tender questions

[herbanrenewal]

I'm organizing a private tour with 20 others from my roll call in Akaroa, NZ. I want to try to get everyone into the tender port at the same time to meet with our tour guide. We have an all day tour but the sooner we get off the ship the more we will see.

 

I've been on a private tour that a suite passenger arranged. He got Michaels club access to next tender for all of us. If we happen to have a suite passenger is this a common occurrence or did he have a special arrangement? Is there a limit? I think he got 16 of us escorted to next tender.

 

If Elite or higher, how many tickets can an individual get? I'm not sure if we can get more than just for our stateroom. I'm sure there are several who are new to cruising so we all wont have priority availability.

 

I don't think all of us will need to be in line but not sure how many we will need to get tickets for all of us if our only option is standing in line for earliest possible tickets How many tickets can an individual get for tenders?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me for earliest possible start for a private tour.

[CruisingChick]

If Elite or higher, how many tickets can an individual get? I'm not sure if we can get more than just for our stateroom. I'm sure there are several who are new to cruising so we all wont have priority availability.

 

Each Elite, Elite+ or higher Captain's Club member gets priority tender. There are no tickets. You will meet the Captain's Club host(ess) in a pre determined location and they will escort you when the next tender is available. I assume if you are in a suite and not Elite or higher Captain's Club member your can get off by going to Michael's Club. Since we have never sailed in a suite I do not know exactly what the procedure would be.

[Xport]

Suggest you discuss the possibility of priority tendering for your tour group with the onboard Captain's Club Host[ess] early in your cruise... He/she may be able to accommodate you; under similar circumstances [i did happen to know the Captain's Club Host well from prior sailings], I was able to secure priority tendering for a private tour I organized [coincidentally, also in Akaroa during 2013]...

 

When making your request, you should be prepared to tell the Captain's Club Host[ess] the exact level of help that you'll need [ie; How large is your tour group in total? How many people in your group are eligible for priority tendering by virtue of their own Captain's Club status and/or by virtue of occupying a suite with priority tender privileges?] so as to know, by difference, exactly how much accommodation is needed...

 

Keeping in mind that first priority is given to those doing Celebrity-offered tours [understandably, X's "bread and butter"] and that there will be others with [perhaps higher] priority, I would not necessarily expect that your entire group--if helped--will be able to all travel ashore on the same tender... If that is the case, have your group members meet you at the tender dock once ashore [it's a very compact area]...

 

In my case it all worked out well but, personally, I no longer organize private tours at tender ports...

[Miaminice]

Exceptions are made if you ask nicely if they´d let a family member or another (non Elite etc.) couple join you in priority.

20 people (!) no way! And rightly so - just imagine you´d be the one waiting and they would sqeeze 20 people in in front of you ;)

[jelayne]

Xports suggestion to have the info on how many Elite/Elite+ or Suite guests in your group is quite important. I did a tour for 19 in a tender port, in my case there were 14 who were either Elite/+ or in a Suite so I was only asking for assistance for 5 and the Captains Club Hostess accommodated us.

[gold1953]

last cruise we used our elite priority and the CC host allowed us 2 people only to go with us . So many people want early tenders for all day tours so this may or may not work. Don't plan too early as ships tours go first and their can be many people . We had rough sees so the tenders were slow and very late getting off

[herbanrenewal]

Xports suggestion to have the info on how many Elite/Elite+ or Suite guests in your group is quite important. I did a tour for 19 in a tender port, in my case there were 14 who were either Elite/+ or in a Suite so I was only asking for assistance for 5 and the Captains Club Hostess accommodated us.

 

Thanks Xports and jelayne, that is the kind of helpful info I was counting on!

[pl281]

We were recently on Reflection and tendered in one port.... one thing I noticed is that they actually had 2 different tender lanes going....one for the excursions and one for everyone else.... now I don't know if it was that way from the start or after X period but it seemed like it was from the start