Priority boarding status for tenders

[notentirelynormal]

I'm curious as to what causes some ships to have it take hours for passengers to disembark? I've heard people say it happens, but no clue as to what has caused it.

 

We were traveling from Tahiti to Hawaii. At Christmas Island the water was extremely shallow and had a lot of coral. First, guys had to come from the island and THEY drove the tenders. Even being familiar with the beach, coral and water they needed two guys. One was driving, the other was giving directions. The tenders could only be half loaded because otherwise the tender would be too low in the water. We were lucky to get on the first tender.

 

The next few tenders were being set aside for a large group. They were straggling to get there so a few people (like us) just went down anyway.

 

Also, if you need to tender, people who bought ship tours go first.

 

Apparently Christmas Island only gets around 6 or so ships a year as it is a very secluded location. The best part of that though, Princess personnel quietly and out of sight from most cruisers were bringing school supplies and a bunch of other things to the people. They weren't doing it for show. It was awesome to see.

[jennybenny]

We were traveling from Tahiti to Hawaii. At Christmas Island the water was extremely shallow and had a lot of coral. First, guys had to come from the island and THEY drove the tenders. Even being familiar with the beach, coral and water they needed two guys. One was driving, the other was giving directions. The tenders could only be half loaded because otherwise the tender would be too low in the water. We were lucky to get on the first tender.

 

The next few tenders were being set aside for a large group. They were straggling to get there so a few people (like us) just went down anyway.

 

Also, if you need to tender, people who bought ship tours go first.

 

Apparently Christmas Island only gets around 6 or so ships a year as it is a very secluded location. The best part of that though, Princess personnel quietly and out of sight from most cruisers were bringing school supplies and a bunch of other things to the people. They weren't doing it for show. It was awesome to see.

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing.

I had suspected that delays would be caused from "special circumstances", and not a norm.

 

That's awesome that Princess personnel were bringing things for people ashore.

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

Our Hawaiian cruise on the Star ending last week gave letters to elite level passengers stating we needed to go to the dining room for a Lahaina tender priority ticket. The reason was because there were about 350 elite passengers (14%) however when we arrived at 0745 (tendering began at 0700) we were given a gold card to immediately go to the tender.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[jennybenny]

Our Hawaiian cruise on the Star ending last week gave letters to elite level passengers stating we needed to go to the dining room for a Lahaina tender priority ticket. The reason was because there were about 350 elite passengers (14%) however when we arrived at 0745 (tendering began at 0700) we were given a gold card to immediately go to the tender.

 

 

 

No way!! That's terrible

We did Hawaii for Christmas 2 years ago and the tenders were no problem

That kind of delay makes it look like there is a need for a more efficient way to tender. Maybe they didn't have as many tenders as they normal do?

 

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

No way!! That's terrible

We did Hawaii for Christmas 2 years ago and the tenders were no problem

That kind of delay makes it look like there is a need for a more efficient way to tender. Maybe they didn't have as many tenders as they normal do?

 

I don't know why that was the situation because weather & sea conditions were good. It might have been a result of having an inexperienced CC hostess who has only been on the job for less than 2 years. I don't know what she would've done on our Royal's inaugural TA with about 1,250 elite level passengers. :p

 

She was very friendly & helpful but also had problems scheduling the Captain's Circle parties which conflicted with dining times. On other cruises early TD passengers had the party before dinner but ours was after a rushed dinner.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Mary Ann 2]

One time we were late getting into port. People had started lining up at the original time to go ashore in tenders. By the time we arrived and started tendering, the line was up the stairs from tender dock level and on Plaza deck was wound around Plaza and all the way to the forward elevators!! It was a mess. After we found the end of the line all the way to the elevators, we gave up and went back to our room and waited several hours until it abated.

[Corfe Mixture]

Our Hawaiian cruise on the Star ending last week gave letters to elite level passengers stating we needed to go to the dining room for a Lahaina tender priority ticket. The reason was because there were about 350 elite passengers (14%) however when we arrived at 0745 (tendering began at 0700) we were given a gold card to immediately go to the tender.

 

We had something similar on Dawn last month but on the first of our B2B we were told at the Captain's Circle reception that there were 70 Elites which suggests that it is a general policy, rather than a function of the number of Elites, to have everyone go to the dining room.

