Which side is the Magic usually porting on my itinerary?

[jjohn113]

I know the ship can port on either side with lots of determining factors, but wondering if anyone has sailed the Magic out of Canaveral lately with the Amber Cove, St Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk itinerary? If so, what side did you port in each of the locations? Thank you!

[coevan]

Sometimes they back in. sometimes they go in forward

[jjohn113]

Sometimes they back in. sometimes they go in forward

 

Yes, I've been on many cruises. Just wondering what has been the usual for this itinerary?

[ashton57]

I would also be interested in the answer to this. I will be on the same itinerary on the Magic and booked a port side room.

[MissKIA]

Depends which side of the pier they "park" on and whether they back in or not. Who knows!

[ScoobySue2]

It's all by chance unfortunately. Sorry I can't help.

[summersigh]

Something you might want to try is to google "images _____ cruise port". (fill in the blank with the ports on your itinerary.)

 

After looking at lots of photos we try to make an educated guess which side has the greatest probability of facing the port. We guess right more often than we guess wrong.

[coevan]

Depends which side of the pier they "park" on and whether they back in or not. Who knows!

 

 

 

They "dock" where the harbour master tells them. We have been in between 2 ships, so neither side was good.

[cb at sea]

Sometimes, you're docked next to another ship, so your view is of other cruisers on a different line! If possible, they will dock on different sides are different ports, so everyone gets a "land view"....but have no fear! You'll be in a harbor so there are views everywhere!

[dds4horse]

last year it was port side at all but st Thomas was starboard

[jjohn113]

last year it was port side at all but st Thomas was starboard

Thank you!

[HawkIVette]

I always book an interior cabin so I don't have to make these difficult decisions. Too much stress. I try to relax on vacation.

[skrufy]

We have been to these ports numerous times except for Amber Cove, and docked the same way each time.

 

St. Thomas Havensight, starboard facing shore

Grand Turk. Front of ship facing shore, on either side

of the pier.

San Juan. Front of ship facing shore, on right side of

the pier.

Amber Cove. One time here and if I recall correctly the

Pier is at about a 90 degree angle to the

shore. You can dock either side we

docked straight in.

[HawkIVette]

We have been to these ports numerous times except for Amber Cove, and docked the same way each time.

 

St. Thomas Havensight, starboard facing shore (which is in a harbor, so both side have a shore. Port wold be side towards the town. Could be backed in so Starbord would be better.)

Grand Turk. Front of ship facing shore, on either side

of the pier. (But pier is angled, so Port is toward land if pulled in bow first.)

San Juan. Front of ship facing shore, on right side of

the pier. (Harbor again, so either side is good.)

Amber Cove. One time here and if I recall correctly the

Pier is at about a 90 degree angle to the

shore. You can dock either side we

docked straight in. In other words, boat will sit parralel to the shore. Could be either way.

It really doen't matter. It could be either way at most ports, but Port is most likely better choice.

[A&Jfamily]

We have been to these ports numerous times except for Amber Cove, and docked the same way each time.

 

St. Thomas Havensight, starboard facing shore

Grand Turk. Front of ship facing shore, on either side

of the pier.

San Juan. Front of ship facing shore, on right side of

the pier.

Amber Cove. One time here and if I recall correctly the

Pier is at about a 90 degree angle to the

shore. You can dock either side we

docked straight in.

 

 

Magic backed into Grand Turk for us and the port side faced the pier. In San Juan the starboard was facing the pier. In St. Thomas have always ported with starboard on pier. Don't remember with Amber Cove.

 

But there is no "magic" answer here....just book a room and get on a ship!

[summersigh]

San Juan the starboard was facing the pier.

On one of our cruises porting in San Juan starboard faced the dock with the terminal - the problem was that since our cabin was close to aft we overlooked the garbage dumpsters - not a pretty sight (or smell).

[Pellaz]

Magic backed into Grand Turk for us and the port side faced the pier.

 

Woah, that's gotta be a one-in-a-thousand event.

Ships do not back into the dock at Grand Turk because doing so could potentially foul the ship's props, as the docking area is a "man-made pocket." [source: Captain on the Conquest during the BtF Tour two years ago]

 

I don't recall EVER seeing a photo of a ship that backed in.

 

So.... OP, while apparently it's not an absolutely definite thing, I'm 99% sure that portside balconies and oceanviews on your ship will have a nice view of the shore when you arrive at Grand Turk. If there's a second ship at dock, it will block your view if they're moored on the left side of the dock.

[jjohn113]

Thanks!

We have been to these ports numerous times except for Amber Cove, and docked the same way each time.

 

St. Thomas Havensight, starboard facing shore

Grand Turk. Front of ship facing shore, on either side

of the pier.

San Juan. Front of ship facing shore, on right side of

the pier.

Amber Cove. One time here and if I recall correctly the

Pier is at about a 90 degree angle to the

shore. You can dock either side we

docked straight in.

[Bernardo62]

Is this a trick question.....

I'm puzzled why this is....

Facing the sun or not facing the sun.....

Walk out backward or forward. ... make up your bed or leave it a mess....

Have someone cut your food or cut your own.....:rolleyes:

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[SadieN]

Could be either side. Been to one port many times, have docked both ways.

One cruise came upon a GS gal crying bc a passenger was giving her grief because her portside Cabin was never facing port. We docked Starboard that whole cruise. Honestly the views were equally nice as it was Alaska.

[salty dingo]

There's no way to predict for sure.

 

Cruise ships in Miami usually dock with the bow pointed out to sea but not always. On one cruise, the ship was docked backwards, and at sailaway we did in fact sail away from the sea, toward the turning basin. Did a 180 and then went out.

[Pellaz]

There's no way to predict for sure.

 

Cruise ships in Miami usually dock with the bow pointed out to sea but not always. On one cruise, the ship was docked backwards, and at sailaway we did in fact sail away from the sea, toward the turning basin. Did a 180 and then went out.

 

My first cruise, on Majesty out of Miami was like that. Of course, I thought it was nifty. :)

 

I asked about this during a Behind the Fun tour and the Captain immediately responded that, in general, they'd prefer to back-in to dock, and then sail directly out when leaving. He said the reason was that there are times when you might want to leave a port in a hurry (changing weather conditions, etc.) Made a lot of sense.

 

At an embark port like Miami, it makes even more sense because ships often arrive a bit before their "official" scheduled time, and that extra time is best used by spinning around in the turn-basin when most passengers are just waking up. Then you can just sail off on that new cruise and get money-making things started (casino, shops) that much faster.

[May1cruiser]

two weeks ago.

San Juan- starboard

St Thomas- starboard

Grand Turk - port.

weather prevented Amber Cove.