10 Ships In Grand Cayman too many?

[chaswelf]

I was just checking the port schedule for my cruise on the Rhaposdy next month and I noticed that on 1/26 we will have 10 ships in Georgetown. I've never been to GC but 10 ships?

 

The ships are:

 

Rhapsody of the Seas

Jewel of the Seas

Radiance of the Seas

Carnival Conquest

Sea Princess

Oceana

Nowegian Dawn

Star Princess

Carnival Valor

Nowegian Jewel

[sf2]

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzz

 

I've been there with 2 or 3 and though it was crowded! The most I've experienced is 7 and that was miserable. Can't imagine 10.

 

I'll be there on Radiance that day . . . might not be getting off! Though if I do, it'll be straight to my favorite coffee place and back on the ship!!!

[Jimbo]

Should be quick tendering there...dang, you could jump from boat to boat to shore.:D

 

Jimbo:)

[chaswelf]

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzz

 

I've been there with 2 or 3 and though it was crowded! The most I've experienced is 7 and that was miserable. Can't imagine 10.

 

I'll be there on Radiance that day . . . might not be getting off! Though if I do, it'll be straight to my favorite coffee place and back on the ship!!!

 

Miserable, thats what I thought. I wonder if there's going to be some port changes coming?

[sf2]

I doubt a port change . . . winter is when all the ships that are usually in Europe and west coast come into the Caribbean - so there's only so many places for all those ships to go.

 

If you really want to get off - make sure you finagle the earliest tender, and get where you're going to early.

 

They did open up a new pier recently (to the right if you're looking out to sea) that looks like it can accomodate 3-4 ships - about where the kroooze cams look at http://www.kroooz-cams.com/caribbeanindex.html - closer to 7 mile beach

[rolloman]

I am sure the 10 ships are staggered for arrival and departure so not all 10 are in at the exact same time.

[cruisin4kicks]

charlie and deb... we'll be on the same ship as you. We were at St Thomas once with about 7 or 8 ships and that was pretty crowded. I've also never been to GC. Wonder if all 10 ships will be tendering? At St Thomas, some were at the dock, the rest were tendering.

 

Oh well, if it's too bad, might just stay onboard and enjoy the hot tub.

 

Tim

[TrentS]

EVERY ship tenders at Grand Cayman, there are no docks.

 

If there are really 10 ships there, I wouldn't bother getting off of mine. That's going to be a nightmare!!! :eek:

[sf2]

Still - if you average 3000 passengers and crew - times 10 - that's a HEAP of people. I still say - get off as early as you can, and prepare to wait for the ride back!

 

Royal Caribbean Rhapsody Of The Seas 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Conquest 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Dawn 7:30 AM 4:00 PM

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Jewel 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Princess Cruises Sea Princess 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

P&O Cruises Oceana 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Royal Caribbean Radiance Of The Seas 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Valor 9:00 AM 5:30 PM

Royal Caribbean Jewel Of The Seas 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Princess Cruises Star Princess 12:00 PM 7:00 PM

[negc]

I am sure the 10 ships are staggered for arrival and departure so not all 10 are in at the exact same time.

I wouldn't count on it. There are only so many daylight hours so most if not all of the ships' passengers will be in Georgetown at the same time. The last time we were in GC, there were five ships in the harbor (three of them megaliners). The crowds onshore were so bad that we spent less than half an hour ashore and took a tender back to the ship. It was a shame since this is one of our favorite islands. I have spoken to GC representatives and they have indicated that they are aware of the problem and are considering limiting the number of ships that will be allowed to visit on any given day (ala Bermuda). With the recent physical problems caused by the rash of tropical storms that have hit the region, it is even more difficult for the island to handle large numbers of ships and passengers. !0 ships in that harbor on a single day, no matter how you stagger their arrivals and departures, is IMHO far too many.

[Sharon's Sharin]

Where do you find out how many ships are going to be in the same port at the same time? Sounds like a good thing to know!

Thanks-

[chaswelf]

OK, so I've been doing some cross checking on other sites and found some interesting things.

 

I saw that there were 10 ships in port on cruisecal.com

 

I then went to caymanport.com and they show 6 ships in port that day.

 

The Radiance is one of the ships that cruisecal shows in port on the 26th and caymanport doesn't. Caymanport shows the radiance in GC on the 27th. So I went to RCCL and they show the radiance in GC on the 26th.

 

So one of the sites is wrong, I'd bet that the GC port authority is right and there's a port change coming for the Radiance.

[negc]

OK, so I've been doing some cross checking on other sites and found some interesting things.

 

I saw that there were 10 ships in port on cruisecal.com

 

I then went to caymanport.com and they show 6 ships in port that day.

 

The Radiance is one of the ships that cruisecal shows in port on the 26th and caymanport doesn't. Caymanport shows the radiance in GC on the 27th. So I went to RCCL and they show the radiance in GC on the 26th.

 

So one of the sites is wrong, I'd bet that the GC port authority is right and there's a port change coming for the Radiance.

 

I wouldn't want to bet on which site is more likely correct than the other. It really depends on how frequently the owner of the website updates the information. Government run websites, especially, can sometimes be woefully behind the times, since there may be limited funds and manpower to keep them up to date. And on any given date, one can find lots of out of date information on the websites of even the largest cruiselines. We encountered a similar discrepancy on a recent cruise. In that case, I believe that the cruiseline's schedule was correct and the port's was in error.

