Eurodam tender in Cabo

[meh56]

First time on HAL and we will be going to Cabo. Can you tell me how HAL handles tendering...Do we need to get a tender ticket or do you just go the the deck to disembark? Also it said we are there at 10a - any idea what time we can disembark?

Seems every cruise line has a different procedure.

Also can you tell me where the tender goes into in Cabo and if there are any benches

in the area. I want to do a little shopping but my husband just wants to sit and wait for me.

I was not sure where to post this as I needed ship information as well as port information.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You are posting in the right area.

People with tours will be told to report to a certain area of the ship if they have early tours. Otherwise they will have to get tender tickets and go ashore to meet their tours there.

Passengers going ashore on their own will report to a place on the ship to get tender tickets -- read your Where and When daily program for the place to get your tender tickets. You will be required to stay in that area until your number is called.

Once ashore there will be places where your husband can sit and wait while you shop -- unless those places were destroyed by a hurricane since we were last there a couple of years ago. And maybe they have not been replaced.

They try to start tendering as soon as they get the ship in place and the tender area set up. It could be early, right at 10 or a little later.

[aa7yy]

I lived on the southern end of Baja for about 5 years. A couple of years ago we stopped there on a cruise, I took the tender in and walked to the first bar I could find. From there I could see Costco, Wal Mart and Home Depot. Every shoppers paradise.:D

[KroozNut]

Depending on anchorage, the tender trip takes about 10 mins each way. Be sure to pay attention to 'last tender back to the ship'.. ;):)

[Copper10-8]

Cabo's tender process usually is a pretty smooth one because it's done so much on a regular/weekly basis. Both the ship's crew and staff on land are used to the routine. Pax on ship/shorex tours usually disembark first and the meeting place will be on the ship, i.e. show lounge, or on the tender pier ashore. Be sure to read your shore excursion ticket! The meeting place will be on there. If you are not on a HAL shorex, so on your own, a. look at the daily program for Cabo (tender instructions will be in there), b. listen to the cruise director at the beginning of the night's prior entertainment in the main show lounge (he/she will give tender instructions for the following morning) and/or c. listen to his/her P/A announcement the morning of Cabo (he/she will repeat those tender instructions).

 

Cruise ships anchored off Cabo will utilise one of three tender operations; a. solely use the ship's tenders (pic #4), b. hire what are known as "Cabo (shore-side) tenders and crew (cap. 55 pax see pic #1, #2 & #3), c. use a combination ship tenders and Cabo tenders. The duration of the tender ride depends entirely on which anchorage your HAL ship will be assigned to (there are four such anchorages in Cabo, numero uno being the closest to the marina) and how many cruise ships will join yours that day. The Cabo tenders are faster than the ship's tenders!

 

On having arrived inside the Cabo marina, your tender (Cabo or ship) will be assigned a muelle/berth (pics #2, #3, & #4) by the ship's security officer or his staff who are already on the tender pier and in communication with the tender drivers. Once safely moored, you disembark the tender and walk up a sloping ramp with railings (see pic #2) to the actual concrete tender pier.

Be advised that Cabo is a Mexican port where Baha Calif Sur state officials and a K-9, a white lab by the name of Alma, will inspect the contents of your purse/bag/mini-refrigerator, etc. for prohibited agricultural products on that pier immediately while coming up that ramp. Once clear and out of that "inspection chute" there are several metal benches for breaks, as well as local tour guides (and ship shorex staff) who will line you up by tour group.

If you've never been there before, Cabo is a very, very touristy and busy place with lots of shopping, cervezas and restaurants. Have a great time!

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

What the tender pier itself looks like with a long line of Princess pax waiting to get back to their ship. HAL's lines (far left) are not long. Benches visible in the center. #2 HAL (Oosterdam) tender off CSL

 

 

[meh56]

Thank you all...great information...loved the photos

[ski ww]

Brings back memories looking at the pictures.

[ZN1300]

The tender docks in the marina as the photo's show. There are beaches within a short walk and all of them are public. Plenty of shopping on shore and plenty of restaurants and bars.

 

One word of caution. A few years ago we were doing a repositioning cruise on the NCL Sun (horrible ship) from Santiago Chile to San Francisco. Since Cabo is popular there can be a number of ships in port. On the pier, tour groups gather and depart. I'm not sure how this happened but someone from our ship joined a shorex from another ship. Our ship was to set sail around 5pm. The other ship was to sail much later. We bobbed around the port for a couple of hours waiting for this confused passenger to return from the wrong excursion. She never did. The ship left without her. Her husband, if I'm not mistaken, was still onboard. No ship, no passport, little money. I don't know how she got back.

Edited October 1, 2018 by ZN1300
grammer

[VennDiagram]

meh56 -- when you are tendering watch for the sea lions that sometimes hitch a ride on other boats (smaller) in the area, on the little open area near the water. :)