What happened to Curacao?

[kakalina]

Take a water taxi right from the port to No Name Beach. It is some of the most wonderful snorkeling off a private island. It costs about $19 through the ship for the trip. Magnificient.

[baffles]

So many ships, so many passengers...... only so many ports.

 

They need to 'grow' some more islands to take us to.

 

It's a law of physics. Only one solid can occupy the same space at the same time.

Only so many places to put so many ships, so many people, so many tenders, so many whatever.

 

And, Yes, I agree. Why does everyone always jump to blame the cruise company. Maybe a few snafus can be blamed on the port authorities/planners??

 

 

And yes I do agree that the port probably had alot to do with the out come of not enough space. BUT the cruise ship company is in charge of getting those times from the port so a particular ship has a berth. Bottom line the job was not done so changes had to be made. Space is at a premium for ships, and that's why these things are taken care of WELL ahead of time......................so there is a spot to "PARK" when your time comes...........

[hammybee]

And yes I do agree that the port probably had alot to do with the out come of not enough space. BUT the cruise ship company is in charge of getting those times from the port so a particular ship has a berth. Bottom line the job was not done so changes had to be made. Space is at a premium for ships, and that's why these things are taken care of WELL ahead of time......................so there is a spot to "PARK" when your time comes...........

 

This link for the Curacao Port Authority shows they typically have about 3000 inbound piloted vessels, each year. Cruise ships account for less than 10% of the total. The majority are freighters and tankers and " other" craft.

 

http://www.curports.com/files/piloted_vessels.pdf

 

Scheduling is dynamic and always subject to change and sometimes that means there is no place to park.

[baffles]

This link for the Curacao Port Authority shows they typically have about 3000 inbound piloted vessels, each year. Cruise ships account for less than 10% of the total. The majority are freighters and tankers and " other" craft.

 

http://www.curports.com/files/piloted_vessels.pdf

 

Scheduling is dynamic and always subject to change and sometimes that means there is no place to park.

 

You have your view, and I have mine. I'll leave it at that.................baffles

[manbehindthecurtain]

Bottom line the job was not done so changes had to be made. Space is at a premium for ships, and that's why these things are taken care of WELL ahead of time......................so there is a spot to "PARK" when your time comes...........

 

Sorry, I do not know what you are basing your statements on, but not on the actual procedures on booking ports.

 

If the cruiseline books a port for a certain day, then the port accepts or declines the booking, based on known availability of berths. If the port then accepts more bookings by other ships, this is not information normally shared with the ship that made a booking first.

 

If the port plans a ship on a berth that is actually not suitable for that specific ship, that is where the trouble starts. This is not the fault of the cruiseline, it's the port's.

[sail7seas]

ManBehind: Thanks for explaining this to us. Few of us could have known that sort of info. :) We here all think we know how to run a cruise line but it is obvious how little we actually know about the logistics etc

 

At what point and how would the cruise line ultimately learn they have been assigned an inappropriate dock? How far in advance of the port call is the ship communicating with the port re: the upcoming visit?

 

[manbehindthecurtain]

ManBehind: Thanks for explaining this to us. Few of us could have known that sort of info. :) We here all think we know how to run a cruise line but it is obvious how little we actually know about the logistics etc

 

At what point and how would the cruise line ultimately learn they have been assigned an inappropriate dock? How far in advance of the port call is the ship communicating with the port re: the upcoming visit?

 

 

It really depends on the port. Some actually send out the complete dock assignment weeks or even months in advance, other ports don't tell you until the evening before or even the morning of arrival.

South-East Alaska as a region is really good, they will have a schedule for the entire season, stating exactly which ships are on which berths, including arrival and departure times.

 

With the immense shortage of people with a maritime background, more and more shoreside jobs relating to ships are filled with people that have less experience with ships than 2/3 of all the cruise critic members;)

So a less than ship-savvy port planner might think a ship fits in a certain location, when clearly it does not. Or it might fit, but the planner is not taking other important facts into consideration like waterdepth at the dock, or current/wind conditions at that specific location. You can't just 'wish' your ship alongside, you have to actually drive the thing there.

[Copper10-8]

............With the immense shortage of people with a maritime background, more and more shoreside jobs relating to ships are filled with people that have less experience with ships than 2/3 of all the cruise critic members;) ..........

 

Bada Bing Bada Boom!:D

[twinkletoes4445]

Never mind. :)

[maxsmamma]

Can we expect there will be excursions offered for this port? There are some good ones for my party that are included in the HAL book, but not on the website booking yet. Anybody have an idea if and when we can expect them?

[iflyrc5]

We were in Bonaire in Nov 08 and did a snorkeling trip with Renee. Below is a link to some photos from our visit.

 

http://www.pbase.com/iflyrc5/bonaire

[solocanadian]

Sorry you are missing Curacao. It's a charming place and the floating market is very interesting. The Downtown is quite small. Been there 3 times on a cruise ship. All 3 times there were never more than 2 ships in port. They dock up a very small channel on the old side of the city. The floating market and Dutch style facades are across the channel. You have to take a rickety passenger ferry to get to the Dutch looking side. There is a floating bridge for pedestrian and vehicular traffic but it has always been open when cruise ships are in port.

[Riverwatcher]

Can we expect there will be excursions offered for this port? There are some good ones for my party that are included in the HAL book, but not on the website booking yet. Anybody have an idea if and when we can expect them?

 

If you go to the HAL website and look under "Explore Destinations -> Shore Excursions" it will list the tours available for Bonaire. There are no prices listed just $ $$ $$$. You will have to call HAL to book.