Simple things turned into exhausting adventures

When people hear that I work on cruise ships,most of the time reaction is complete ignorance about actual reality of my life. "Oh lucky you,you travel all the time and see all those places" is what they say.
Well,it is true to the point - or should I say,I am on a move all the time,like it or not. I do yearn for simple pleasures of everyday civilian life and now I will describe how something so simple like going out for a coffee can be huge adventure and exhausting business.
Under normal circumstances,one just walks out of the house and decide where to go for a coffee,in my case it is not so simple at all.
As long as I am sailing in Europe,oh it's another story,but right now I am in South Africa and the sailing between cannibal islands so forget about going out there - the only one civilized place around is Durban and to go out in Durban first I need to actually have day off (which happens once a month) since this is our main port and new stock arrives,so we spend a day carrying heavy boxes into elevators and than into our shops or wherever we have space. Most of the time,really,I can only walk out in the front of the ship and have a coffee there,watching new passengers,since city is too far to walk.
But let's say it is a day off - than I need to get a cab (surprisingly big number of local drivers never shower and stink to heavens) and drive to one of local shopping malls since they are clean,air conditioned and relatively safe (downtown is absolutely out of question). As I have to be back on the ship on time,I need to arrange with a driver to pick me up at noon (that gives me exactly 3 hours of freedom) and now this includes my coffee,lunch,shops browsing and quick return where I will already be exhausted but than need to start work.
Last time as I finally reached my sunny corner on the balcony,sighed and looked at my coffee,I said to myself "This is silly,this is just a coffee break and it turned my life into whole nightmare because it's so complicated."
And it's true,at home you just walk anywhere and enjoy a moment,here I need to have proper time to get a cab,drive in town,select the place,check my wrist watch all the time and than drive back in a hurry not to miss the ship,it's a madness. And for what - for a 30 minutes of solitude without people (colleagues) being around me everywhere. This is the only time I can sit down and say,write postcards or diary or just be with myself.
That is why I look forward to finally return to Europe where ports are completely different and it is possible to simply walk from the ship to town. And there I can enjoy my walks and forget about work,job,people or whatever daily routine we have - I simply walk off and daydream until i spot inviting little table calling me and enjoy my coffee anywhere I want.