Thank you for mentioning your conversation with the Captain. Possibly, the HAL ship was docked and not tendering? I thought it would be strange just to ditch a port on a whim.
In December 2008, we were on a HAl ship and the port was Cabo San Lucas. The waves were dangerously high and we had to wait at least an hour or more to tender in. We were able to contact the shore excursion company and did make the tour. Once there, the water was lovely close to shore, but quite rowdy where the ship was anchored.