Disembarking For Private Excursions

[CruiserKelly211]

Hi All

My husband and I will be on Star Breeze on March 11th in Costa Rica and are planning to do some excursions on our own. I am wondering what times to schedule them at to give us enough time to get off the boat. Is it true that individuals with ship sponsored tours get priority? Any help would be appreciated!

[6rugrats]

Yes, people with ship sponsored tours will get off first. This isn't a problem if you are docked, but it can be if you're waiting for a tender.

 

It's helpful to let reception know that you have a private tour, and what time you need to leave. They actually took us in a Zodiac to the dock, as the tender was full and we needed to get to our tour.

[CruiserKelly211]

Thanks so much for your help!

[Rileyroo]

I had the same issue recently in St. Lucia where we had a private tour booked for a specific time. I went to the reception desk to ask about it and was told simply to show up in the morning and hope for a tender at the time we needed. It turns out that the only ship-sponsored excursion leaving at the time we needed to get off the ship had just a handful of people on it so we got on the tender no problem. At another port, however, there was quite a line of non-excursion people wanting to get off, so after the excursioners got to get on the tender first, only a few of the people waiting made it on. So I guess you never know. For what it's worth, I didn't see anyone offering to take people independently via zodiac on our trip.

 

We did Costa Rica a few years ago (the all Costa Rica itinerary, not the Panama Canal one), and from what I recall, a few of the ports were accessed as a wet landing via zodiac instead of by tender.

[milepig]

I had the same issue recently in St. Lucia where we had a private tour booked for a specific time. I went to the reception desk to ask about it and was told simply to show up in the morning and hope for a tender at the time we needed. It turns out that the only ship-sponsored excursion leaving at the time we needed to get off the ship had just a handful of people on it so we got on the tender no problem. At another port, however, there was quite a line of non-excursion people wanting to get off, so after the excursioners got to get on the tender first, only a few of the people waiting made it on. So I guess you never know. For what it's worth, I didn't see anyone offering to take people independently via zodiac on our trip.

 

We did Costa Rica a few years ago (the all Costa Rica itinerary, not the Panama Canal one), and from what I recall, a few of the ports were accessed as a wet landing via zodiac instead of by tender.

 

And we had one port in Costa Rica where the sea was so high they couldn't get the tenders off for hours, after getting the first couple loads to shore. Bunches of us missed out on our WS tours, and we got refunds. The people who had booked private tours were on their own.

 

But, again, this is only an issue when tendering. When you're docked they let anyone off at any time, while they're assembling and checking off the actual tour groups people on their own are free to just walk off.

[Pudgesmom]

As an aside, it is a good idea to verify with the private operator what their refund policy is if the ship does not arrive or is not on time.