Procedure for Tenders

[DoniaG]

Our June 15 Med cruise has only two tender ports - Santorini and Villefranche. I'm new to Celebrity - and I've never had to tender from a ship as large of Summit. What's the procedure?

 

1. If we arrive in port at 7:00 AM, is the big crush of people then or a little later in the morning. (I know this can't be accurately predicted - just looking for someone's experience.)
   
2. How many tenders do they use for a ship this large? How many passengers per tender? Do they supplement the tenders with lifeboats if the weather is good? (I was on a cruise years ago that did that - but I don't know that it's even legal anymore.)
   
3. Where do you line up to get on? The water level exits don't usually have a ton of space - but maybe Summit does.
   
4. Is there typically a crush to catch the returning tenders?
   

Thanks for your help

Donia

[kitty9]

Those with ship's tours get the first tenders and then those who are in suites or Elite Captain's Club members go next. If you're not in any of those categories you're told to report to a lounge (either Michael's Club or Celebrity Theater) and pick up numbered tender tickets. You then wait until your number is called and then go down to the tender area, usually on deck one, and get on your tender. How many tenders they use depends on a how many other ships are also tendering and how many spots there are at the dock that handle the tenders. Usually for Santorini, it's only two tenders. If they use the ship's tenders, those can handle about 100+ passengers. For larger port areas, they can use as many as four tenders at a time. And, unless there are local rules that say ships can't use their own tenders, they do use the ship's lifeboats.

 

As far as returning tenders, there can be a wait and it can get crowded if you wait until the last minute to return to the ship.

[DoniaG]

Thanks, Darcie! It looks like we may be the only ship in Santorini that day - maybe they'll be able to run more tenders.

 

So, if we mosey on down to the tender staging area at about 8:30, is the crush likely to be over?

 

Donia

[hajekfam]

The ship must be cleared by the local authorities before anyone can get off. So they might not start the tenders promptly at 7.

You might not walk directly out to the tender - there have been times where there were stairs to go down so if you are unable to manage those(they are narrow metal stairs and are from the ship to a platform in the water) then you will not be able to get off the ship.

[DoniaG]

The ship must be cleared by the local authorities before anyone can get off. So they might not start the tenders promptly at 7.

You might not walk directly out to the tender - there have been times where there were stairs to go down so if you are unable to manage those(they are narrow metal stairs and are from the ship to a platform in the water) then you will not be able to get off the ship.

Thanks, hajekfam. The stairs are not a problem - YET!:D

[sleeky]

At Santorini the ships tours are tendered first. This is to a place where there is a road down to the sea. Then they reposition the ship and everyone not on ships tours are tendered to the base of the cable car (not sure how X deals with this but on RC it was tickets issued early AM on a 1st come 1st served basis) This means quite a bit of waiting around. Firstly for the repositioning and then the cable car queue. The advantage of paying for a tour is the early tenders and no cable car (or donkey ride:eek:)

We chose to do it ourselves and joined the queues, we caught the local bus to OIA and had plenty of time to wander around before coming back to Fira. We plan on doing the same this year as it really is quite easy.

[cruisead]

There have been times when the open tenders, which means you no longer need a tender ticket, didn't start until 10am. No, you cannot just mosey down to the tender platform without a tender ticket, UNLESS they made the announcement that tender tickets are no longer needed. They do collect tender tickets and they just don't allow you to get on a tender until all those with ship's tours are off the ship.

[DoniaG]

There have been times when the open tenders, which means you no longer need a tender ticket, didn't start until 10am. No, you cannot just mosey down to the tender platform without a tender ticket, UNLESS they made the announcement that tender tickets are no longer needed. They do collect tender tickets and they just don't allow you to get on a tender until all those with ship's tours are off the ship.

 

Thanks, Tracie. Just to be sure that I've got this right - Only the folks with priority disembarkation will have tickets. The rest of us will be called after they're taken care of. Right? This will be the first time that I've been into a tender port on anything even half a large (in terms of passengers) as Summit.

 

Having a good excuse to sleep later in the morning doesn't break my heart - especially the day after our Athens stop. I have a feeling that all that climbing is going to make getting out of bed the next morning a challenge! We've reserved a rental car in Santorini, so we'll be able to schedule ourselves as needed. Still trying to figure out exactly what we want to do in Villefranche.

 

Where are you in Texas? I'm a fourth generation Texan happily transplanted in South Louisiana - but I still miss home!

