EIGHT cruise ships in port same day would you cancel?

[letsgoplaces]

We've taken several cruises and have never had more than three ships in port at one time. I booked the Grand Princess for a January cruise out of Fort Lauderdale mainly because my husband said he really needed a warm relaxing break this winter ( we live in Northern Mn and he works outside alot) It was inexpensive, air far is more reasonable than San Juan and its with Princess which we enjoy. However I just looked at the website where you can see how many other ships will be in port the days of your cruise and was stunned to see EIGHT other ships with us in St Thomas....and four other ones in St Maarten....the passenger load in St thomas was at 24,000 people!!! in one port??....We sailed out of Fort Lauderdale on a 10 day a couple of years ago and usually we sail out of San Juan and have never had that many ships in any port we've been to. Please those of you who have done this eastern caribbean cruise or who have experienced that many people in these ports would you weigh in with your thoughts on what the experience will be like?...we are NOT complainers when on vacation....for us the vacation begins when we lock our front door and unless the plane crashes have found even trying experiences to be fine with us because we're happy to be on a trip. However that said....my husband really wants to relax on this trip and I'm wondering will there be any beach left with 24,000 extra people hanging around? I'd like to go over to St Johns again but will there be 10,000 people joining us?...any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks

Would a person even be able to find a cab???

[Toto2Kansas]

We sailed to St. Thomas one time with 7 ships in port, and all I can tell you is that St. Thomas was a virtual zoo that day. We decided to return to the ship early and just relax as it wasn't worth the energy it took to even walk down the sidewalk. We have also been to St. Martin with 6 ships in port, and it was just about the same there.

 

If you are going to get out of the cold winter, then just skip the ports and enjoy the ship. ;)

[Pam in CA]

Yes, I've taken cruises with eight or nine other ships in port. Yes, it was crowded but we had a great time anyway. If you're concerned, plan on staying on the ship for at least the morning. You'll have the pool and facilities mostly to yourself and in the afternoon, go into town and enjoy yourself. People will already be heading back to the ship after about 1PM.

[julia]

Wow.... all I can say is that you have a very "legitimate concern". (That sounds a lot like Ketchikan on the day we were there... not fun!) At least you were savvy enough to do your homework and know the situation ahead of time. Perhaps another date in Jan/Feb might work better?

[Caribensun]

I think it depends on what you want to do when in the ports. If you are doing a tour won't be bad, if you want to walk into town in St. Maarten, good luck getting in a store or the French side and back. St. Thomas may not be bad if going into town as two docks. I wouldn't go to St. John (St Thomas) without being on a tour as not enough ferries to hold everyone. You could go into town early then go back and enjoy the ship. Just being away is relaxing.

[tjschwalm]

I would definitely not cancel my cruise , just adjust my plans . It seems like

Saint Thomas is quite crowded a lot , 11,000 pax next Feb when we go on the CB . I think the most important thing for us is not to have time constraints and get back to the ship in plenty of time . There are two peirs but like Toto says expect a zoo and you won't be flabbergasted , I know we'll have fun anyway .

Public bus up to Redhook , Secret Harbor or Sapphire . In St. Martaan we have found LeGallion to be pretty much uncrowded , but only during weekdays .JMOI

[julia]

(Apologies to OP for slight highjack)

WHAT!!! Pam... I just saw that you are on the RUBY with us! :eek:

[jnc411]

Hi , have had 9 ships in port at Grand Caymen, my suggestion would be to book any excursions first thing in the morning , early as possible, that might help.

Cori

[letsgoplaces]

Good suggestions....yes I thought about enjoying the ship since we always seem to do port intensive cruises and like to see everything possible...maybe a new view this time around would be good....stay on the ship and have fun there....the thing is we LOVE the beaches...love the ocean and the last trip we took that was our priority....seeing a ton of gorgeous beaches....but its not so fun or relaxing when a zillion other people thought the same thing :)

I've been eyeing the 10 day on the Emerald and looking at the low low amount of people in port on the days we could go .....makes it seem much more attrative to me. I may have to switch cruises....when I said cancel I didnt mean all together...I should have said.....change cruises....cause this year the husband NEEDS the caribbean and I'm soooo happy about that!!!:) Thanks for all the great replys!!!

[caribill]

That is a normal day for these two ports, especially when one of the two of RCCL's Displacement of the Seas is there.

[Woobstr112G]

in 2008 (Emerald), we were one of 11 cruiseships docked in Barcelona.....:eek::eek::eek:

 

Bob

[LEtue]

That is a normal day for these two ports, especially when one of the two of RCCL's Displacement of the Seas is there.

 

Now that is too funny! Thanks for the laugh this morning :D

 

To the OP. If you're interested in taking the ferry to St John scratch that off your list. Tried that once with 7 ships in port and it didn't work.

 

Other than that I would plan a ships excursion and get out early.

[paul929207]

I would declare it a non-sailing sea day and stay onboard.

