Tortola and other ports?

[lppwrth]

Loved Tortola on our last cruise there. I think we were lucky as I don't remember there being loads of ships on that day.

What is it like at present?

I am on the Latin Gems and Caribbean Treasures itinerary and trying to decide what to do on each island.

I believe from other posters that St Maarten is pretty crowded with many other ships. Which are the best and the worst "crowded ports" on this itinerary?

Loads of questions as my holiday gets closer!

Lorraine

[kruzseeka]

Loved Tortola on our last cruise there. I think we were lucky as I don't remember there being loads of ships on that day.

What is it like at present?

I am on the Latin Gems and Caribbean Treasures itinerary and trying to decide what to do on each island.

I believe from other posters that St Maarten is pretty crowded with many other ships. Which are the best and the worst "crowded ports" on this itinerary?

Loads of questions as my holiday gets closer!

Lorraine

 

Including Dream these are the other ships in port (subject ot up-to-date info on port schedule sites)

 

Totals include the Dream taken as 1.5K

 

Curacao: Aiadaluna, Pullmantur Horizon - Total pax 5.5K (with Nieuw Amsterdam arriving 13.00 that's an extra 2.1K)

 

Castries: Norwegian Sun - Total 3.75K

 

St Kitts: Adventure of the Seas, Celebrity Equinox - Total 7.7K

 

St Maarten: Ruby Princess, Celebrity Silhouette - Total 7.7K (better than last time we were there 35,000 in port but that included crew I think!)

 

Tortola: Carnival Breeze (leaves 15.30) - Total 5.5K

 

Antigua: Carnival Breeze - Total 5.5K

[kruzseeka]

I should have said that all other ports on this itinerary appear to have only the Dream in port - as long as the sites I used to check out ships in port are up to date. Sometimes on the TT site ships don't appear (including Thomson sometimes and in the Caribbean at the moment both P&O ships don't seem to exist!)

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/

 

Cross referencing with this site has filled in some gaps

 

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

[CRUISIN LINDA]

You are on the ball this morning Kruzseeka :) I was just going to refer ippwrth to cruisett! It's got very unreliable though hasn't it? I noticed they seem to be ignoring P&O ships :D and sometimes Thomson :eek::(

[kruzseeka]

You are on the ball this morning Kruzseeka :) I was just going to refer ippwrth to cruisett! It's got very unreliable though hasn't it? I noticed they seem to be ignoring P&O ships :D and sometimes Thomson :eek::(

 

Yes there are glaring omissions on TT. The other site is really good though. You can pick up your own ship and move on day by day to your various ports and see which other ships are in. I found all the ships mentioned on TT were on the second site plus quite a few more!

 

I must confess to already having all the info though as I always try to check how many passengers are in port as it sometimes affects what we decide to do - and prompt us to get an early start if we think there will be a lot of demand on local transport etc. So nerdy! :o :D

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Yes there are glaring omissions on TT. The other site is really good though. You can pick up your own ship and move on day by day to your various ports and see which other ships are in. I found all the ships mentioned on TT were on the second site plus quite a few more!

 

I must confess to already having all the info though as I always try to check how many passengers are in port as it sometimes affects what we decide to do - and prompt us to get an early start if we think there will be a lot of demand on local transport etc. So nerdy! :o :D

 

Not nerdy at all :) I forgot you were going on the same cruise :rolleyes:

 

I haven't done a lot of research for our next one as we have been to all the ports before, except for La Gomera where I am hoping to do a Thomson trip, but I will look and see which ships are in port. Cruise timetables is good, but you need to know where the cruise started from.

[kruzseeka]

Not nerdy at all :) I forgot you were going on the same cruise :rolleyes:

 

I haven't done a lot of research for our next one as we have been to all the ports before, except for La Gomera where I am hoping to do a Thomson trip, but I will look and see which ships are in port. Cruise timetables is good, but you need to know where the cruise started from.

 

 

If you scroll to the next table down- it's 'ports of call' rather than 'ports of departure' so you can choose any port on your itinerary and go from there.

 

P.S. We did a Thomsom day trip to La Gomera (granted from the Thomson hotel we were staying) and thought it was a great excursion. I imagine the cruise excursion would be very similar.

 

Enjoy your planning! ;)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

If you scroll to the next table down- it's 'ports of call' rather than 'ports of departure' so you can choose any port on your itinerary and go from there.

Oh I didn't know that either :rolleyes: We are having an educational day on here :D:D

[CRUISIN LINDA]

 

P.S. We did a Thomsom day trip to La Gomera (granted from the Thomson hotel we were staying) and thought it was a great excursion. I imagine the cruise excursion would be very similar.

 

Enjoy your planning! ;)

 

I am trying to decide whether to book the trip before we go. It means I shall have to pay on my card instead of DH at the end of the cruise!

 

I know, I know, we have always been like this with money, even after 42 years :rolleyes: I think it stems from him being 33 when we got married and living at home practically rent free, so used to having his own money! :rolleyes:

[solostar]

Cruise TT still shows us visiting Maracaibo in Venezuela, and not Margarita as the itinerary states.:confused:

[kruzseeka]

I am trying to decide whether to book the trip before we go. It means I shall have to pay on my card instead of DH at the end of the cruise!

 

I know, I know, we have always been like this with money, even after 42 years :rolleyes: I think it stems from him being 33 when we got married and living at home practically rent free, so used to having his own money! :rolleyes:

 

:D My DH was 37 when we married - same scenario as yours - but somehow I've managed to merge our incomes over the years so can spend his as well as mine! :eek: :D ;)

[blossom52]

I think it may be a bit cheaper if you book online before you go, our Petra one was about £5 pp cheaper, but it all adds up!!

[kruzseeka]

I think it may be a bit cheaper if you book online before you go, our Petra one was about £5 pp cheaper, but it all adds up!!

 

And since you can cancel with full refund up to 24 hours before the trip departs, you've got nothing to lose really (except if you have to pay for it Linda! :D). We go to the Port Showcase and if anything is flagged up which we have reservations about, we go and quiz the Dest Services staff further and if necessary cancel. Sometimes having listened to the Port Showcase we have thought a different trip sounded more interesting so have cancelled one and re-booked another. No problems but remember to use a Debit Card as if they charge you 2.5% on a CC you may lose any saving on the on-line price. To be fair it's very good on the on-line booking form that they actually ask you to choose Debit or Credit card and quote the price for both so you can see it costs more on CC and therefore make an informed choice - it's not buried in the small print. Fair do's Thomson - good practice!

[geomagot]

yep, its a little cheaper to book on-line

 

fer-instance

 

Aruba Off Road, online price £40 PP, on ship £42

st lucia Pitons cruise online £46, on ship £48