It does seem nice to have the place to yourself, mostly... I just wish they didn't shut almost everything down on the ship during calls, though.
No surprise there. Last time there I didn't even leave the ship and my wife didn't then. Don't like beaches. Next time in Nassau will get off to see the new cruise port. Vendors can be very aggressive. Atlantis is overrated. Won't get off the ship in Jamaica. Other cruisers told me horror stories. At one time wanted to go to Belize. Would consider a shore excursion. Wouldn't go to Mexico. Even the Mexicans try to sneak into the U.S. They don't like it there. Wouldn't get off in Progresso either. I only speak English. Used to speak German better, but, actually lived in Germany. A relative had Cozumel cancelled as a port they were supposed to go to. If I feel unsafe anywhere I would not leave the ship. Used to like Freeport. Not anymore. It's a long ride to the Lucayan Marketplace. The public restrooms are not clean. Vendors have gotten more aggressive over the years. Have to know where you are in relation to a casino.
Hey Professor, I really feel like you, that I like to go explore past the cruise built port area, and has always gotten us some great experiences ! Might come back to bite me one day! 😂 Thanks for your you tube and tik tok content, you helped us have a great trip last month to the Bahamas! Keep up the great work!❤
I just did Montego Bay (via Falmouth) for the first time and really liked it, but that was an all-inclusive, which isn't exactly a real taste of the local world, I know.
I agree with Belize. We had a great excursion doing a sky bridge and cave tubing adventure but the run down port, especially coupled with the fact it’s a tender port, made me go straight to my excursion and then straight back to the ship when we were done.
I rented a golf cart last time in GT an really loved tooling around the island and seeing all the wild donkeys. I'm not a huge fan of Jack's Shack, though, which seems to be universally loved.
Definitely! I feature both Atlantis and Baha Mar in my Nassau guidebook: profmelissa.gumroad.com/l/nassau (along with Margaritaville, British Colonial and Riu, which are also great).
I truly dislike Eleuthera also known as princess cay is my ultimate least favorite I’m not a fan of most private islands but this one continues to disappoint
By far the very worst cruise port I have encountered is Guadeloupe. Dirty run down area near port, buildings smelling of urine. The beach didn't have restrooms, majority of people spoke French. Never again!!
So basically every hated cruise port is disliked because it isn't "just like the U.S." Just stay at home ppl if you don't want to see the world as it is! Cruise ports are not theme parks ...
I am a little biased about Freeport. full disclosure, i have a condo on the island and i have many wonderful friends there. I agree that the port is not attractive, but if you venture out there are beautiful beaches west and east of the port. there is Port lucaya the main shopping area (the dolphin encounter leaves out of there). with Carnival's Celebration Key opening in 2025 Freeport might move to a favorite cruise port....
I enjoyed Costa Maya. We found no seaweed when we arrived in December. Roatan was disappointing. Once out of the actual port area, there is nothing worth seeing/doing within the town itself. The smell was terrible.
It's been a dozen years since we first visited Costa Maya, but we booked an off-ship excursion to Almaplena Beach Resort. The price included the taxi ride out there, which was about a 15-minute ride through the middle of nowhere. The resort itself was more than we could've asked for - a meal, drinks, and an extra cost for a massage on the beach. If you're willing to risk getting left behind, Almaplena was a nice choice.
It’s better to take ship sponsored shore excursions in Jamaica for safety reasons. My advice for Nassau is to just either ignore the aggressive vendors or just say no thanks and move on.
I disagree. My husband and I just returned from Jamaica and we used an outside tour vendor and it was great. We were treated with respect and also had a private tour. No problems or issues at all.
Ohh, I *loved* Dominica! But I hired a private driver, who ended up being AMAZING and he took us to Spanny Falls, which was off the beaten path. My boyfriend and I ended up literally being the only people there and it was soooo romantic; like something out of a dream.
Will be docking in Nassau next January. Haven’t been there in years. Looking forward to seeing the new port area. Love the stuff that I bought at the straw market almost 40 years ago. Does the new port area have a shop selling items from the straw market? Don’t want to leave the cruise port area. We have been on many Caribbean cruises and don’t like many of the ports. Our favorite ports are Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and St. Maarten. We stay on the ships in many ports; the ship serves as a floating resort that helps us escape from the cold winter weather in the northeast.
You left out San Juan. And some places I have been to many times. The ship is nearly empty, pools and hot tubs are available, spa offers discounts and no lines. I enjoy staying on the ship sometimes.
