I agree with XO. The cruises are great for pure relaxation and vegging out, otherwise they're bullshit. First of all, most of the lines have a policy, if you book one of the ground tours from the ship, they'll hold up the ship's departure for you if the tour is late getting back. Otherwise, if you miss the ship, you miss the ship. So your choices are: take a tour booked from the ship's tour booking facility, which are usually beach or snorkelling expeditions or bus tours with shopping, otherwise stay close to the docks. In terms of individual travel and meeting the people, fuhgeddabowddit. Or if you have six hours on your own, plan to get back 90 minutes early and spend the last of your shore time in the bars at the docks. Cruises are great if you like sunshine, reading in the horizontal position all day long, gourmet food, drinking and dancing under tropical stars and a total absence of any effort, pressure or stress. As a travel experience, they're next to useless.