 

Thanks again

Donia

[Lsimon]

In Santorini we took a morning ship's tour - which transported us to a pier where they drove buses down to pick us up. We were dropped off in Fira around noon with cable car tickets to get back to the ship on our own. We spent an hour or so in Fira, then took a taxi to Oia and had a great afternoon walking around Oia and having lunch there before cabbing back to Fira. We originally took this route on a recommendation as a way to avoid long lines for the cable car. But we were the only ship in port that day so I don't think the lines were ever really long. But the combination of morning ship's tour and afternoon on our own made for a wonderful day. I have more info at my photo site: click here

 

In Villefranche we decided to cancel our all-day tour plans and make it a nice easy relaxing day. We slept in a little and didn't leave the ship until sometime between 9:30 and 10, and by then there were no tender lines. We had a wonderful day exploring Villefranche and Eze (via cab) and would recommend that as a day of relaxation before, or after, the busy Italian ports. Photos and more info - click here

[CathyCruises]

Another fun idea for Villefranche is taking the bus to Nice, then getting one to St. Paul de Vence--that was a fun and relaxing day and very inexpensive. Very cool medieval town; then we took another bus to Vence and visited the beautiful chapel designed and painted by Matisse.

 

Cathy

[jlijny]

Those with ship's tours get the first tenders and then those who are in suites or Elite Captain's Club members go next. If you're not in any of those categories you're told to report to a lounge (either Michael's Club or Celebrity Theater) and pick up numbered tender tickets. You then wait until your number is called and then go down to the tender area, usually on deck one, and get on your tender. How many tenders they use depends on a how many other ships are also tendering and how many spots there are at the dock that handle the tenders. Usually for Santorini, it's only two tenders. If they use the ship's tenders, those can handle about 100+ passengers. For larger port areas, they can use as many as four tenders at a time. And, unless there are local rules that say ships can't use their own tenders, they do use the ship's lifeboats.

 

As far as returning tenders, there can be a wait and it can get crowded if you wait until the last minute to return to the ship.

Do people in concierge class get early tenders?

[cruisead]

Thanks, Tracie. Just to be sure that I've got this right - Only the folks with priority disembarkation will have tickets. The rest of us will be called after they're taken care of. Right? This will be the first time that I've been into a tender port on anything even half a large (in terms of passengers) as Summit.

 

Having a good excuse to sleep later in the morning doesn't break my heart - especially the day after our Athens stop. I have a feeling that all that climbing is going to make getting out of bed the next morning a challenge! We've reserved a rental car in Santorini, so we'll be able to schedule ourselves as needed. Still trying to figure out exactly what we want to do in Villefranche.

 

Where are you in Texas? I'm a fourth generation Texan happily transplanted in South Louisiana - but I still miss home!

 

Thanks again

Donia

 

No, that's not the case. You need tender tickets if you want to get off the ship earlier. So, if you're not on a ship's tour, you will need to go to the appointed gathering place and get a tender ticket. There will be a crew member in that place and once everyone with a ship's tour or a priority tender ticket leaves the ship, they will begin calling tender ticket numbers. Unless you wait until they announce that tender tickets aren't needed anymore, you will need a tender ticket.

 

BTW, we live in Coppell, a suburb of Dallas

[DoniaG]

Thanks for the good advice, Kathy and Larry. Your report on Santorini is making me reconsider the rental car - though they're amazingly cheap there. There will be three of us - and we can get an automatic for less than $100 with every extra coverage you can buy. Once we divide that 3 ways, it gets really attractive - but so is the thought of getting off with the shore excursion folks. Talk about an embarrassment of riches!

 

The friends with whom I traveling think they would love to see Monte Carlo. And I interested in Nice, Eze, and/or St. Paul de Vence. (And, yes, I've studied a map to see just how many directions we need to go) I've looked at booking a private car and driver so that we can cover that much territory in a day, but the price is pretty breathtaking. If I can recruit a few others off our roll call to help share the cost, I may still go that route. If I don't, we might do one of the trips you describe.

 

I just sent links to your photos, Larry, to my friends - they're going to love seeing them as much as I did!

[DoniaG]

No, that's not the case. You need tender tickets if you want to get off the ship earlier. So, if you're not on a ship's tour, you will need to go to the appointed gathering place and get a tender ticket. There will be a crew member in that place and once everyone with a ship's tour or a priority tender ticket leaves the ship, they will begin calling tender ticket numbers. Unless you wait until they announce that tender tickets aren't needed anymore, you will need a tender ticket.

 

BTW, we live in Coppell, a suburb of Dallas

 

Thanks for the clarification, Tracie. We'll act accordingly. I went to school in Denton - so long ago that your area was the boonies - way before there was DFW! We used to go out to some lake in that area on weekends. Loooooong time ago!

[Texed]

! We used to go out to some lake in that area on weekends. Loooooong time ago!

 

Garza Little Elm, (Lake Dallas).

[FiggyWig]

We are a family of 3 - when lining up to collect tender tickets can one nominated person (most likely me :rolleyes: !) line up to collect our party or do all three of us have to trudge along ?

[Lsimon]

Do people in concierge class get early tenders?

