Tender information

[JLT]

I used to be able to see which ports required the use of  a tender when I searched the HA website.  No more.  Is there any way to find this information that I am missing?  Thanks.

[3rdGenCunarder]

You might have to go to the website for each port to see if the ship will be docked or at anchor. Try cruise timetables or whatsinport. They might link to the port sites. Or just google each port. 

 

I don't think HAL makes that info available anywhere. I just looked at my cruise for next winter, and no tender info is there. I know we tender at HMC, but it doesn't say so on my itinerary. 

[JMAUST]

1 hour ago, JLT said:

I used to be able to see which ports required the use of  a tender when I searched the HA website.  No more.  Is there any way to find this information that I am missing?  Thanks.

Go to the website"WHATS IN PORT" and it will take you to the port site. You will also know which other ships are in port and in many cases at which dock your ship will be moored. It will also tell you if is a tender port.

[MAVIP]

Of course there are enough reasons that you/we wish to know the answer before booking. But FYI:  HAL's booking confirmation mentions all special information incl, "tender required" and "wheelchair required". 

[catl331]

HAL has a list on their website but I have found it to be not always correct:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility/port-tender-list.html

[3rdGenCunarder]

43 minutes ago, catl331 said:

HAL has a list on their website but I have found it to be not always correct:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility/port-tender-list.html

 

The problem with a blanket list like this is that what happens in smaller ports depends on the number of ships.  Sometimes Sitka can be a tender port, sometimes ships dock. Flam in Norway is another. Icy Strait Point, too. I think they probably list all potential tender ports, even if it doesn't always turn out that way. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

Of course there are enough reasons that you/we wish to know the answer before booking. But FYI:  HAL's booking confirmation mentions all special information incl, "tender required" and "wheelchair required". 

 

But you may not get that info on your confirmation if you book with a TA rather than HAL. And I don't like that tender info doesn't show on my voyage personalizer itinerary. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

Of course there are enough reasons that you/we wish to know the answer before booking. But FYI:  HAL's booking confirmation mentions all special information incl, "tender required" and "wheelchair required". 

That used to be the case, but sadly HAL no longer provides that information in either your booking confirmation or in your Cruise Docs.

[palolake]

I can't find that information when you search cruises either.  The lack of information on their website is unacceptable.

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The problem with a blanket list like this is that what happens in smaller ports depends on the number of ships.  Sometimes Sitka can be a tender port, sometimes ships dock. Flam in Norway is another. Icy Strait Point, too. I think they probably list all potential tender ports, even if it doesn't always turn out that way. 

It seems to me that HAL could very easily revamp the list to indicate those that are definite tender ports and those that are potential tender ports.

 

That said, the bigger problem is that HAL really doesn't seem to know. The Trondheim port authority's website shows the Nieuw Statendam as tendering when we visit next month. I wrote to HAL seeking clarification and received no reply, so I wrote to the port authority and they confirmed that we would be at anchor. A member of our roll call raised the issue with her PCC while discussing a number of unrelated items and he said that there was no indication that we would be tendering. I could understand if the cruise was next summer, as schedules that far out are subject to change, but we are only a few weeks off and HAL still doesn't seem to know. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

55 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

It seems to me that HAL could very easily revamp the list to indicate those that are definite tender ports and those that are potential tender ports.

 

That said, the bigger problem is that HAL really doesn't seem to know. The Trondheim port authority's website shows the Nieuw Statendam as tendering when we visit next month. I wrote to HAL seeking clarification and received no reply, so I wrote to the port authority and they confirmed that we would be at anchor. A member of our roll call raised the issue with her PCC while discussing a number of unrelated items and he said that there was no indication that we would be tendering. I could understand if the cruise was next summer, as schedules that far out are subject to change, but we are only a few weeks off and HAL still doesn't seem to know. 

 

Last summer, Prinsendam was supposed to go to Bristol before going to Ireland. The harbor in Bristol is tricky because of the large tidal range. Ships lock into and out of a closed harbor at high tides. A few weeks before the cruise, HAL changed the schedule by adding a call in Ireland before the rest of the Ireland ports, because they realized the timing of the high tides in Bristol (arrive at something like 1 PM and depart after midnight) wouldn't work well with the rest of the schedule. Tide schedules are not subject to change, but HAL didn't think to check until so close to the port call????? 

