Switching Ports Due To Volume

Mr. Bungle · #1 December 30th, 2012, 08:34 AM

Sailing on Ench in Feb and there will be 5 ships and @ 15k people in St.Thomas at the same time on the same day... Has a cruise line ever 'switched ports' knowing that there will be that many guests in one port at one time??? If we can see months out, that there will be such high volume in a port on a certain day, so can the planners for the ships. Why wouldn't they want to spread out the number of people in ports?

...Now I'm no nautical navigator, but by a rough thumb and forefinger measurement, the distance could be covered in the time allowed to make St.Martin the day we are scheduled to dock in St.Thomas. Along with that, the ship SHOULD be able to make it's next port, Samana, in the 16 hours aloted to sail from St.T to Samana, from SXM.

Checking CruiseTT, there are only 3 other ships in port at SXM the day we are scheduled into St.Thomas. It would benefit everyone, IMO, for the ship to go to a different port. Guests wouldn't be on top of each other in the shops at the pier and beaches. The two ports would have 4 ships each, as opposed to 5 in St.Th. and 3 in SXM.

Personally, I like St.Martin a little more than St.Thomas, so there is the bias behind the question. St.Thomas is nice but we like SXM better and have a friend there that takes us around the island.

I know ships can alter itinerarys at any time and it is possible for this to occour... But to know ahead of time would allow for scheduling of tours, excursions, beach time, etc... If the cruise line waited till we were under way to say that the itinerary had changed, it wouldn't allow for changes and some folks would be a little steamed regarding cancelled tours, excursions, beach time, etc... Not to mention the nightmare at the C.S.Desk...

Anywho... That's my random question for the day... Back to shoveling.

Starry Eyes · #2 December 30th, 2012, 08:47 AM

IIRC, there were about 22,000 cruise passengers in port for our call in St T this month....supposedly the largest number this year. every ship arrived. NCL Gem had to tender. though you might like if it did, it seems unlikely that your schedule will change due to crowding. And if it did, there would be other passengers who would be unhappy about the switch.

Mr. Bungle · #3 December 30th, 2012, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starry Eyes

IIRC, there were about 22,000 cruise passengers in port for our call in St T this month....supposedly the largest number this year. every ship arrived. NCL Gem had to tender. though you might like if it did, it seems unlikely that your schedule will change due to crowding. And if it did, there would be other passengers who would be unhappy about the switch.

22k+!!! Wow... That's part of my point... Why would they knowingly jam 22k+ people onto one island??? There are a few other stops that are within the time frame they allow for sailing from port to port, so why not take advantage of them... I know, some folks sail specific itineraries for specific ports. Some specifically for ONE port, and to have that changed within say, 60 days of sailing, and AFTER final payment, would be a nightmare.

P&C4/16/67 · #4 December 30th, 2012, 08:57 AM

As Starry said, 22K were passengers. The Captain said including crew, it could be up to 30K. We enjoyed our near empty ship that day.

Phyl

setsail · #5 December 30th, 2012, 08:58 AM

Yes, it happens

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1748729

Trekker954 · #6 December 30th, 2012, 09:00 AM

If you wanted to go to St. martin you should have selected an itinerary that goes there. It isn't going to happen on your cruise. St. Thomas and Nassau are notorious for overcrowding.

The first week in December a number of cruises scheduled to arrive in Nassau were turned away for lack of dock space or whatever reason the cruise lines gave, however, we just had an extra sea day as usually is the case.

Before you book, there are a couple of websites that allow you to check how many ships are scheduled to be in port that day. So if you don't like the numbers select another itinerary.

Paulxyz2004 · #7 December 30th, 2012, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Bungle

22k+!!! Wow... That's part of my point... Why would they knowingly jam 22k+ people onto one island??? There are a few other stops that are within the time frame they allow for sailing from port to port, so why not take advantage of them... I know, some folks sail specific itineraries for specific ports. Some specifically for ONE port, and to have that changed within say, 60 days of sailing, and AFTER final payment, would be a nightmare.

Because they are a Business and it´s most likely the way they expect to get the most Revenue.

Mr. Bungle · #8 December 30th, 2012, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekker954

If you wanted to go to St. martin you should have selected an itinerary that goes there. It isn't going to happen on your cruise. St. Thomas and Nassau are notorious for overcrowding.

