How long does it take to tender - Georgetown?

[newcruiser09]

Quick question for anyone has been to Georgetown, I'll be on the Celebrity but assume the timing would be similar for all ships. Our itinerary states we'll be arriving in Georgetown, Grand Cayman at 8:00. Do the ships generally arrive a little earlier, later, or do they start letting people go to shore right at 8:00?

 

I'm looking at an excurision through a 3rd party vendor and have the option of doing an 8:00 or 10:30 excursion, pretty sure we are going to book the 10:30 to make sure we have time to get there but wanted to see if anyone else has ever tried to do something like this.

 

I guess another option would maybe be to book the 10:30 and if we can get there by 8, see if they'll take us if they have room. If nothing else, we'll just check out the area a bit and do some sight seeing before the 10:30 excursion.

[jimandtoni]

Quick question for anyone has been to Georgetown, I'll be on the Celebrity but assume the timing would be similar for all ships. Our itinerary states we'll be arriving in Georgetown, Grand Cayman at 8:00. Do the ships generally arrive a little earlier, later, or do they start letting people go to shore right at 8:00?

 

I'm looking at an excurision through a 3rd party vendor and have the option of doing an 8:00 or 10:30 excursion, pretty sure we are going to book the 10:30 to make sure we have time to get there but wanted to see if anyone else has ever tried to do something like this.

 

I guess another option would maybe be to book the 10:30 and if we can get there by 8, see if they'll take us if they have room. If nothing else, we'll just check out the area a bit and do some sight seeing before the 10:30 excursion.

Go with the 10:30. Tha chances of getting off and to shore by 8AM are pretty slim.

[blubionda]

When we were on Solstice last May, we had booked a wave runner tour independently in Grand Cayman and opted for the 10:30 tour over the 8am departure.

 

However, due to rough seas that day, tender ticket waits in were highly unpredictable (rougher weather meant longer tender times). When we went down the 1st time our ticket number was called within 10 minutes. We then delayed our disembarkation after discovering our tour was cancelled; we went back to get tender tickets again about an hour later (can't use earlier ones - once you miss your number, you have to start over/get new tickets) and the 2nd time we waited almost an hour before our tender number was called.

 

So, if you do take an independent tour I personally would plan for the worst tender wait, get off early and wander around on shore if necessary until your tour time so as to avoid missing it because Cayman is well known for developing "rough seas" to the point that tendering is compromised either termporarily or for the entire day.

 

I've also heard some say that you can make tender arrangements by special request if you are trying to get off by a specific time - that they will fit you into an earlier time slot; however, I didn't try this so maybe others can comment on this.

[hancock]

Also consider ship's vs island time. On one cruise to GC, our ship's time was an hour ahead of island time. We had an extra hour to wait before our private tour time. Other times, the ship's time was the same as GC's. It's (the time) up to your capt.

[newcruiser09]

Is there any way to find out what time the ship will be on before cruising? When I received an email from the woman in GC, she mentioned they will be changing to daylight savings time soon.

[eandj]

The tenders take all passengers who have scheduled excursions thru the cruiseline FIRST. No way will you be off for the earlier excursion time. THere are tons of people at this port who sign up for ship excursions.

 

Make sure because of frequent cancellations due to weather at GC, You do not agree to a non refundable prepayment with the tour vendor.

[newcruiser09]

We are booked in concierge class, I know we have priority boarding but will this include tenders as well? I'd like to try to do the earlier excursion if we can so we have the afternoon to explore the city, but I don't want to be dumb and try to book something we have no way of making.

[aragorn764]

Is there a difference with cruise time and GC time?? I am leaving in 1 day and have booked an excursion with Dexter...he will be waiting for me at the dock at 8am GC time....it says we dock at 7am on my itinerary...im confused now...do you guys think i am going to make it? should i re-book for the 12:00 departure instead??

[wanderlust402]

Make sure because of frequent cancellations due to weather at GC, You do not agree to a non refundable prepayment with the tour vendor.

 

I would agree with this comment! My first visit to Grand Cayman the ship canceled our snorkle excursion due to the heavy rains. We took a taxi to a beach and I could not see the hand in front of my face once I was in the water.

