Top 10 Cruise Destinations Famous for Just 1 Thing
Those are ports with lots of options and are well worth visiting over and over but there are some ports that are only known for 1 thing and everybody on the ship will be doing the same thing or heading to same place.
That’s not necessary a bad thing, as many of those that feature on this list are well worth visiting and are places, I have either been and enjoyed, or would love to go to, but I probably won’t be in much of a rush to go back there after I have been.
So, what are the top 10 cruise ports famous for only 1 thing? That’s just what I look at in this list.
Our Top 10 Cruise Destinations Famous for Just 1 Thing
Port Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center)
Taking away from those who have to head to the port to start or end their adventures, there is no real reason to head to Port Canaveral aside from the visit the Kennedy Space Center.
Cape Canaveral is fine enough and yes there are some beach resorts nearby but in Florida, that’s kind of a given.
Only Canaveral can claim to have a space station and give cruisers the chance to see space rockets up close and with the port of Miami nearby, if you are choosing to visit the port it is most likely it will be for a visit to the Kennedy Space Center just to the north of the cruise port.
Skagway (White Pass and Yukon Railway)
Skagway is your archetypal Alaskan cruise port, if you want natural beauty, you have it, if you want friendly locals, you have it and if you want a small-town centre with bars, shops and restaurants, you have it.
Where the port really stands out, is that it acted as the start place for stampeders heading up into the Yukon during the great gold rush.
To get people there, a train line was built and nowadays the White ass and Yukon railway is one of the highlights of any cruise of Alaska and the main reason to visit Skagway.
Kusadasi (Ephesus)
There are many groups who will be drawn to the Turkish port of Kusadasi, from those with an interest in the history of the region going back to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece to Christians looking to go on pilgrimage to one of the most important sites of Christendom.
It is not the port of Kusadasi itself where thy will all be looking forward to however, as the majority of those booking a cruise to the port will head to Eshesus, where the ruins of the ancient city can still be explored.
The region has strong links to Virgin Mary, with visitors getting the chance to visit her house and the Church of Mary, the setting of the Third Ecumenical Council was held at the creation of Christianity.
La Goulette (Carthage)
Many cruise lines don’t even bother to name La Goulette in their cruise itineraries as they will simply call it Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia.
Whilst Tunis is a bustling city in its own right, the chances are that it is the history of the city that draws most visitors and to experience that at first hand, you will need to head to the Carthage suburb.
Ancient Carthage was one of the world’s first super powers and it is a testament to their architectural and building skill that visitors can still walk around the ruins of the buildings the early traders and conquerors built 1000’s of years before.
Shimizu (Mount Fuji)
Shimizu is a small Japanese port that may have a few small attractions, such as a large Ferris wheel next to where you dock but what 99% of that onboard will be there for is the iconic Mount Fuji.
Known as one of the most scenic port sin the world, on a clear day visitors can see Mount Fuji from their ship although many will head for a closer look either on a coach tour or by heading onto a bullet train to drive past the volcano.
Aqaba (Petra)
If you are sailing around the Middle East, the chances are that you will want to sail through the Suez Canal as that is one of those bucket list items many cruisers want of tick off their list.
What many may not realise is that numerous cruise ships stop off right next to the canal at the port of Aqaba.
Many onboard may wonder where that is, it’s in Jordan by the way, but those who have chosen to visit their will be looking forward to visiting one of the biggest tourist hotspots of the region- the ancient city of Petra.
Known as the Rose City, Petra is famous for is cut out of rock buildings, temples and water conduit systems that have been immortalised in numerous Hollywood blockbusters including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Zeebrugge (Bruges)
Zeebrugge is perhaps best known as a ferry port, especially for those of us living in the UK and whilst Belgium is small enough to mean you can head to any city there whilst in port, if you are choosing to go there on a cruise, the chances are you are wanting to visit the nearby city of Bruges.
Zeebrugge is linked to the medieval city via a canal and is around a 20 minute coach ride away, with little in-between, so it is no surprise that the two are so closely linked together.
With Bruges been one of northern Europe’s leading tourist destinations, those booking an itinerary heading to Zeebrugge will be looking forward to the chocolates, doilies and canals of Bruges.
Cobh (Titanic)
Although some will head to the nearby city of Cork, there are a couple of ports that offer the chance to visit there so for the purposes of this list, I will focus on the main reasons why many choose to visit the port and Cobh and that is the Titanic.
Those with an interest in arguably the most famous maritime disaster ever will know the city as Queenstown, its former name and the name of Cobh when the Titanic called in there for its last stop before heading off into the Atlantic.
There is a museum, numerous places of interest and the chance to follow in the footsteps of those onboard the Titanic by visiting the south coast of Ireland.
Honningsvag (North Cape)
The town of Honningsvag in the Norwegian Arctic is an incredible place to visit as the remoteness of the small fishing village feel is just what visitors want to experience when visiting this part of the world.
Most won’t realise that until they get there though as the majority onboard any ship heading there who have an interesting in visiting the port will want to go to the nearby North Cape- billed as the most northerly part of Europe.
Port Stanley (Penguins)
The Falklands maybe most famous due to war, but for those visiting the south Atlantic archipelago, there is one main draw and that are the numerous penguin colonies that call the islands home.
This one maybe just a bit of bias on my behalf, but when I got to visit the capital city of Stanley, the things I was really there for was to see Penguins and via a shore excursion to Bluff Cove, that is just what I did.
You can see some as you sail in and out of the anchor point for the port and you can just a shuttle bus with no booking needed to be taken to a colony on the outskirts of the capital, so no matter what you budget, if you want to see penguins, you can.
