Grand Caymen only tender port???

[EileenN]

We are sailing on April 26th and our first stop is Grand Caymen. We are hearing

on CC roll call that it is a tender port. They say that it is a large tender and I

am using a travelscoot, but will it be easier on a large tender...or is this going to

be another day on board? Anyone know?

[kyriecat]

What cruiseline are you on? Can you walk onto the tender? Can you carry your scooter? That makes a difference since cruiselines have different policies.

 

My mom, who brings a manual wheelchair for cruising, is traveling on Carnival with a stop in Grand Cayman. They have already told her that she cannot get on the tender unless she can walk so it will be a ship day for her. She isn't really happy about it, but she is cruising with friends and this ship/itinerary was their choice.

 

She has been on Princess also and was not allowed on the tender in a wheelchair. Princess's tendering policy online is ambiguous so my mom spoke with their Special Needs department before booking her cruise. At that time, she was told the she would be able to roll onto the tender in her wheelchair if sea conditions were favorable, which seems reasonable. She even called back to verify she could board the tenders after I read a post here that someone else had been told after boarding that wheelchairs were never allowed on Princess tenders, even in calm sea conditions. After boarding her ship, my mom was told the the Special Needs department was wrong and passengers using wheelchairs were never allowed on Princess tenders. She even had a copy of the email they sent, but it did no good. They told her that passengers must be able to walk to board the tender. Scooters and wheelchairs were only allowed if the passenger could carry them onto the tender. My mom had to remain onboard even though they had calm conditions because she cannot walk. She would not have booked the cruise had she been told before booking that she would miss two of the four ports because they required tenders. She will not sail with Princess again, even if no tenders are required, because she feels they deliberately lied to her twice.

 

Royal Caribbean has allowed her to board the tenders in her manual wheelchair in Grand Cayman as well as several other ports. Their policy is passengers using manual wheelchairs are allowed on tenders at the discretion of the captain. I've been told by RC Special Needs that passengers cannot ride scooters or electric wheelchairs onto the tenders, but I have seen it happen. I'm not sure how often they enforce that rule onboard. I have also seen them ask people to get off their scooters and walk onto the tender while a crew member pushed the scooter on.

 

My mom has been denied boarding the tender on RC cruises because sea conditions were bad and it was simply too dangerous. Frankly, the way the tender was bobbing around, it looked dangerous for the able-bodied passengers so both my mom and I agreed with the captain's decision that she should remain onboard. It was disappointing for her to miss a port, but it was for her safety.

 

My mom has a cruise coming up with Celebrity and has been told that they have the same tendering policy as RC. Her cruise isn't supposed to require any tendering, but sometimes that changes if the docks are overbooked.

Edited March 20, 2014 by kyriecat

[xxoocruiser]

We are sailing on April 26th and our first stop is Grand Caymen. We are hearing

on CC roll call that it is a tender port. They say that it is a large tender and I

am using a travelscoot, but will it be easier on a large tender...or is this going to

be another day on board? Anyone know?

 

Yes Grand Cayman is a tendered port.

 

Typically cruise lines used their own life boats as tenders and generally do not allow mobility scooters to board. However the island of Grand Cayman generally provides the tenders for most of the cruise lines and these tenders have roll-on capabilities. So you'll be able to ride the scooter directly on onboard if Grand Caymen has provided the tenders on the day you're in port. Even with sea conditions regardless of whether the tender has roll-on capabilities Scooters can still be prohibited.

 

If Carnival Cruise lines is providing its own tenders (lifeboats) than there is no roll-on capabilities. The Travelscoot will most likely have to be collapsed and you will be required to walk to board the tender.

 

Bottom-line you really won't know if you'll be able ride the scooter on board the tender until you actually arrive in port.

 

Following was copied over directly from Carnival's website regarding tendering :

 

Getting On and Off the Ship:

At certain ports of call, small boats known as "tenders" are used to transport passengers from the ship to shore. Certain tenders may not be accessible to individuals using wheelchairs or mobility scooters, or the status of the tendering process at a particular port under certain weather, sea, swell, current and/or tide conditions may prove difficult for a safe transfer to take place. In each case, it will be the decision of the ship officials to determine, based on their evaluation of safety issues for our guests and crew, whether or not a guest using a wheelchair may board a tender. In order to safely board tenders, guests must be able to take steps and use a collapsible, fold up wheelchair; motorized wheelchairs and mobility scooters cannot be taken on tenders.

Edited March 20, 2014 by xxoocruiser

[kitty9]

I've never been allowed to tender using my scooter on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean for a stop in GC. Not even allowed when they used the larger tenders from GC because they cannot promise that the seas won't become rough at any time, making it impossible for someone in a scooter to tender.

[xxoocruiser]

I've never been allowed to tender using my scooter on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean for a stop in GC. Not even allowed when they used the larger tenders from GC because they cannot promise that the seas won't become rough at any time, making it impossible for someone in a scooter to tender.

 

OP stated that they have a Travelscoot Mobility Scooter. A Travelscoot is collapsible unlike most standard mobility scooters and increases his/her chances of being allowed to take it on board a tender provided the OP is able to walk/up down a few steps to board tender and sea conditions are safe for boarding.

Edited March 20, 2014 by xxoocruiser

[katisdale]

OP stated that they have a Travelscoot Mobility Scooter. A Travelscoot is collapsible unlike most standard mobility scooters and increases his/her chances of being allowed to take it on board a tender provided the OP is able to walk/up down a few steps to board tender and sea conditions are safe for boarding.

 

I own a travelscoot. I have tendered to Grand Cayman twice with my scoot. Both times were on Princess ships. Both times my husband assisted me onto the tender and the crew lifted the scooter. In both directions I was first on and last off. The last time was two or so years ago so it may have changed lately.

[EileenN]

We will be sailing on NCL and tendering scares the wits out of me. I understand they use the larger tenders of Grand Caymen. I'll report back.

[klauer]

I think that Grand Cayman is the most-missed port in the Caribbean due to rough sea conditions which make it unsafe for tendering.

[kyriecat]

I'm not familiar with NCL policies. I found their policy online:

 

Ship Transfers & Tenders

Guests must be aware that certain vessel transfers, such as tendering and gangways, may not be fully accessible to wheelchairs or scooters at the time that they desire or that they cannot go ashore at all. When a ship is unable to dock, guests are taken ashore on smaller boats called tenders. Some guests with limited mobility may find it difficult to embark or disembark the ship at certain times while at dock or while tendering. Note: scooters and wheelchairs and/or guests that weigh 100lbs or more are not allowed to be transferred from the ship to tender and/or from tender to shore.

 

It sounds like you cannot board the tender while riding your scooter. However, they may let you board the tender if you walk on and carry your scooter. It would probably be best to call and verify. The number they have listed for Accessibility Assistance is 866.584.9756.