Without a doubt, Florida’s three cruise ports – Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami – are undeniably busy, serving the Caribbean and eastern coast ports of call. All the major cruise lines call one or all three their home port. We have sailed out of all three on various cruise lines. Port Canaveral/Orlando is busy and that’s due to Carnival and Disney being major players in that market. Ft. Lauderdale and Miami are exceptionally busy as they service the Caribbean and its many ports of call.
But, according to a recent Cruise Critic post, below are considered the busiest ports, (not counting Florida):
- Cozumel
- Barcelona
- Venice
- Rome (Civitavecchia)
- St. Thomas
- Grand Cayman
Chances are you won’t be on the only ship in port! Imagine each ship has approximately 1000-6000 passengers each. That’s a lot of people in port at the same time! Of course, the ship’s arrivals and departures are staggered somewhat, but there are usually at least a couple in port at the same time. The local businesses thrive on being a busy port of call for landlubber sailors of all ages. The Caribbean is a hot spot, as are major cities in Europe. And, if the port of call is on a river in Europe? Yes, those ports get busy as well with 2-5 longships in port at the same time. And, if there is not enough dock space, the longships ‘raft’ together. To disembark you walk through other ships’ lobbies!
Karen and I have been on ‘a few’ … ok many…cruises with various cruise lines. Each cruise was different but all handle disembarkation at the pier in a very similar manner. After passing through the security check point on board, and heading down the gangway, you will need to pass through a port terminal. All port terminals are not created equal! Some are small walk-throughs, others have shops to grab your last souvenirs, some have excursion booths for that last minute decision to explore, some have currency exchange booths, but all have security posted. A Red Stripe beer never tasted so good, as to enjoy it on the Jamaican pier with the ship in the background. And there are always taxis, private cars, golf carts, mopeds and other unique forms of transportation available right outside most terminals. Upon returning to your ship, you must go through terminal security, showing your ship card and often your passport or photo ID. You will also need to go through ship security to return on board.
Many ports also have vendors that set up their wares just outside of the terminal. Generally, it is all local items. Most vendors respect you and don’t hassle like in the straw markets for example. You are welcome to talk to them and check out their items. Straw markets, for me, are very scary places! Everyone wants you to look at their booth and buy something. They will even follow you after you say “no thank you” in an attempt to gain your purchase, often times lowering the price. Still, this behavior makes me uncomfortable. I’m sure others love it, however!
Not all ships dock at a stationary pier. Some must anchor off-shore and use the ship’s lifeboats as tenders to get from ship to shore. Unless the seas are choppy, the ride and easy on-easy off access is…well…easy! But let Mother Nature kick up a bit of a tantrum and the seas get a tad wild. All credit goes to the crew member at the helm for aligning a very rocking boat up with a small opening in the ship to disgorge its passengers. And, don’t worry if you are unsteady because the boat is bobbing and weaving in the water, there are muscled crewmen on both boats to help you make that treacherous step safely. I know this for a fact, as on one of our voyages the seas were churning and I was virtually lifted off the tender and placed safely into the opening on the anchored ship. Another shout out to the crew for all their efforts to return the lifeboat back to its mooring on board the ship while in choppy waters. It takes precision to line up the boat and do it all safely for crew on the tender as well as on the ship. I watched this process for an hour! Also, just a note, due to adverse sea conditions, if your port of call has your ship anchored off-shore and using a tender, the captain may decide to forego that port. While it is always sad to miss a much-anticipated port of call, understand that the captain is acting on behalf of every single passenger and crew member on board to keep them safe.
Keep your itinerary in mind, when booking a cruise. Just because your itinerary says you dock in Montreal, for example, does not mean that you will actually see much of the city! Depending on whether you are extending your stay, most disembark the ship before 9AM and are whisked away to the airport to catch flights returning weary, yet relaxed and sometimes sun-burned passengers back to reality at home. And, yes, we have experienced this scenario a few times!
Havana, Cuba brought us into an old terminal area and near several squares and market places. Sidewalks are narrow and not in the best shape for easy walking.
Nassau, Bahamas piers are just a block off the main market and shops area. Very walkable. The last time we were there, there were 3 other large ships in port.
Venice, Italy was probably one of our favorite cruise ports where the ship was docked. We had direct access to a complimentary water taxi that took us over to St. Mark’s Square and all it offers. Very convenient!
Bergen, Norway changed our port location due to a famous bike race. Instead of being in the center of it all, we were berthed in an industrial area. Due to safety concerns, we were not allowed to walk into Bergen. A shuttle bus was provided from the ship out of the industrial area. We still needed to walk a couple of blocks to get into town and the port area with Unesco buildings, but that was ok as we saw some buildings and areas we might not have seen otherwise.
Rome, Italy was probably the least favorite due to its location and distance from the city – it’s about an hour away, depending on how fast your driver drives! Tour buses normally estimate the drive at 1-1/2 hours. Which really doesn’t give you much time to traverse Rome if you are only in port for one day. The port can serve 8 cruise ships at a time. You do the math! There’s just too much to see and do! When we arrived, there was one other couple checking in – the terminal was empty! Quick check in and then up the long gangway onto the ship. In the city, Rome is very busy, especially around main attractions such as the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Vatican City.
Barcelona, Spain‘s port is in an industrial area, so not much to look at. The pier can accommodate 7 ships at a time and is within walking distance to Las Ramblas, which we did not walk into due to time constraints.
Cozumel, Mexico‘s pier is walkable to the bars and tourist shop spots. Very convenient. There can be as many as 7 ships in port at any given time during peak season, docking at 3 piers. Note: This is a stock photo of the pier. We were there many years ago. Times and the pier have changed. But, we were on a Carnival cruise!
Brooklyn, New York is the first New York port we have cruised out of, by default. We were originally scheduled to cruise out of Manhattan but due to pier repairs, our embarkation port was changed. Definitely not as convenient as the Manhattan port would have been. This last minute change affected 1000’s of passengers who already had hotel and transfers in place. Plus, in checking, there are not one but two races on both ends of our cruise to add to the delays, confusion and frustration.
Halifax, Nova Scotia has a nice port terminal filled with vendors selling just about everything you want to take home from blueberry jam to t-shirts to postcards to Christmas ornaments and lots more! Excursions leave from just outside the door.
St. John, Newfoundland – Just a little idea of the embarking process – long lines and often steep ramps. They did offer wheelchair assistance, if you were lucky enough to snag a crew member. Imagine pushing a passenger, in a wheelchair, up those ramps! Walkable to town at harbor side for bars, music, shops and more.
It’s hard to pick a place to go when you want to go everywhere.
Twenty Steps at a Time 