 

Cayman is well known for developing "rough seas" to the point that tendering is compromised either termporarily or for the entire day.

 

This also makes it less than fun to get back on the ship sometimes. I had quite a few people comment to me that they had a rough tender back to the ship a few hours after I experiened smooth sailing.

 

I agree with the others. Pick the later time and try to get off the ship as soon as you can. Due to the variables, you may wish to consider a ship excursion. Even then things can sometimes go wrong. On our last visit, we were the first group of people cut off from the previous tender. By the time we made it ashore our bus had already left. The tour operator was still at the dock and she arranged for another bus to take us to the beach and they held the Catamaran for us. We proceeded to the loading area the moment our number was called, it was just a bad luck that our group was separated and we were the only two stuck on the ship with the rest of that group making the earlier tender.

[hcat]

There is a time diff. It really confused me til I sorted it out. Best to stay on ship's time & adjust locally when needed..

 

tendering is iffy in this port.. being on a ship's excursion or having suite/ CC class or elite priority can be a big plus.

 

sometimes it runs smoothly without a hitch... but other times seas are rough..

 

one time they suspended the tenders & moved the tendering op to other side of the ship..ours was the last tender on the rougher side-- a few got injured (head bumps) or ill ( nausea) & stayed back at the ship.. when we arrived at GC, we had to wait over an hour for the other tenders to get going on an excursion..

 

it's a nice port where we havenejoyed beaches, resorts, exursions etc., but sometimes not worth the trouble!

[Gonzo70]

We are booked in concierge class, I know we have priority boarding but will this include tenders as well? I'd like to try to do the earlier excursion if we can so we have the afternoon to explore the city, but I don't want to be dumb and try to book something we have no way of making.

 

You have a near 0 chance of making the earlier excursion time unless the ship is an hour ahead of Grand Cayman. If they are on the same time, it would be about a 1 in 10 billion chance of making an 8am excursion with an 8am scheduled arrival time. It is doubtful you would be able to arrive on land much before 9am - and that assumes everything goes well with weather, ship arriving on time, and being cleared promptly by local authorities.

[gayoung]

Was on Eclipse last month and there was a time change the night between GC and Cozumel. But I have been on ships where they keep to ships time and do not change for locations.

[newcruiser09]

It looks like we'll make it if there is a time difference, I think we're going to book the later excursion just to be on the safe side and the excursion company said if we make it there by the 8:00 departure and it's not full, we can go. It's a stingray city jet ski tour and based on the confusion I'm having around the timing, I'm going to cross my fingers that a lot of other people don't book the 8 am. If we have to do the later one, we won't be that upset, would just like some time after to walk around and make sure we're back to the ship on time.

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

[eandj]

It looks like we'll make it if there is a time difference, I think we're going to book the later excursion just to be on the safe side and the excursion company said if we make it there by the 8:00 departure and it's not full, we can go. It's a stingray city jet ski tour and based on the confusion I'm having around the timing, I'm going to cross my fingers that a lot of other people don't book the 8 am. If we have to do the later one, we won't be that upset, would just like some time after to walk around and make sure we're back to the ship on time.

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

Do your shopping before your excursion. You'll be where you want to be to catch your guide for the afternoon trip.

[CuriousMind]

Is there a difference with cruise time and GC time?? I am leaving in 1 day and have booked an excursion with Dexter...he will be waiting for me at the dock at 8am GC time....it says we dock at 7am on my itinerary...im confused now...do you guys think i am going to make it? should i re-book for the 12:00 departure instead??

 

When I was on Eclipse for the Feb 19 sailing, we did not change the clock for Grand Cayman. In other words, Ship Time = Eastern Standard Time = Grand Cayman time.

 

Hope it helps.

 

CM

[keelea2200]

Is there a difference with cruise time and GC time?? I am leaving in 1 day and have booked an excursion with Dexter...he will be waiting for me at the dock at 8am GC time....it says we dock at 7am on my itinerary...im confused now...do you guys think i am going to make it? should i re-book for the 12:00 departure instead??

hi, i was thinking of booking with dexter please give us a review when you get back.