 

I keep thinking of that old commercial that asked "Is this any way to run an airline?" The answer, of course, was "You bet it is!" So is this any way to run a cruise line...

[MAVIP]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

That used to be the case, but sadly HAL no longer provides that information in either your booking confirmation or in your Cruise Docs.

Recently, in April, I received a HAL booking confirmation. On page 4 (of 18) the list of dates, harbours and times of arrival and departure,  gives the following information (if applicable of course):

Legend

1. Times are subject to Canal Transit
2. Overnight
3. Time subject to Maritime Canal Transit
4. Visum vereist
5. Cruising Only
6. Tender Required
7. Wheelchair Access Limited
8. Times Subject to TIdal Conditions

At the moment I did not check all 4 ports with an upperscript  6 and 7 on the HAL confirmation, but 2 of them have a quay only suitable for tendering.

[MAVIP]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

It seems to me that HAL could very easily revamp the list to indicate those that are definite tender ports and those that are potential tender ports.

 

That said, the bigger problem is that HAL really doesn't seem to know. The Trondheim port authority's website shows the Nieuw Statendam as tendering when we visit next month. I wrote to HAL seeking clarification and received no reply, so I wrote to the port authority and they confirmed that we would be at anchor. A member of our roll call raised the issue with her PCC while discussing a number of unrelated items and he said that there was no indication that we would be tendering. I could understand if the cruise was next summer, as schedules that far out are subject to change, but we are only a few weeks off and HAL still doesn't seem to know. 

It is the only cruise ship on the Trondheim list with no mention of the kai number, but "Reden TRD".  Beats me....TRD is alsoTrondheim airport.... and Reden seems to be "Reason".   Maybe because of the lenght of Arcadia+Nieuw Statendam?, because in July the New Statendam is at kai 68. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

It is the only cruise ship on the Trondheim list with no mention of the kai number, but "Reden TRD".  Beats me....TRD is alsoTrondheim airport.... and Reden seems to be "Reason".   Maybe because of the lenght of Arcadia+Nieuw Statendam?, because in July the New Statendam is at kai 68. 

While last minute changes can occur, port schedules are laid out well in advance and both the cruise lines and port authorities are well aware of them months or longer in before a ship's arrival.  

 

In addition to the NS, there will be four other cruise ships in port. The Arcadia is a P&O cruise ship while the remainder are Norwegian coastal cruise ships. Given the limited dock space and the size of the NS, and as confirmed by the port authority in their email to me and on their website, we were assigned to anchorage months ago. The port authority knows this and anyone with an interest (such as me!) can easily find the information online, so it beggars belief that HAL is either unaware or unwilling to advise its passengers.

 

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

But you may not get that info on your confirmation if you book with a TA rather than HAL. And I don't like that tender info doesn't show on my voyage personalizer itinerary. 

 

2 hours ago, palolake said:

I can't find that information when you search cruises either.  The lack of information on their website is unacceptable.

 

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

That used to be the case, but sadly HAL no longer provides that information in either your booking confirmation or in your Cruise Docs.

 

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

Recently, in April, I received a HAL booking confirmation.... <snip>

I think that @3rdGenCunarder has this right: the information is only available on a HAL booking confirmation. Anyone considering a particular cruise or booking one through a TA simply won't know unless they research the ports somewhere other than on HAL's website.

[Copper10-8]

The ports being mentioned here; Sitka, AK, Icy Strait Point, AK, Flam, Norway and Trondheim, Norway all have nice docks at which cruise ships have no issues going alongside. The potential problems ensue when there is more than one cruise ship calling at the same port. When that happens, the local port authority/harbormaster makes a decision who gets the dock and who gets to tender. That decision is sometimes made 24 hrs or less prior to arrival (at times sooner as appears to be the case with NS in Trondheim) and is not always readily available. Some of the criteria as to who goes where:

 

1. Length of available dock
2. Number of guests on board/who is bigger
3. Arrival and departure time
4. Frequency of calling. (a 7 day ship takes precedence over a 10 day ship)
5. Draft of the ship and the ships length.
6. Harbor fees (some ports go on tonnage, some on ships length, some on number of guests on board)