I am travelling with my family (12 of us) on Glory leaving June 4th. I will have my 4 year old and 9 month old with me. I have looked at lots of excursions and they just don't necessarily seem like something the little ones would enjoy (or that others would enjoy having them along!). So - do we have to do an excursion at each port? If we want to get off the boat, is there something else we can do? Just wander around? Little shops or something? Beaches to play on?

Oh - another thought: If we stay on the ship when it is at a port, is that a good time to enjoy things onboard? Will it be less crowded? Is it even "open" then?

Thanks!
Nancy

Nancy,

if you would like to stay onboard while the ship is in port, you are free to do so - quite a few people opt for this. Additionally, the excursions offered are fully voluntary so if you don't want to participate in any of them, that's perfectly fine.

Yes, indeed, the ship will usually be less crowded while in port in comparison with days at sea. Most facilities will be open, but both shops and the casino will be closed.

In regards to possibilities to enjoy the ports of call on your own, make sure to visit this site.

Have a great cruise!

I completly agree with Raoul. Just about every port offers shopping and plenty of things to do without taking an excursion. In fact, not having to rise early to meet an excursion departure time simply adds to the quality of the cruise experience, in my opinion.

Get up when you want and do what you want and don't worry about missing anything, just have a wonderful time with your gamily. That will make for a memorable cruise.

Let us know how it went!

Tom

Nancy you can hang with us we will be on the same cruise! LOL

Well in Key West the love of my life around the World you don't have to do an excursion, everything you would see on the Train or Trolley you can do yourself.....

Mexico and the other places it just depends on what you want to do! If you just want to go see the town then you can walk it, if you want to go to the beach then you can get a cab etc.

We just got off the Glory a few weeks ago and we had three kids with US. We opted to do some of the beach breaks and they ended up being wonderful with kids. The Passion Island Beach Break in Cozumel even had two pinatas for the kids and MY KIDS LOVED IT! There were at least 15 kids on that excursion with us. They had a photographer there taking pictures with a lion and monkey too! ( Belize and Key West weren't quite as kid friendly but you can certainly take your stroller to walk around in Key West.)