[PescadoAmarillo]

One time last winter the Emerald had to tender in St. Thomas because of the large number of ships in port. I wouldn't mind a lot of ships so much, but I would really dislike having to tender in a usual docked port because of a lot of them.

[Stevesan]

Good suggestions....yes I thought about enjoying the ship since we always seem to do port intensive cruises and like to see everything possible...maybe a new view this time around would be good....stay on the ship and have fun there....the thing is we LOVE the beaches...love the ocean and the last trip we took that was our priority....seeing a ton of gorgeous beaches....but its not so fun or relaxing when a zillion other people thought the same thing :)

I've been eyeing the 10 day on the Emerald and looking at the low low amount of people in port on the days we could go .....makes it seem much more attrative to me. I may have to switch cruises....when I said cancel I didnt mean all together...I should have said.....change cruises....cause this year the husband NEEDS the caribbean and I'm soooo happy about that!!!:) Thanks for all the great replys!!!

 

You have a legitimate concern. A solution would be to extend your search to the Western Caribbean. These ports also have exquisite beaches, especially Roatan, Cozumel and Grand Cayman with far fewer ships visiting them. At Belize you could take a ship's excursion (the tour boat picks up at the tender doors) to one of the loverly small reef islands all surrounded by soft sand beaches. Consider Crown's four port 7 day W. Carib. cruises from Ft Lauderdale Jan 7 and and 21.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2107841000088053251ZHmEgq

 

Do I dare mention sailing the W. Carib on either RCI :eek: or Carnival:eek: from Galveston?

[ONT-CA]

That is a normal day for these two ports, especially when one of the two of RCCL's Displacement of the Seas is there.

 

Great line. It will be used many many times today...

[Judylynn]

Want to check number of ships in our ports

[ksm77]

Last November on the Ruby we had 6 ships in St Thomas. We did the catamaran excursion from Princess. They took us to a beautiful beach over on St John. Great day one of the best excursions we have taken from a cruise ship in 25 years of cruising. If you love beaches I think you would enjoy this. We asked the driver to drop us off in town for alittle shopping on the way back. We then took a taxi back from town.

[Rockymountainsparky]

Cruise tt dot com.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

If there a lot of ships in port we just book a ships tour that has a sail boat or similar, that way we know we will be with a small group, out at sea,

 

some times whale watching, others snorkle etc anything just to relax.

 

yours shogun

[Whimsy]

Good suggestions....yes I thought about enjoying the ship since we always seem to do port intensive cruises and like to see everything possible...maybe a new view this time around would be good....stay on the ship and have fun there....the thing is we LOVE the beaches...love the ocean and the last trip we took that was our priority....seeing a ton of gorgeous beaches....but its not so fun or relaxing when a zillion other people thought the same thing :)

I've been eyeing the 10 day on the Emerald and looking at the low low amount of people in port on the days we could go .....makes it seem much more attrative to me. I may have to switch cruises....when I said cancel I didnt mean all together...I should have said.....change cruises....cause this year the husband NEEDS the caribbean and I'm soooo happy about that!!!:) Thanks for all the great replys!!!

 

I vote for switching to the 10 day! You will just have to suffer with those 3 extra days. :D

[Infi]

There were 7 other ships in port with us in St. Thomas this past March. One of them (the Disney Magic) even had to tender - now that would have been a pain. Other than that, I didn't think it was that bad, but all we did was go shopping that day anyway. Try to outwit the crowds: most people will take tours or go to the beach in the morning, then go shopping in the afternoon. Then downtown becomes a real zoo. If you do the reverse or try less-visited areas/beaches, you'll encounter less crowds.

 

If it were me though, I'd probably switch to the 10 day on the Emerald. I really like those sailings. They're the perfect length and you get to see more of the Southern Caribbean, which I prefer to the traditional Eastern.

[casavaha]

Why do you have to leave the ship? St. Thomas is a lousy port with only one ship in

port. Stay on the ship, better food, better ambience, the food preparation is much

cleaner There is a possibility that

you won't even be docked, you might tender. Even more reason to stay on board.

The only good thing about the Carribean is the weather.

Just my opinion.

 

Greg

[mngolfer]

We were in St Thomas with 7 ships and didn't have an issue getting on the ferry to St John from downtown. Then skip the busy beach and take a cab to cinnamon beach, when we were there, there were only about 20 people on the entire beach even though the other beach closer to town was packed.

 

St Martin with 6 ships one day and it was busy, but not impossible.

[geoherb]

Lately we've given up on going into town in Charlotte Amalie or going to the beaches on the other side of the island (Sapphire, Coki, Magen's Bay, etc.)

 

We like to walk to Emerald Beach, which is near the airport. (You can also take a cab.) It was $10 to rent a beach chair there on the beach in front of the Best Western the last time we were there. We generally stay a few hours and then head back to the ship in time for lunch.