We have always just parked our asses on the tables right when u get off the dock and continued to drink and eat ceviche and guacamole. Not really interested in the shopping due to the fact we r not there very long. Plus, its truly the boat that makes all the fun happen.
I could do without the stop. And if you remember Steve, there were issues with the other boats complaining of open sex, drug use , etc.(none of which were true , while we were in port anyway...LOL) But I felt bad for you having to deal with it while we were all boarding. So it felt like the party had to stop until we got away from the other boats...
We've been on two cruises. The first one, we walked around sweating like pigs and ate an ice-cream and waited for the cruise to resume. The second time, we went to the bar with everyone and had a great time. It was a nice break, getting in some shade, getting to know people we didn't get to talk to on the boat, and just generally preparing for the last leg. Going forward, we'd be fine if we skipped it, but we're glad we didn't the first two times.
A bunch if us on our cruise were very disappointed that we did not stop but bowed to the crowd vote. Just my two cents. We had a bunch of newbies on the boat and had talked up the isla visit.