10 Worst Tourist Traps for Cruise Passengers

If you're going on a cruise, you'll want to be aware of the biggest & worst tourist traps in cruise ports of call & on the cruise ship. There are many fun things for cruise passengers to see & do in cruise ports, but there's no denying that there are some tourist traps that are worth avoiding!

In this video I share tourist scams & tourist traps on Caribbean cruises, as well as on Mediteranean cruises & in Canada. If you're a first time cruiser or a frequent cruise traveler, this video is for you! While tourist traps are not cruise scams, there are some bad excursions that cruisers would avoid if they could.

You'll find cruise information & cruise tips that will be useful if you cruise with Carnival cruise line, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC cruises, Holland America and many others!

These are some things that cruisers may want to avoid on a cruise vacation.

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ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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[foodimmerse]

Agree with Dunns River Falls, but also have a funny story from there. My late husband and I spent our honeymoon at an all-inclusive in Ocho Rios. Took a day trip to the falls on a bus from the resort - falls & guides were great, then we had to run the gauntlet through the vendors back to the bus. My husband was super outgoing and funny and loved to talk to/joke around with everyone everywhere we went. He started talking with a vendor holding up a carved wooden plaque with a parrot, tropical plants, & the word "Irie" carved into it. We did not have any interest in it, but the vendor was super-insistent and started following us through the labyrinth path through more vendor stalls back to the parking lot. He wanted $25, and he kept taking the price down as we got closer to the bus. We got on the bus, and he stood outside our open bus window still trying to negotiate - he was invested now! Literally as the bus was pulling away, he's walking alongside and says "$5!". Husband pulls out a 5 and they do the exchange through the window while the bus was moving! We all (us, the vendor & the entire bus) started laughing. He really earned that $5! That was in 1993 and I still have that carving to this day :)

[jdb]

Having just gotten off a cruise, I definitely agree with the cruise ship spa being a tourist trap at best and a scam at worst.

[maryhaarmeyer]

I made the mistake of going to the spa on Carnival and it was horrible! It was like being surrounded by 10 used-car salesmen. The 50 min massage turned out to be 25 after all the sales pitches and sooo much pressure to buy things I didn’t want. I won’t do that again

[chrisdavid]

If you want to avoid the sales pressure, do not make eye contact with the person pitching you, act like you don't hear, or understand what they're saying to you, and keep walking. They will move on to another mark. It is called having "street smarts". If that doesn't work for you, learn how to say "NO", and resist the pressure to buy.

[Harmon-E-]

TOTALLY agree about the spa! Would be so nice to have a NO pressure relaxing massage.

[betsydoc]

I think it shows your non-bias, because, although it is not what YOU would do, you were willing to show an alternative for other folks. Gives even more credence to your channel.

[nancya.]

I agree about the spa. I remember I got a massage (I expect to pay more money for a massage on a cruise) and the person was trying to tell me my face was dry and pushing the facial cremes, etc.. I really wanted to say, I didn't come for my face, but I was polite and said no thank you.

[LargoViewer]

Thanks for mentioning the animal tourism! I've been avoiding tours of this nature and hope to see more cruise lines separating themselves from them. They are almost always no fun for the animal and cause constant stress. This includes dolphins and sloths, unfortunately. However, I usually have no trouble finding an animal rescue or sanctuary to visit.

[owenmunn]

I had never thought of Spa treatments on the ship as a tourist trap. IIana, you are right. I used on board credit for a Massage. After the relaxing massage, the pressure sales caused me to feel tighter than when I went in.

[jillhughes]

My husband and I just got home from our Celebrity Cruise a few days ago. We went to "hell" in Grand Cayman and it was just ok. The area was much smaller than I thought it would be and I would not choose to go back there again. Honestly, Grand Cayman was our least favorite port. We really enjoyed swimming with the dolphins in Cozumel and we loved the beach in Binimi Bahamas. In fact, we both agreed that we would vacation in Cozumel or Binimi again because the islands were so beautiful and we didn't feel the pressure to buy things in either place.

[cpierce]

On our very first cruise, one of the ports where we stopped was Nassau. We were walking down the first street outside the fenced in area. Two ladies held up bracelets for us to see. I was interested in buying one or two, so we stopped to listen to what they had to say. The lady said that children at a particular school were making them to pass out to people for free, but donations were welcome to "help the children" and to help buy their supplies. We made a "donation" to the school and bought two bracelets. My husband didn't have any change, so he gave one of the ladies the money and we started to walk away. The other lady started shouting, "Hey! Hey! You didn't pay me!!" I turned around and said, "My husband gave the money to the other lady." She then said, "But we don't work together. We work alone!" We just kept walking. So much for a donation to the children at the school! It's a wonder she didn't have the police come after us. We all have to learn don't we? Never again. Now we just say "No thank you." or don't even acknowledge they are there. Honestly, we should have known better. We had been to NYC several times and should have been more street smart than that.

[wondrafuladventures]

I have been to the turtle farm twice and I loved it! They raise turtles to release to the wild to help grow the population. They know most turtles die the first 2-3 years and can't reproduce until much later. This has been one of my favorite places in the 6 cruises I have taken.

[pattysmith]

We had the opportunity to take our grandkids to the turtle farm on 2 separate occasions and highly recommend it. Our granddaughters loved it. It was informative and there was so much more than 2 cement ponds. They are very active in turtle rescue and returning them to the wild. There was a large lagoon where you could snorkel and a large swimming pool that the kids loved swimming in.

[cramsey]

I do go to the spa the first day of our cruises, long time traditional way for me to start a vacation! I'm up front with the individual providing me my service and let them know I will not be purchasing ANY items and they can skip the sales portion of my treatment! I've always had a grand time and well enjoyed massage!

[dr.braxygilkeycruises]

I absolutely LOVED Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. However, I fully understand that it can be intimidating for some. The reality is, I'm a large, Black woman, and the guides at Dunn's River Falls LOVE big, Black women! I was treated in the most beautiful, respectful way, and no one tried to force me to buy anything. On the flip side, I was treated terribly in Montego Bay.

My number 1 suggestion is to *take a set amount of CASH with you when visiting any cruise port. Do not under any circumstances pay with your credit card.* I learned that one the hard way. 😫

[DuanePJRosfans]

Can you do a show on the best beaches - with few or no vendors in the Carribean?

[lu_re]

Thanks for the info on places to avoid. Please do an annual series on “Tourist Traps” and “Quiet Peaceful Getaways”. 🤣

[rexellis]

The turtle farm is Awesome, especially when you get to hold a baby turtle!!!

[evelynmarks]

I always found Margaritaville and Senor Frogs to be a tourist trap. The food is overpriced and they're loud and crowded, and they have nothing to do with the country you are visiting. I could never understand why people would waste their vacation time going to a bar they can go to at home.

[mandyhines]

Great video Llana. As experienced cruisers, if we plan to get off in many of these Caribbean ports, I plan ahead to have an excursion or activity, so that we can easily walk through the vendors, knowing we have a plan/destination. I try to remember that for many of these vendors, their livelihood depends on tourism, so I try not to fault them for being so aggressive. Many of them are just trying to feed their families. Completely agree about the sales pitch in spas! Hadn’t thought about what a trap they can be. So much pressure!