Med cruise with no tendering??

[kimanjo]

A friend of mine wants to take an Oceania Med cruise, but does not want any of the ports to use tenders.

 

I searched I think most, if not all itineraries on the "R" ships, and all have a tender or two.

 

For many of you seasoned cruisers, which if any of the other small ship lines should I start searching? Does this type of itinerary even exist??

 

She is 80, and taking her 76 year old baby sister. I golf with her once or twice a week. In the Memphis heat, no less!

 

She is sharp as a tack, and witty, and fun and down to earth. I'm pretty sure she is not a formal gown type... Does that eliminate Crystal?

 

ANY suggestions would be great!!

 

Thanks so much

[Host Sharon]

Have you looked at Azamara? They have two R ships. The problem may be the fact that being small ships means they can visit more unusual ports than the megaships, but the ports may not have facilities to berth ships.

 

Other small ship lines are Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Voyages to Antiquity

[turnip eater]

Silversea has the Silver Cloud and Silver Wind...they carry approx 292 passengers. They have formal nights, but I believe that there are ways around no dressing up. Room service and dining on the pool deck in the evening......We haven't sailed on Silversea for three years, so please excuse me if the info is a little out of date.:)

[TERRIER1]

Many of the smaller cruise ship lines will have tender ports since they can access these areas. The O ships on Oceania are larger and have less tender ports but are still not mega ships. You still might want to look at those agendas.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Check out the itineraries here: http://www.oceaniacruises.com/ebrochures/default.aspx?src=/emags/2014-Europe-Brochure/index.html

 

Is your friend averse to 7-day sailings? Maybe there are some there.

 

I think there's a 10-day one on Insignia on August 5, 2014 (Mostly Spain, page 65).

 

Perhaps I'm being cynical, but if there's a tender port that is viewed by O to be notoriously rough, it may not end up being a tender port in the end but rather docking at a port nearby (for example, Sorrento/Capri which sometimes docks in Naples (on Azamara, I think I read that Capri is often replaced with a docking port), or Taormina which sometimes docks in Messina, or Villefranche which sometimes docks in Monte Carlo).

 

Could your friend also not just rack up the tender port as an extra sea day? There usually is only one of these in a 10-day port-intensive cruise so she wouldn't really be losing out too much on the ports.

 

Just suggestions for you to consider.:)

[kimanjo]

OP here

 

I have sailed both Oceania and Azamara and checked out O's web site and AZ web site. I could not tell on the AZ site which were tender ports vs docked. Can I assume that since both AZ are "R" ships, they would dock and tender as the O "R" ships do???

 

I looked at the Silversea site for example, but couldnt tell tender vs docked (looking for a indicator type little anchor thingy that Oceania uses).

 

I have sailed the Med 3 times, so I have been to a fair number of ports, so I am familiar with them. For example on the Azamara Quest Monte Carlo stop, we were docked, but I assume that does not always happen, even with the smaller ships?? Sorrento, docked, Portofino, docked, that too, might not happen depending on other ships in port??? Is there a pecking order???

 

What I am now searching is Silversea, Seaborn, and Crystal itineraries, thinking that ships smaller than an R ship, might dock more?

 

And, good suggestion, if I find one with just one tender port, use that as a "sea day".

 

Thanks.

[Paulchili]

What is more important to your friend - absence of tendering or no formal nights?

I would not book Silversea as they ARE formal and why spend that kind of money and eat in your stateroom to avoid the evening's dress code?

OTOH, Silversea and Seabourn seem to get preferential docking locations in many ports (they pay more?) so tendering may be less likely.

I think Oceania is a good choice for your friend in either R or O ships (or even Azamara) - JMO.

[turnip eater]

What is more important to your friend - absence of tendering or no formal nights?

I would not book Silversea as they ARE formal and why spend that kind of money and eat in your stateroom to avoid the evening's dress code?

