madre2 Posted March 24, 2018 #1 Share Posted March 24, 2018 We will be traveling soon on the Silhouette on an eastern caribbean itinerary. Can you tell me which side will face the port in each port? I know sometimes it changes depending on whether they pull in or back in, and how many ships are in port. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Click Posted March 25, 2018 #2 Share Posted March 25, 2018 There is no way to predict how the ships will dock. There are just too many variables. This site will give a listing of port loads for most ports. http://ports.cruisett.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHEZMARYLOU Posted March 25, 2018 #3 Share Posted March 25, 2018 We've done this cruise a few times and the ship faced different ways in different ports. The only constant was in Ft. Lauderdale where the starboard side faced the pier any time we have sailed from Ft. Lauderdale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisestitch Posted March 25, 2018 #4 Share Posted March 25, 2018 "Can you tell me which side will face the port in each port?" No, no one can tell you this until the day you dock at each port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cltnccruisers Posted March 25, 2018 #5 Share Posted March 25, 2018 We will be traveling soon on the Silhouette on an eastern caribbean itinerary. Can you tell me which side will face the port in each port? I know sometimes it changes depending on whether they pull in or back in, and how many ships are in port. Thanks Mostly it's a crap shoot but in some cases you can make an educated quess. We were just on Silly for San Juan, St Thomas and St Maarten. Assuming the approach routes are always the same, you'll get a great view of Old San Juan from the port side. You'll be docked right at OSJ. For St Thomas and St Maarten you'll get some nice views regardless of which side you are on - we didn't have much preference there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare keesar Posted March 25, 2018 #6 Share Posted March 25, 2018 For St. Maarten, we had ships on both sides of us. For St. Thomas, the best views were on the Port side each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cltnccruisers Posted March 25, 2018 #7 Share Posted March 25, 2018 For St. Maarten, we had ships on both sides of us. For St. Thomas, the best views were on the Port side each time. For St Thomas the Silly will be docked at Crown Bay - if the OP's concern is which side is better while docked CB provides equally lousy views from both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvery Seas Cruiser Posted March 25, 2018 #8 Share Posted March 25, 2018 The truth is there is no way to predict which way the ship will face in port. One reason has to do with life boat maintenance. That task is done in port. Life boats on one side are lowered and driven around in the water. The side of the ship where the life boats that need to be serviced is the way the ship will dock to allow that work. Other kinds of maintenance involve such mundane but needed chores as painting and washing down the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lineaway Posted March 25, 2018 #9 Share Posted March 25, 2018 You can make an educated guess but you have to do some homework. Go on the Roll Calls that just came back that did the same itinerary and ask. Most want to write about their cruise. I also look on youtube. Look for recent postings. I was told that Captains prefer docking the same way each time. All things considered equal, I also was told that for some reason the Captains prefer docking Portside . Not sure why. Maybe someone can answer for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted March 25, 2018 #10 Share Posted March 25, 2018 As others have said you just can't be sure. This is why we place emphasis on where on the deck the room is located and not which side we are on. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbrayr Posted March 25, 2018 #11 Share Posted March 25, 2018 You can make an educated guess but you have to do some homework. Go on the Roll Calls that just came back that did the same itinerary and ask. Most want to write about their cruise. I also look on youtube. Look for recent postings. I was told that Captains prefer docking the same way each time. All things considered equal, I also was told that for some reason the Captains prefer docking Portside . Not sure why. Maybe someone can answer for this. And we’ve cruises on Silhouette three times including twice in Europe and the majority of our docking was starboard side. We like to watch the process from our balcony so usually book starboard forward on deck 8 or 9. Can easily see the captain, pilot, etc in the wing. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39august Posted March 25, 2018 #12 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I believe that the outdoor smoking area is on the port side. So that would be a factor for us. No lower deck port side balconies due to possible upward drifting smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cltnccruisers Posted March 25, 2018 #13 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I believe that the outdoor smoking area is on the port side. So that would be a factor for us. No lower deck port side balconies due to possible upward drifting smoke. We were on deck 8 port side and had no smoking issue. There was smoking starboard by the Sunset bar, port at the Mast Grill (where the food sucked BTW) and a small cigar area at the Solarium aft port I believe. More smoking areas than I expected but they were small and at least the casino was smoke free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now