 

What happened to us was that as we innocently went to go directly to the tender boarding area, we were stopped at the top of the stairway and sent to the dining room to get a tender ticket.

 

In fact we weren't actually given a tender ticket. What happened when we arrived at the dining room was that we were told to take a seat near the door. Then, when they were ready for the next tender, they first called for Elite and Suite passengers and, after they had counted them, they called a specific range of individually numbered tender passes (e.g they called tender passes numbered 79 to 140).

 

All in all, it seemed to be a serious attempt to maximise the use of the tenders as what happened was that tender tickets were not group tickets (as they were when we last had to get tender tickets) but individually numbered tickets enabling them to send down an accurate count.

 

The potential disadvantage for Elite and Suite passengers is that one can no longer join a group of ship's tour passengers as they are taken to the tender meaning that, if they decide not to call any tender groups until all the tours have gone, Elite and Suite passengers are not going to get called until they have got the ship's tours away!!

 

Having said that, it did appear to us that no ship's tours were ready to depart by the time the first tenders were called.

 

We did notice a family group of four people slip into our tender group as it was passing through the atrium on the way to the stairway and they succeeded in jumping the line as passes were not checked at the top of the stairway.

 

This did cause a bit of a problem as, when we got to the tender, they struggled to find seats for everyone, but it all got sorted. Having said that, had we had a situation where more than just a few had slipped into the group, then some folks would probably have had to wait for the next tender.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Corfe Mixture

[X1HYCB]

Princess excursions have priority on the first tenders. You'll probably be directed to meet in the Princess theater with others on your tour. When there's space on the tender, you'll be led there and board. Relatively painless. If you do book a Princess tour, the time to meet is usually the time everyone should be there so there isn't a delay. I usually go 10-15 minutes before the tour meeting time.

The Elites (black cards) also have priority for embarkation and debarkation.

[caribill]

The Elites (black cards) also have priority for embarkation and debarkation.

 

But no priority for tenders going back to the ship from shore.

[floridalover5623]

But no priority for tenders going back to the ship from shore.

Maybe that'll be the next money maker for Princess.....selling priority return tender trips. ;)

[2pbears]

I'm curious as to what causes some ships to have it take hours for passengers to disembark? I've heard people say it happens, but no clue as to what has caused it.

 

I've only traveled on Alaskan, Hawaiian, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, and California Coastal cruises and never experienced a "long debarkation" for the tenders. I think max we've had to wait is 20 minutes? Granted, I have not cruised the world, but what and where has these delays?

Just curious, as we've never experienced that. I would want to be prepared for that, should it happen in certain ports. or is it emergency situations that cause the problem? No idea. :)

 

 

We had a 90 minute wait for a tender at Catalina Island on our most recent Coastal Cruise. I believe the ship arrived in port around 7 AM. Since we had been to Catalina before we had a leisurely breakfast and headed down to catch a tender between 9:30 and 10. Apparently everyone else on the ship had the same idea and we were told that it would be at least 90 minutes. They passed out numbers until they ran out of numbers. Princess even put a couple of additional tenders in service to accommodate the crowd but as they said, if everyone decides to leave the ship at the same time it's going to create delays. Doesn't happen often, but it can happen.

[dizlove]

One of the best things I ever did on the CB was to book a bungalow at princess cay. Not that the bungalow was so great but This gave us priority tender status. We were on one of the first tenders over to the island. There we got to pick our bungalow. The back up for tenders was hours long on board. But, as mentioned above there is NO priority to tender back to the ship. We waited in the sun in line for an hour to get on a tender back. Next time... I'm staying on board the ship at PC!

 

 

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[jennybenny]

One of the best things I ever did on the CB was to book a bungalow at princess cay. Not that the bungalow was so great but This gave us priority tender status. We were on one of the first tenders over to the island. There we got to pick our bungalow. The back up for tenders was hours long on board. But, as mentioned above there is NO priority to tender back to the ship. We waited in the sun in line for an hour to get on a tender back. Next time... I'm staying on board the ship at PC!

 

 

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We are getting a bungalow on our next cruise.

Just curious about the delay back on board. Did the ship leave Princess Cays late because of the delay?