 

Yes. CC, along with Elite Captains Club and Suite Guests, get a "priority" tender ticket. They meet in a smaller location like Micheal's Club. I'm not sure if they all go first or before the other cruisers but they do coordinate things so that the wait is at least theoretically shorter. I'll admit I don't have a lot of experience with the timing of "early tenders" as we usually are either on a ship's excursion or sleep in a little and aren't in a rush to be the first off the boat.

 

 

The friends with whom I traveling think they would love to see Monte Carlo. And I interested in Nice, Eze, and/or St. Paul de Vence... ...I've looked at booking a private car and driver so that we can cover that much territory in a day, but the price is pretty breathtaking....

Just consider that your three days in Florence, Rome and Naples are likely to be very very long and tiring, although spectacular! Those are definitely places where you'll want to be off the ship early and back late due to the long distances between the ports and the cities. We too were going to do lots of sights off of Villefranche - but changed close to the last minute and had a wonderful day with nice sights and very relaxing. Although I'll also add that we met many on board who did a full itinerary at Villefranche with all those places you mention and loved it too.

[tom_uk]

At Santorini the tendering is done by the local boatmen, and not on the ship's tenders - they've got a good union!

 

And there's no point in putting extra tenders on at that port - the real bottle-neck is the cable car up to Fira. On my last visit I estimated its capacity at between 600 and 720 people per hour, in one direction.

[hajekfam]

Yes. CC, along with Elite Captains Club and Suite Guests, get a "priority" tender ticket. They meet in a smaller location like Micheal's Club. I'm not sure if they all go first or before the other cruisers but they do coordinate things so that the wait is at least theoretically shorter. I'll admit I don't have a lot of experience with the timing of "early tenders" as we usually are either on a ship's excursion or sleep in a little and aren't in a rush to be the first off the boat.

 

I noticed that priority tender was no longer listed as a feature in Aqua Class, Concierge class, and even suites on Celebrity's website - but is still a benefit of Elite captain's club.

Someone reported in another thread that they were in Aqua Class and did not get priority tender tickets.

[CathyCruises]

At Santorini the tendering is done by the local boatmen, and not on the ship's tenders - they've got a good union!

 

And there's no point in putting extra tenders on at that port - the real bottle-neck is the cable car up to Fira. On my last visit I estimated its capacity at between 600 and 720 people per hour, in one direction.

 

The donkeys are actually a lot of fun!! It was years ago, and another life, when I rode them, but it was quite a blast!

 

Cathy

[kitty9]

Or you can walk up the 600+ stairs !!!! LOL Not my idea of fun. Give me the funicular any day.

[DoniaG]

Garza Little Elm, (Lake Dallas).

 

That's IT! Thanks for reminding me. D.

[DoniaG]

Just consider that your three days in Florence, Rome and Naples are likely to be very very long and tiring, although spectacular! Those are definitely places where you'll want to be off the ship early and back late due to the long distances between the ports and the cities. We too were going to do lots of sights off of Villefranche - but changed close to the last minute and had a wonderful day with nice sights and very relaxing. Although I'll also add that we met many on board who did a full itinerary at Villefranche with all those places you mention and loved it too.

 

Excellent point - especially in the summer! That's why I'm kinda hoping we can get enough people together to hire a car and driver and let them do the hard part! If we don't, I think I'll be perfectly happy with a much more limited itinerary.

 

My friends are going on a ship's tour in Naples to cram both Pompeii and Capri into a single day. My memories of both are excellent! I don't need to see them again under those kinds of circumstances. I'm thinking of taking the hydrofoil to Positano for a few hours and maybe coming back by train or bus. Anybody got any advice on that?

 

Thanks, D.

[DoniaG]

On my last visit I estimated its capacity at between 600 and 720 people per hour, in one direction.

 

Ouch! I'm more grateful than ever than we appear to be the only ship in port that day. That ships excursion Larry advised is beginning to look more appealing with every report I hear!

 

Donia

[Lsimon]

Excellent point - especially in the summer! That's why I'm kinda hoping we can get enough people together to hire a car and driver and let them do the hard part! If we don't, I think I'll be perfectly happy with a much more limited itinerary.

 

My friends are going on a ship's tour in Naples to cram both Pompeii and Capri into a single day. My memories of both are excellent! I don't need to see them again under those kinds of circumstances. I'm thinking of taking the hydrofoil to Positano for a few hours and maybe coming back by train or bus. Anybody got any advice on that?

 

Thanks, D.

 

A question best posed in the Europe/Med port of call boards - but I'll add that: We did a ship's tour that put us in small vans carrying about 12-15 people that did Positano, Sorrento, and Pompeii. Similar to private tours booked by many, and we loved it. Thing back on this the biggest thing I'd miss in the tour you suggested might be the drive down the cliffside roads on the Amalfi Coast which has such a fantastic view.