how long does it take to tender in GC?

[nikimouse]

hi im a little bit worried about getting off the ship in time for an excursion at 8.45 that we booked independantly. If the people who booked excursions via the ship get priority, realistically what time can I expect to be off the ship? we dock at 8am in grand cayman. Thanks . I would like to know what peoples expirience of tendering in grand cayman was and what time they were called to tender. If we miss the excursion I guess we will just go to seven mile beach

[vols_159]

Our ship last week as well as 4 others from different lines missed that stop last week.. Sea is to rought and very high winds this time of yr.. Good luck in stopping..

[bakerintn]

If you are scheduled to anchor at 8am I would not count on being ashore before 9:30...and then you will probably have to walk somewhere to meet up with your excursion. They don't start the tenders as soon as the anchor is down...they have some clearance work to do with the local authorities. Get in line about 15 minutes before the tender tickets are supposed to be handed out (one person can get them all for your group) and get in line for the tender...you may even get the first or second one if you husstle.

 

The excursion people all know the ship schedules, but if you booked an excursion that also serves the hotels, like the full day sting ray excursion, they won't wait.

 

You might want to consider a half day excursion instead.

[roger001]

The tenders are commercial tenders, not the life boats, and are fairly large holding a large quanity of people. The ride to the dock is about 10 minutes. You might be cutting it close. However, the tour operators understand the schedule and the way tendering works. I would not think they would book tours that cannot be made.

[nikimouse]

im sorry to hear you missed that stop! I hope when I sail in march we have better weather but even if we do make it, I think we still could miss our excursion anyway :( I hope someone who made it to grand cayman and managed to get off the ship early can chime in and help reassure me that my day can go as planned. is the tendering process chaotic or well organised ? worst case scenario I get the last tender ticket, what time may that be? There is another excursion I am interested in on jetskis to stingray city and its at 11am, so im wondering if I should reserve this instead.

[nikimouse]

If you are scheduled to anchor at 8am I would not count on being ashore before 9:30...and then you will probably have to walk somewhere to meet up with your excursion. They don't start the tenders as soon as the anchor is down...they have some clearance work to do with the local authorities. Get in line about 15 minutes before the tender tickets are supposed to be handed out (one person can get them all for your group) and get in line for the tender...you may even get the first or second one if you husstle.

 

The excursion people all know the ship schedules, but if you booked an excursion that also serves the hotels, like the full day sting ray excursion, they won't wait.

 

You might want to consider a half day excursion instead.

 

Thats what I was worried about, I did email the tour operator with my concerns about tendering and they said as long as i get in line early i will get off, but now im finding out about them allocating tickets with tendering times on them, so I am concerned that I wont be given an early time . The excursion is 5.5 hrs long and goes to stingrays, snorkeling, and rum point. I think I might reserve the jetski excursion instead at 11am for 2 hrs, just to be on the safe side. thanks

[Corby114]

Depending on the amount of ships at Grand Cayman you shouldn't have a problem making your excursion. The ship usually has at least three tenders running back and forth and the trip is less than five minutes. If there are many ships in that day lifeboats from the ship are used as tenders. Make sure you arrive at least fifteen minutes before they start handing out tender tickets and you most likely won't have a problem. The Grand Cayman Port Authority will only stop tender operations if the weather conditions are severe. They lose alot of tourist dollars if port operations have to be cancelled.

[nikimouse]

Thanks corby114 ! thats good news, I will be in line early and make the most of my day. Can you pick a time to return? or does early arrival mean an earlier departure too?

[Family Travel Story]

Our ship last week as well as 4 others from different lines missed that stop last week.. Sea is to rought and very high winds this time of yr.. Good luck in stopping..

 

Last year, we almost missed GC. The seas were so rough that the ship could not anchor and tender in the normal spot. The Captain decided to anchor off the opposite side of the island. We had to take buses to town and all water activities were cancled. I wounder if this is a common issue there.

 

We have been 5 times, and never actaully missed it though.

[Corby114]

You can return to the ship at your leisure. Tender operations normally stop thirty minutes prior to the ships scheduled departure.. Most passengers return to the ship with plenty of time before departure.