Why can't they stay in port longer or even overnight?

Ya know the one thing I can complain about after every cruise we have taken (always been with Carnival) is that I feel we are not in port long enough. I LOVE COZUMEL. But I wish we would stay at that port longer.

Why can't they....or why don't they. It's not like another cruise ship needs that pier at 6pm that same evening?

My guess is one of two reasons:

a. they are billed for the length of time they are in port by the port itself (or the country)?

b. they don't want to stay in port longer...as that is less money being spent on the ship.

When we took our first cruise on Carnival Celebration in 1998. The 7 Day Itinerary was:

Tampa

Fun Day at Sea

Fun Day at Sea

Grand Caymen

Cozumel

New Orleans

Fun Day at Sea

Tampa

When the ship ported in New Orleans that morning around 9am, I remember we didn't have to be back on the ship until 10pm that evening. We were able to enjoy a swamp tour and get in some night life in the French Quarter. To me this was the perfect amount of time in port.

I just wish the ships going into Cozumel would stay later. 10pm would be awesome.

Anyone else feel the same way as I do?

Your thoughts.

There are some new itineraries that stay a little longer in Cozumel - they are called "Cozumel Plus".

I could be wrong but I would think they leave port at a certain time because of how long it takes to get to the next destination.

We're booked for a 5 Day Western Caribbean cruise this October and it is called a "Cozumel Plus" itinerary. However 9am - 6pm. I don't think that...that's so much of a "plus".

I still find myself constantly looking at my phone the whole time thinking this scenario all afternoon "....ok we have to leave by 4pm....so we can catch a cab, cab travel time, ...get back to the port, wander through the port...wait on the gangway"

I could be wrong but I would think they leave port at a certain time because of how long it takes to get to the next destination.

That would seem the most sensible answer to me. I had heard in Key West it's rare they stay because of where they dock. It blocks the sunset at Mallory Square.

We're doing a European cruise this summer (on RCI), and all our port days are 12-14 hours! But the ports are much closer together.

I could be wrong but I would think they leave port at a certain time because of how long it takes to get to the next destination.

The ships is limited to only about 20 miles per hour. It can take long time to get to the next port of call

Another thing that can affect the port time is the amount of manpower available in that port. You need port workers to tie the ship to the dock and remove the lines, security, etc

Ya know the one thing I can complain about after every cruise we have taken (always been with Carnival) is that I feel we are not in port long enough. I LOVE COZUMEL. But I wish we would stay at that port longer.

Why can't they....or why don't they. It's not like another cruise ship needs that pier at 6pm that same evening?

 

My guess is one of two reasons:

a. they are billed for the length of time they are in port by the port itself (or the country)?

b. they don't want to stay in port longer...as that is less money being spent on the ship.

 

When we took our first cruise on Carnival Celebration in 1998. The 7 Day Itinerary was:

Tampa

Fun Day at Sea

Fun Day at Sea

Grand Caymen

Cozumel

New Orleans

Fun Day at Sea

Tampa

 

When the ship ported in New Orleans that morning around 9am, I remember we didn't have to be back on the ship until 10pm that evening. We were able to enjoy a swamp tour and get in some night life in the French Quarter. To me this was the perfect amount of time in port.

 

I just wish the ships going into Cozumel would stay later. 10pm would be awesome.

Anyone else feel the same way as I do?

Your thoughts.

Where is that darn like button?? Lol

Celebrity has itineraries that have overnights in some ports. You can find threads about them on the Celebrity board. BTW they are mostly complaints.

As for why Carnival does not do overnights? $$$$$$$$$$$$ talks. It's more profitable for the ships to be at sea. Some very lucrative services have to be closed while the ship is in port.

I guess I opened this wondering how much longer after midnight do you want to stay.

Maybe we were lucky, but every time we stopped here, we sailed at midnight. But this was also when they dropped mainland touring passengers off onto tender to go do the ruins, before we sailed on to Cozumel. They would join us later by ferry.

We would sit at the bar at the beginning of the pier watching the ship in close proximity, hopefully remembering to get onto the ship before it sailed.

I know they have the Cozumel plus itinerary now, but I feel the opposite. I want to be at sea and have no interested in overnight. Especially when I sleep, I want to be sailing.

I believe there are some ports (Key West may be one) that require ships to be gone by a certain time.

If you LOVE Coz...take a land vacation there! That's one of the nice things about cruising...you can "visit" many places, and go back via a land vacation for a longer stay!

There are plenty of factors that limit the amount time a ship will/can stay at a particular port.

Here are the most common.

Harbor Pilot or tug schedules

Docking fees tend to be charged per day, initiating at mid-night

Transit time to the next port

Availability of transportation, shopping, tours and/or attractions after sundown

We docked overnight in Barbados on our last Celebrity cruise (left around noon the next morning)

I loved NOT having to worry about getting back to the ship. We just spent the day shopping and eating and went back to the boat when we wanted

.

Bermuda cruises with Carnival are generally overnight.

I speculate that port charges are by the hour, or port services cost more for more hours. But I think most important is that the slower they sail to the next port, the more fuel efficient it is. They could stay longer, but then they would burn more fuel getting to the next port. EM

NCL Hawaii cruises have two over-nights! That's pretty nice! We stayed in port in Key West until well after sundown on a DCL ship which was docked near Mallory square, so I don't think that's a thing.

It's all a well oiled machine between port regulations, port taxes, destinations/length of travel time between ports/ and I believe one of the biggest was mentioned above.....the onboard money making services that have to close while in port (shops, casino, etc.)

Some Bermuda cruises stay overnight.

That is how we feel about Roatan. Really wish there was an overnight there. Two days straight there would be amazing. Like how Disney does their private Castaway Caye.

Main reason Carnival doesn't do this is because of man power at the ports. Very expensive.

I find it odd Carnival goes to NOLA mid cruise. 10 hours up and down the Mississippi seems like a long side trip, although we love NOLA. I would not do this itinerary in the winter. It was freezing in NOLA last winter cruise.

Carnival does overnight in Puerto Vallarta on some itins.

Isn't there still an itin that docks in Barbados for three days straight?

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Extra Port Fees.

The Casino is usually closed.

We don't go bar-hopping, or do a lot of shopping when in port. We're basically beach people. Not much point in staying at the beach when the sun goes down. And, the majority of excursions, especially sight-seeing tours, are during daylight hours. Kind of difficult to see the sights when it's dark. So, at least for us, 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. is plenty late enough to stay in port.

That is how we feel about Roatan. Really wish there was an overnight there. Two days straight there would be amazing. Like how Disney does their private Castaway Caye.

 

Main reason Carnival doesn't do this is because of man power at the ports. Very expensive.

Disney doesn't overnight at their private island. The ship leaves the island between 5-6pm, same as most other ports.

The only time the ships have stayed overnight there is when there were mechanical issues and the ship literally could not leave or when there was a weather issue which prevented them from leaving.

As with anything else there are likely many factors involved and I would expect that the primary reasons are lack of onboard revenue and increased port fees.