The first week in December a number of cruises scheduled to arrive in Nassau were turned away for lack of dock space or whatever reason the cruise lines gave, however, we just had an extra sea day as usually is the case.

Before you book, there are a couple of websites that allow you to check how many ships are scheduled to be in port that day. So if you don't like the numbers select another itinerary.

The sailing dates we had available handcuffed us into St.Thomas... Just a snowy Sunday pipedream.

I know about CruiseTT, that's how I got the info on the 5 ships.

Starry Eyes · #9 December 30th, 2012, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Bungle

The sailing dates we had available handcuffed us into St.Thomas... Just a snowy Sunday pipedream.

I know about CruiseTT, that's how I got the info on the 5 ships.

Well, dream away on your snowy Sunday. A lot goes into planning cruise itineraries, I am sure. Routes, consumer demand, pier availability, costs, contracts and so on...if port crowding is considered at all, it is surely way, way down the list of cruiseline concerns. Partly because crowding is subject to change....some ship was the first one on the port log on our very crowded day.

FWIW, DH and I stretched our legs in the port vicinity and enjoyed the rest of the day on the uncrowded ship, like P&C

spookwife · #10 December 30th, 2012, 09:36 AM

economics may also be a factor. might cost MORE in port fees etc to switch locations.

Aquahound · #11 December 30th, 2012, 09:41 AM

Welcome to winter cruising....when most of the ships are here. I was in Cozumel last week and there were 7 ships in port, including Allure, Liberty, and Carnival Magic. The place was a madhouse.

Cindy · #12 December 30th, 2012, 09:47 AM

We were in St. Thomas on the Noordam earlier this month. We shared the island with passengers from the new Disney ship, Emerald Princess, a Carnival ship, HAL Maasdam, Oasis OTS, and the Sea Dream Yacht Club. Was it crowded? Absolutely!

We knew in advance that it was going to be packed, so we planned an excursion that took us away from the congestion. We do the same thing when we're going to be in Cozumel on one of those "lovely" 8 or 9 ship days!

xxoocruiser · #13 December 30th, 2012, 09:59 AM

Very unlikley for the itinerary to be changed unless there is inclement weather such as tropical depression that would cause the Captain to alter the schedule
Not everyone gets off the ship though it will still get crowded and the ships do not allow all crew members to get off the ship so it's unlikely that the count will grow to 30,000 as someone else posted.
Take the ferry to St. John's as many do to escape the crowds.

jakenashleysmom · #14 December 30th, 2012, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekker954

If you wanted to go to St. martin you should have selected an itinerary that goes there. It isn't going to happen on your cruise. St. Thomas and Nassau are notorious for overcrowding.

The first week in December a number of cruises scheduled to arrive in Nassau were turned away for lack of dock space or whatever reason the cruise lines gave, however, we just had an extra sea day as usually is the case.

Before you book, there are a couple of websites that allow you to check how many ships are scheduled to be in port that day. So if you don't like the numbers select another itinerary.

really? op simply asked if it has ever happened before, why do people find the need to be so snarky?

Ocean Boy · #15 December 30th, 2012, 10:28 AM

I would not worry about a switch because of 5 ships. St. Thomas can handle that number of ships and does so fairly regularly. That isn't to say that things won't seem a bit crowded at the tourist points.

wethetraveler · #16 December 30th, 2012, 11:34 AM

I doubt that they will switch ports. In January 2012, there were five (5) ships total when we were in St Martin (Eclipse, Epic, Disney, Princess and RCCL approx 17k passengers). It really did not feel like it was crowded. Pick the correct time to exit and board the ship and you will be fine.

Trekker954 · #17 December 30th, 2012, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakenashleysmom

really? op simply asked if it has ever happened before, why do people find the need to be so snarky?

He was pretty specific about where he wants to be diverted to and meet up with a friend there. I don't think I was snarly at all.

morganboys · #18 December 30th, 2012, 11:53 AM

we have been to nassau with 5 ships in port and other than when you come back through the customs building it wasn't an issue.

BND · #19 December 30th, 2012, 12:38 PM

We were there with 6 ships in 2006. A couple of them anchored out. It really wasn't an issue. We went to Magen's bay which got a little crowded, but then, it always is. Heck,when Oasis or Allure are there with 4-5 other ships, it's even more people, but the island can handle it no problem.