Why can't they stay in port longer or even overnight?

[skyeman27]

Would like to have a St Thomas plus, that would allow more time in St John. 10 hours would be great...

[Drazil65]

If you LOVE Coz...take a land vacation there! That's one of the nice things about cruising...you can "visit" many places, and go back via a land vacation for a longer stay!

This....

 

 

An Ai vaca may be the ticket for you to get enough time to see what you want to see on your own....if you are spending the entire time in port watching the clock so you can catch a cab maybe a Carnival sponsored excursion would be a more efficient way to spend the shorter timeframe and not worry about the time as they would do that for you....

 

 

FYI...Carnival does have a couple scheduled overnights (on 5 to 7 day cruises) for Bermuda and also for Cuba....

[Mysticks1]

I know they have the Cozumel plus itinerary now, but I feel the opposite. I want to be at sea and have no interested in overnight. Especially when I sleep, I want to be sailing.

 

I agree with you - we have been to Cozumel multiple times and really don't care to spend more time there. The Cozumel Plus itinerary that I booked only seems to add one hour to what we have spent there in the past.

[beachbum6264]

We were on a cruise when Hurricane Frances closed the port of Tampa, our home port. We got an extra day in Cozumel, but we did not stay at the pier overnight. We heard talk around the ship that it was because of the $$$ that it costs per hour to be docked. We just went out and cruised slowly around in circles, then docked again in the morning. A second day in Coz and an extra day at sea on the way back. 7 day cruise turned into a 9 day - Win! (although there were people having screaming fits at the C/S desk - threatening to sue! What idiots.)

[Doggielover68]

Personally I don't like to stay overnight because of bugs. I like to be able to spend time outdoors at night without a bunch of Mosquitos flying around (I'm allergic). Although there are some ports I definitely wouldn't mind visiting two days in a row, even if the ship left and came back. For example, two 8-5 visits in Cozumel instead of stopping in Belize on a western Caribbean cruise would be nice.

 

 

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[SadieN]

Carnival does do a two day in Cabo itin. Technically not an overnight. The sail out of the bay and return the next day. You can stay overnight onshore but let the ship know you're doing so. Cabo is a tender port.

Princess stays anchored and runs their own tenders, sometimes stooping during the night, other times they run all night.

 

 

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[texhockey]

Carnival used to have a 5 day itinerary out of Galveston that stayed in Cozumel until midnight and then went across the channel to Calica. I really liked that itinerary.

[JZeig1]

On 5/22/2017 at 1:54 PM, shof515 said:

The ships is limited to only about 20 miles per hour. It can take long time to get to the next port of call

 

Another thing that can affect the port time is the amount of manpower available in that port. You need port workers to tie the ship to the dock and remove the lines, security, etc

I don't know if that's the case.  It's not like the ppl that work at these ports have so much to do later on in the evening.  Remember, a lot of these island, for the ppl that live there, cruise ships are their primary means of income; therefore, not so sure they couldn't split their time at pier.  

[Warm Breezes]

When we were on the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile in 2017 we ended up with an unplanned overnight stay in Cozumel.  It was a 5 night cruise that was supposed to stop in Progresso and Cozumel but we had a medical emergency that brought us back to Mobile the first night.  Because of this they cancelled Progresso, made Cozumel an overnight stay, and gave us 25% what we paid for our cruise off our next Carnival cruise.  It was great.  We took the trip as a really cheap anniversary escape with a casino rate even though Progresso was one of my least favorite ports.  Seeing the port area at night like that was really cool and we enjoyed the experience.

[pyropoodle]

On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 1:54 PM, shof515 said:

 You need port workers to tie the ship to the dock and remove the lines, security, etc

you also need an army of workers to work in the port stores that they force you to wind through on our way to/ from the ship.

[DaisyGirl55]

Personally I do not like it when the ships are in port late at night because there are too many ship venues that are either limited or shut down.  Casinos.  Shows.  Shops. 

 

I cruise not only to go from one place to another but because I love to CRUISE.  Not go somewhere and spend the night at port.  Even when the ships are in port late I do not go into town at night or even walk around the port area.  No thank you! 

