Can anyone tell me why ships only stay in ports for 8 hours at a time I mean like is there a time when you can get to a port and be able to see the night life. I mean stay to at least 10pm or even over night in a port or is this not logical.

It all depends on the itinerary. Some ships stay in San Juan until midnight, some stay in Barbados until midnight, some stay in Bermuda for 2-3 days. It depends on where they're going next, the fees for the port, etc.

If you are referring to the Caribbean usually only Nassau has an overnight leaving very early the next morning. Cozumel may have some calls that stay until 10PM. Why don't they do more overnights? 1)The ship wants you on the ship spending money. 2)Port charges and schedules. 3)Caribbean cruises are meant to give you just a taste of a location. European cruises however; are more about the destination and do have more overnights.