 

 

 

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[dizlove]

We are getting a bungalow on our next cruise.

Just curious about the delay back on board. Did the ship leave Princess Cays late because of the delay?

 

 

 

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I do not think there was a delay in departure. They figure all that into the all aboard time. But after BBQ lunch and time in the sun , everyone wants to go back at the same time.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

We always get there early, eat lunch when they open & don't stay much longer or face long lines going back. If you want to hang around till 2-3 before starting back to the ship, prepare to wait.

[cherylandtk]

I'm curious as to what causes some ships to have it take hours for passengers to disembark? I've heard people say it happens, but no clue as to what has caused it...Granted, I have not cruised the world, but what and where has these delays? Just curious, as we've never experienced that.

These sorts of delays tend to happen when there are other factors in play which limit tender operations; such as being a longer distance ride to the port, or being limited by the port as to how many tenders can be in use. Both of these happen in the Falkland Islands, and everyone on the ship is warned to expect lengthy lines and waits that morning. IIRC, Santorini is another.

[jennybenny]

We always get there early, eat lunch when they open & don't stay much longer or face long lines going back. If you want to hang around till 2-3 before starting back to the ship, prepare to wait.

 

 

 

Good to know thanks!

 

 

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[jennybenny]

I do not think there was a delay in departure. They figure all that into the all aboard time. But after BBQ lunch and time in the sun , everyone wants to go back at the same time.

 

 

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Thank you

It's better to be prepared on these situations

 

 

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[caribill]

One of the best things I ever did on the CB was to book a bungalow at princess cay. Not that the bungalow was so great but This gave us priority tender status. We were on one of the first tenders over to the island. There we got to pick our bungalow. The back up for tenders was hours long on board. But, as mentioned above there is NO priority to tender back to the ship. We waited in the sun in line for an hour to get on a tender back. Next time... I'm staying on board the ship at PC!

 

 

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Looking towards the front of the line at Princess Cays

 

 

 

And look towards the back of the line from the same position in line

 

[upwarduk]

I'm curious as to what causes some ships to have it take hours for passengers to disembark? I've heard people say it happens, but no clue as to what has caused it.

 

 

CELEBRITY ECLIPSE 3000+ passengers (2010)

We were delayed getting off the ship by 3 hrs in Split.

The announcement told us to collect our tender tickets when we were ready to get off, which I did. In hindsight, I should have got them before we had our breakfast, as we were tender ticket # 33.

The problem was :

a) the town hadn't provided a tender as promised

b) there was only a very small jetty which only allowed one boat to tie up at a time.

 

 

AZAMARA QUEST 680 passengers (2016)

We tendered in Guernsey last September. No queue for the tender, in fact they were waiting for passengers to fill the tender boat!

The sea looked calm, but we had a bumpy ride from ship to shore. It was much calmer on our return.

[easyboy]

Looking towards the front of the line at Princess Cays

 

Wow, never experienced this kind of long line. Probably since we leave just after the bbq lunch. Thanks.

[UT-Volsfan]

Depending on the number of Elites on board, don't plan on getting any priority getting to the tenders. Our last two cruises had almost 1,000 Elites on board and they cancelled the benefit for all of us.

 

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[floridalover5623]

Depending on the number of Elites on board, don't plan on getting any priority getting to the tenders. Our last two cruises had almost 1,000 Elites on board and they cancelled the benefit for all of us.

 

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What? They usually only make the Elites go to the dining room to join the crowd, not cancel the perk.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks Pam. I just signed on for a guernsey Princess tour. [emoji16]

 

 

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Another reason booking a Princess tour in Guernsey is a good idea - you may miss the port. We did and it happens pretty often from what I've heard. For us, the wind was too bad and there was an approaching storm. So, we anchored off the coast for most of the day. Some private tours will not reimburse you the deposit you've paid ahead of time and some will. We were lucky that ours did.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Also, that's right about the long lines to return to the ship via tender. In Kirkwall, the line was massive. Instead of being two people wide, it was 5 or 6 people wide and really long. I think we spent a good hour waiting in line to get back on the ship. To make it seem shorter, I had fun talking with the other passengers around me about what they did for the day. ;)