How does tender priority work for Elite status?

[CruiseMelissa]

Sailing on Summit next month to Iceland/Greenland with two tender ports.  For the Elite and above priority tendering, do you get a special ticket you have to retrieve beforehand?  Show up to the tenders and just show your room card?  

 

And in the benefits list it says "tender priority service, where available".   Does that mean some ships won't offer priority tendering for Elite and above?  Or just saying that sometimes tender boats aren't used on a cruise?

 

Thanks!

[dazey]

When we had to tender to Martha's Vineyard off the Summit in April or May we as Elite were told to meet in the MDR where we were provided beverages and snacks until tendering was started.  Seemed like we were called to board the tender quickly once tendering started.  I cannot recall how we found out about this whether it was in the daily flyer or I checked at the Captain's Club desk for the location.

 

Very good perk as we were meeting a tour group.

[prmssk]

On our last cruise, the information in our cabin about Elite privileges and events mentioned where to go for tender priority.  On our Eclipse cruise that was Le Petit Chef which was convenient as it was right next to where the Elite breakfast was being held in Tuscan Grill.  

[Izzywiz]

We found the system to be very helpful. We had a letter in our cabin the evening before the tender port with the information on which venue to report to. Ours was the MDR on deck 5.
We could go at any time once the tender operations started. 

Our cruise card was checked to ascertain our status as we entered. 
We were asked to wait while the concierge phoned down to the tender deck. 
Once we were given clearance, she escorted us down to the tender. 
For us, it is one of the most useful perks of being elite and above.

[RTShaker]

The tender priority is dependant on the number of Elite and above passengers. When the numbers are very high then it becomes a moot point.

[Mark_K]

Someone can correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t think Elite tendering priority is an ongoing privilege.  It’s a one time thing for when tendering first starts.  I don’t think you can walk down there any time of day and get sent to the front of the queue.

[keesar]

44 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

The tender priority is dependant on the number of Elite and above passengers. When the numbers are very high then it becomes a moot point.

 

Agree with the above.  When the numbers are high, it does not a benefit.  If the numbers are ''typical', then you will be told where to report and you will be escorted to the  tender area.  Sometimes, we went down a secret staircase!

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, Mark_K said:

Someone can correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t think Elite tendering priority is an ongoing privilege.  It’s a one time thing for when tendering first starts.  I don’t think you can walk down there any time of day and get sent to the front of the queue.

 

It's available until they start open tendering (without calling numbers).  Generally the first couple of hours.

[CruiseMelissa]

2 hours ago, keesar said:

 

Agree with the above.  When the numbers are high, it does not a benefit.  If the numbers are ''typical', then you will be told where to report and you will be escorted to the  tender area.  Sometimes, we went down a secret staircase!

 

3 hours ago, RTShaker said:

The tender priority is dependant on the number of Elite and above passengers. When the numbers are very high then it becomes a moot point.

 

Just to clarify... if the numbers are high, is it not offered at all?  Or, are you saying, if the numbers are high you wind up waiting a long time with the other "elites" and it's really not that great of a perk?

[D. B.]

2 hours ago, Mark_K said:

Someone can correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t think Elite tendering priority is an ongoing privilege.  It’s a one time thing for when tendering first starts.  I don’t think you can walk down there any time of day and get sent to the front of the queue.

That is correct..........

[capsplace]

Best bet is to check with your Captain's Club rep.

[D. B.]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

It's available until they start open tendering (without calling numbers).  Generally the first couple of hours.

Thats how it worked on our last cruise.

We were notified where to meet and then as a Group with a crew person we went to the tender.

[capsplace]

Not sure about how the number of Elites and up impacts this privilege, but on recent cruise, it was just me and DH who headed down to Cellar Masters, as instructed, where we, just the two of us, were immediately escorted to the front of the line.  

