Myths ? Getting off the Ship at a port

[TheBeeSea]

Hello, I am new to cruising and think that we may have spotted a possible for our first ever event.

 

However we are getting some quite negative comments from friends and family:

The latest - "If you are moored outside a port then you cannot get of the ship unless you pay - means you have to take the rip off excursion".

 

Can someone please confirm the process in such a case? Indeed the general procedure for any port.:D

[SwissDave]

Welcome to CC.

 

It's a myth.

 

If a ship is unable to dock (too shallow, ship too big, no real docking facilities, Fjords etc etc) then they anchor near the port and take you ashore by tender - which is actually one of the lifeboats.

 

You certainly do not have to pay, and you certainly do not have to be on a ship tour to use them.

[Keith1010]

Yes, this is a myth as correctly noted by SwissDave.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

Hello, I am new to cruising and think that we may have spotted a possible for our first ever event.

 

However we are getting some quite negative comments from friends and family:

The latest - "If you are moored outside a port then you cannot get of the ship unless you pay - means you have to take the rip off excursion".

 

Can someone please confirm the process in such a case? Indeed the general procedure for any port.:D

 

Its a myth, your friends & family are clearly not cruisers.

In 99.99% of cases, tenders (the little boats that take you from ship to shore) are free. Whether they're the ship's own boats or they're boats provided by the port.

 

There are very very very rare exceptions. On very very very few routes, a ship will call at an extra port (not advertised as a port-of-call) just to pick up a few new passengers by tender. Those already on the ship may be given the opportunity to go ashore for a couple of hours if they pay for a tender ticket.

And on one occasion, our ship called at Komodo, a tender port. We were told that due to the national park requiring that everyone going ashore on a tour (danger of the Komodo dragons), we could only use the tender if we took a ship's tour.

But the vast vast majority of cruisers, even those who contribute to Cruise Critic, won't have even heard of these exceptions - that's how rare they are.

So having to pay for a tender is basically a myth.

 

Worth noting, though, that those on a ship's tour get priority boarding on tenders from the ship, so independents will have a wait. Mebbe just 20 minutes, mebbe a lot longer. There's no priority on boats returning to the ship.

 

JB :)

[Keith1010]

By the way this is why you must take a shore excursion on Komodo Island. On our ship this was provided complimentary but I realize that is not the case on all cruise lines who stop here.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poXg3E7XuIU/UDNZxoyCFfI/AAAAAAAASR8/fCe2I4VNjk4/s1600/P1060630.jpg

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have to agree -- 99% myth.

Years ago if you didn't book an excursion when anchored in Gatun Lake -- you could pay $10 to get off the shore and use the beach area there. That has since changed. Those ships do the partial Panama Canal trips and anchor in Gatun Lake can only get off the ship via an excursion.

[paul929207]

Hello, I am new to cruising and think that we may have spotted a possible for our first ever event.

 

However we are getting some quite negative comments from friends and family:

The latest - "If you are moored outside a port then you cannot get of the ship unless you pay - means you have to take the rip off excursion".

 

Can someone please confirm the process in such a case? Indeed the general procedure for any port.:D

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

There is NO charge to get off the ship whether you are docked or anchored. However, things will be slower if you are anchored. They will have to transport passengers to shore, usually using the lifeboats as the tenders. This takes time. Initially there will be a backlog as many people want to get off ASAP. Each cruise line decides how they allocate the space in the early tenders.

[cb at sea]

At tender ports, unless you MUST be 1st off, if you just wait for the crowd to subside, you will hop on the next tender and go. It's not a big deal at all.

[Eileen G]

I see you are in the UK so if you are sailing the Med it is possible that when you get off the ship you will be in an industrial area and can only get to town by a shuttle. Usually in this case the shuttle could cost maybe 10-20 euros RT. Sometimes public transportation is available for 1-2 euros. The ports that come to mind are Livorno, Marseille and Dubrovnick. In some ports the main places to go may be quite far from the port so you would need to get there some way either by cruise line excurision, private driver or public transportation. Rome and Florence are far from port.

