Jaddy Posted January 4, 2014 #1 Share Posted January 4, 2014 New to this message board. Haven't cruised in 15 years and I can see from the posts I have been reading that a lot has changed. Will be on Equinox March 3. Question is how long does it take, on average, to get off ship while in port if we have booked our own independent tour and therefore don't have any priority for disembarking? We don't need to be the first ones off the ship, but we need to know a safe time to arrange for the start of shore tours. I suppose it makes a difference if tenders will be used so please tell me the tender situation for Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama, Puerto Lemon, Belize City, and Cozumel. Presently we are in an interior stateroom in case that makes a difference. Thank you very much. I have found this message board to be very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted January 4, 2014 #2 Share Posted January 4, 2014 New to this message board. Haven't cruised in 15 years and I can see from the posts I have been reading that a lot has changed. Will be on Equinox March 3. Question is how long does it take, on average, to get off ship while in port if we have booked our own independent tour and therefore don't have any priority for disembarking? We don't need to be the first ones off the ship, but we need to know a safe time to arrange for the start of shore tours. I suppose it makes a difference if tenders will be used so please tell me the tender situation for Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama, Puerto Lemon, Belize City, and Cozumel. Presently we are in an interior stateroom in case that makes a difference. Thank you very much. I have found this message board to be very helpful. Welcome to Cruise Critic! How long it takes to get off the ship depends on a number of things. Is your ship docked? If so, you can get off as soon as it is cleared by the port authorities. If you are in a tender port, it could take you some time to get off the ship since you have no priority. If you are on a large ship, it could take a long time. Your best bet in this case is to show up early at the theater or wherever they are distributing tender numbers to get the best tender number possible. I would be somewhat leery of booking an independent excursion in a tender port. There is the possibly that you may not make it to port because of sea conditions that prohibit tendering. The Cayman Islands are a prime example of this. Will the excursion vendor excuse you from making payment if this is the case? I would never pre-pay for an independent excursion in a tender port. I have booked independent excursions in tender ports, but only with vendors who do not charge if one is unable to make it to land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpgcycler Posted January 4, 2014 #3 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Is your ship docked? If so, you can get off as soon as it is cleared by the port authorities. As a soon to be new cruiser, I'm having difficulty imagining how long this takes. Do they provide several exits or do 3000 people line up at the same hatch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted January 4, 2014 #4 Share Posted January 4, 2014 As a soon to be new cruiser, I'm having difficulty imagining how long this takes. Do they provide several exits or do 3000 people line up at the same hatch? Trust me, 3,000 people are not all going to get off at once. I don't usually strive to be the first off the ship when docked, but if you want to, you can. I've never experienced more than a few people in line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpgcycler Posted January 4, 2014 #5 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Trust me, 3,000 people are not all going to get off at once. I don't usually strive to be the first off the ship when docked, but if you want to, you can. I've never experienced more than a few people in line. Thanks HC. So many things are just so hard to visualize having never done anything like this. SO much to learn and discover!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted January 4, 2014 #6 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Thanks HC. So many things are just so hard to visualize having never done anything like this. SO much to learn and discover!!! When you are docked, it is not a problem to get off, it takes maybe five minutes. Tendering is more problematic, especially in certain ports like Santorini. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted January 4, 2014 #7 Share Posted January 4, 2014 New to this message board. Haven't cruised in 15 years and I can see from the posts I have been reading that a lot has changed. Will be on Equinox March 3. Question is how long does it take, on average, to get off ship while in port if we have booked our own independent tour and therefore don't have any priority for disembarking? We don't need to be the first ones off the ship, but we need to know a safe time to arrange for the start of shore tours. I suppose it makes a difference if tenders will be used so please tell me the tender situation for Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama, Puerto Lemon, Belize City, and Cozumel. Presently we are in an interior stateroom in case that makes a difference. Thank you very much. I have found this message board to be very helpful. Welcome to Cruise Critic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamima Posted January 4, 2014 #8 Share Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) New to this message board. Haven't cruised in 15 years and I can see from the posts I have been reading that a lot has changed. Will be on Equinox March 3. Question is how long does it take, on average, to get off ship while in port if we have booked our own independent tour and therefore don't have any priority for disembarking? We don't need to be the first ones off the ship, but we need to know a safe time to arrange for the start of shore tours. I suppose it makes a difference if tenders