Which ports have tenders?

We are on the Insignia June 12, 2009 from Istanbul to Athens. Reading about the recent cruise that had so many ports canceled due to issues with the seas and safety of tenders, I wondered if someone knew what ports we dock at vs. take tenders. This info doesn't appear in my brochure and I'm guessing some of you veteran cruisers would know (I'm sure my TA could find out in a day or two). Thanks!

Delos, Mykonos, Santorini & Dubrovnik for sure

not sure on the others.

Delos & Mykonos are the most often missed by all cruise lines.

dock

Athens, Istanbul, Rhodes

We were on the Regatta two years ago and we docked in Dubrovnik. Has Oceania stopped docking there and tenders instead.

Joan

Dubrovnik will depend on the amount of ships in port. On Millennium we tendered on the Grand we docked. Last month we could see that Silverseas was tendering.

Calvin81,

I was on the Nautica which missed 5 of 11 ports in August due to 'weather'. Here's what I experienced on board Nautica:

Rome - dock

Portofino -tender but docked in Genoa instead

Monte Carlo - dock

Florence - dock

Amalfi -tender but docked in Naples instead

Sorrento -tender but docked in Naples for a second day instead

Taormina Sicily - tender

Valletta Malta - dock

Rhodes - dock

Santorini – local tenders

Delos (missed entirely) - tender

Mykonos was supposed to be a dock so unsure why we missed it but we spent the day sailing back to Athens to dock there at 7 pm

Athens - dock, disembark

I found out some other info on other boards....since Oceania ships are smaller they often go to ports that can't accommodate large cruise ships so the ports often don't have docks. Also depending upon how many other ships are in the port, you might dock or tender. For instance, if you're last to make port you may not get the dock. Or I suspect that because the other ships are larger, they get a better shot at docking since it would mean less tender traffic. No-one has said so but I suspect that ships may pay more or less for docks vs. tenders so maybe that has something to do with it too - how much a ship is willing to pay. I imagine that there is other criteria for docking vs. tendering but haven't been able to find out anything else so far.

Dubrovnik will depend on the amount of ships in port. .

That is good to know

I had seen on some cruises there they tendered

Interesting topic. On our September Nautica Istanbul-Athens cruise, we originally were going to be tendering right to the Old Town, and I was happy that no taxis or buses would be required. But two days before we arrived at Dubrovnik, our daily newsletter stated that Nautica had been informed by the local port authority that due to heavy ship traffic in Dubrovnik our tendering location would be Gruz harbour and not the Old Town and that taxis would be limited due to the amount of ships in port. (I understand that this is common for Dubrovnik port.)

Well, we ended up being by far and away the "farthest and awayest" cruise ship in port that day, with only the US naval cruiser there anchored further from town as us. We had a 15-minute tender to the Gruz harbour, where fortunately city buses run right to the Pile Gate in the Old Town, about a 10 minute ride. It did considerably reduce our planned time in the Old Town. The tender ride itself was so lengthy, and the sea so choppy, it took a long time to get us all off the ship.

Don't know why we were so far out, but it was quite an adventure for us.

In Dubrovnik, we tendered in to the Old City.

Imagine our surprise that afternoon, when there ws no ship in sight and no tenders! After a few minutes of panic, we found an Oceania employee, and were told that the ship had moved (due to high seas), and we were now docked a bus ride away. Oceania provided those buses at no charge.

Thanks for all your responses. We generally are more independent travelers and don't think we'll do the ship's excursions much at all. I've heard the first tenders are reserved for ship's excursions and wonder how it goes after they get off? Do you have to stand in line? How many people can fit in a tender and how long will it take to get 600+ people off?

Thanks for all your responses. We generally are more independent travelers and don't think we'll do the ship's excursions much at all. I've heard the first tenders are reserved for ship's excursions and wonder how it goes after they get off? Do you have to stand in line? How many people can fit in a tender and how long will it take to get 600+ people off?

Usually for tenders it is the ships tours first but they do alternate ships tours & independents.

You go to the lounge & get a tender ticket for independents travellers when they call you number/colour then you go to the tender

When all the tours have left they open the tendering to all no need for the ticket

Yes you stand in line when you get to the tender boarding area you must get your S& S card swiped.

they can fit up to 150 people but usually do less

Takes a lot shorter time frame to get people off than on the mass market mega ships ;)

Yep, we like to do our own thing as well. At Amalfi on our last cruise we were able to get our group of 6 on to one of the first tenders of the morning to meet our guide. I think the only port where we really did have to wait for the ship tours was Santorini since they let the ship tours of at a different location from where we anchored.

calvin81

The tenders hold about 150 people, so the tendering goes pretty quickly.

There is usually a line in the tender lobby for about the first half hour, and after that, you can just walk on.

A lot depends, of course. on how har the ship is from shore. A longer tender voyage can increase wait times at either end.

The suite passengers get gold key cards which supposedly gives them priority tender access, but we've never benefited from it. The area where you board the tenders is too constricted to do any kind of second line, so everybody just boards the tender as they get there.

