Only ship in port - all cruise (7 days)

[BillOh]

I think this will be a first for me. One of the things I do on cruises is be on deck or in my balcony as we come into port noting what other ships are in port. I like to look at other ships and look for ones I have never seen.

 

On my upcoming 7 day Southern on Adventure, we will be the only ship in port on every stop. I wonder what effect that may have on my cruise? For me there will be 3 new ports, so I don't know how to gauge that. From memory we were the only ship in St Maarten on Oasis and once we were the only ship in Nassau right after Hurricane Matthew.

 

This time we will be the only ship in St Maarten on a Sunday. I'm not worried about all the stores being closed, we will probably do a beach day at Orient and/or Maho. That will be the fewest cruisers in port that day in Phillipsburg for me. The drivers at Bernards have always related the end of April/Early May is the start of their slow season. I've not have trouble getting cabs there that time of year.

 

3 new ports for me Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao will be alone. I suppose these ports are use to having only 1 ship at a time. Perhaps that is something I can take advantage of and have less crowds. Not every excursion will be full. Something to think about the next 120 days.

[Set to go]

When are you cruising?

 

 

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[BillOh]

When are you cruising?

 

 

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April 29th. The end of April/early May is when we usually cruise, its a transitional time between winter cruises, spring break, and the summer. We love cruising this time of year.

[Set to go]

We will be on the Jewel early Feb. I was hoping we would be the only ones in port on our days. I prefer less crowds!

Safe travels

Diane

 

 

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[BillOh]

I'll put up a review in mid May.

[ColoradoGurl]

When we sailed adventure we were the only ship in all 6 ports as well. I thought it was nice because the beaches were calm, and there was no traffic on the roads. While it's fun to see other ships, I prefer being the only ship in port, it makes the island less touristy feeling.

 

 

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[BillOh]

When we sailed adventure we were the only ship in all 6 ports as well. I thought it was nice because the beaches were calm, and there was no traffic on the roads. While it's fun to see other ships, I prefer being the only ship in port, it makes the island less touristy feeling.

 

 

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That is what I was hoping for, between Royal Excursions and private we should be able to figure something out. I was only worried about being at a beach and not being able to find a ride back.

[davekathy]

We will be on the Jewel early Feb. I was hoping we would be the only ones in port on our days. I prefer less crowds!

Safe travels

Diane

 

 

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Looks like you'll have St. Croix and Grenada all to yourself.

[Cruiser-M]

Where did you find this information at? I went to cruise tt and they only have the ships in port up to December 2016. When I put in anything for 2017 it comes up blank.

[ColoradoGurl]

That is what I was hoping for, between Royal Excursions and private we should be able to figure something out. I was only worried about being at a beach and not being able to find a ride back.

 

 

That shouldn't be a problem either. While there were less busses and taxis floating around, the ones that were there seemed desperate to get a group in their van. The competition amongst drivers was higher because there weren't enough passengers to go around.

 

This created 2 scenarios: 1) Some of them try to gouge you on pricing because they know that their opportunity to make money are few and far between 2) Some drivers feel the competition and are willing to negotiate and drop their prices or offer full island tours on your way to the beach for the same price in order to ensure they get a passenger that day. We had several adults in our group so we would ask around and found that the regular price per person each way to a beach at all islands was $7 (so $14 round trip per person) and we were able to throw in an island tour for no extra charge (although we threw in a good tip to make up for what he should have charged us).

 

In some ports the taxi drivers actually make plans with you to come back and pick you up (like St Kitts and Antigua). We had a close call at one port where our driver was 15 minutes late, all other tourists had been picked up by their rides, and we got worried that we'd been abandoned. We asked some of the bartenders on the beach if they could call us a taxi, they asked who we were waiting for, and when we told him what the van and driver looked like, they told us they wouldn't call a taxi for us because they knew that driver and were confident he would come get us. He did. There was an accident of some sort that delayed him, and luckily we factored in extra time to get back so we weren't late. However, if he hadn't come back, there were no taxis coming by the beach looking for stragglers and we probably would have had to ask a local for a ride.

 

To be fair, the bartenders did ask what time our ship was leaving to make sure we weren't at risk of missing the ship before refusing to call us another taxi. And also, the taxi drivers who agree to pick you up usually don't take your money until they come get you, so they don't have a reason to leave you there, and you don't have to worry that they won't come back. BUT, if for some reason they don't make it, there aren't many empty taxis coming by to pick up stragglers.

 

 

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[davekathy]

Where did you find this information at? I went to cruise tt and they only have the ships in port up to December 2016. When I put in anything for 2017 it comes up blank.

 

I also used Cruise TT. On the second line I selected February 2017 and then selected the ports I was interested in. Just keep in mind everything is subject to change on those type of websites concerning who and how many ships will be at a specific port.

Edited December 28, 2016 by davekathy

[mollyeilis]

Cruisett was totally wrong on our recent cruise, and even cruisecal didn't have everything. There was a Viking ship that kept showing up unexpectedly and in Barbados it was them,

a fred Olsen ship, and another one. The viking showed on cruisecal but not the others. And like I said cruisett missed even the Viking. From tt I though we were alone 4/5 ports but I think it was just one.

 

 

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Edited December 28, 2016 by mollyeilis

[voyager70]

When we sailed adventure we were the only ship in all 6 ports as well. I thought it was nice because the beaches were calm, and there was no traffic on the roads. While it's fun to see other ships, I prefer being the only ship in port, it makes the island less touristy feeling.

 

 

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This, exactly. My last cruise on the Adventure we were the only ship in three ports with just one other ship in the other two. So much nicer and less crowded than being with four or five other ships. A big advantage of sailing from San Juan vs. mainland US ports.

[davekathy]

Cruisett was totally wrong on our recent cruise, and even cruisecal didn't have everything. There was a Viking ship that kept showing up unexpectedly and in Barbados it was them,

a fred Olsen ship, and another one. The viking showed on cruisecal but not the others. And like I said cruisett missed even the Viking. From tt I though we were alone 4/5 ports but I think it was just one.

 

 

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We also have had similar experiences. That's why I said "Just keep in mind everything is subject to change on those type of websites concerning who and how many ships will be at a specific port".

[Melissalcsw]

Wow thanks for that. 6 ships in Nassau. Wow crowded day it will be. Thanks for the tip!

 

 

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[BillOh]

Where did you find this information at? I went to cruise tt and they only have the ships in port up to December 2016. When I put in anything for 2017 it comes up blank.

 

Not ports are listed that far out, when I went to Aruba for May '17, I can see data up through May 4th

[BillOh]

Cruisett was totally wrong on our recent cruise, and even cruisecal didn't have everything. There was a Viking ship that kept showing up unexpectedly and in Barbados it was them,

a fred Olsen ship, and another one. The viking showed on cruisecal but not the others. And like I said cruisett missed even the Viking. From tt I though we were alone 4/5 ports but I think it was just one.

 

 

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I have found the same, I find when I check closer to the cruise date it is more accurate, but I've still seen errors. I've never tried cruisecal

[BillOh]

Wow thanks for that. 6 ships in Nassau. Wow crowded day it will be. Thanks for the tip!

 

 

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With 6 ships in Nassau its also important to remind yourself to allow extra time getting back to the ship when you have reached the port. It can be slow going through security.

[Melissalcsw]

With 6 ships in Nassau its also important to remind yourself to allow extra time getting back to the ship when you have reached the port. It can be slow going through security.

 

 

Thank you. I wouldn't even have thought of that!!

 

 

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[caribbeanboy]

http://www.cruisecal.com is your BEST bet! go to "itinerary lookup" and choose ship and finally sailing date.