We may go to the SMB area once or twice but we have a tendency to stay away from the big crowds as much as possible. In fact I always keep an eye on the cruise port schedule so I can plan my trips to areas like SMB on days when there are minimal cruise ships in port. I enjoy those types of area but I try to maximize my enjoyment by limiting the crowd size.
Cruising also introduced us to many beautiful destinations before we started enjoying land-based vacations. We’ve enjoyed staying on GCM, and even considered a retirement home on the east or north end but we opted for another destination. But enjoy your first land-based visit, GCM does offer the busy and not so busy experiences...