Crown Princess - Belize tender times

[cpayne]

We are sailing on Crown Princess from Galveston 2/16. Our stop in Belize requires tenders. The ship arrives at 7 a.m. Anyone know what time the non Princess excursions have been able to get to land by? We have a tour booked independently for 8 a.m. The tour operator says this will not be a problem, but I'm worried that's not enough time.

 

Thanks.

[caribill]

We are sailing on Crown Princess from Galveston 2/16. Our stop in Belize requires tenders. The ship arrives at 7 a.m. Anyone know what time the non Princess excursions have been able to get to land by? We have a tour booked independently for 8 a.m. The tour operator says this will not be a problem, but I'm worried that's not enough time.

 

Thanks.

 

The tour operators have plenty of experience with this.

 

For those not on Princess tours who wish to tender ASAP, they issue tickets at a time and location (probably a dining room) listed in the Patter. Be on the line with everyone in your group for tender tickets about 15-20 minutes before the announced time so you can get on one of the first tenders.

[Pam in CA]

We are sailing on Crown Princess from Galveston 2/16. Our stop in Belize requires tenders. The ship arrives at 7 a.m. Anyone know what time the non Princess excursions have been able to get to land by? We have a tour booked independently for 8 a.m. The tour operator says this will not be a problem, but I'm worried that's not enough time.

Make sure you are VERY early to where tender tickets are being distributed as you'll want to be on the first tender ashore. Only a few non-Princess passengers are allowed on the first couple of tenders. I've booked a 10:00am independent tour in Belize next week and plan to be on the tender line at 9:15am. It can take 10 minutes or so to fill a tender and another 20-25 minutes to tender to the pier, disembark and walk through the terminal as the tour operators meet you outside the terminal. At least, ours is. The tender distance is longer in Belize than many other ports. They say running time is 15 minutes but it could be longer.

[vino100]

Make sure you are VERY early to where tender tickets are being distributed as you'll want to be on the first tender ashore. Only a few non-Princess passengers are allowed on the first couple of tenders. I've booked a 10:00am independent tour in Belize next week and plan to be on the tender line at 9:15am. It can take 10 minutes or so to fill a tender and another 20-25 minutes to tender to the pier, disembark and walk through the terminal as the tour operators meet you outside the terminal. At least, ours is. The tender distance is longer in Belize than many other ports. They say running time is 15 minutes but it could be longer.

 

do platinum or suite passengers get priority tender tickets?

[JustinPlusLauren]

When we were in Belize a year ago, they had really large boats that weren't just the tenders taking people over to the mainland. They were like larger ferry boats and fit tons of people and no one had a problem getting over to the mainland first thing. I'm not sure if this was only a special thing or if they still do this. I would be as early as you can just to be on the safe side!

[Pam in CA]

do platinum or suite passengers get priority tender tickets?

Only Elite and full suite (not mini-suite) passengers. Not Platinum. Elite use their black cards (no separate tender ticket) and full suite passengers get priority tender ticket cards to use. And, it's just to get to shore. No priority returning to the ship.

[vino100]

Only Elite and full suite (not mini-suite) passengers. Not Platinum. Elite use their black cards (no separate tender ticket) and full suite passengers get priority tender ticket cards to use. And, it's just to get to shore. No priority returning to the ship.

 

Thanks Pam.So if we are in a suite we just show our card at the tender boats or do we have a different card.

[bhopal21]

Thanks Pam.So if we are in a suite we just show our card at the tender boats or do we have a different card.

 

You will have a separate paper card for a tender ticket that will be in your suite when you arrive.

 

Mike:)

[vino100]

You will have a separate paper card for a tender ticket that will be in your suite when you arrive.

 

Mike:)

 

thanks so much for the info.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We just were on the Crown about 2 weeks ago. We were on a Princess-sponsored shore excursion, so had priority and we did not need to show our Elite cards. It took quite a long time (longer than I expected) to get on the tenders. They are large but surprisingly, there were quite a few small ones. They are faster than the large tenders though. We got on the pier at 9:15 and started the process at 8:30. Once the tender left the ship, it took about 15-20 mins. to get to land.

 

IMO, the 8am time is cutting it very close. I wouldn't be surprised if you did all the above-mentioned steps and still got there about 8:20-8:30. The good thing is that the private shore excursion guides are used to this and will almost always wait for you. When we tendered in Sorrento, our private guide knew the drill - some passengers (Elite/Suite) would get to the pier before the others. I think the longest we've had to wait for others is maybe 20-30 mins. You have to remember that it's in the best interest of the tour guide to wait for everyone to be there. ;)

[cpayne]

I'm very familiar with how the tender process works. What I was looking for is someone who has been on the Crown recently, did not have a ship excursion or priority tender pass. Any idea what time the "others" were able to get ashore?

 

I told the tour guide I thought 8 a.m. was too early for us to make it to the pier w/ a 7 a.m. dock time. They said this is the only time the tour departs, they do this tour all the time w/ ship passengers and there is never a problem. The good news is they do NOT require payment in advance for the tour so if we don't make it and they have left well then we are not out anything other than our disappointment! We'll see....

[bhopal21]

Here you go. I found these past tickets.

 

 

This will give you an idea of what to expect. Just hold onto them for each excursion.

 

Mike:)

[vino100]

Here you go. I found these past tickets.

 

 

This will give you an idea of what to expect. Just hold onto them for each excursion.

 

Mike:)

Thnks for all the help.My husband is doing an independent fishing trip and was worried he would miss the boat.:D

[bhopal21]

Thnks for all the help.My husband is doing an independent fishing trip and was worried he would miss the boat.:D

 

Tell him he can rest easy.:)

 

That was my first attempt at attaching pictures to a post and it was really easy to do.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Mike:)