[John Bull]

By the way this is why you must take a shore excursion on Komodo Island. On our ship this was provided complimentary but I realize that is not the case on all cruise lines who stop here.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poXg3E7XuIU/UDNZxoyCFfI/AAAAAAAASR8/fCe2I4VNjk4/s1600/P1060630.jpg

 

Keith

 

 

Hi Keith,

I know that there's the occasional death amongst fishermen or unwary hikers up in the hills :eek: - but the dragons by the pier/visitor village/trail are big fat lazy over-fed pussycats :D

 

Back to the subject - to all intents & purposes, tenders are free.

 

But Eileen makes the valid point about transfer buses from port to town. From ship to port gate, if a shuttle bus is mandatory (for safety or security reasons in a commercial port) it's free. But most cruise lines will charge (and do so over-the-odds) for a shuttle bus from ship to town - though there's options, including local buses & taxis.

P&O are among the exceptions, they normally lay on a free shuttle bus if its up to about 3 miles.

 

JB :)

[paul929207]

We have been to a number of ports where the town or some merchants provided a free shuttle to town or the shopping area.

[euro cruiser]

From ship to port gate, if a shuttle bus is mandatory (for safety or security reasons in a commercial port) it's free.

Not always, but usually. Livorno requires a shuttle, but there is a fee. The amount seems to vary by cruise line.

[Happy ks]

Hello, I am new to cruising and think that we may have spotted a possible for our first ever event.

 

However we are getting some quite negative comments from friends and family:

The latest - "If you are moored outside a port then you cannot get of the ship unless you pay - means you have to take the rip off excursion".

 

Can someone please confirm the process in such a case? Indeed the general procedure for any port.:D

 

You have the answer so I won't be redundant, but I think your cruise questions are better answered here rather than friends and family who are clearly not well informed.

 

You are lucky to have found this forum before cruising, I wish I had :)

[cherylandtk]

I was going to post something similar to Happy ks; don't take any further travel 'advice' from whomever gave you this bit. And while the exceedingly rare exceptions worldwide may exist as noted above, please don't think it will apply to you. For the vast number of first time cruisers who take a typical first-time Caribbean/Bahamas/beachy cruise vacation that is simply not true.

[Mary Ellen]

You have the answer so I won't be redundant, but I think your cruise questions are better answered here rather than friends and family who are clearly not well informed.

There's no guarantee here either. Over the years I've seen some 'interesting' answers on the CC too. :rolleyes:

[euro cruiser]

There's no guarantee here either. Over the years I've seen some 'interesting' answers on the CC too. :rolleyes:

True, but usually within minutes several others will refute a garbage answer.

[geoherb]

We've only been on a couple of cruises that have had "service calls" scheduled, where the only passengers allowed to leave the ship have been on excursions purchased through the cruise line. Once was on a western Caribbean cruise, where the ship made a service call at Playa del Carmen before it docked in Cozumel. The other was our cruise to the Panama Canal, where the only passengers allowed off the ship in Gatun Lake were those on the cruise line's excursions.

 

I noticed on the Alaska Board that someone asked about an itinerary that included a service call at Tracy Arm, so that is another itinerary with such a possibility.

[fleckle]

Hello, I am new to cruising and think that we may have spotted a possible for our first ever event.

 

However we are getting some quite negative comments from friends and family:

The latest - "If you are moored outside a port then you cannot get of the ship unless you pay - means you have to take the rip off excursion".

 

Can someone please confirm the process in such a case? Indeed the general procedure for any port.:D

Not knowing which ports you are considering, people here are attempting to be helpful by describing procedures for such diverse places around the world as Komodo, Gatun Lake, Livorno, etc. which may not be applicable to your situation at all.

 

As previously stated, the "general procedure" is that there is no charge for getting off a cruise ship in port, whether docked or anchored.

However, there are ports with exceptional circumstances.

 

If you would name the ports on the itineraries that you are considering, you could receive directed replies that would be more applicable and helpful to you.

[Jimnbigd]

It does not cost anything to take a tender from ship to shore.

Of course, you have to pay $200 to take a tender back to the ship. :p

Just kidding -- no charge either way.

You are charged for port charges as part of the overall price of the cruise, which I suspect pays for the tenders at a tendered port.

[john160]

I think we should submit this to mythbusters :D