Are 8 ships too many for Port Everglades.

[ipeeinthepool]

Last Sunday we were on the Silhouette that arrived in Port Everglades with 7 other ships.  We were on a B2B so I had the chance to watch the pier operations and the disembarkation process.  We were one of the last ships to arrive at 7:00 am and self assist walk-offs did not start until around 7:30.   They did not start calling bag numbers in the terminal until 9:00.

 

i watched the taxi line for the Edge at terminal 25 and the line stretched across the road because and no taxis were in sight.  It appears that no taxis would drive this far into the port.  Every now and then a block of about 20 taxis would arrive.

 

Our departure was delayed by nearly two hours because they were still loading supplies and bags.  

 

It it seems like there are not enough taxis and pier support staff to handle 8 ships.  I can’t begin to imagine the lines at the airport.  Long taxi lines and long waits for baggage certainly aren’t the way to end a cruise.

 

I'm glad there are only 2 ships in port, when we return.

[rkacruiser]

Just my opinion in trying to answer your question, no, I don't think 8 ships are too many for Port Everglades to handle.  Obviously, the more ships there are, the more passengers to transport out of the Port and more luggage to handle, both getting off as well as on a ship.  

 

I have arrived at Pier 25 on Celebrity Eclipse in the past and the taxi queue was as you described.  It was the longest wait for a taxi that I have ever had anywhere.  

 

Compared to the Port of Miami on days when every terminal has a ship, Port Everglades is a "delight"--at least for this cruiser.  

[smalltimecruiser100]

Is it better to use Uber or Lyft than taxi's?

[CruiserBruce]

18 minutes ago, smalltimecruiser100 said:

Is it better to use Uber or Lyft than taxi's?

Better in what way?

 

Depends one where the Uber/Lyft is. We have cabbed out of Port Everglades about 5 times. Only once did we have to wait as a line progressed. So, if the Uber wasn't sitting there, you would have to wait, for a taxi, probably not. The difference in price is not worth waiting for, IMHO.

[steve20832]

They have had more than 8 there in the past on weekends

[NewPennCruiser]

On 2/25/2020 at 7:31 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

Last Sunday we were on the Silhouette that arrived in Port Everglades with 7 other ships.  We were on a B2B so I had the chance to watch the pier operations and the disembarkation process.  We were one of the last ships to arrive at 7:00 am and self assist walk-offs did not start until around 7:30.   They did not start calling bag numbers in the terminal until 9:00.

 

i watched the taxi line for the Edge at terminal 25 and the line stretched across the road because and no taxis were in sight.  It appears that no taxis would drive this far into the port.  Every now and then a block of about 20 taxis would arrive.

 

Our departure was delayed by nearly two hours because they were still loading supplies and bags.  

 

It it seems like there are not enough taxis and pier support staff to handle 8 ships.  I can’t begin to imagine the lines at the airport.  Long taxi lines and long waits for baggage certainly aren’t the way to end a cruise.

 

I'm glad there are only 2 ships in port, when we return.

We disembarked the Silhouette on Sunday too and wow, what a mess.  This was not the first time we were in port with 8 ships but it certainly was the worst.  It started out with what seemed like half the ship doing self walk off and they were lining up in the lobby at 6:30 to get off first.  Waiting in public areas on the ship became uncomfortable because people just weren't going anywhere.  The taxi line was crazy long and I do agree with your point that I don't think taxi drivers want to face the mess of driving all the way over to Terminals 21 and 25 because there were times we would go 10-15 minutes waiting for just 1 taxi to come by.  The last time we were in port with this many ships we were cruising on Princess and disembarked Term 2 and the taxis were lined up constantly ready to take someone.   We were not in a hurry because we were staying an extra day in Ft Lauderdale before flying north, but still it made for a long tiring morning.  

[BlueHerons]

On 2/25/2020 at 7:31 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

Last Sunday we were on the Silhouette that arrived in Port Everglades with 7 other ships.  We were on a B2B so I had the chance to watch the pier operations and the disembarkation process.  We were one of the last ships to arrive at 7:00 am and self assist walk-offs did not start until around 7:30.   They did not start calling bag numbers in the terminal until 9:00.

 

i watched the taxi line for the Edge at terminal 25 and the line stretched across the road because and no taxis were in sight.  It appears that no taxis would drive this far into the port.  Every now and then a block of about 20 taxis would arrive.

 

Our departure was delayed by nearly two hours because they were still loading supplies and bags.  

 

It it seems like there are not enough taxis and pier support staff to handle 8 ships.  I can’t begin to imagine the lines at the airport.  Long taxi lines and long waits for baggage certainly aren’t the way to end a cruise.

 

I'm glad there are only 2 ships in port, when we return.

You do realize that cruise ships are only a small portion of what Port Everglades does?  

[ipeeinthepool]

9 hours ago, BlueHerons said:

You do realize that cruise ships are only a small portion of what Port Everglades does?  

 

Ok, let me re-phrase the question for you: Are 8 ships too many for Port Everglades cruise ship operations to handle effectively?  Certainly I recognize their are other activities at Port Everglades.  However, I don’t think any of those operations affect taxi service.  Perhaps the other operations put a strain on forklift operators or baggage handlers.  Maybe those other operations also stress the re-supply activity for the cruise ships.

 

Whatever the reason, operations were not handled well at a couple of the piers last weekend.  Hopefully someone can find a way to improve operations during peak times.

[nhraformula00]

We stay before and after a cruise. Take our time in the morning getting off and just head to the Hyatt Place. Just think of all those cruisers heading to the airport, aprox 3-5 hour window of time. Not for me.