Tendering off of R class ships

[edgee]

We are excited about our first R class cruise--Regatta to Western Caribbean. For us it is sort of an experiment to see if we will enjoy the smaller ship as we look forward to longer more interesting itineraries in the future. My question is:

 

In Belize we are planning a 9:00 private excursion and the ship docks at 8. I assume priority for tenders is given to those on ship tours ...is there usually a long wait for other passengers to tender? Just wondering if we have a chance to make 9:00 tour and any advisable strategies to get an early tender ticket, other than showing up early. We are Concierge class so no "suite" priority. Appreciate any advice.

 

Ed

[Mura]

The best advice that I've encountered is indeed to come early. I called Destinations when we had a private Amalfi tour and was told to show up at 8, which was NOT the right answer! People in our group who signed in around 7:45 did indeed get to the guide by 9am, those of us who listened to the advice were late. As a consequence we had to adjust our time at various spots in order to complete our schedule.

 

Even with official tours being given priority on the tenders, they don't necessarily fit the boat ... so others ARE permitted to board.

 

This Amalfi experience is the only one we have had personally where we were late in meeting our guide because of difficulties getting on the tender. (Then again, the percentage of times when we tender as opposed to just walking off the ship is pretty small.)

 

Mura

 

P.S. For the record, we were on Marina when that happened. I can't recall any problems in getting on time to a tender on one of the "R" ships.

[edgee]

Thank you, Mura. We had a frustrating tendering experience in St. Barts off of Riviera last year, but we had no private tours scheduled. Hopefully the R class ship will be better.

[LHT28]

Just go to the lounge when you are all together & ready to go

I would plan on 45 min+ prior to your tour

They work the independents in with the tours

They use locals for the tendering process & they are pretty quick to turn around

[tanny18]

Just go to the lounge when you are all together & ready to go

I would plan on 45 min+ prior to your tour

They work the independents in with the tours

They use locals for the tendering process & they are pretty quick to turn around

This has been my experience for the last several cruises. I tell Destination Services the day before, tell them how many, and they tell me to come when tendering starts, we get our tickets and are usually off on the second tender - sometimes the first depending upon how many they have on their tours. Never had a problem!

[Floridiana]

We were on the Riviera in Belize.

The port and customs authorities arrived late! Ships anchor far out. The LONG tender ride was on a relatively large local boat so we made up some lost time. I assume your private tour operator is going to wait for you. He has no choice if you are his only customers.

[roothy123]

Belize was a mess for us. The tenders that the port uses are large and held a lot of people. Getting across the water was easy. The terminal, however, was a disorganized mess - the Belize tender folks did a great job getting people across the water quickly, but then everyone ended up being stuffed into the terminal because the buses for the excursions were late to arrive. Ugh; it was not a good tendering and excursion experience!

 

However, you only have to get across the water, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's quite likely your guide will wait for you if you're not on the first tender! I agree with the suggestion to go early. It has worked for me, traveling independently, especially if there's just one of me! The first tenders often have a space or two...

Edited November 26, 2014 by roothy123

[edgee]

We were on the Riviera in Belize.

The port and customs authorities arrived late! Ships anchor far out. The LONG tender ride was on a relatively large local boat so we made up some lost time. I assume your private tour operator is going to wait for you. He has no choice if you are his only customers.

 

 

There are others on the ship who are also part of the tour. Since I made initial post, I remembered my experience in Belize a few years ago off of Riviera and the use of local larger boats for tendering. I think we will be fine. Thanks, all.