Our Whines Have Tender Gripes

[billroddy]

I don't like tenders. They come in second to airport security when the pin that holds my left hip together sets off the alarm.

But HAL doesn't make it easy to find tender ports. They are not in their cruise books and you have to go on line to find the ports that has them.

I was about to book a Prinsendam cruise until I found that 5 of the 7 ports had the dreaded TR next to them.

 

Bill

Ancient Mariner

[RuthC]

Five out of seven? :eek: Yikes. That would get real old, real fast.

There's lots of Prinsendam cruises with no tender ports. It might take a while to find one (it's a shame that the Atlas doesn't list TR for tender ports) that's suitable, but it will be worth searching for.

[Sea42]

And sometimes they don't even tell you the tender ports on the website!

This is our itinerary for our September cruise:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=NO&durationCode=&dateCode=9_2012&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=N249A&tabName=ItineraryDetails

Not one port is listed as being at anchor yet after booking the cruise and then investigating shore options I've found at least 3 that are definitely tender ports. :mad:

[boze9999]

I don't like tenders. They come in second to airport security when the pin that holds my left hip together sets off the alarm.

But HAL doesn't make it easy to find tender ports. They are not in their cruise books and you have to go on line to find the ports that has them.

I was about to book a Prinsendam cruise until I found that 5 of the 7 ports had the dreaded TR next to them.

 

Bill

Ancient Mariner

 

I understand your concerns, Bill. I do understand that many things change with the ship, the sailing, weather, and last minute port changes. However, it seems reasonable to think that HAL could provide more data in their itinerary summary : tender vs pier; number of formal nights (and which nights they are so one can pre-plan dinners and port excursions); special events on the cruise - to name a few. I much prefer information ahead of time as compared to disappointment at the time of ocurrence.

 

Enjoy your next sailing.

[vivavegas]

Sadly, there may be times when we don't find out until the boat stops. Hopefully, we can take things in stride because after all we're on vacation.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I know what you mean.

I have to use a walker/rollator and it is very hard for me to get down and up the steps at the gangway for tender ports.

[kazu]

I don't like tenders. They come in second to airport security when the pin that holds my left hip together sets off the alarm.

But HAL doesn't make it easy to find tender ports. They are not in their cruise books and you have to go on line to find the ports that has them.

I was about to book a Prinsendam cruise until I found that 5 of the 7 ports had the dreaded TR next to them.

 

Bill

Ancient Mariner

 

I hear you Bill - tenders are not up in my favourite thing to do. One thing though - tender sign on the itinerary is inserted as standard. In other words a lot of ships have to tender but it may not apply to the Prinsendam.

 

We had several tenders last cruise on her and I loved it when the CD announced - 'Ladies and Gentleman - I'm sorry but there will be no tenders available this morning - you will have to WALK off yourselves". Yup, we docked at 'tender' ports.

 

No guarantees of course - but it's a very nice pleasant surprise:)

[Tricia724]

Even when you get the list of docked/tender ports, they aren't always accurate. On our South Pacific cruise, there were so many mistakes in the schedule, it wasn't funny. And I don't mean we had to tender at the last minute because there were too many ships in port or some unforeseen event occurred.....I mean they had us scheduled to dock at a couple of ports which had NO dock (Moorea, for example.) On the flip side, they also showed us tendering in Hilo and Raiatea, both of which have nice docks, and as we were the only ship in port on both days, we did dock.

 

Even on the ship a couple of times we were given incorrect information the day before. It got to the place where we just went out on our balcony to see whether they were lowering tenders. It's confusing for the passengers, especially if you have a private tour. I'm sure it was even harder for passengers with limited mobility to make plans.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I remember when Veendam's schedule went from docking in St Georges to tendering. HAL just slipped the little TR onto the schedule but made no official announcement--didn't even contact passengers who had already booked.

 

I happened to see the dreaded TR on the website, so I called my TA. She didn't know, either. HAL didn't give TAs a heads-up. I guess they know people dread tendering so they try to be quiet about the possibility.

 

I'm surprised that there would be so many tender ports for Prinsendam, as she's so small.

[RuthC]

I was about to book a Prinsendam cruise until I found that 5 of the 7 ports had the dreaded TR next to them.

Kathy raises a good point---

Which ports do you think are tender ports? Is it possible at least some of them would be tender on other ships, but are docked with the Prinsendam?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I hear you Bill - tenders are not up in my favourite thing to do. One thing though - tender sign on the itinerary is inserted as standard. In other words a lot of ships have to tender but it may not apply to the Prinsendam.

 

We had several tenders last cruise on her and I loved it when the CD announced - 'Ladies and Gentleman - I'm sorry but there will be no tenders available this morning - you will have to WALK off yourselves". Yup, we docked at 'tender' ports.

 

No guarantees of course - but it's a very nice pleasant surprise:)

 

One time there were so many ships in Juneau that a couple of us had to tender -- Ryndam -- that was the first time we ever had to tender there.

[lcand1923]

This highlights an issue that has been mentioned several times in cruise reviews. If you are mobility challenged, several additional concerns are added to the planning and enjoyment of your vacation. The first is "Do we tender or dock?" The second is, "Can I participate in this Shore Excursion?" HAL appeals to a segment of the population that tends to have mobility concerns. A segment of their cruisers need to use a cane, or a rollator/walker or a scooter. While I recognize that the "Do we tender or dock" MAY change because of the Port Administrator's needs, HAL should have a reasonable idea up front and should include this info in the port information in their brochure. They should also fully investigate ALL of their Shore Excursions so that they can accurately post information in the descriptions to avoid disappointed cruisers.

[Boytjie]

Our wines have tender grapes! :D

 

(Sorry, I couldn't help myself)

[billroddy]

And I couldn't help revising it!

Our wines have tender grapes! :D

 

(Sorry, I couldn't help myself)

[Taxguy77]

I disagree with you: NOTHING is as bad as airport security! :eek:

Hip too.[/COLOR]

[bishop84]

And sometimes they don't even tell you the tender ports on the website!

This is our itinerary for our September cruise:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=NO&durationCode=&dateCode=9_2012&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=N249A&tabName=ItineraryDetails

Not one port is listed as being at anchor yet after booking the cruise and then investigating shore options I've found at least 3 that are definitely tender ports. :mad:

 

If it is of any help only one port on that schedule would definitely be tender and that is Santorini, Thira, Greece.

However the following on the schedule have been tender ports in the past and whether the ship docks or tenders depends on the pier availability, usually because too many ships in the port:

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Kerkira, Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

I heard once that they even tendered in Naples, Italy during a charter once!

[Sea42]

If it is of any help only one port on that schedule would definitely be tender and that is Santorini, Thira, Greece.

 

However the following on the schedule have been tender ports in the past and whether the ship docks or tenders depends on the pier availability, usually because too many ships in the port:

 

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Kerkira, Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

 

I heard once that they even tendered in Naples, Italy during a charter once!

Thank you for the information. It certainly helps in planning our days if we know that we have to figure in time for the tendering process.

[gonzo1124]

Oh come on! Tenders are a lot of fun. Take your fishing pole and fish while you are being tendered to/from. You'll be amazed at what you can catch!