Port guides: when your ship stops here
For a day in port: the top 3 things to do off the ship, what to skip, and one plain tip each. Every fact has its source.
- Cozumel: when your ship stops here
Snorkel a protected reef, walk a Maya city, and the big park to save for a long day.
- Mazatlan: when your ship stops here
Follow the Blue Line to the old town, hike up to El Faro, walk the Malecón.
- Nassau: when your ship stops here
Climb the Queen's Staircase to an old fort, then the beach and the Straw Market, all a walk from the ship.
- Costa Maya: when your ship stops here
The Maya city of Chacchoben, the beach village of Mahahual, or the pools at the pier.
- Roatan: when your ship stops here
A white sand beach by the reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world, and the dive village of West End.
- Santorini: when your ship stops here
Ride up to Fira on the cliff top, see the white village of Oia, and the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri.
- Ensenada: when your ship stops here
The sea blowhole at La Bufadora, the wine valley, and the 1930 hotel that is now the city's cultural center.
- Aruba: when your ship stops here
The widest beach on the island, its oldest building in Oranjestad, and a ranger-led walk in the national park.
- Curacao: when your ship stops here
Walk the floating bridge that swings open, the bright Dutch houses of Punda, and the oldest synagogue in the Americas.
- St. Thomas: when your ship stops here
Magens Bay beach, the 1672 fort and the 99 Steps in town, and Main Street shopping, all between the two cruise docks.
- Juneau: when your ship stops here
Mendenhall Glacier, whales in the bay, and the Capitol and State Museum on foot; check the tram is running before you count on it.
- Mykonos: when your ship stops here
Little Venice and the windmills in Chora, a boat to the sacred island of Delos, and why to leave the quad bikes alone.
- St. Maarten: when your ship stops here
The beach and boardwalk in Philipsburg, the 1631 fort with the pelicans, the French side, and the fence at Maho Beach to stay away from.
- Naples: when your ship stops here
Pompeii by train, the old town and a real Neapolitan pizza, or a boat to Capri; not two of them in one day.
- Skagway: when your ship stops here
The White Pass train from the dock, the gold rush town on foot, and Dyea; the Chilkoot Trail is for another trip.
- Sitka: when your ship stops here
Totem poles in the oldest park in Alaska, the Russian cathedral and Castle Hill, and the eagles at the Raptor Center.
- Kusadasi: when your ship stops here
Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, or a slow day on foot to Pigeon Island; the Temple of Artemis is one column.
- Falmouth: when your ship stops here
A bamboo raft down the Martha Brae, the Georgian town at the pier, and the climb up Dunn's River Falls.
More ports are on the way. Planning the cruises themselves? See back to back cruises, explained.