 

I suppose I could take a ship sponsored excursion, but that is the only way I'd leave a ship in a foreign port at night.  JMHO

[pyropoodle]

I have a cruise booked for 2020 and it is going to "overnight" in cuba... and I guess that is technically correct, but it stops around 8 or 9 in the morning (iirc, I could be wrong) and then leaves around 2am the next morning. not sure I consider that to be "overnight' or not since it's not like i'll wake up in cuba at 6am, but I'm still excited to go.

 

just saying that to say if they 'overnighted' in Cozumel I don't know what that would look like specifically because you have to wind through that godawful port with the shops and duty free store.  they'd have to essentially keep it open for 24 hours and that's a lot of people to employ.  I know that would have to have something to do with the reason they don't do this.

[ontheweb]

We have had several over night stays, though none with Carnival. We spent 3 days, two overnight in Bermuda on NCL. We also had overnight stays in both St. Petersburg and Edinburgh both on Princess. The one in Edinburgh allowed us to go to the Military Tattoo. The one in St. Petersburg allowed us to have a 2 day private tour.

[Georgie562]

They could stay overnight, but they won't because of $$$

They want to open up the casino and shops.

 

It really bothers me how on the Mexcio cruises they advertise as "overnight" in Cabo San Lucas when it really is not an overnight. They leave at around 7pm and come back the next morning. That is not an overnight, that is Day 1 and Day 2

Edited January 24, 2019 by Georgie562

[airlink diva]

Not with Carnival, but Holland America.  Had Cozumel until 10 or 11 that evening.  It was great, spent the morning and early afternoon at the beach and shopping.  That evening went to dine on shore.  It was nice not having to rush.

There were fewer employees in the duty free store if you wanted to shop.

Like someone mentioned Barbados is another one.  The reason we left late because for some cruisers this was their embarkation.  Had cruisers coming over from Europe on late flights. Carnival did have overnights and or midnight sailings from Nassau.

For some ports I think should stay later to enjoy

 

[Joebucks]

My last cruise to Cozumel put us there for about 12 hours, and it was a late departure. It was nice. Much better than waking up at 7 am on vacation. I agree that I love that island too. Tons to do!

 

There absolutely are cruises that do overnights. Everything is chosen for a handful of reasons. There are a good chunk of people that hate Cozumel itineraries, mostly because it is a common port. You can't please everyone. For as much as you like cruising, maybe you would also like a land vacation in Cozumel.

[Djptcp]

If the OP loves Cozumel so much why not go there for a week's vacation and not on a cruise? I don't like staying longer than 6pm or overnight in a port (except Havana) because my evening entertainment is in the casino every night and the casino would not be open if the ship left at 9 or 10pm and it wasn't open on our overnight in Havana. In our cruise experience, the only port where the casino has opened on overnight stays has been in Nassau.

[xDisconnections]

13 hours ago, pyropoodle said:

you also need an army of workers to work in the port stores that they force you to wind through on our way to/ from the ship.

When we were docked in St. Maarten very recently until 10:00pm (planned per itinerary), everything at the port closed very early.

[Saint Greg]

Why am I posting on a 2 year old thread? I don’t know.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Saint Greg

[ray98]

There are several reason.  Another is the extended port times aren't widely used in my experience.  The cruises I have been on with overnights or midnight departures had the majority of the cruisers back on the ship for dinner.  I assume the expense is pretty great for the line for something very few cruisers will actually utilize.

[jmcathome]

They can stay overnight if they want. Was in Bermuda for two days on one Carnival cruise, another we left Havana at 4 am

[noxiousdog]

On 5/22/2017 at 8:31 PM, SadieN said:

Carnival does overnight in Puerto Vallarta on some itins.

 

 

This is a great itinerary. I really want to go on it again.

[hirent]

lol.....2 year old thread revived because of a new poster who replied to an old question.

 

Anyway, the answer is 'Parking'.

Parking costs money, whether its your car, a bus, an airplane, or a ship. You gotta pay parking fees.

Also, as others have mentioned, ships are subject to local laws when in port and have to shut down certain money making operations.

All of that contributes to lost income.

[TrinaLC]

I also cruise to cruise and would not generally want to stay in port beyond 6:00 pm. I would not chose a cruise that stayed overnight. 

[GUT2407]

If they stay in port longer the time has to come from somewhere, either shorter stay in another port, or travel faster (not always possible and more expensive in terms of running costs)