Does anyone else skip port stops that require tenders?

[montgomeryfamily]

Sometimes not being able to tender is not a choice that the passenger makes. Princess does not allow you to tender if you cannot walk onto the tender, i.e, in a wheelchair, regardless of the weather or sea conditions. Unlike their sister cruise line, Holland America, Princess has not chosen to install and use a mechanical tendering system for wheelchairs, not even for their newest ship. In addition, unlike Royal Caribbean, Princess also does not have special tenders which allow wheelchairs to roll on at ports such as their private islands and Grand Cayman. So when we want to have an opportunity to go ashore, we take one of the other cruise lines which (weather and sea conditions permitting) accommodates those who cannot walk onto the tender.

[pablo222]

Sometimes not being able to tender is not a choice that the passenger makes. Princess does not allow you to tender if you cannot walk onto the tender, i.e, in a wheelchair, regardless of the weather or sea conditions.

 

They used to. I know 5-10 years ago, I have seen people in wheel

chairs in both princess tenders, and the big shoreside tenders they

use in some ports.

 

Somebody probably sued the cruise line, with the consequence

of no wheelchair tendering for anyone.

[montgomeryfamily]

We have been cruising Princess since before they were purchased by Carnival Corp, and I agree that they used to allow people in wheelchairs to tender. But about three years ago they ceased allowing it. There was no big announcement. We found out when at the tender platform to get off at Princess Cays, something we had done many times before. Seas were calm and weather great, but were told by the head of Security that Princess didn't allow anymore. We had reserved a bungelow and had actually discussed the specific assignment with the ship shore excursion desk in order to make certain we had one of the bungelows which had no step and was right off of the sidewalk, with a beach wheelchair reserved to get to the unit through the small strip of sand. We had to go back to the shore excursion desk and get a refund since we weren't allow to get off with the wheelchair.

 

For a long time, there wasn't anything about not being able to tender with a wheelchair in the Princess policy, but it has since been added. (However, Princess still collects the port charges from those for whom tendering is denied.)

 

Holland America has a mechanical tendering system which Princess purchase and use. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity still provide assistance for those in manual wheelchairs to tender and for certain ports which have the special tenders where wheelchairs can just roll on, even the electric wheelchairs are allowed. Disney also provides tendering assistance. I'm sure other cruise lines do too, we just don't have any recent experience on the other lines in regard to wheelchair tendering.

[lynwar]

We tendered in on our very first cruise with friends and it was a more open vessel. It was in the Western Caribbean. I didn't mind it at all. We've tendered many times but the more we have traveled to the same area, the less inclined I AM to bother with it, especially if the weather is questionable. I sit and watch them and think they are bobbing too much, then I'll skip the ride. I must add that it's primarily been at Princess Cays.

 

Plus, I will go on to say that we wouldn't cancel a cruise because of tendering into a port or two. It's not the tenders, it's the logistics of finally getting on one. And, we would tend to wait until later, after all the early bird ticket holders are gone and we can get right on.

We'll be on the Royal Princess in a couple of weeks and I don't think there will be tender ports, except for Princess Cays, again.

 

Lynne

[Posaune]

Thank you for posting my photo Carbill! I was about to and glad you had done so. This was a tender back to the ship from Guernsey. The trip into Guernsey was smooth, the trip back quite rough. No one was allowed on top because of the conditions, so tendering took a long time.