[kathynorth]

Last Aug we were on Summit in Iceland. A letter was in the cabin with the priority tendering meeting place. We went there and once the hostess had a group of 20 she brought us to the tender boarding area where they had a separate lane for suites and priority tendering. Going in this lane effectively let you cut the line without being merged with the tender ticket line. It was quick and easy. Have fun in Iceland, we had. Great trip and hope to return in Oct to see the rest of what we didn’t see last year 

[RTShaker]

1 hour ago, capsplace said:

Not sure about how the number of Elites and up impacts this privilege, ...

When the numbers are very high it only transfers the wait line to the gathering spot instead of Deck2. You are escorted in the order you came, but if so many have the status there is no advantage.

[RTShaker]

1 hour ago, CruiseMelissa said:

 

 

Just to clarify... if the numbers are high, is it not offered at all?  Or, are you saying, if the numbers are high you wind up waiting a long time with the other "elites" and it's really not that great of a perk?

Sometimes  it is not available at all with the exception of suites, and you just end up waiting in a meeting place instead of the tender area.

[CruiseMelissa]

8 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

Sometimes  it is not available at all with the exception of suites, and you just end up waiting in a meeting place instead of the tender area.

Got it, thanks!

[gold1953]

2 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

 

 

Just to clarify... if the numbers are high, is it not offered at all?  Or, are you saying, if the numbers are high you wind up waiting a long time with the other "elites" and it's really not that great of a perk?

We sailed with high Elite numbers and the tender priority was not offered

[gold1953]

2 hours ago, capsplace said:

Not sure about how the number of Elites and up impacts this privilege, but on recent cruise, it was just me and DH who headed down to Cellar Masters, as instructed, where we, just the two of us, were immediately escorted to the front of the line.  

with high numbers there is no tender priority. We have lived this

[Jim_Iain]

We were on the Iceland / Greenland cruise last year    On the particular sailing Elite and above were about 80% of the ship.  

 

They had Elite and above meet in a specif place and Suites in Retreat.   When tendering began they had two locations -  one forward that were tendering Shore Excursions and Mid-ship for General Tendering.    When first began Suite Passengers were escorted to the front of the line for tendering.   Same was the procedure for Elite or above.   It went fairly quickly.

[davekathy]

 Elite tendering is managed voyage by voyage. We had priority tendering in Belize and Grand Cayman on our March 2023 Apex cruise. 

[zanderblue]

13 hours ago, kathynorth said:

Last Aug we were on Summit in Iceland. A letter was in the cabin with the priority tendering meeting place. We went there and once the hostess had a group of 20 she brought us to the tender boarding area where they had a separate lane for suites and priority tendering. Going in this lane effectively let you cut the line without being merged with the tender ticket line. It was quick and easy. Have fun in Iceland, we had. Great trip and hope to return in Oct to see the rest of what we didn’t see last year 

That was exactly how it worked for us at Grand Cayman earlier this year. I reckon we were ashore significantly sooner than general line, given the amount of folks waiting.

[albertb]

On our recent Edge cruise in the Med there was no Elite priority tendering at the two tender ports. We asked, they checked and it was confirmed - no Elite priority. At Sorento they did not go to open tendering until 1.45pm. We were told that about 50% of pax were “ new cruisers, or new to Celebrity “. I do not know what proportion of the rest were Elite. The CC rep was invisible.

[the penguins]

14 hours ago, gold1953 said:

with high numbers there is no tender priority. We have lived this

X also drops it at the first hint of delays/disembarkation problems i.e. the very time it would most useful. This has happened in several ports in South America and Hawaii.

When it works it's great but we never make plans that depend on it working.

 

[CruiseMelissa]

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We were on the Iceland / Greenland cruise last year    On the particular sailing Elite and above were about 80% of the ship.  

 

They had Elite and above meet in a specif place and Suites in Retreat.   When tendering began they had two locations -  one forward that were tendering Shore Excursions and Mid-ship for General Tendering.    When first began Suite Passengers were escorted to the front of the line for tendering.   Same was the procedure for Elite or above.   It went fairly quickly.

Thanks, this is very helpful.  I really enjoyed reading your write-up on last year's cruise and even booked the excursion you took in Akureyri based on your experience.  It was such a great recap of your adventure!