Poor port arrivals

[Beachbum1944]

I have noticed on NCL and other cruise lines that arrival times are horrible to say the least.:confused: I consider arriving at any Caribbean stop at noon or later a waste of a stop. It starts getting dark around 5 or 6 o'clock. Does not leave you much time to do any thing We will be arriving in Jamaica at 12:00. Based on what I have read there is not much to do (safely). We are beach people. Why pay $70 or more to go to an AI to be safe when you have to leave in about 4 hours. If the ships cruised a little quicker over night, they could easily get to the next stop earlier in the morning.

 

I guess this is enough for my rant. Thanks for reading!!!:rolleyes:

[sparks1093]

I have noticed on NCL and other cruise lines that arrival times are horrible to say the least.:confused: I consider arriving at any Caribbean stop at noon or later a waste of a stop. It starts getting dark around 5 or 6 o'clock. Does not leave you much time to do any thing We will be arriving in Jamaica at 12:00. Based on what I have read there is not much to do (safely). We are beach people. Why pay $70 or more to go to an AI to be safe when you have to leave in about 4 hours. If the ships cruised a little quicker over night, they could easily get to the next stop earlier in the morning.

 

I guess this is enough for my rant. Thanks for reading!!!:rolleyes:

 

A "little quicker" equals a larger fuel consumption bill. (But the time of arrival is not just dicated by the ship's speed, it is also dictated by the port authority and the tides, etc.)

[laxlove6]

I would actually prefer if the cruise ships stayed later til after dinner time so people could enjoy a night in town. Like 11am to 9pm.

[palmyrafan]

I have noticed on NCL and other cruise lines that arrival times are horrible to say the least.:confused: I consider arriving at any Caribbean stop at noon or later a waste of a stop. It starts getting dark around 5 or 6 o'clock. Does not leave you much time to do any thing We will be arriving in Jamaica at 12:00. Based on what I have read there is not much to do (safely). We are beach people. Why pay $70 or more to go to an AI to be safe when you have to leave in about 4 hours. If the ships cruised a little quicker over night, they could easily get to the next stop earlier in the morning.

 

I guess this is enough for my rant. Thanks for reading!!!:rolleyes:

 

Oh honey, feel free to rant. You are not alone in thinking this way. We have scheduled a couple of cruises (September 2012 & April 2103) where some of the ports appear we are in for only 4-5 hours and we are also wondering how we are to enjoy the ports.

 

I do understand though that sometimes it is about who gets to the pier first. NCL sometimes gets pushed aside by the bigger ships and we are then left skipping the port altogether or are left with short port time.

 

Frustrating I know.

[cb at sea]

If you want to go to a beach for just a few hours, don't go to an AI...just go to a beach! You'll find chair/umbrella rentals and food and drink are usually quite close. The only way I'd pay a hotel to use their facilities would be if we had 7-8 hours there.

[mickeysgal]

What's AI?

[computerworks]

All-Inclusive

[Beachbum1944]

I would actually prefer if the cruise ships stayed later til after dinner time so people could enjoy a night in town. Like 11am to 9pm.

 

Just my personal opinion, but I have already paid for my dinner on the ship. Leaving later is not as bad as arriving later. I saw a stop on a cruise that arrived at 4pm and left at 11pm. To me, that is a waste of a port, which we have paid port fees for.

 

 

Oh honey, feel free to rant. You are not alone in thinking this way. We have scheduled a couple of cruises (September 2012 & April 2103) where some of the ports appear we are in for only 4-5 hours and we are also wondering how we are to enjoy the ports.

 

I agree. It takes time to get off and on. So you are losing more time there.

 

 

I do understand though that sometimes it is about who gets to the pier first. NCL sometimes gets pushed aside by the bigger ships and we are then left skipping the port altogether or are left with short port time.

 

Frustrating I know.

 

Wew have never missed a port because there were bigger ships in port. If there is no room to dock, then they can drop anchor and shuttle us in.

 

 

If you want to go to a beach for just a few hours, don't go to an AI...just go to a beach! You'll find chair/umbrella rentals and food and drink are usually quite close. The only way I'd pay a hotel to use their facilities would be if we had 7-8 hours there.

 

That's just the thing. We would like to go to the beach for more than a few hours. In the Ocho Rios area there are not too many public beaches reccommended.

[mickeysgal]

I do understand though that sometimes it is about who gets to the pier first. NCL sometimes gets pushed aside by the bigger ships and we are then left skipping the port altogether or are left with short port time.

 

Frustrating I know.

 

Is this right? Skipping a port because they're pushed aside by bigger ships? Port stops are negotiated between the cities/islands and the cruise lines far in advance. The ship doesn't just decide to stop there and hope that there is room for them. Perhaps they skip a port because they were scheduled to tender and the seas are too rough? Or because weather prohibits them from docking?

[cliffd64]

Well, as all of these times are published ahead of time, you are in a unique position to vote with your wallet if you are not enamored with the arrival and departure times of any given port. You don't have to book if you feel the port time for Jamaica is too short. If enough people do the same, either the times will be adjusted, or the port will be dropped.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I know that certain ports put restrictions on how many ships can be there and/or for how long.

 

Key West is one of those ports, you will rarely find a ship that stays all day. They are either there for the morning or afternoon, but never both.

[vols_159]

last time we stopped at keywest it was like 8am -noon just 4 hours..

 

I was in Jamicia in Nov. We arrived early and they let us off a hr or so early.. But it may be because we missed the previous port dew to bad weather..

 

The Ship can only sail so fast to burn less fuel to keep prices lower..

 

Last yr they was showing a epic video.. The captian delayed the ship 30 min dew to missing passengers he said he couldnt wait any longer than 30 min because it was already gonna cost him $30,000 more in fuel to arrive at the next port on time..

