Having taken dozens of cruises over the years, I've been fortunate enough to visit many tourist attractions, but not all of them were worth my time.
These places I'm talking about are called "tourist traps", and they're sites that attract a lot of tourists. There's a debate what exactly counts as a tourist trap, but I think you know one when you see one.
Usually they're very crowded, expensive, and in mostly designed primarily for tourists.
Sometimes popular and well-known sites are worth the trip, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Every tourist in the city probably tries to visit it, but it's a great place to people watch and enjoy an afternoon in and around the tower.
Here are some of the most overrated tourist attractions I've visited.
Times Square
If your Royal Caribbean cruise begins from Bayonne, New Jersey, your first instinct might be to tack on a visit to New York City before or after the cruise, but you're wasting your time in Times Square.
Unless you're headed to this part of Manhattan for a Broadway show, I'd steer clear of it. Times Square is insanely crowded (even for Manhattan standards), has overpriced restaurants, scammy souvenir shops, and probably the most expensive hotels in the city.
There's a lot to love about exploring New York, and you can find better restaurants, cultural sites, activities, and generally fun activities elsewhere.
Definitely don't book a hotel in Times Square, because you're overpaying in order to be close to the area. With New York's easy to navigate subway system, it's much better to get a hotel elsewhere in Manhattan to save some money. Not to mention a hotel outside of Times Square is almost certainly going to be quieter.
If you've never been and simply want to see it, my advice is hop in a taxi and drive through it. With all the traffic, you'll get a good sense of it all without subjugating yourself to the hoopla.
Maho Beach
Maho Beach is the famous Caribbean beach where you can stand on the sand and watch airplanes land overhead. You've probably seen plenty of photos or videos of people that look like they're mere feet away from the plane.
The problem with Maho Beach is there is absolutely no shade at all, and that means you will profusely sweat under that hot Caribbean sun while you wait for a plane to arrive. Sure, there's the ocean to wade in, but the beach is extremely narrow, somewhat rocky, and the hundreds of other people there trying to do the same thing will make it less than idyllic.
There's one bar nearby, the Sunset Grill, which at one time would allow female patrons drink for free if they went topless. Not sure if that's still a thing there.
While the planes landing overhead are indeed neat, there's a lot of waiting in-between on a beach with very few facilities or service.
Depending on the day you're there and what time you make it out, you could be waiting over an hour for a plane to land.
Not only is Maho Beach a tourist trap, it's flat out dangerous.
Unfortunately a few tourists have died here in an effort to get close to the airplanes as they prepare to take off.
What happens is they try to hold onto the airport fence as a plane engages their engines for takeoff. The jet blast hits the fence and people can go flying, leading them to hit their head on the way down and perish.
A good alternative is to book a daypass to the Morgan Resort nearby. You can watch planes landing easily from their expansive and beautiful pool.
Space Needle
Another pre-cruise tourist trap is going up to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle.
The first time I took an Alaska cruise, I went with my family to see the Space Needle because it seemed like a must-do.
It's an interesting piece of history, but you can totally get by with a photo of it while on the ground rather than paying for a pass to get to the top.
Passes are expensive and the lines are long. While you do get a lovely view, I feel like it's just not worth the wait and crowds to contend with in order to get there.
You'll spend hundreds of dollars to go in an elevator ride to a crowded platform for a nice view, only to be dumped into gift shop at the end.
Fun fact, the Space Needle was actually the inspiration for Royal Caribbean to build the Viking Crown Lounge on its ships.
Restaurants near popular attractions
Whether I'm in Europe, Alaska, or the Caribbean, you can bet the restaurants closest to the top attractions are going to cost a lot and underdeliver.
When visiting the Colosseum, El Morro, that sign with the name of the place you're visiting, or Big Ben, you're likely to find stereotypical restaurants nearby that are looking to suck up tourists.
Some tell-tale signs of a tourist trap restaurant are ones with long menus written in various languages, lots of photos of the food on the menu, and the waiter standing at the entrance looking to entice you to come in.
If possible, try to look up restaurants to eat at before you arrive. A quick Google search should provide plenty of options nearby.
But if you forgot to do that, try walking a few blocks away to see which restaurants are there. Or you could getting takeout food and having a picnic near the attraction so you can enjoy the view.
Another idea is to ask your taxi driver or another local for a good spot for lunch.
Bars at the port
No matter which Caribbean port I go to, there's inevitably bars there that will cost you the same price as going out for drinks at home and just about the same level of authenticity.
Senor Frogs, Bubba Gump Shrimp, Margaritaville, Carlos n Charlies, and a slew of other lesser known bars are located right where cruisers disembark the ship and they're mission is to grab as many people as possible to pay for their expensive food and drink.
Many of these certainly play up a fun atmosphere, where it's a big party and the drinks are flowing. I understand the appeal of that, but I'm willing to bet you can have a great time and spend less money elsewhere on the island you're visiting.
Balloon hats aside, the food and drinks at these places are mediocre at best and you're going to pay top dollar for them.
I recommend searching for a beach bar that you can get to with a quick taxi ride and enjoy the ocean, breeze, and tropical drink without paying such high prices.
Hell
If there's an award for the cringiest tourist spot, it might go to Hell in Grand Cayman.
Literally the entire premise of this place is so that tourists can go here and tell their friends and family at home that they "went to hell." Zing!
It's a big rock formation that was named Hell because it reminded the European explorer that ran across it of what hell must look like.
Grand Cayman is known for its beautiful beaches and luxury shopping experiences, so you can probably go almost anywhere else on the island instead.