[chaswelf]

I wouldn't want to bet on which site is more likely correct than the other. It really depends on how frequently the owner of the website updates the information. Government run websites, especially, can sometimes be woefully behind the times, since there may be limited funds and manpower to keep them up to date. And on any given date, one can find lots of out of date information on the websites of even the largest cruiselines. We encountered a similar discrepancy on a recent cruise. In that case, I believe that the cruiseline's schedule was correct and the port's was in error.

 

Yep I know it can be hard to know whats most current but on the caymanport site if you click on the cruise ship/date that your looking at it will tell you when there database was updated and in this case it was 12/21/2005 at 19:00, pretty up to date.

[Cruising89143]

With that many ships in port, I would find something to do on the ship as you will not be able to move on the island with that many people. Miserable is the only word that I can think of to describe it.

[Sheffie]

Where do you find out how many ships are going to be in the same port at the same time? Sounds like a good thing to know!

Thanks-

 

Here is one site. It is quite interesting to find what ships will be in port with you. (and how many!)

 

http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/default.aspx

[zotzer]

I was just in GC on the Radiance with 7 ships in port and it was insane!! Thankfully, RCI had their tenders running like clockwork and there was no wait to get back to the ship. The line to get back to the Carnival ship was literally 1/8 mile long....NUTS! RCI tenders into the new dock which is huge and well-organized.

 

Every shop and tour was so crowded that I found myself a spot in the bar at Senor Frogs and waited for the family to show up. (It was our afternoon meeting place). Needless to say, I had fun in spite of the crowds, helped by the giant, but grossly expensive, drinks! LOL

 

Tracy

[imatarb]

WOW..that does seem like a lot, but I suppose they wouldn't have that many if they knew they couldn't handle the amount of people.

[kendallison]

OK, I'm going to be in the minority here. We were there via the Mariner a few weeks ago. There were 6 ships in port that day. We had no problem whatsoever. We got on the first tender out. We had a prearranged tour via Nativeways and had a great time. When we got back we walked right on a tender with no wait at all. Yes, the Carnival ships did have a tender line but it appeared to be moving. I was expecting the nightmare everyone was talking about and was pleasantly surprised. I say go and enjoy! Don't forget to take a positive attitude with you!:)

[gailc]

We were in GC this past March on the Radiance. There were 8 ships there. We have been there before so for us it was very exciting to see so many ships there. We did tender off the ship to a new pier that our captain arranged for the RCI ships to tender to. It was very crowded at the main pier, but once we walked away from that area, the crowd thinned out.

 

Our captain was very upset that there were so many ships & sent a letter to each cabin apologizing to everyone. He was retiring & said he had never been to GC with that many ships there before.

 

Everywhere we looked we would see a ship. It was quite a site to see.

 

Gail

[madisonms]

I was just checking the port schedule for my cruise on the Rhaposdy next month and I noticed that on 1/26 we will have 10 ships in Georgetown. I've never been to GC but 10 ships?

 

 

We've cruised to GC a bunch of times. I can tell you that it will be crowded in the town. Way too many people. Tendering back & forth to the RCCL ship shouldn't be too bad but just walking around the town & doing shopping will be crowded. Just make the best of it!!

[willycruise]

My last tender experience at GC was not pleasant. Had a wonderful day once on the Island, but getting on and off was a nightmare. As others have said, there is no pier for the boats to dock at, so no just walking off the boat onto the island, you must tender.

 

When we were there (Carnival Valor, Spring 05) The GC islands controlled the Tender Flow. Using THEIR tenders (not Carnivals) they got people on and off the ships, at their pace. We only had 3 ships in port, were told the last tender was at 2:30, ship leaves at 3:00. It was such a mess with all 3 ships trying to get passengers back at approx the same time. Our last tender actualle ended up being at 4:30. ship sailed at 5:00. Most people waited in a tender line (in the hot sun) over 1 mile long, for several HOURS. I swore I would never tender again. I can't even imagine the logistics with 10 ships in port....yikes.

 

Now of course I'm going on the Enchantment 1/30/06, and will tender at Cozumel (assuming piers are still out) and at Belize.....Not looking forward to that aspect.

 

In GC my wife and I and some friends just waited in the shade accross the street until the line was just a few people, knowing Carnival would not port until the last passangers had gotten on the last tender. So we were aggrevated at the "process" but made the best of the situation.

[Happy ks]

Unless I had an excursion taking me way out of town, I think I'd stay onboard the ship for this one! I'm not fond of crowds, not fond of tendering, not fond of souvenir shopping. This sounds like a nightmare to me!

 

Make a spa appointment, or relax with a good book up on deck.

[FitzLA]

Only 2 ships arrive at 7:00 am. You and Carnival Conquest. I would get off early as after that, they all arrive by 10:00 except Star Princess which arrives at noon. There are 4 ships that come in at 8:00. Get up early!!!

[waterrats]

Wow. we have been to GC twice and at most had 5 ships there. We were just there in September so the new dock just opened within the last few months. For those on Princess, they have their own tenders and use the dock to the far right when looking at shore from the ship. It is seperated from the others just a bit.