# of cruise ships

[bamanga]

How do you find out how many cruise ships will be in port at one time?? Wondering how busy the port will be...

[texkan]

Goggle "cruise ships in port" and it will give you several sites.

 

http://www.portschedules.com is one

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

None of them 100% accurate.

 

Also try this site:

 

http://www.cruisereport.com/PortsOfCallList.aspx

[sparky-elpaso]

Try looking up the actual port authority on the net - some of the larger ones have very nice websites with a listing of ships scheduled to be in port.

[okbowler]

What is just as important as the # of ships, is the number of passengers on each ship. In this age of mega ships, one ship now can carry two or more times the passengers of those a few years ago. Bill

[matj2000]

I still haven't figured out why everyone wants to know this? All the ports, islands, tour guides, shops, vendors, bars, stores, ect are aware of the amount of people that will be there everyday. they plan for the volume so it won't really be much difference to the avg cruise passenger.

[tigragirl]

Hi Mattj2000 - I think to some it is important - Santorini with 2 ships tendering is a different experience to santorini with 5 ships tendering - even though Santorini business plan for these visits they can't magic extra gondalas on the lift. We queued for 2 hours to get on it last time when 5 ships were in port which was a totally different experience (and not an enjoyable one) to the one we had on our pervious visit.

I for one would want to know if so many ships are in port when we visit this year - if so I won't be bothered about getting off the ship.

[okbowler]

We have changed dates ,cruise lines, and ships to avoid large crowds in small ports, especially if portering is involved. Have had some less than stellar expierences a couple of times. Try to miss all that fun if possible. Bill

[matj2000]

I though the ships had their own tender boats and seperate area where they drop the passengers off. I have seen the long lines but that was because everyone wanted to get back on at 4pm. I didn't think it had to do with the other ships.

[okbowler]

Some ports (Belize for instance) have their ownboats to porter people in. Grand Cayman has a very small area for the boats to leave and pick up passengers, which can result in very long waits. Understand they have a new drop off point but far enough away that you have to cab to town. Have not been to GC in a while so am not sure of that. Bill

[Krazy Kruizers]

Grand Cayman does have a new tendering pier -- we were a couple of years ago.

 

We were able to walk into town -- about 15 minute walk.

 

Where the new tender pier is -- there are lots of shops. And just outside of the new gated area are tons more shops and a short walk takes you to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

[sail7seas]

I like to know how many cruisers will be in a certain port. We sometimes make lunch reservations in advance if we know the port will be busy. We might decide to arrange a day pass at a resort or hotel to avoid being disappointed.

 

 

 

matj2000: I though the ships had their own tender boats and seperate area where they drop the passengers off. I have seen the long lines but that was because everyone wanted to get back on at 4pm. I didn't think it had to do with the other ships.

 

 

Tender docks are shared by all the ships. There isn't a separate dock for each ship..... unfortunately. :)

[matj2000]

Tender docks are shared by all the ships. There isn't a separate dock for each ship..... unfortunately. :)

 

But don't they each have their own area and lines where they get on/off and don't really compeat with each other.

[sail7seas]

Depends upon the port and how much space there is.

 

When we tendered in Mykonos from Rotterdam, a Crystal ship was also tendering. We had to share the same very limited space and it was very confusing.... not to mention Crystal was not very cooperative. They did not alternate nicely with HAL. Both of these lines are very expert at what they do but can only work with what is available. It was a less than smooth operation.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tender docks are shared by all the ships. There isn't a separate dock for each ship..... unfortunately. :)

 

But don't they each have their own area and lines where they get on/off and don't really compeat with each other.

 

We have been ina couple of European ports where had tendered and did compete with other cruise lines -- worst cruise line we had to compete with was Costa!!

[librarian1]

I just check once in awhile out of curiosity. Turns out the Cunard Queen Victoria will be in port with us in Rome in June along with 2 other ships. Just fun to see the others. :)

[okbowler]

Even tho most ships use their own ship boats as tenders, most ports have limited docking space for tenders. This can lead to long waits for passengers to unload and reload. much like circling Atlanta airport because of weather delays stacking the planes up. Have sat for 30+ min. in a tender wating for a space to unload. Have stood in line for 1 hr.+ waiting to load to go back to ship. Five ships in port, over 10,000 passengers. doesn't happen to often, but as ships get larger it can get worse. Bill