# of Ships at HMC?

[irishmom]

Is there an easy way to find out if we'll be the only ship at HMC? We're on a B2B and will be there 11/27 and 11/29 on the Oosterdam. I'm getting crazy looking up other ships' schedules and trying to count days! Thanks.

[TxGal]

Volendam will be there on the 27th, and Oosterdam is the only ship on the 29th.

[Orcrone]

Here is a cruise ship calendar (http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/) link. Very useful sight.

[Himself]

I don't see how they could handle anymore than two ships at one time at HMC

Himself

[irishmom]

Thanks for the quick responses! My next question is how crazy does it get with two ships, both there from 8-4? I would think staggered arrival would be better. Is it wiser to just hang back til the big rush is over? We're not planning on renting a clamshell, but what about the other stuff - snorkel gear, mats, etc?

We've been there once before, and it was our favorite stop. At least I'm prepared for a crowd, and we know we have another day there if the first one is a little crazy. Do they double up the service personnel to accomodate all the extra visitors? Is the BBQ a mob scene?

[Orcrone]

I was on the Maasdam, and we were there at the same time as the Oosterdam. It was definitely a bit of a madhouse. Some posters have said that a lot of the beach was lost to hurricanes this year.

The barbecue was crowded. Due to slow tendering (rough seas), setting our time back one hour due to the Oosterdam being on EST while we were still on DST and having a scuba excursion, I wasn't on the beach for much over an hour, so I can't give you much more info regarding the rest of your questions.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been on HMC a few times when 2 ships were scheduled to be there at the same time.

If your ship is scheduled to arrive at the same time as another, be certain that you get to the lounge as soon as possible to get the early tender tickets so that you can be among the first on the island.

There were times when we arrived about 2 hours after another HAL ship and we opted to stay on board knowing that the island would already be crowded when we would finally be able to get a tender to shore.

The BBQ gets very crowded with 2 ships in & the lines are very long.

[Ziggy7]

Here is a cruise ship calendar (http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/) link. Very useful sight.

Great site! Thanks for sharing it !!! :)

[Pudgesmom]

If you don't like crowds, but want a beach day, take an early tender, grab a couple of beach chairs, and just drag them a couple of hundred yards down the beach. It will be very quiet and less crowded.

I think that some of the crowding issues could be resolved if HAL would do just this, spread things out along the beautiful, Loooong beach.

Beth

[Lynzchat]

Hi Barb-
I think there's only one ship on HMC at that time. I think we're on that same schedule. Did you get your room assignment yet? When do you start your B2B?

[irishmom]

Hi Lynzchat - I checked that link from Orcrone, and we're sharing HMC with the Volendam. We may take the advice to get off really early and head to the far end of the beach. I'm just hoping they put a bar at that end! Oh well, it's still the most beautiful beach on earth, no matter how many people are there!

Our 11/21 sailing is our first week; then 3 couples from home are joining us for the 11/28 sailing to the Western Caribbean. We're in 5053 for both sailings, so maybe we can hook up along the way.

Barb

[HeatherInFlorida]

Beth is right. Go early if you can. Or, alternatively, go later. When we started down the beach about 2:30, it had mostly emptied out. So maybe if you were to have lunch on the ship and then go ashore for a few hours, that would work, too. The peak time was through the lunch hour.

This depends, of course, on the time you are there. We were there from 8:30 or so and had to get the last tender by 3:30. Sometimes you're scheduled for later in the day.

[damdamsels]

Thanks for posting that great site..We are lucky with only one ship at HMC but Grand Cayman and Cozumel each have 5 ships those days. Do you think that will make a difference with excursions?? It seems like it could be a lot of people there. I am starting to get a little worried..:eek:

[sail7seas]

Five ships in Cozumel is a rather moderate number these days. We've been there with ten .....it was very crowded, needless to say. You should have no problem with only five.

[Krazy Kruizers]

In the last number of years Cozumel has built several piers to handle as many cruise ships as possible - they want the tourists. We have been there when every spot at the piers was used and 3 ships had to tender in. Quite a crowd. That is why at a couple of the piers they have expanded the shops and some have malls across the street so that not everyone is jammed into town at the same time.

[Tatka]

If you are the first time cruiser...even with 2 ships in port DON'T SKIP this beautiful island! It's a paradise:) .

When we were there in August, ocean was so nice that we used chair just to put our stuff and spend all the day swimming! (with the small break for lunch)

[jmvt]

We were on the Oct. 30 sailing of the Maasdam when the Oosterdam was also there. The Oosterdam tendered before we did so we were concerned about finding lounge chairs. A change this year over last year is that they have grouped all the clamshells all together close to the BBQ area. In past years, the clamshells were scattered all down the beach.

We were on one of the first tenders over to the island and proceeded to walk to the furthest end of the beach where there were plenty of lounge chairs left. While there are no clamshells there for shade, there are many trees with hammocks in them for people needing the shade. It is a little longer walk to the restrooms and the BBQ, but the trade-off is the privacy and quiet down there without the crowds of the clamshell area.

It was a day in heaven as usual. We rented the floating beach mats and also took our lounges down to the water's edge. That sand and water are like no where else. The water is as clean as bathtub water and the sand......no seaweed, no rocks....paradise. If you have never been here, it is a memory to treasure. :)