Insider tips on what to do on a port day
Cruise line beach days are not always the best option in port, and sometimes a resort day pass beats them on both price and quality. But booking one comes with a few traps.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, share the two sites they rely on, the paperwork that saves you from chaos at check-in, and what to verify before you book.
A full transcript follows below.
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Booking a beach or resort day pass in port can beat the cruise line option
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there, cruisers. Dan and Dennis, your Travelhosts. We are talking about things to do in port, and one of the things we like to do is book a day pass. But we don't always do that through the cruise lines, because the cruise lines, now there's some great cruise line destinations. The Royal Caribbean beach clubs they're building out, those are absolutely worth the price, but there's also some lesser cruise line destinations.
Royal's building something in Cozumel, and their current Cozumel beach day is not great. Their Nassau Escape, where you have to get in a boat and leave the island-
Dennis Post: Yeah
Kline: … when you could just, there's a lot of things you could do. So we use two sites. It's ResortPass and Resort for a Day. Now, organization is not great. Dennis, a couple of times we've rolled up to the place, and what happens?
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Post: Total chaos. They don't have our reservation. They make you stand and wait. It seems like you're inconveniencing the whole staff. And then after you sit there and plead with them, and beg with them, and show them then they finally let you in.
Kline: So why are we telling you this? Print out your documentation. If you have booked these things, don't just have it in the app, because you're going to have to hand your phone and it's going to lock, and they're going to come back. Make sure you print everything. If there's an opportunity to verify, never a bad idea to shoot them an email and just say, "Hey, I'm coming tomorrow.
Should I ask for someone? Is anyone aware that I'm coming?" Also realize that they're probably going to want your license, your passport, some form of ID to get towels. So you might want to bring a secondary ID. Like, I bring my passport card.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: Because other than getting through airports, the passport card, well, you can't get in a foreign airport, but it's a real ID in a US airport.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: So it's a good secondary legal ID that doesn't actually have much value. So if I lost it, I think it's 60 bucks to replace it. It's not that big a deal. But Resort Pass and Resort for a Day, you want to do it a few weeks in advance if possible, but there's no reason when you're sitting on the ship that you can't look and see if they have something.
We have done some things in advance. There are also some day passes. We like to go to El Sid in Cozumel. Yeah. It's right off the Royal Caribbean port. Dennis, you now have a relationship there, and we can email, and if there's enough of us, they'll set us up a private spread, you know, and, and it's-
Post: Yeah.
Roberto is the manager there. And that's a good point, because-
Kline: Roberto, we're sorry. You're about to get a lot of emails from people.
Post: Great place, and never a problem with Resort Pass. We've done it the night before for people. Never an- five minutes to check in. You're all set
Kline: You also want to check what it includes.
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Because some places are all-inclusive. Some places have different levels. Some places, the included alcohol is bottom shelf. Really in all of them, it's generally bottom shelf. They may not even have a top shelf at some of these places. And you also want to check the distance from the port. Because the problem is if you're in, say, like Aruba, it might be six miles away.
But that might be a 45-minute ride, and there might be a similar resort that's five minutes away. So you really want to check your travel times, and usually you can find that with a simple Google search. How far is this from the cruise port? You also need to know which cruise port you're landing in, and technically, that can change.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: Doesn't happen very often, but every now and then you're on a Celebrity ship and you're like, "Wait, am I on the Carnival dock? Like, how did this happen?"
Post: Yeah.
Kline: "Or am I on the faraway dock where there's nothing here and they have to bus us in?" Nothing you can do about that. Usually Resort for a Day, Resort Pass are cancelable 48 hours in advance.
And in most cases, and you should check with this- If your cruise does not make the port or changes its itinerary-
Post: Yeah.
Kline: That can happen. Hey, now we're going to Cozumel on Wednesday. Well, you reach out and they say, "I'm sorry, we're sold out on Wednesday. We're closed on Mondays." Whatever it is. In most cases, when your itinerary changes or you don't stop there, you are refunded.
These are credible places working with US businesses.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: There are places you can book direct. I would not book direct until you've booked, because as bad as it is, you can call Resort Pass or Resort For a Day, and they will work with you, and they will make sure you get in or get your money back or whatever is needed.
I am Dan. He is Dennis. Come cruise with us soon.
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Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
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This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 5:47 AM.