Sunnymom02 Posted February 2, 2005 #1 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Hi. I am new to the boards;) . Just wondering, I know you have to tender into GC on all ships. We are going on the Carnival Conquest in April and I was just wondering how do you get a tender ticket if you ARE NOT going on an excursion through the ship? We were thinking of doing the Stingray Sandbar with a private tour. Any suggestions on which company to go with? Also, I am a little worried about getting sea sick on a "smaller" boat, so would a Catamaran be better?? Thanks for all of your help :p These boards are wonderful for planning your trip!!! Sunnymom02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWog Posted February 2, 2005 #2 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Normally they allow all ship sponsored excursions to leave, then open it up to all others that want to go ashore. So you will have to wait. They may let you get on one of the previous tenders if you explain your situation. I haven't run into that situation yet, so I can't say for certain if they would let you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zydecocruiser Posted February 2, 2005 #3 Share Posted February 2, 2005 On the Conquest, ship tours will meet in one location (like the Dega Lounge) and others will meet somewhere else (like the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge). If you are on a ship tour after 9:30 or 10am, you fall into the other category and have to make your own way to the dock. Two tenders will load at a time - when I was on the Conquest last November, they used the whopper sized tenders that hold lots of people. On the Conquest, they hand out tender stickers, not tickets. The stickers are numbered in groups 1,2,3... They will board by groups. For example they will call groups 1 and 2. They start handing out the tender stickers at 7:15am (+/-) and if you are ready to go and get stickers at 7:15-7:30, you will probably be onshore by 8 or 8:15. Or you can try to wing it and just walk down to Deck 0 without a tour ticket or tender sticker and try to walk on a tender. It often works, but a large group would be suspicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdrseller Posted February 3, 2005 #4 Share Posted February 3, 2005 When are you sailing SunnyMom? We are sailing 4/3... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnymom02 Posted February 3, 2005 Author #5 Share Posted February 3, 2005 We are sailing on 4/3 too:D ! We can't wait to go either! What kind of shore excursions are you guys doing? We are trying to decide so we can be organized and know what we are doing when we board the ship;) . Sunnymom02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cali-croozer Posted February 3, 2005 #6 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Sunny.........here's a tip if you end up not needing to get on one of the first tenders for a tour. While the masses are waiting in line for tenders, use that time to get ready and eat breakfast (the dining room will be less stressful than the buffet). By the time you're fed and ready to go, you will probably be able to just walk on to a tender. We do this everytime...no stress and keeps everyone smiling. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gquest Posted February 3, 2005 #7 Share Posted February 3, 2005 On the Conquest, ship tours will meet in one location (like the Dega Lounge) and others will meet somewhere else (like the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge). If you are on a ship tour after 9:30 or 10am, you fall into the other category and have to make your own way to the dock. Two tenders will load at a time - when I was on the Conquest last November, they used the whopper sized tenders that hold lots of people. On the Conquest, they hand out tender stickers, not tickets. The stickers are numbered in groups 1,2,3... They will board by groups. For example they will call groups 1 and 2. They start handing out the tender stickers at 7:15am (+/-) and if you are ready to go and get stickers at 7:15-7:30, you will probably be onshore by 8 or 8:15. Or you can try to wing it and just walk down to Deck 0 without a tour ticket or tender sticker and try to walk on a tender. It often works, but a large group would be suspicious. zydecocruiser, I will be on the Valor 6, 2005 and I have booked a tour with NativeWays. The excursion time is 10:30 am and the ship apparently gets there at 9:00 am. Does this give me enough time to get off the ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zydecocruiser Posted February 3, 2005 #8 Share Posted February 3, 2005 zydecocruiser, I will be on the Valor 6, 2005 and I have booked a tour with NativeWays. The excursion time is 10:30 am and the ship apparently gets there at 9:00 am. Does this give me enough time to get off the ship? March 6 sailing? I sure hope you have enough time, because I'm scheduled to do the same thing two weeks later! Meeting time is 10:15, so I plan on being ready to go and geting a tender sticker around 9:15. I may be a little early, but oh well, I haven't missed a tour yet. If I want breakfast, I'll probably pick up some on the Lido deck and bring back to the cabin. Room service is another option. I wouldn't tell Carnival this, but I might also have a sandwich/cookies/whatever delivered, put it in a ziplock bag and have a snack on the tour or perhaps just after. If I'm running late, plan B will be to "adopt" a group that is boarding a tender. I haven't been on the Valor before so there may be other options. One good thing is that the port stop at Belize is before Grand Cayman and is a tender port also. That will allow a preview of how organized tendering is on Valor. 9am is the correct arrival time - at least until daylight savings time. Not sure what Valor will do then. Valor has only been to GC 3 times - was late the first time, but pretty much on time the next two. Next week will be the 4th visit. If the ship is late (could happen with any of them) and I (you?) miss the tour, my plan will still be to tender ASAP and see which stingray tours I can pick up on shore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseMark Posted February 3, 2005 #9 Share Posted February 3, 2005 We were thinking of doing the Stingray Sandbar with a private tour. Any suggestions on which company to go with? Also, I am a little worried about getting sea sick on a "smaller" boat, so would a Catamaran be better?? Sunnymom02 I highly recommend Nativeway Watersports (http://www.nativewaywatersports.com) . They're very friendly, professional and fun. You get a much more personalized tour with them compared to the ships tour, and at half the price! While their boat is smaller than the monstrosities used by the ships tour, my wife and daughter, who get motion sick pretty easily, had absolutely no problem with it. You'll have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gquest Posted February 3, 2005 #10 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I highly recommend Nativeway Watersports (http://www.nativewaywatersports.com) . They're very friendly, professional and fun. You get a much more personalized tour with them compared to the ships tour, and at half the price! While their boat is smaller than the monstrosities used by the ships tour, my wife and daughter, who get motion sick pretty easily, had absolutely no problem with it. You'll have a great time! How long did NativeWays wait for you guys? Did they leave at the exact time they said they were going to leave? I am booked with them and worried about missing the tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseMark Posted February 3, 2005 #11 Share Posted February 3, 2005 How long did NativeWays wait for you guys? Did they leave at the exact time they said they were going to leave? I am booked with them and worried about missing the tour. Eldon waited for about 20 minutes because he had a name on a reservation that wasn't showing up. Finally, we left after the tenders coming in were pretty much empty so he figured the people had changed their mind. Don't worry, as long as they know which ship you're coming in on, they'll be there for you. They do this every day and have it down to a science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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