Tenders

[Suds70]

I have been reading that you have to have a ticket for the tenders to leave the ship. Where do you get these?

[sunshine100]

Not sure if every ship is the same, but last week we were on Royal and we had to go to a dining room, get a ticket, and we sat for maybe 10 minutes, then our number was called and we proceeded down to the gangway as a group. very simple and organized!

[Ronnie1a]

They will tell you well in advance which room to go to. It will be 1st come 1st served when you go in. But, be ready to go with whatever you are taking with you. Very doubtful you will have time to go back to your room to pick anything up.

[paul929207]

It will be either a dining room or a lounge. It will be in the Patter. Numbered tickets are distributed as people arrive. One to a person, so you cannot pick up tickets for others in your party.

 

BTW, the tickets are only needed if you are going ashore on your own. Princess tours meet as indicated in the Patter and are led to a tender by the shore-ex staff

[san diego sue]

If you are leaving ship after the big crowd, you won't need a ticket. Usually it is announced but if not go to the area where people are told to get ticket and check first.

Getting back on, no ticket required.

[Kamloops50]

Keep in mind that people on ship excursions have priority over the rest of the passengers . A similar system is in place for ship excursions when docked.

[waltd]

Also Elite passengers do not have to have a ticket. Simply present your Elite cruise card directly at the tender embarkation area. You will then join any remaining passengers and board the tender as soon as it is clear to embark, and will not need to wait with other passengers in the lounge area. So no strange looks please. :)

[Suds70]

Thanks everyone for the information

[riclop]

I have been reading that you have to have a ticket for the tenders to leave the ship. Where do you get these?

They will let you know.

[FritzG]

Keep in mind that people on ship excursions have priority over the rest of the passengers . A similar system is in place for ship excursions when docked.

 

On the Jan. 18th Ruby the tour we originally booked for Grand Cayman required us to meet on the dock with no priority for the tenders. We cancelled the tour for another reason, but I was glad we didn't have to fight the crowds to get to the dock in time.

[satxdiver]

On the Jan. 18th Ruby the tour we originally booked for Grand Cayman required us to meet on the dock with no priority for the tenders. We cancelled the tour for another reason, but I was glad we didn't have to fight the crowds to get to the dock in time.

 

That is strange indeed. Every time I have booked a ship shore tour and a tender was involved, we went to the theater where they put us in groups and took us to the tender at the appropriate time. We then met out tour on the pier. I have never seen a ship shore tour have to fend for themselves.

[paul929207]

On the Jan. 18th Ruby the tour we originally booked for Grand Cayman required us to meet on the dock with no priority for the tenders. We cancelled the tour for another reason, but I was glad we didn't have to fight the crowds to get to the dock in time.

That seems strange to me too. Unless it was scheduled to start several hours after arrival and tickets were no longer needed for the tenders?

[thinfool]

On the Jan. 18th Ruby the tour we originally booked for Grand Cayman required us to meet on the dock with no priority for the tenders. We cancelled the tour for another reason, but I was glad we didn't have to fight the crowds to get to the dock in time.

 

We had a private excursion booked for the 1/4 Ruby. We got our tickets, number 1, no less, and were ashore as early as the first 'ships tours' tenders.

 

Seems that the ship was loading tenders from two locations. One for ships excursions and one for general tendering.

 

The only thing that slowed things down while we were waiting to go board the tender was the Princess logisitics in setting up the tender location alongside the ship. Even then there were no problems, it just took the time that it took.

[caribill]

That is strange indeed. Every time I have booked a ship shore tour and a tender was involved, we went to the theater where they put us in groups and took us to the tender at the appropriate time. We then met out tour on the pier. I have never seen a ship shore tour have to fend for themselves.

 

That seems strange to me too. Unless it was scheduled to start several hours after arrival and tickets were no longer needed for the tenders?

 

Exactly. Excursions that start on shore in the late morning (assuming early arrival) and in the afternoon meet on shore.

 

This allows those who want to do another on-shore activity before the excursion do so without having to return to the ship.

[Forester Gump]

This is my first trip on Princess. Curious how long of a wait it would be to get a tender if you don't have a booked excursion. I'm looking at booking some activity on shore, but I only have 1 hr between arrival and departure of the private booking. Do I have time?

[Pam in CA]

This is my first trip on Princess. Curious how long of a wait it would be to get a tender if you don't have a booked excursion. I'm looking at booking some activity on shore, but I only have 1 hr between arrival and departure of the private booking. Do I have time?

It all depends. You should be at the assigned location to pick up tender tickets as early as you can. Generally, tenders start running within a half hour of arrival time. It takes time to lower tenders, set up the shore landing site, set up the tender platforms and gangways on the ship, etc. Even if you're on the first tender, it takes 10-15 minutes to load the tender. Then, it depends on how long it takes to get to shore. Some tender rides are 10-15 minutes, some 20-25 minutes. Plus time to disembark and get to your meeting site. The process is the same no matter what cruise line you take.

[rkmw]

This is my first trip on Princess. Curious how long of a wait it would be to get a tender if you don't have a booked excursion. I'm looking at booking some activity on shore, but I only have 1 hr between arrival and departure of the private booking. Do I have time?

 

they have a time in the princess patter to meet in the dining room when they start handing out tender tickets so if you require an early start get there early and get your ticket

[ldubs]

The tender ticketing is a way for Princess to manage the early rush hour traffic. IMO, the tender tickets are a good idea as they do a decent job of addressing the early morning crowds. Typically an announcement is made before too long that the tenders are wide open and the tickets are no longer needed.

 

Just to clarify if it wasn't clear in earlier posts, go for the tickets when you and your entire party are ready to leave, as they will queue your group for the next available tender. In other words, don't collect tickets early in the morning with the idea of using them later in the day.