 

This is one reason ships dont wait on lost paxs..

[Deadahead Neil]

 

Wew have never missed a port because there were bigger ships in port. If there is no room to dock, then they can drop anchor and shuttle us in.

 

 

I have several times. In Grand Cayman for example, one of the piers was open, but waiting for a larger ship from another line. And the wind / waves were too high for them to tender us in. So we sat off shore and watched as the other ship came in after us and docked. Never stepped foot on the island. :mad:

[palmyrafan]

Is this right? Skipping a port because they're pushed aside by bigger ships? Port stops are negotiated between the cities/islands and the cruise lines far in advance. The ship doesn't just decide to stop there and hope that there is room for them. Perhaps they skip a port because they were scheduled to tender and the seas are too rough? Or because weather prohibits them from docking?

 

Yes this is what happened to us in 2009 when we tried to dock at one port. We were told that there were too many ships in the port (one ship was late in arriving so they were late in leaving the port) and so we were told that if we wanted to we could tender to the island. Problem was the seas were too high to tender that day so we had to skip the port. The captain instead idly cruised to our next port and we were left "zig-zagging" (concierge's term the next a.m.) all night so we wouldn't arrive in port before we were due.

[Chigirlcruzin]

 

Wew have never missed a port because there were bigger ships in port. If there is no room to dock, then they can drop anchor and shuttle us in.

 

 

I have several times. In Grand Cayman for example, one of the piers was open, but waiting for a larger ship from another line. And the wind / waves were too high for them to tender us in. So we sat off shore and watched as the other ship came in after us and docked. Never stepped foot on the island. :mad:

 

Grand Cayman doesn't have a dock. All ships are tendered in. They do have Spott's Bay that can sometimes take ships if it's too rough to tender in Georgetown. In that case, I believe the larger ships do take precedence, which does make sense.

[laxlove6]

I've never understood why the cruise lines don't force place like grand cayman to build a pier. Ships should never have to skip ports due to tendering being to dangerous. The ships(you) pay fairly high port charges every time you stop somewhere. The least that these countries could do is accommodate the ships properly.

[Sauer-kraut]

I've never understood why the cruise lines don't force place like grand cayman to build a pier. Ships should never have to skip ports due to tendering being to dangerous. The ships(you) pay fairly high port charges every time you stop somewhere. The least that these countries could do is accommodate the ships properly.

 

Yes, but the port charges are refunded if the port is missed. If the country really wanted the money they'd take the initiatve and build it without the cruise line's input.

[pjnj40]

I hate that too when itinerary dos not give you enough time or it at the wrong hours. I noticed that almost all cruises line are docking at puerto rico between 3 to 4 pm. Back in 2008, I was there at 7 am to 9 pm. This was due to lost of port. However, my friend and I was looking to book a cruise to caribbean and one of the port was a short visit. The British something(start with a v i think) and it dock from 7 am to noon. I told my friend i hate that short visit. Somehow we wind up on big bargain cruise a month earlier.

[sparks1093]

I've never understood why the cruise lines don't force place like grand cayman to build a pier. Ships should never have to skip ports due to tendering being to dangerous. The ships(you) pay fairly high port charges every time you stop somewhere. The least that these countries could do is accommodate the ships properly.

 

Yes, but the port charges are refunded if the port is missed. If the country really wanted the money they'd take the initiatve and build it without the cruise line's input.

 

If they were to build a dock then the cost would be passed on to the cruise lines in the form of higher port fees, which of course would be passed on to us. I'm sure the issue has been discussed and the cruise lines have calculated it out and determined that it's not cost effective.

[PreciousCruiser]

What's AI?

 

AI means "All Inclusive". If someone already answered this, I might have missed it.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Yes, but the port charges are refunded if the port is missed. If the country really wanted the money they'd take the initiatve and build it without the cruise line's input.

 

I think Grand Cayman likes the tender situation. Keeps their people in business running the tender boats.

 

It also keeps people on the island longer because they go out for the day and come back at the end. When a shipped is docked people come and go as they please.

[cliffd64]

I've never understood why the cruise lines don't force place like grand cayman to build a pier. Ships should never have to skip ports due to tendering being to dangerous. The ships(you) pay fairly high port charges every time you stop somewhere. The least that these countries could do is accommodate the ships properly.

 

There was, and still may be an effort to build a pier on the north side of the island... The major problem is that it will destroy a large swath of one of the world's most beautiful coral reefs to do it.. Personally, I would rather tender in a shallow boat than have to destroy a natural treasure...

[sparks1093]

There was, and still may be an effort to build a pier on the north side of the island... The major problem is that it will destroy a large swath of one of the world's most beautiful coral reefs to do it.. Personally, I would rather tender in a shallow boat than have to destroy a natural treasure...

 

That was the other issue I forgot to mention- the environmental impact of the construction.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

I don't think Grand Cayman really cares - they have to be one of the wealthiest islands in the Caribbean with all their offshore banking operations. I'm sure tourist dollars help, but they would do just fine without the cruise ships, unlike some of the poorer islands.

[skittl1321]

Just my personal opinion, but I have already paid for my dinner on the ship. Leaving later is not as bad as arriving later. I saw a stop on a cruise that arrived at 4pm and left at 11pm. To me, that is a waste of a port, which we have paid port fees for.

 

 

One of my favorite excursions ever was only available because it was late at night- the Bio Bay in San Juan. We docked at like 5 p.m. and left just before midnight. Since it has to be dark to get the bioluminesense (which I know I spelled wrong) effect the "wasted port" was perfect for us. AND it was a fantastic sea day too- so it was like a bonus day to the cruise. Port day + Sea Day.

 

I prefer long days at port- early morning until just before dinner though, so I wouldn't want too many of these days.