Tenders at Belieze

[atti2dok]

We are taking an excursion (not from NCL ) and was told that NCL excursions have prioritygetting on tenders. I am taking the ruins tour including a bus and boat ride and it makes a day of it. I need to get off the ship ASAP. Any suggestions?

[Toyz711]

watch the daily, it will list when the tender tickets will be given away. be down there bright and early. 1 person can get tickets for their whole party. on the spirit, we had the ship excursion to lamanai...all ship excursions meet in the showroom. after the vips, suites and ship excursions, there was still room (in the 1st tender) to start taking early ticket holders. the tender run constant for the 1st hour or so, they hold 150 passengers. it doesn't take long for anyone going ashore to get ashore.

BTW: all private tour operators tell everyone to get on the early tender, but you will (usually) end up waiting for someone.

unless you are in a suite, gettting an early tender ticket is the best you can do.

 

as soon as one tender leaves the gangway, another pulls up and starts taking passengers. there are several tenders waiting as soon as the gangway opens up.

[mitsugirly]

I'm confused about the entire tender thing as well. The last time I took a cruise where we had to tender, it was in the 80's. There were no "tickets" to get. You just went and got in line to get on the tender, just like you get in line to get off the ship when in port.

 

Where do you go for these tickets? Do you have to have tickets to get back on the tender to come back?

[SeaPA1]

I'm confused about the entire tender thing as well. The last time I took a cruise where we had to tender, it was in the 80's. There were no "tickets" to get. You just went and got in line to get on the tender, just like you get in line to get off the ship when in port.

 

Where do you go for these tickets? Do you have to have tickets to get back on the tender to come back?

 

Basic idea of the ticket system is to have it a little better organized. You typically meet in either the auditorium or a big lounge area (depending on the layout of the ship); you are supposed to have your entire party with you. They pass out numbered tickets (i.e. a bunch of ones, a bunch of twos) based on how many passengers the tenderboat holds. Then they announce the group number & that group goes down the stairs to the tender. The tickets are plastic & are gathered by the crew as you get off the ship & onto the tender (they are reusable as opposed to throwaway paper tix).

 

It works pretty well & keeps from having massive lines in the stairwells; also makes it a better process for anyone who can't stand for the long length of time it sometimes takes when it's just a "line up" process.

 

No ticket required on return; you just come back, show your ship card/room key, and get on the next available tender. There typically are not the long lines on return that you typically have when everyone is trying to get off the ship at once.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks so much for the info. :)

[Toyz711]

belize is one place i do recommend doing the ship tour, getting on the 1st tender is one reason.

non-ncl excursions: watch the daily new letter, it should be the lobby area or the theater. usually an hour before the tenders start, they will hand out tickets. the tenders are big, about 150 people at a time. one leaves the gangway, another docks...it doesn't take them that long. plus all the private tours will tell you the same thing, even though they know the process and know that ship tours/vip go 1st. one person can get tickets for the whole group.

on our trip, vips and ship tours were only a few of the people on 1st tender. (many of the ship tours leave from the ship and don't take the tender.

we did lamanai and the river safari, lamanai is great...but glad we took the ship's tour as we got back just in time for the last tender.

if you are in a suite, the conceige will get you on 1st tender.

[csunshine860]

belize is one place i do recommend doing the ship tour, getting on the 1st tender is one reason.

non-ncl excursions: watch the daily new letter, it should be the lobby area or the theater. usually an hour before the tenders start, they will hand out tickets. the tenders are big, about 150 people at a time. one leaves the gangway, another docks...it doesn't take them that long. plus all the private tours will tell you the same thing, even though they know the process and know that ship tours/vip go 1st. one person can get tickets for the whole group.

on our trip, vips and ship tours were only a few of the people on 1st tender. (many of the ship tours leave from the ship and don't take the tender.

we did lamanai and the river safari, lamanai is great...but glad we took the ship's tour as we got back just in time for the last tender.

if you are in a suite, the conceige will get you on 1st tender.

 

 

The info is just great but how long is the tender ride? Thanks:)

[SeaPA1]

The info is just great but how long is the tender ride? Thanks:)

 

15 to 20 minutes from the time it pulls away from the ship until it's pulling in to the dock.

[csunshine860]

15 to 20 minutes from the time it pulls away from the ship until it's pulling in to the dock.

 

 

Many thanks.:p