We only had to wait once for a tender on our Istanbul to Athens cruise last month, which was in Dubrovnik, where, as I described in my earlier post above, we were anchored so far away from the port that the tenders had to travel twice as far as at any of the other tender ports. Between that and the choppy water, it took a long time to get everyone off. We never waited at all at any of the other ports, but there were only two: Santorini and Milos (the port substituted for Delos/Mykonos due to high seas). At Santorini, anyone on the ship's tours lands at a different location first, where there is a road with buses waiting at the waterfront, then the ship moves to another spot, where Santorini tenders take you to the downhill spot in Thira (Fira) where you either opt for the donkeys, the cable car, or the huge hike up the hill.

Once again, thanks to all for the responses. We cruised about 20 years ago in the Carribean and l thought the tenders were much smaller then, so with 150 people it should go quickly. Traveling with my 18 yr. old daughter we won't be up that early most days I think! CintiPam -- have you posted any more regarding your cruise? If you have any advice for our same itinerary I would love to hear it.

Now that 1. the insurance company has resolved our claim for a new roof (the Hurricane Ike windstorm in Ohio totalled our roof while we were away on our cruise); 2. our new furnace has been installed and the new programmable thermostat finally working properly and 3. I completed preparing for and giving my first few docent tours as a brand-new docent at the Art Museum:

I have run out of excuses to postpone writing a complete vacation review. (I did post two hotel reviews, for our Istanbul and Athens hotels, this week on the tripadvisor website.)

I finally started writing my review this week, but I have found that I am way too verbose (what a surprise to all of you who have read this far down into this post and any of my other posts!!!:rolleyes: ).

At least I am putting clear section dividers in, so you can scroll down to what you might actually be of interest to a reader!

That must have been fun to come home to! I'm looking forward to reading your review -- will you post it in this forum? We aren't staying on another night in Athens, but will arrive early in Istanbul. Where did you stay? We're going home through Brussels and staying there a couple nights instead.

Well, I'm almost done; it's five pages on Word without the port stuff! I assume I'll post it under Nautica on the member review page, and then mention where to find it here and on the Eastern Med board.

We stayed at the Sirkeci Konak in Old Town Istanbul for three nights, top-rated on tripadvisor, and it was excellent: 50 yards from a tram stop, a 10-minute walk to Aya Sofia and Topkapi Palace, on a quiet street with rooms overlooking the park behind Topkapi, and, most importantly, wonderful service. We were there during Ramadan, so I did not want to stay by the Blue Mosque and get woken up by drummers in the middle of the night, as well as the call to prayer, because I'm a very light sleeper. All the ports were great, but Istanbul was amazing; I would love to return there. We were in Brussels four years ago, but our hotel there was just so-so.

I actually tried to book at Sirkeci Konak, but we're only staying one night before the cruise and they had a two night minimum. We're staying at the next hotel on the Tripadvisor rating I think -- Dersaadet Hotel. I haven't booked a hotel in Brussels yet -- it seems expensive and I'm hoping for better deals closer to the date. Although there is a more reasonable option called The Welcome Hotel that's #3. Looking forward to reading your review. I just saw pictures from a friend who did a similar itinerary on Regent and loved it. Shorter and more money, but included alcohol and a bigger cabin (at least that was my take on it).

I haven't booked a hotel in Brussels yet -- it seems expensive and I'm hoping for better deals closer to the date. Although there is a more reasonable option called The Welcome Hotel that's #3.

Will you have time to visit Bruges? We had a couple of wonderful days there, feeling really immersed in the 15th century, but with great meals and an amazing B&B, not to mention Madame Dumon's chocolates!

We actually extended our stay in Brussels so we would have time to go to Brugges. We have to disembark at 8 a.m. and fly to Brussels at 2:30, so the first day there is pretty well shot, so we are staying three nights now. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea of what to do in Athens until our flight with our luggage? It seems like a pain in the neck to go to the airport to put it in a locker, but I don't know if we'll want to hire a guide for a half day since we'll already have the day before after we dock in Athens.

I hope people will stop hijacking this thread. It is about tender ports, an important issue for many passengers.

I understand that Zakynthos is also a tender port.

Does anyone know about Aghio Nikolaos in Crete or Limassol in Cyprus?

How about Antalya and Alanya in Turkey?

Bill

I hope people will stop hijacking this thread. It is about tender ports, an important issue for many passengers.

 

 

Bill

Have you check the ports of call forum?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

This thread is over 2 yrs old so you may get more up to date info on the Med forums

 

Does anyone know about Aghio Nikolaos in Crete or Limassol in Cyprus?

 

LHT is right, the ports of call section will give you more up to date information generally.

However, to answer part of your question: Limassol will almost certainly not be a tender port. It's a deep-water harbour and has many large ships, including cruise ships, dock through the course of the year.

If you use the link below it'll take you to a map centred on the new port.

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=34.6513911&lon=33.0130148&z=15&l=0&m=b

Mands