Know how many people are going to be in port with you. Cruise TT

[cementhands]

If you’re new to cruises a tip I learned a while ago is to search cruise tt website for how many ships are going to be in port with you each day. When you know ahead of time you can plan on getting off early and beat the crowds to the beach. For example on an upcoming cruise we’re going to be in st Thomas with 4 ships for a total of 14,000 passengers and crew. So we’ll be off very early for a cab to the beach and return a little earlier than usually for the crowds. Many of the other ports are only us in port. 

[Essiesmom]

There are several sites that can tell you this, and cruisett is the worst, least updated.  I prefer cruisetimetables.com coupled with cruisecal.  EM

[mom says]

Agree with Essiesmom. I've found Cruisetimetables to be more reliable. And if I feel I need more accuracy I'll go to the actual port website calendar a few days before sailing.  And it's not just about getting good off the ship early (that depends on when our excursion (if any) is scheduled. It's more about whether we even bother getting off the ship. If we pulled into St Thomas and there were 5 or 6 other ships in port that day, we wouldo more likely plan a ship day.

Edited August 21, 2019 by mom says

[Heidi13]

If you are only cruising the Caribbean they are reasonably accurate, but none of those websites are 100% correct, especially when the cruise includes crossing the dateline and 1 or more nights in port.

 

Best research tool is to search for the port's cruise ship schedule.

[QueSeraSera]

This is good information, thank you to everyone from the OP on down!  I'm off to investigate.  First cruise ever in less than two weeks!  

 

[navybankerteacher]

We always check several sites when planning what days to “shelter in place” on our January stays on St. Maarten.  Those five/six ship days dumping 20,000 extras on th3 island require planning.

[getting older slowly]

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Best research tool is to search for the port's cruise ship schedule.

 

You are spot on Heidi 13.... great if it is a small port you can plan accordingly

 

particularly if there is a shuttle bus service into town.

 

Have found the rush to get ashore  

is worst when there is a large number of first time cruisers on board

all excited to a shore....

 

Cheers Don

[4x4bob]

Here is the other side of the coin for knowing how many ships are in Port.

A few years ago we flew into Barcelona 5 days early for our cruise to visit the local attractions, etc.  As soon as we arrived at the Hotel I asked the desk clerk to reserve us a cab for a ride to the ship.

That morning when we went down stairs we found a large crowd at the front desk all asking for cabs.

The clerk told them that with 8 ships in port there are no free cabs available at that time. 

The best she could do for them is put their name on a list and have them wait in the dinning room.

Because, some cab drivers will hurry and make a delivery and then then stop at the Hotels to pick up extra passengers.  Not many smiles on those faces.

Traffic near the port was a nightmare.  Our driver told us that he will have to drop us off at the end of the pier because if he would take us down to the ship, he might not be able to get back out.  

I have already checked the ports for our up coming cruise.  Port load goes from 6 ships down to 1. I used cruisemapper.com

 

 

Bob

[idraconis]

Also it pays to check how many ships are in port when your ship returns to the home port, especially for Miami. I returned one time and there had to 8 or 9 ships in port. Had be 18000 plus people all trying to get cabs. And it seemed we all chose AA to fly home. There was a line to get into the terminal. Airline employees were coming outside to find folks with early flights. It was a nightmare. And it was Hot! Just a heads up.

[cb at sea]

Just remember, there are a ton of residents and land vacationers that these sites DON'T take into consideration!