Staying in port overnight?

[squirk]

I am not familiar with admiralty laws, U.S. or otherwise, so forgive what might be a stupid question:

Why is it you don't see ships staying overnight in ports on a regularly-scheduled basis? Is it simply a matter of having to make room for another incoming cruise ship? Are there laws or treaties that disallow this, or at least levy some heavy financial disincentives (fees, tariffs, etc.) to do so? Or is it that, by and large, guests don't want to waste a second day in the same place, preferring to move on to a new destination or the open ocean?

I just think about how crummy it is to sail someplace fantastic but only get one day there, and always having to keep one eye on the time throughout the day to make sure you don't miss your ship's departure. St. Thomas/St. John is a prime example - so much to do there to fill two days, but we only get one, and a truncated one at that. How nice would it be to plan a full day and evening there, knowing your ship wasn't leaving until the next day?

Anyone (@Tonka's Skipper, @PrincessShmoo?) care to enlighten me? Thx.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am not familiar with admiralty laws, U.S. or otherwise, so forgive what might be a stupid question:

Why is it you don't see ships staying overnight in ports on a regularly-scheduled basis? Is it simply a matter of having to make room for another incoming cruise ship? Are there laws or treaties that disallow this, or at least levy some heavy financial disincentives (fees, tariffs, etc.) to do so? Or is it that, by and large, guests don't want to waste a second day in the same place, preferring to move on to a new destination or the open ocean?

I just think about how crummy it is to sail someplace fantastic but only get one day there, and always having to keep one eye on the time throughout the day to make sure you don't miss your ship's departure. St. Thomas/St. John is a prime example - so much to do there to fill two days, but we only get one, and a truncated one at that. How nice would it be to plan a full day and evening there, knowing your ship wasn't leaving until the next day?

Anyone (@Tonka's Skipper, @PrincessShmoo?) care to enlighten me? Thx.

Probably mostly to do with the costs to stay docked overnight. They can't make any money onboard in the shops, as they must remain closed while in port. Also, different ports have tax laws that require their taxes to be charged onboard the ships while docked.

Not to mention the docking costs (power, water, space) to just be tied up.

 

[truck1]

Id go with above. Short versions is a ship does not make money tied to a pier. There are a handful of ships that overnight anywhere. Youll see it on the Hawaii cruises if I'm not mistaken, youll see it in Europe, occasionally in the Bahamas. Besides the cost of tying up to a pier, theres also the security element, especially in todays world. Plus with a few notable exceptions, it takes a ship 10-12 hours to get from 1 point to the next.

 

[squirk]

Not to mention the docking costs (power, water, space) to just be tied up.

Right, but if they doubled down on one port and gave up another, wouldn't those costs be defrayed, if not entirely offset, by the fuel saved by not sailing to that other port?

You and @truck1 both make a good point about the shops, though. Did not think of that.

 

[over50visits]

Anyone (@Tonka's Skipper) care to enlighten me? Thx.

Tonka's Skipper always has good information on these topics, he doesn't guess. Are you out there??? Good question!! I can guess, but would like to hear it from a pro...

 

[Kimberly9701]

The only time I've ever stayed overnight at a port was in Bermuda. It's a fantastic cruise!! I was on Royal Caribbean.. You may want to look into it.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I go with Princess Shoo and Truck I, the old adage that a ship does not make money sitting at the dock.

Short version, costs associated with port stays and that cruise ship do best going to the next port overnight .

A vessel itinerary is more sellable with more ports.

AKK

 

[clten]

I think it is a combination of things. If I look at a cruise itinerary and it has it going from port to port to port, I think okay, I'm getting the most out of my cruise and getting to see a lot of places - that's what cruising is about. If I look at the cruise itinerary and see that it goes from Pt Canaveral to St Thomas for a couple of days then Castaway Cay and home I say, if I want to spend my week and just see St. Thomas, why don't I just fly there?

I've done cruises with DCL and overnighted in a port (San Francisco, Barcelona, Maui come to mind). I've enjoyed the overnight and outside of Maui, I believe the crew enjoy overnighting in a port (in Maui by time the crew got to get off after late dinner, everything was closing so there was no where to go late night for them, at least that's what we were told). I think the exact reason the guests and crew enjoy overnighting in a port is exactly why a cruise line wouldn't. Not only aren't the shops able to open, all (or most of) their nighttime revenue is ashore -- enjoying dinners or clubs or bars.

So if its going to cost more in port costs to stay overnight and revenue in clubs and shops is going to next to nothing, there's no incentive for a cruise line to do an overnight in a port.

 

[Capt_BJ]

random thoughts

Ships pay for dock space .... and have restrictions about things like emissions and waste removal. It costs less to be at sea.

For most cruises, to open the casino they must be at sea, and the casino is both a major money maker and a major attraction of the cruise. The only ports I've seen ships stay "late" or overnight are ones where there was a significant casino presence (e.g. Nassau); most other places leave in time to have the casino open soon after dinner. Disney is an exception to this rule casino wise of course but they do follow the 'precedent'.

