Port of Call: Benoa, Bali

We disembarked the ship in Bali and were immediately immersed with the sights and sounds of a culture waiting to be discovered; beautiful sunshine, a delightful troop of local dancers and wonderful music were all awaiting us.

PIER RUNNERS BEWARE.

When planning for my day in Bali, I had read quite a bit of information from different sources and one thing that was mentioned time and time again was the traffic jams that occur on this island. For a cruiser, this is valuable information; getting stuck in a traffic jam on your way back to the ship is not an option. Everyone has heard of “pier runners”, trust me, they are not a myth; if your ship is leaving at 5pm, it will leave, with or without you.

*Travel Tip: Bali often has traffic jams, be sure to get back onboard your ship on time.

Having taken all of this in consideration, I had decided to book a tour with my cruise ship.  I’m not an advocate of cruise ship excursions, they are often over crowded and leave me with the feeling of being herded like a sheep without having the chance to get immersed in the local culture. On the other hand, cruise ships often offer “on your own” type excursions; these basically consist of transportation to and from a site of interest with a few hours for you to explore the area on your own. These tours are usually offered at a descent price point and offer the bonus of guaranteeing your return to the ship in time to sail away; in a place like Bali, this is a must. I chose Ubud on your own.

*Travel Tip: “On your own” type excursions are a great value and always get you back to the ship on time.

The drive to Ubud, on an air conditioned motor coach, was a most amazing experience. A balinese tour guide flooded us with anecdotes and information about the local culture with such pride and enthusiasm one would think that he was living in paradise.

As any cruiser will tell you; you can’t say you’ve seen a place by having spent 8 or 10 hours there while your ship was in port. But, as in the case of Bali for me, you can say you have seen enough to know that this beautiful piece of paradise is now on your bucket-list. I sincerely hope I have enticed a few readers to put Bali on there list!