will be used so please tell me the tender situation for Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama, Puerto Lemon, Belize City, and Cozumel. Presently we are in an interior stateroom in case that makes a difference. Thank you very much. I have found this message board to be very helpful. Your stateroom has no significance on what tender you'll be on. If you want to be off the ship early then plan on being wherever they are handing out tender tickets a half hour before scheduled drop anchor time. The tender also usually takes about a half hour to get to shore. The "crush" time for getting on tenders is usually right after the announcement has been made that you can go ashore. If you are scheduled to arrive at 8am and you have a 9 am tour I'd be in line by 7:30 for my tender ticket. That way you'll be on one of the first tenders. As far as whether you are docked or tendered - you have to check your cruise documents. Under "itinerary" it should say. As a soon to be new cruiser, I'm having difficulty imagining how long this takes. Do they provide several exits or do 3000 people line up at the same hatch? If you are docked I would give myself 15 minutes to a half hour to get from my cabin to the meeting place on land for the excursion. You'll probably be early but I'm more comfortable with that. (I also tell the tour operators we have to be back a half hour to an hour before we really do - for the same reason) Edited January 4, 2014 by chamima Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpgcycler Posted January 4, 2014 #9 Share Posted January 4, 2014 If you are docked I would give myself 15 minutes to a half hour to get from my cabin to the meeting place on land for the excursion. You'll probably be early but I'm more comfortable with that. (I also tell the tour operators we have to be back a half hour to an hour before we really do - for the same reason) Great tips, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix_dream Posted January 4, 2014 #10 Share Posted January 4, 2014 One more point to consider - any tour operator that regularly works with the passengers on the cruise ships will have a good idea of what is a reasonable time for their tour. It is good advice for any tour, but particularly at a tendering port, to not have to pay if you miss it because the ship had to miss the port, or docked late. It is not always tender ports adversely impacted. On one of our Alaska ports we were not able to disembark the ship until after 9:00 rather than the scheduled 8:00 (do not recall the reason). We had privately booked a tour and ended up missing it (luckily they had another a bit later and let us join). This is a much less frequent occurrence than on tender ports, but just a heads up that it can happen anywhere and anytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Owl Posted January 4, 2014 #11 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Probably not relevant to the O.P. but if anyone is planning tours in St.Petersburg you need to give yourselves plenty of time, especially on the first day you are there. It took us an hour and a half to get through immigration last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted January 4, 2014 #12 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Probably not relevant to the O.P. but if anyone is planning tours in St.Petersburg you need to give yourselves plenty of time, especially on the first day you are there. It took us an hour and a half to get through immigration last year. Took us 10 minutes in August in St.P, The Russian tour operators are well aware of immigration times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie44 Posted January 4, 2014 #13 Share Posted January 4, 2014 wpgcycler--what ship are you taking? What is your itinerary? Have you joined your roll call? I'm always excited for new cruisers, remembering my own and DH's excitement at our first cruise. On Jan. 12th '02 we walked the length of Explorer of the Seas on the way to the entrance gangway with our mouths hanging open at the size and magnificance of her. We were totally hooked at first sight. Now there are 2-3 classes larger than the Voyager class. I have kind of settled on Celebrity as my favorite, but wouldn't rule out another RCCL cruise some day. DH and I did 8 cruises in 6 yrs before he passed away and I am leaving in 3 weeks for my 8th without him because life is too short to stop cruising. 1/02 Explorer E. Carib. 1/03 Explorer w. Carib. 8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour 2/04 Adventure S. Carib. 2/05 Galaxy partial PC and 4 W. Carib. ports 6/06 Jewel OS Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords, 1/07 Mercury Mex. Riv. 1/08 Mercury Aust/NZ 1/09 Galaxy S. Carib. 6/09 Summit Classical Med. 1/11 Summit S. Carib. 6/11 Constellation Scand/Russia 1/12 Summit S. Carib. 8/12 Millenium Alaska cruise/tour 1/13 Summit S. Carib. 1/14 Silhouette W. Carib. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpgcycler Posted January 5, 2014 #14 Share Posted January 5, 2014 wpgcycler--what ship are you taking? What is your itinerary? Have you joined your roll call? Reflection, march 1, eastern Caribbean 7 day. I'm very excited and a bit sorrowful - I wish I had done it while my dad was still alive - he was a steward with Cunard during the 40's and 50's. I have visited his favorite ship (QM - the real one) but I have not yet experienced "the sea". I'd love to be able to talk to him about it. Yes, I have joined the roll call. Thanks for your interest Kathie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted January 5, 2014 #15 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Thanks HC. So many things are just so hard to visualize having never done anything like this. SO much to learn and discover!!! Just relax and enjoy it. Your first cruise is pretty magical. And come back and ask if you have any more questions. Most people here like to share their cruising experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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