Why book a cruise that does not move? If I want to stay several days in St Thomas I fly to St Thomas.

One of the complaints I heard on a river cruise was when the ship stayed someplace overnight .... "I didn't pay for this thing to sit in one place."

TECHNICALY most if not all cruise contracts say in the very fine print that the ship does not have to go anywhere .... they do not gar'tee visiting ANY ports!

Cruises to Bermuda tend to stay overnight(s) because there is nothing else around ... no place else to go within their available range. Some Bermuda cruises change ports in Bermuda just to change scenery even tho the island is very small.

You can book a room on the Queen Mary in Cali .... it doesn't go anywhere.

 

[ludari]

I wish DCL would do this more often. When I sailed on the Wonder on the Pixar specialty cruise several years ago we stayed overnight in San Francisco and it was amazing!

 

[Kimberly9701]

random thoughts

Ships pay for dock space .... and have restrictions about things like emissions and waste removal. It costs less to be at sea.

For most cruises, to open the casino they must be at sea, and the casino is both a major money maker and a major attraction of the cruise. The only ports I've seen ships stay "late" or overnight are ones where there was a significant casino presence (e.g. Nassau); most other places leave in time to have the casino open soon after dinner. Disney is an exception to this rule casino wise of course but they do follow the 'precedent'.

Why book a cruise that does not move? If I want to stay several days in St Thomas I fly to St Thomas.

One of the complaints I heard on a river cruise was when the ship stayed someplace overnight .... "I didn't pay for this thing to sit in one place."

TECHNICALY most if not all cruise contracts say in the very fine print that the ship does not have to go anywhere .... they do not gar'tee visiting ANY ports!

Cruises to Bermuda tend to stay overnight(s) because there is nothing else around ... no place else to go within their available range. Some Bermuda cruises change ports in Bermuda just to change scenery even tho the island is very small.

You can book a room on the Queen Mary in Cali .... it doesn't go anywhere.

I totally agree with this. the overnight experience in Bermuda was great, bc I don't ever see myself just spending a week there. But the Caribbean islands- itinerary is a huge factor in which cruise I choose. I stay away from any cruise that docks at Nassau bc I vacation at Atlantis..and I will also never cruise to Key West. Same thing with the DR or Turks and Caicos, although I will do a grand Turk cruise bc it's a great opportunity to get a good dive in. Aruba and Curaçao- flights are much higher when considering a trip there and those are wonderful islands to stop at, providing an opportunity to see places that I may not have otherwise seen. If you fall in love with an island, then you know that your next vacay may want to be to that destination so you can experience it fully

 

[Kimberly9701]

Cruises sell themselves as the ship being the destination, ports are just a bonus.

 

[suebecdan]

The only prt Ihave ever had an over night at has been Bermuda. Those cruises tend to dock on one side of the island and then go to the other side. I do not think it is only the cost they can't open up any of their shops if not in international waters. Other ships can't open the casinos while at port.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

If you are interested in staying overnight in a port, consider Bermuda. That's the only port where I have had the opportunity to stay overnight, and it's beautiful!

 

[CamColt]

I too have stayed overnight in Bermuda when sailing on NCL. It was definitely a different experience being able to leave the ship after dinner and then return to sleep.

 

[Ofinn]

We stayed over in Honolulu, an I believe they overnighted in Maui on the return trip. The magic overnights in Reykjavik. The ones that really love it are the crew especially if they are not on breakfast detail the next day.

 

[anricat]

I know that my MIL had two days in St. Petersburg on their last cruise with HAL. I don't know if they left and came back or if it were overnight, though.

 

[scgustafson]

We had an overnight in Venice on our 12-night Med Cruise on Disney Magic in 2014. It was the last night of the cruise, which was lousy since they treated the night before we pulled into Venice like the last night of the cruise since many people were going to be getting off the ship in Venice and either not coming back until late or at all. It was a real let down on the last night of the cruise with no real show and the MDRs empty. The whole experience was a let down on that last night and you could see the CMs really weren't into working that night. Breakfast was very empty on disembarkation morning. I would prefer not to have to experience an overnight port stay on the last night again.
For our honeymoon, we were on American Hawaii Cruises and the ship had an overnight in Maui, but it was deadcenter of the cruise. It was nice to have the two days in Maui and we rented a car for exploring on our own, but we still had dinner on the ship and spent the night aboard.

 

[dclpluto]

DCL cruises that stay overnight Hawaii cruises.

Sometimes San fransico

Stayed in Barcelona overnight on a repo cruise.

Seen them stay overnight in Russia

 

[dclpluto]

Cruises sell themselves as the ship being the destination, ports are just a bonus.

Tell that to all the people who spend 1000's of dollars extra to go on a Europe cruise.