Cabo Tender Question

[Viamin_Sea_26]

Hi everyone,

I know this has probably been asked but I wasn't able to find a thread that had the info.

 

We're going on our first Mexican Riviera cruise and have an outside excursion booked in Cabo.  I'm wondering about the tender situation on large ships like the NCL Bliss - do they use the life boats and is there a long wait either way?

 

I've seen the lines to get back on the ship at Bar Harbor, ME (I live in New England) so am worried we may be fighting to get on and off the ship with the excursion I have booked.

[CruiserBruce]

Virtually any tendering operation will have lines at the start, and during peak demand times. Pretty much unavoidable unless you go ashore at non-peak times. I would not book a private excursion within an hour of your scheduled arrival at Cabo, maybe 90 minutes. 

 

Most tendering operations use the ship's lifeboats. Only a very few ports require use of local boats, which is a cost to the cruise line. Unless something has changed very recently, using the ship's lifeboats will occur at Cabo.

[Viamin_Sea_26]

I think we have almost 2 hours. 

My huge concern was that I thought the tenders landed at "La Terminal de Cabo" on the other side of the marina.  I just found from more searching that they land next to the Navy Dock and it's a two minute walk to my tour instead of the 30 min one.  Much relieved that I won't have to rush. 

 

Just not looking forward to standing in the long line of people I typically make fun of while leisurely eating my breakfast.  With only 8 hours at Cabo, I guess this is what we're gonna have to do.

 

Thanks for the info!

[whee-sailing]

A large ship like the Bliss will use the local Cabo tenders as well (or maybe even only). I was in Cabo for about six weeks last year and saw the Cabo tenders in use regularly. I suggest you check how many other ships are in port with you arriving around the same time because that will have an impact on your wait time as well (whether all the tenders will be servicing the Bliss that morning or if you'll have to share them).

 

And yes, the tenders dock very close to Cabo Adventures (if that's who you're using). You can search for Cruise Tender Boat Pier on Google maps.

Edited February 25 by whee-sailing
typo!

[Viamin_Sea_26]

Thankfully we're the only ship in port that day.

 

We're using Sunrider - hopefully as reputable as Cabo Adventures (and as easy to find).  I'm assuming go between the Pharmacy and Senor Frog's and I can find them both down there - at least that's what it looks like on Google Maps' grainy pictures.

 

I've been torturing myself all day looking at pics of the ports.  These next two weeks are going to drag....

[Mike45LC]

I do not know about NCL, but Princess and Carnival both use their own life boats and Cabo Tender boats.  The operation is well-practiced, but it can take long.  

 

My last cruise port-call at Cabo, my group of five joined the line for the tender at 7:17 AM (an hour after we anchored and the ship was cleared). The tender was docking at the pier at 7:32, and we were ashore about five minutes later. 

 

On a prior cruise, we waited over 40 minutes in line to get on the tender.  Then, it took 20 minutes to load the tender, and about 15 minutes to travel to shore.  So it took roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes for me to go from ship to shore.  And I've heard of much worse waits.   

 

We've done the Mex Riv ports enough times that we are not usually in any rush.  We eat a nice leisurely breakfast and by then, the queues are usually manageable.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

 

[uwsid14]

Just got back from a cruise on the Bliss only yesterday. Cabo was the last stop and we had only from 7:30 - 1:30 in port (last tender was to have left at 1:00 p.m.), which was disappointing.

 

Things ran pretty efficiently, but the line at 12:30 (and past 1:00) was several hundred yards long at the end of the day. It moved okay, but was very long. Obviously, had the "all-aboard time" been in the evening, it wouldn't have been like that.

[Viamin_Sea_26]

On 2/26/2024 at 10:12 PM, uwsid14 said:

Just got back from a cruise on the Bliss only yesterday. Cabo was the last stop and we had only from 7:30 - 1:30 in port (last tender was to have left at 1:00 p.m.), which was disappointing.

 

Things ran pretty efficiently, but the line at 12:30 (and past 1:00) was several hundred yards long at the end of the day. It moved okay, but was very long. Obviously, had the "all-aboard time" been in the evening, it wouldn't have been like that.

 

Thanks for the real-life scenario on the same ship!

 

That was another thing I was concerned about.  But if there's several hundred people still trying to get on the ship, it's not like they're going to pull anchor and go right? 😉

 

My morning was the biggest concern.  We got Priority access so will have room service breakfast, line up early, and I'm relieved that the scuba place is at the tender landing area.  Just stinks that the day is so short so we can't really explore afterwards.  

 

In either case, sitting in a long line in Cabo to get back to free food and drinks beats the heck out of sitting in endless meetings and work projects in frigid New England.

[Mike45LC]

If you are in queue for the tender back to the ship at the cutoff time, they will not sail off and wave goodbye to you.  But be on the pier and in line for the tender by the cutoff time!

 

[SDPadreFan]

The reason for the short time in Cabo for some ships is because of the port rotation. Some ships do Cabo first, then Mazatlan, then PV, so for that rotation, you get longer in Cabo because the next port is nearby. The other rotation is normally PV first, then Mazatlan, then Cabo last. When the ship leaves Cabo at that point, it only has a day and a half to sail back to LA so you get shorter hours in Cabo. If the ship leaves PV last, it has a little over 2 days to get back to LA.

[SDPadreFan]

On 3/2/2024 at 5:18 AM, Viamin_Sea_26 said:

 

Thanks for the real-life scenario on the same ship!

 

That was another thing I was concerned about.  But if there's several hundred people still trying to get on the ship, it's not like they're going to pull anchor and go right? 😉

 

My morning was the biggest concern.  We got Priority access so will have room service breakfast, line up early, and I'm relieved that the scuba place is at the tender landing area.  Just stinks that the day is so short so we can't really explore afterwards.  

 

In either case, sitting in a long line in Cabo to get back to free food and drinks beats the heck out of sitting in endless meetings and work projects in frigid New England.

Cabo itself is not necessarily the best place for scuba but it's "OK" If you ever want to experience world class scuba in Baja, take a land trip to the Cabo area and go to Cabo Pulmo. It's a couple of hours drive away up the Sea of Cortez.