Has anyone heard of a cruise that sails for a day and docks the rest of the time until it is time to leave?

Yea, I'd look into a Bermuda cruise if I were you. There's quite a few of them that dock overnight and even stay for 2-3 days on a 6 night cruise. I think there is a cruise that does a similar thing in the Bahamas, stopping overnight so that people can do a proper visit to the Atlantis resort.

Another possibility that might interest you - many of the week-long Hawaiian cruises (the variety where you fly to Hawaii, board the cruise ship, and the ship circles the islands for a week, stopping at the various cities of interest) might appeal to you also.

But don't count out a regular cruise - maybe you could explain it to your husband by pointing out that it's like a having a floating hotel that follows you from town to town. You don't have to know directions or speak the local language or worry about money exchanging - and you can see the highlights of a particular port that you wouldn't necessarily think to book a full week at.

Many people have taken Caribbean cruises, for instance, and discovered their own personal favorite stop, and then planned a later vacation focused only on that place. (How many Americans would just up and decide to go visit beautiful Roatan without having first visited there on a cruise ship?)

Never heard of such a cruise. The ship wouldn't make any money doing this. Now I do know of one that stays in port for more then a day, but it is called "The World" and you cruise with the ship for a year at a time.

In most countries, the ships are not allowed to stay 24 hrs in the same port. It seems that Bermuda is the only popular cruise spot where the ship stays there for the entire cruise.

EasyCruise stays in port for an extended period and sails during the wee hours of the morning. Right now, however, they're only sailing in the Med.

It costs the cruise lines a lot of money to port and they can't operate their casinos or shops while in port, so they lose that source of revenue, too.

I believe there are a couple cruises out of Florida that go to the Bahamas, stay overnight and come back. There might even be a two night. I don't know how long you were looking for. Good luck.