I cruised to Belize City, the world's 'worst' cruise port, and loved it

If you look beyond the souvenir shops, one cruiser’s hell can be another’s idea of heaven.

Cruisers are a passionate lot. An internet search reveals long online discussions among travellers about the worst ports they have cruised to, those they never want to revisit. Top of the list is Belize City in the Caribbean country of Belize.

“Full of useless trinket shops,” one commenter says. “Nothing to do,” others complain. I beg to differ. I was lucky enough to visit Belize City for the first time earlier this year on an Explorer Journeys voyage and loved an excursion visiting the Altun Ha Mayan ruins, followed by a wander through the town to see the colonial buildings, visit the museum, and the library which was running an exhibition on Belizean musicians.

After that we looked at reviews and made our way to the best-rated outdoor bar serving johnny cakes and Belizean Belikin beer and watched sailors pulling in their catch of the day from fishing boats. Yes, the tourism village selling trinkets that you need to walk through at the cruise ship terminal is terrible but beyond that there’s a whole country to discover.

Second on the worst ports list was Nassau in the Bahamas, for exactly the same reasons – the touts selling souvenirs right near the port. But beyond is a tour of John Watling’s Distillery to learn about rum, the fascinating Educulture Junkanoo Museum full of Bahamian costumes made from colourful crêpe paper and cardboard and endless beach shacks serving delicious conch salad.

I was lucky enough to visit Belize City for the first time earlier this year on an Explorer Journeys voyage and loved an excursion visiting the Altun Ha Mayan ruins. Picture: Andrea Black.

So why do these ports make it to the top of cruisers’ worst lists? Bottom line: don’t rely on walking off the ship and having a wander without being fully prepared. If it’s a port that you’ve never been to before, do some pre-trip research on the best things to do there, and consider booking in excursions. After all, part of the joy of travel is in the planning.

This rule especially applies to any port you see that has a bracket afterwards. For example, an Italian cruise might include Florence (Livorno) and Rome (Civitavecchia), which of course sounds alluring, but beware, these world cities are often a long bus trip from the port, which is even more reason to pre-book an excursion.

A port visit to Livorno is made so much better if you book in that day tour to Florence.

A port visit to Livorno is made so much better if you book in that day tour to Florence. Jump on the bus for the 99km drive and before you know it you’ll be visiting Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell’Accademia and dining on incredible pasta in hidden trattorias. This rule also applies to sailings into Bangkok (Laem Chabang), a 90-minute drive to the capital. Some such as Berlin (Warnemünde) are so far away (at two and half hours’ drive each way) it might be an idea to just explore the local city of Rostock instead and save Berlin for a proper discovery post-cruise.

Ultimately, if there is one port we can all agree is the very worst port, the port that truly tops the world’s worst ports list, it’s the one where we have to get off with our luggage.

Originally published as I cruised to Belize City, the world's 'worst' cruise port, and loved it