Tender question on The Star.

Do they release tender tickets for the Star the night before you port? I am especially concerned about Santorini. If so, how early should I️ get in line to be one of the first tenders after the excursion people?

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I can't answer specifically but NCL tends to do it starting very early in the morning. People will start lining up an hour before start time!!

I can't answer specifically but NCL tends to do it starting very early in the morning. People will start lining up an hour before start time!!

They did it the night before on The Sky last January. So I’m hoping it’s the same on the Star.

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Do Suites and Platinum get priority tickets? I have never tendered off Star but on other larger NCL ships we go down the elevator through Haven so no line. How does it work on STAR, anyone know?

If you are in a suite then the Concierge will "see you right". If you are Platinum then the Future Cruise staff will explain the procedure for those guests.

Not sure when you are sailing. I am on the August 5th cruise. If you go before me, can you let me know how it worked out? I will do the same. :)

Not sure when you are sailing. I am on the August 5th cruise. If you go before me, can you let me know how it worked out? I will do the same. :)

I’m sailing September 9, so you can lemme know. Thanks

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There are several recent reviews about the Star from June sailings that discuss this on Facebook. One guy commented he got up early and was at the desk an hour before they opened and there were a few hundred guests before him. As a result he got on tender #8 and wasn’t ashore until 4 pm.

As a result we decided to do the oia village tour as that was going to be our first stop. When you are on a ncl tour no tender ticket needed you are one of the first off the ship. While I,m not thrilled to pay for a tour the hassle of avoiding getting up early and dealing with a long line and hassle while on vacation. Also don’t forget there is a long line for the cable car to get up top once you get on the island.

We leave on July 29 Star.

We are on the Sept 9 sailing also. We had planned to do Santorini on our own considering the time in port 2p-10p. We figured if we took an NCL excursion we would be in the dark for part of the tour. But these comments make us wonder maybe we should reconsider the port and see what NCL offers just to be able to get off the ship at a reasonable time. Not happy !!! We have not read about these problems in other ports that we have to tender into.

The big problem is the port time, every one is up and wants off the ship. Thinking you will waltz up to the first tenders isn't going to happen. Tours usually have a separate loading area and dedicated tenders. So, it isn't a cast of having to wait until tours are going. Usually 2 separate loading lines/tenders. Thousands of people have "priority". With this port time, camping out around noon, is likely your only option.

What is the tender like in Kotor

What is the tender like in Kotor

Do you have an early port time? Earlier disperses the lines more favorably. this post may have less attraction as well. I'm always out early with full touring days. Since I enjoy climbing the wall, I want an early start due to crowds and heat. ;)

Just off the Star and the tender tickets were available from 6.30am in The Bliss Lounge. People were lining upfrom around 5.30am!!! Getting up at that time of the morning is not really what you want to be doing on holiday - NCL really need to reconsider this and perhaps issue the tickets the evening before. We went at 6.30am and got tender tickets No. 18 - we got off the boat around 10.00am. Plenty of time to go to Oia and Fira and see the attractions and get back to the ship in good time before sail away.

What time did you dock in Santorini? We are scheduled to be in port 2p to 10p

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Just off the Star and the tender tickets were available from 6.30am in The Bliss Lounge. People were lining upfrom around 5.30am!!! Getting up at that time of the morning is not really what you want to be doing on holiday - NCL really need to reconsider this and perhaps issue the tickets the evening before. We went at 6.30am and got tender tickets No. 18 - we got off the boat around 10.00am. Plenty of time to go to Oia and Fira and see the attractions and get back to the ship in good time before sail away.

What were the hours the ship was docked? I am on the Star the first week of September, ours is docked 2pm-10pm

Do Suites and Platinum get priority tickets? I have never tendered off Star but on other larger NCL ships we go down the elevator through Haven so no line. How does it work on STAR, anyone know?

We stayed in a suite on the Star in March. The concierge will walk you straight to a tender; we arranged the time the day before. We got to walk through the bowels of the ship and see parts that guests don't usually see; it was pretty cool.

What is the tender like in Kotor

The star docked in Kotor last July, were used to tendering but it fits the port well

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What is the tender like in Kotor

We just returned from July 8-16th cruise on Star and Kotor tender was awful. Tender tickets for all ports were only available in the morning and there was always a line very early. Kotor was really bad because there were two other ships in port and we anchored the furthest away. After 6+ cruises, I don't recall ever having a tender that far from the port. It was a 30 minute tender ride each way. The line to board the tender at the end of the day was 45+ minutes in the hot sun, no shade. Ship left an hour late due to the backup (they didn't leave anyone behind). It might be better if there are fewer ships in port, but overall, I was not impressed with the NCL tender process (first NCL cruise, most others on RCCL and Celebrity). We did not get a tender ticket in Santorini and I think it was about 2 hours before we could get off.

Klmesa

Thanks for your info on Kotor and Santorini. What about Mykonos? Which port did you dock in. The new big port called Tourlos or did you tender in to the old port?

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Klmesa

Thanks for your info on Kotor and Santorini. What about Mykonos? Which port did you dock in. The new big port called Tourlos or did you tender in to the old port?

 

 

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The 8-16 July cruise did nor go to Mykonos

Kotor was 0800-1500

Santorini was 0800-1700

We are on the October 21st 7 day NCL Star out of Venice with stops in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Katakolon, Piraeus and Split. Does anyone know where I can find information about whether we tender into these ports or just dock and walk off ? If we tender do I need to worry about doing private tours and getting early tender tickets ? At that time of year are there the same amount of ships traveling to these ports? Thanks in advance

What were the hours the ship was docked? I am on the Star the first week of September, ours is docked 2pm-10pm

In Santorini our ship docked from 8.00am until 5pm

We are on the October 21st 7 day NCL Star out of Venice with stops in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Katakolon, Piraeus and Split. Does anyone know where I can find information about whether we tender into these ports or just dock and walk off ? If we tender do I need to worry about doing private tours and getting early tender tickets ? At that time of year are there the same amount of ships traveling to these ports? Thanks in advance

The only port you may tender in is Kotor. This web site will give you what ships are in port http://www.cruisetimetables.com

Thank you Patricd

Kotor tendering depends on how far you tender from the shore. NCL is cheap and tries to pay the lowest possible fees to the port and hence ususlly gets the most undesirable location if more than one ship is in the port. At Venice they are usually at berth 110 which is about 2500 feet (about half a mile) from People Mover. In Kotor they tendered about three miles away fromn the shore (as two Princess cruise ships had closer locations). In the afternoon, captained announced that tendering took so long (delayed departure and pretty long lines) because of the location where it had tendered. In Agostroli, Mein Shiff paid for the sole berth and hence NCL Star had to tender but it was a short 5 minute tender. In Santorini, it was a mess. NCL Star insists on not distributing tender tickets previous night. Insists that you line up at 5 am for 6:30 distribution. Saw many people using chairs to stand in line for 90 minutes. May be they are forcing people to buy their high markup excursions and discourage DIY.

Of course, you will be taken care of if you are in suites. Also, if you have 2p - 10p shoretime (nice - you can see sunset), may be you wont have to get up at 5 am for tender tickets but then again this is NCL Star. They may still do that.

Just re-read every post in this thread and comments on Kotor and Santorini by @klmesa and @PIER50 are right on the money. Unnecessarily inefficient tendering process used by NCL Star staff.