Six ships in Phillipsburgh today?

[highway6161]

I happened to notice the hotel cam today looked very crowded, and according to the schedule (on cruisecal) this was Phillipsburgh today:

 

Disney Cruise Line Disney Fantasy

Costa Cruise Lines Costa Mediterranea

Oceania Cruises Riviera

Princess Cruises Crown Princess

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Epic

Royal Caribbean Legend Of The Seas

 

That must have been awful...

[navybankerteacher]

I happened to notice the hotel cam today looked very crowded, and according to the schedule (on cruisecal) this was Phillipsburgh today:

 

Disney Cruise Line Disney Fantasy

Costa Cruise Lines Costa Mediterranea

Oceania Cruises Riviera

Princess Cruises Crown Princess

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Epic

Royal Caribbean Legend Of The Seas

 

That must have been awful...

 

 

We just left St. Maarten today after a two week stay. As we drove down the road from Dawn Beach on our way to the airport, we could see at least four ships. On Wednesday 1/15 there were seven ships in - carrying close to 25,000 passengers - an overwhelming number as Phillipsburg's population is about 20,000.

 

We always check the cruise ship schedule at A. C. Wathey cruise terminal to have an idea of whether to risk going anywhere on the island between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, when the madness winds down.

[gtaylor]

Seven ships scheduled for both Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Hey, it's 'Season'.

 

gary

[givitup]

Seven ships scheduled for both Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Hey, it's 'Season'.

 

gary

 

How do you find out how many ships will be there on a particular day?

[gtaylor]

I check the Vessel Schedule at the official Port of St. Maarten website, then check the local paper (The Daily Herald, but subscription $$ for full text) to see what they say that morning.

 

gary

[highway6161]

More generally, you can also use cruisett.com - for instance, here's St. Maarten for the month:

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/St_Martin__St_Maarten/511-Philipsburg/January_2014/

 

There are some busy days!

[skipsaur]

Seven ships scheduled for both Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Hey, it's 'Season'.

 

gary

 

Was there that Wednesday and boy, was the traffic ridiculous! I remember we also had the giant Oasis of the Seas with us that day.

 

Despite that, it was still our favorite stop of the trip and I'm looking forward to visiting when it's not so crowded. Maho beach is definitely a place we'll revisit, I might rank it up there with Redwood National Park as an experience that's hard to describe, that you just HAVE to experience at least once in your life and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity.

[drdewrag]

We always check the Cruisett web site prior to our weeks in St Maarten! When there are more than 2 or 3 ships scheduled to be in port, we either head to the northern beaches or schedule a trip to Saba, Anguilla, etc...