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»	Cruise Talk » Ports of Call and Destinations » Worst Port of Call?

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Topic: Worst Port of Call?

Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 02-17-2007 01:36 PM

Any shocking tales of mind blowingly ugly or boring ports?

Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged

lasuvidaboy
First Class Passenger
Member # 4527

posted 02-17-2007 02:12 PM

Mazatlan and Ensenada, Mexico. These are both working sea ports and are quite ugly. Then again I guess most ports are not that attractive. Best are NYC, Sydney, San Fran, Honolulu etc. where the port is right in the city center.

Posts: 7654 | From: Hollywood Hills/L.A. | Registered: Mar 2004 | IP: Logged

Pascal
First Class Passenger
Member # 5510

posted 02-17-2007 03:27 PM

Worst ports imaginable :

Toulon, France : I still don't understand why some lines call there. The town is incredbly ugly (post WW2 soviet style constructions) and further than the neightbouring ports from the major provence attractions.

Le Havre, France : Exactly the same as Toulon, except for the fact it's cold and rainy. The proximity from relatively interesting cities save it a little (I'm not talking about the Le Havre/Paris joke).

Marseille, France : The city could be an interesting (I didn't say nice) call in itself, but they built the cruise terminal in the worst imaginable location (and you complained about QM2 in Brooklyn... ), surrounded by containers, (very) far from downtown and (very) close from some of the most dangerous (criminally speaking) areas in France.

And after that, there will be some who will tell French aren't fair about their own country.

[ 02-17-2007: Message edited by: Pascal ]

Posts: 1371 | From: Aix en Provence | Registered: Mar 2005 | IP: Logged

Tom Burke
First Class Passenger
Member # 5238

posted 02-17-2007 06:19 PM

quote:
Marseille, France : The city could be an interesting (I didn't say nice) call in itself,

We had a pleasanter-then-expected call at Marseilles in May 2005 on MSC Sinfonia. Yes, I agree that the actual docking area isn't great. However we took the shuttle bus into the Vieux Port and has an excellent lunch in a pavement cafe near the Hotel de Ville, then walked around the harbour, then parked ourselves and had a couple of drinks. It was a good couple of hours or so.

Posts: 1469 | From: Sheffield, UK | Registered: Dec 2004 | IP: Logged

Tim Agg
First Class Passenger
Member # 3185

posted 02-17-2007 11:51 PM

We visited a nasty little port in Guatemala - third world town with a military (paratroopers) airfield nearby - the 'jumping off' point for a flight to a fabulous day at Tikal...Unless you're addicted to shops, St Thomas is pretty bad, and Nassau is not far behind...Alexandria does not present well, though al is forgievn when tghe tour bus finally arrive at the pyramids.

Posts: 365 | From: Vancouver BC | Registered: Jul 2002 | IP: Logged

Brian_O
First Class Passenger
Member # 3910

posted 02-18-2007 01:48 AM

Beira in Mozambique and Mogadishu, Somalia are hell holes to be avoided.

Brian

Posts: 2698 | From: Pointe-Claire, QC Canada | Registered: Jun 2003 | IP: Logged

dmwnc1
Cruise Director
Member # 3785

posted 02-18-2007 09:21 AM

My vote for WORST PORT OF CALL:

Ocho Rios, Jamaica (or any port in Jamaica)...

...dont get me wrong, the island in itelf is quite lovely, the occupants make it ugly. I absolutely loathe going to Jamaica. If we could just take everybody from Bermuda and stick them on Jamaica we'd have a match made in heaven.

Posts: 5650 | From: Clarksburg WV | Registered: Apr 2003 | IP: Logged

Frosty 4
First Class Passenger
Member # 5826

posted 02-19-2007 11:30 AM

Most here already know my dislike for Mexico.
This weekend on the news the Mexican Goverment has put the army out to stop all the crime,killings and drug trafficing. Seems like the local police and officials(on the take) are so deeply involved with the crime bosses that even they get targeted if something doesn't go right in their communities. Acapulco seems to be the worst lately.
And yet most cruise lines continue to have the Western Caribbean as their most visited area. I wonder how long it will be before we have a cruise line incident there???Or for that matter in the other popular vacation spots eg.Cancun.
Frosty 4

Posts: 2531 | From: Illinois | Registered: Jul 2005 | IP: Logged

jeffrossatsea
First Class Passenger
Member # 2962

posted 02-19-2007 11:36 AM

with all the cruise's i've done in the past...i have to say the worst port would be galveston, texas.....that would be the most unattractive port of all......jeff

Posts: 1118 | From: vancouver | Registered: Apr 2002 | IP: Logged

desirod7
First Class Passenger
Member # 1626

posted 02-19-2007 07:57 PM

Bayonne, New Jersey and St. Thomas which is the Bayonne New Jersey of the Caribbean.

