Odyssey tendering in Villefrance

[Dan83]

Has anyone recently experienced the tendering process from Odyssey or in Villefrance from any Royal Caribbean ship? Without priority access such as suite or key benefits, is it reasonable to expect to get ashore 2 hours after arriving in port? How about 1.5 hours after arrival? That is probably pushing it a little. 

[elaine5]

We tendered last year on the Vision. 2 hours post arriving was not an issue. Note, we were on a smaller ship (1/2 the passenger capacity). 1.5 hours might be tight on a larger ship. 

[CynBeth6]

We were on Enchantment in July. They used the local boats as tenders not the ones from the ship and it was great. We found out the night before we did not have to get a tender ticket if not on an excursion we would be allowed off when they made the announcement that we were cleared to go ashore. I think that was around 7:30 am. 

[mikaula]

I haven’t been there in 10 years but I loved that port. Enjoy!

[Choozin Croozin]

On 10/9/2023 at 6:29 PM, CynBeth6 said:

We were on Enchantment in July. They used the local boats as tenders not the ones from the ship and it was great. We found out the night before we did not have to get a tender ticket if not on an excursion we would be allowed off when they made the announcement that we were cleared to go ashore. I think that was around 7:30 am. 

That is very helpful! Thank you. I hope it is the same this year!! Happy Cruising.

 

[erby2283]

I was on Vision a few years ago and tendered in Villefrance. We had booked a private tour and needed to be off the ship early. They passed out tender tickets 2 hours prior to arrival (5:30 am) and you can bet my butt was first in line bc I needed to secure that first tender. 😂 Then I went back to bed for an hour. 

[Tin can]

On 10/9/2023 at 11:33 PM, mikaula said:

I haven’t been there in 10 years but I loved that port. Enjoy!

 

Exactly the same for us, a lovely harbour and a very easy train to Monaco.

[Jumping Cruiser]

On 10/9/2023 at 2:28 PM, Dan83 said:

Has anyone recently experienced the tendering process from Odyssey or in Villefrance from any Royal Caribbean ship?

 

Tendered in Villefranche on Anthem, which is the same class as Odyssey, back in June. I have to admit that it was pretty chaotic. The night before the ship advised everyone that tender tickets would start to be given out at 7am from a few different locations (MDR, 270, Theatre, Casino, Music Hall) and you MUST have a tender ticket to disembark. I went to 270 at 6:15 and was the second person in line, which meant I was group 1.

 

They started lowering tenders from the ship and bringing others from the harbour to assist. We didn’t arrive until 10am and first tender was expected to be 10:30. At about 10:20 we noticed a boat load of people heading ashore, so we headed to the esplanade to find out what was going on as no ticket numbers had been called. It turns out people who stayed in bed and got the later tickets (40….) were complaining that it would be hours before they got off, so they just opened the barrier and it was a free-for-all in the end, with no attempt to check tickets. This was completely unfair to all those who had earlier tickets, but lucky enough we were just in the right place at the right time.

 

Just be mindful that even though the ship initially says one thing about tickets, they won’t necessarily stick to it, so keep an eye out by the gangway entrance if numbers aren’t being called. However, Odyssey is more experienced with the tendering process due to calling in Santorini regularly, so hopefully this might be more streamlined than Anthem

 

Anyway, Villefranche is a lovely port and actually my favourite, so you will have a fabulous time.

[Billy Baltic]

On 10/9/2023 at 2:28 PM, Dan83 said:

Has anyone recently experienced the tendering process from Odyssey or in Villefrance from any Royal Caribbean ship? Without priority access such as suite or key benefits, is it reasonable to expect to get ashore 2 hours after arriving in port? How about 1.5 hours after arrival? That is probably pushing it a little. 

If you’re a diamond member (not suite or key) then you can get ‘good’ tender tickets from the diamond concierge.