Check Port Schedules Before Booking

[tulok]

I should have checked the port schedules before booking because in June when we stop at St Thomas, there are 4 ships in port including Wonder of the Sea. The cruise on Emerald before ours, they are the only one in the port. Wonder will also be with us in St Marten but we are the only two. Lesson learned, I will check the port schedules to see if one or two weeks change makes it a better experience. 

[Essiesmom]

I suspect you will be docking at Havensight and Wonder at Crown Bay, but downtown may be crowded.  EM

[tulok]

We do get there 2 hours earlier so we will get out quickly and walk the town. No excursions as we just wanted to walk around. The ship will be nice with less people should we go back early. Trying to think positive.

[skynight]

You won't have any difficulty. 95% sure that the two ships will be at different piers, RCI at Crown Bay and Emerald at Havensight. It is easier to walk into town from Havensight. I mostly do that. ST. Thomas frequently has lots and lots of cruise ships. They can handle it. In St. Maarten the ships will be in the same pier area. 

[CATGUY7]

17 minutes ago, tulok said:

I should have checked the port schedules before booking because in June when we stop at St Thomas, there are 4 ships in port including Wonder of the Sea. The cruise on Emerald before ours, they are the only one in the port. Wonder will also be with us in St Marten but we are the only two. Lesson learned, I will check the port schedules to see if one or two weeks change makes it a better experience. 

And even after careful preparation and planning, 3 weeks prior to your cruise, Princess could change the port order.  (But I will still be on a cruise and will try to not complain). 

[dmwnc1959]

And if you went a week later or earlier the weather could be pouring down rain. Or the other ships could have an itinerary change. This is really a non-issue. Last time I was in St. Thomas we had 5 ships in port including Allure of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection at Crown Bay. Royal Princess docked at Havensight along with two other ships. Allure was also docked next to us in St. Martin. It was fine. 

[tulok]

Everyone has made me feel so much better. Been to the Caribbean a few times but never STT. I was looking forward to enjoying the shopping and leisure day. Only port we choose not to do an excursion.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I'll be honest...I have never checked a port schedule before booking and doubt that I ever will.  We book for the itinerary...if it's crowded on a particular day...well, it's crowded.  We're *still* on a cruise and still visiting a port!

[dmwnc1959]

1 minute ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'll be honest...I have never checked a port schedule before booking and doubt that I ever will.  We book for the itinerary...if it's crowded on a particular day...well, it's crowded.  We're *still* on a cruise and still visiting a port!

Crazy that I’m the complete opposite! I really do LOVE shipspotting and always excited to see what other cruise ships are in port with us. 😁

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just now, dmwnc1959 said:

 I really do LOVE shipspotting and always excited to see what other cruise ships are in port with us. 😁

Oh...I agree with that statement...I just do it "live" in port as opposed to looking before I even book.  Port schedules are notorious for changing...

[Paula_MacFan]

2 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'll be honest...I have never checked a port schedule before booking and doubt that I ever will.  We book for the itinerary...if it's crowded on a particular day...well, it's crowded.  We're *still* on a cruise and still visiting a port!

 

I always check the port schedules for several reasons. If we're doing independent tours or on our own it's important to know where we're docked. Also depending on the number and size of ships, that may impact our excursion choices. Case in point we're on our way home now from getting off the Regal this morning. There were 7 huge ships in Cozumel, so we chose a quiet beach day on the east side away from the masses on the west side.

 

Lastly, by looking at the port schedule we knew our Mahogany Bay stop would be changed weeks prior to the official Princess notification. That was valuable info for planning.

[disneyochem]

15 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'll be honest...I have never checked a port schedule before booking and doubt that I ever will.  We book for the itinerary...if it's crowded on a particular day...well, it's crowded.  We're *still* on a cruise and still visiting a port!

I always check the port times on an Alaskan cruise.  That sometimes helps me decide which cruise/itinerary to book!  

Not a frequent traveler to the Caribbean so I generally book based on itinerary.
 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

19 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

I always check the port times on an Alaskan cruise.  That sometimes helps me decide which cruise/itinerary to book!

 

Good point.

 

We've also been places where the ship docks in industrial ports (Hawaii, Europe) and simply walking somewhere isn't feasible or sensible. I like to know in advance where we'll be docked and what services are available. Google maps is a great planning tool.

 

 

 

[tulok]

45 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

I always check the port times on an Alaskan cruise.  That sometimes helps me decide which cruise/itinerary to book!  

Not a frequent traveler to the Caribbean so I generally book based on itinerary.
 

 

We have docked in Ketchikan being the only ship and with four ships docked. Day and night experience. I know that’s a city example but it did make a huge difference in how we planned the day. 

It was good to know that some of the ships will use a different port. We were planning on having dinner in STT instead of the ship since we don’t leave until 10p. Wonder leaves at 11p, but they will be on their side of the island and we will be on ours later in the evening (no one wants to miss their ship leaving). I am thinking by 6p the downtown area will be clearing.

[Wishing on a star]

Do you have to check two different listings for the two different Ports at St Thomas.

Looking at our cruise, I think I only saw our one ship listed.

[dmwnc1959]

37 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Do you have to check two different listings for the two different Ports at St Thomas.

Looking at our cruise, I think I only saw our one ship listed.

Crown Bay and Havensight are both listed under St. Thomas…

 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands.html

 

aslo check vinow dot com 

 

🥸
 

Edited January 28 by dmwnc1959

[tulok]

35 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Do you have to check two different listings for the two different Ports at St Thomas.

Looking at our cruise, I think I only saw our one ship listed.

I just looked at cruisetimetable.com and can see all ships that will be in St Thomas but not where they are docking. Four ships were listed on the St Thomas schedule for that day. I am sure there is another site that says were they are docking.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'll be honest...I have never checked a port schedule before booking and doubt that I ever will.  We book for the itinerary...if it's crowded on a particular day...well, it's crowded.  We're *still* on a cruise and still visiting a port!

Same here, but there was one time it really did matter. Our port was Corfu (on a HAL ship), and there were 3 ships and only 2 dock spaces. We were on the ship that ended up having to tender. And the seas were a little rough, and one person although being helped by the tender crew fell and landed on his elbow. I shuddered to think what would have been my DW's reaction if that had been her as she had once broken an elbow and there was a plate in it and was still sore to the touch.

[Paula_MacFan]

2 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Do you have to check two different listings for the two different Ports at St Thomas.

Looking at our cruise, I think I only saw our one ship listed.

 

I try to only use official port websites if possible. They seem to be the most up to date and usually have berth codes. The generic 3rd party websites usually only list the general port and not specific dock info.

 

Try this (I make no guarantee 🙂)

 

http://wico-ltd.com/cruise-ship-dock/ship-schedule-port-availability

 

[dmwnc1959]

2 hours ago, tulok said:

I just looked at cruisetimetable.com and can see all ships that will be in St Thomas but not where they are docking. Four ships were listed on the St Thomas schedule for that day. I am sure there is another site that says were they are docking.

Last time I tried posting this CC quite literally locked my responce. I would include the link, but don’t want it to get locked out again. 
 

This site lists the docks as CB (Crown Bay) and WICO (Havensight). 

 

Check:

 

vinow dot com  /cruise/ship-schedule/2-2024/

 

😁

[EatonDoolittle]

3 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Do you have to check two different listings for the two different Ports at St Thomas.

Looking at our cruise, I think I only saw our one ship listed.

 

VInow dot com has info for all the docks.