Both have lots of slums, traffic and crowding.

Posts: 5727 | From: Philadelphia, Pa [home of the SS United States] | Registered: Oct 2000 | IP: Logged

PamM
First Class Passenger
Member # 2127

posted 02-19-2007 08:32 PM

What's wrong with Galveston? I thought it was quite OK? Not special, but not bad. Better than being berthed up in Houston miles from anywhere.

Pam

Posts: 12176 | From: Cambridge, UK | Registered: Jun 2001 | IP: Logged

Grant
First Class Passenger
Member # 1000

posted 02-20-2007 07:36 PM

Port of Spain in Trinidad. Never been more worried about my well being in any port of call. Could not get back to the ship quick enough. Even Alexandria in the evenng seemed safer-nicer and more interesting as well.

Posts: 834 | From: Victoria, BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000 | IP: Logged

Frosty 4
First Class Passenger
Member # 5826

posted 02-21-2007 10:56 AM

Even though this was not a vacation cruise but a stop in the Philiphines when I was in the service(Navy). We had to anchor out and take a shuttle to Sangley Point where we had a small naval base.
We were going to go to Manila sightseeing. When we walked off the base I could not believe the filth!!
People deficating in public.animals-you name it all over the streets, Markets selling fish(smelled like a week old) and the housing was nothing more that cardboard shacks.
I turned around and went back to the ship. The ONLY time that I didn't mind going back not seeing what was in this port of call. I had seen enough!!!
Frosty 4

Posts: 2531 | From: Illinois | Registered: Jul 2005 | IP: Logged

nycruiser
First Class Passenger
Member # 960

posted 02-25-2007 07:13 PM

The worst ports I have been to:

-Bayonne, NJ (looks like a garbage dump)\
-Savona, Italy (Costa main terminal is here but not much else..its a bit charming but take an excursion)
-Nassua (the residents have gotten very rude and too many ships at once)
-Ocho Rios, Jamaica (Its a lovely island but the people make unpleasant experience from my experience)

Posts: 665 | From: Westchester County, NY | Registered: Dec 1999 | IP: Logged

santa naria
First Class Passenger
Member # 6392

posted 02-26-2007 11:58 AM

ambon city in indonesia
lae in papua new guinea
freetown in sierra leone
dakar in senegal
san jose in coasta rica

Posts: 24 | From: germany | Registered: Apr 2006 | IP: Logged

Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 02-26-2007 01:01 PM

My Thomson ‘Red Sea Magic’ cruise at Christmas was unique for me as all of the ports (Sharm El Sheikh, Aqaba, Port Sokhna and Safaga) were the ‘worst’ I have experienced and all visited on the same one week cruise!

Each port was an ugly commercial dock with cranes and freight etc. No other cruise ships even shared the docks to brighten up the views. One port even had a cement works with a layer of cement dust covering everywhere.

The ports were generally very isolated in what looked like the edge of the desert. The nearest town in most cases was at least a few miles away and just a ‘shanty town’ anyway. Each dock did not make for a very pleasant walk and there were few shuttle buses, no taxis and few places nearby to visit anyway. Fortunately I had been warned about the ports.

However, the ports were gateways to Cairo, Luxor and Jordan. All are absolutely fascinating parts of the world and well worth experiencing. Therefore I have no regrets.

Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged

oslo dutch
First Class Passenger
Member # 4669

posted 03-14-2007 09:10 AM

One of worst places I have been to were the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. Just a couple of dirty sandbanks where indians were suppose to live.
The little streets were covered in Tshirts and souvenirs for sale. Everybody wanted to get back to the ship immediately after arrival
When Arcadia was about to depart again we saw all indians sailing to their real houses ashore . Fake fake fake....

Haven't seen this place advertised in a lot of cruise schedules lately...the brits on P&O didn't like it

Posts: 349 | From: Oslo | Registered: Apr 2004 | IP: Logged

desirod7
First Class Passenger
Member # 1626

posted 02-18-2014 11:06 PM

New Jersey

I Never Promised You an Olive Garden
http://vbox7.com/play:56d1f00c

Posts: 5727 | From: Philadelphia, Pa [home of the SS United States] | Registered: Oct 2000 | IP: Logged

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