OTOH, Silversea and Seabourn seem to get preferential docking locations in many ports (they pay more?) so tendering may be less likely.

I think Oceania is a good choice for your friend in either R or O ships (or even Azamara) - JMO.

Not JUST eating in your stateroom, You may eat at the Hot Rocks experience

(pool area, which is smarter in the evening),or in the Terrace

[Paulchili]

Not JUST eating in your stateroom, You may eat at the Hot Rocks experience

(pool area, which is smarter in the evening),or in the Terrace

 

Yes, but then you should return to your cabin as the rest of the ship (entertainment, bars, etc) confirms to the dress code of the night, IIRC - unless things have changed since we last sailed with them.

[wave time]

Why limit your search to R ships. I just returned from a 10 day Med cruise on Riviera and we docked in all ports with no tenders. The ports were Athens, Crete, Haifa, Rhodes, Cyprus, Kusadasi and Istanbul. I have not researched other Med cruises on Riviera or Marina but they may worth looking into. While bigger than the R ships, the O class ships are not Mega-ships or even large ships.

[kuldalai]

All ships calling at Santorini tender . Look at Ocean Princess itineraries (Princess Cruises), Oceania under Regatta, Nautica & Insignia , Azamara has two R class boats . These smaller boats can get into berth at more ports than many of the larger boats.

[kimanjo]

Why limit your search to R ships. I just returned from a 10 day Med cruise on Riviera and we docked in all ports with no tenders. The ports were Athens, Crete, Haifa, Rhodes, Cyprus, Kusadasi and Istanbul. I have not researched other Med cruises on Riviera or Marina but they may worth looking into. While bigger than the R ships, the O class ships are not Mega-ships or even large ships.

 

I was mainly looking at the R ships, because I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that the smaller the ship, the more likely it would dock??

 

I sailed on O Riviera this past May, and we docked 1/2 and 1/2. SHe would really like to go on Oceania.

 

I looked, I think at all Med sailings for Oceania next May, June, and July and all had some tendering.

 

I think I will do what another poster suggested, and find the sailings with the least number of tender ports and suggest those to her...

 

I have to go thru Azamara's list too.

 

Thanks again

[ORV]

I was mainly looking at the R ships, because I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that the smaller the ship, the more likely it would dock??

 

I sailed on O Riviera this past May, and we docked 1/2 and 1/2. SHe would really like to go on Oceania.

 

I looked, I think at all Med sailings for Oceania next May, June, and July and all had some tendering.

 

I think I will do what another poster suggested, and find the sailings with the least number of tender ports and suggest those to her...

 

I have to go thru Azamara's list too.

 

Thanks again

 

Size is not always the determining factor on docking vs tendering. If there are multiple ships in port many times there is not room for all to dock. Then it becomes a matter of seniority, size & money, and other things I have no idea about.

[bobndee]

We went on a Western Mediterranean cruise on Silversea's Silver Cloud 3 years ago. We tendered in Sorrento and St. Tropez. Other ports were docked. Monte Carlo is always a question as to whether the ship will tender or dock, due to limited facilities, I guess.

[cruisecountess]

We just returned from a Black Sea cruise on the Riviera. We were scheduled to have two tender ports, Nessebar, Bulgaria and Mykonos, Greece. Our stop in Mykonos was cancelled due to high winds and strong tides which, for safety reasons, made it impossible for tenders to operate. We left the area, enjoyed an extra sea day, and arrived in Pireus, Greece, our disembarkation point, at 7:00 p.m. Rather than early the next morning. Passengers who wished to get off to wander or take a train into Athens could do so. But, more important to your friend, was the fact that Sevastopol was a scheduled port stop, but the night before we arrived there we were informed that, due to so many ships being in port, we would be tendered in. Last minute changes such as these are not uncommon and your friend needs to be aware of this. Would she be prepared to take a loss for pre-arranged excursions if she elected to cancel in order to avoid the tender?

Harriet