Heads up: Silhouette and Grand Caymen Private Tours

[KevP]

Hello

 

We are aboard the "limping" Silhouette this week. Upon check-in Celebrity included a letter describing the situation on the ship and gave us a new port schedule. We would be late an hour into Grand Caymen (from 10 to 11am). We didn't anchor today until after 11am. Tenders did not start until 11:30 am. We went down for tender tickets at 9:15 (15m early) and got number 9. Given the late arrival the tendering process was really quite poorly run. First announcement was for groups 1-3 at 11:30 then just group 4 next. Then about 12:15pm they announced groups 4-9 all at once and it was a mob of people snaking their way thru the passport bar trying to get down the stairs. We missed the cut and waited until finally getting on a tender at 12:40 and to Caymen about 1. This caused us to miss our tour with Native Ways. We were in contact with them the entire time but they had to understandbly leave as people from other ships were ready to go.

 

I think there is one more stop in Grand Caymen before the azipod gets fixed so for those on that cruise and booked on a private tour just a heads up. Unless you have a way to get an early tender you are at risk. Have a plan B ready. We are on 7 mile beach now....

[cle-guy]

This is exactly why buying celebrity shore excursions in tender ports can be important. They get the first tenders, as do suites and concierge cabins. I think perhaps Captains Club Elites also get them, but not positive. They actually tend to leave even before the general tendering announcement.

 

11:00 arrival and 30 minutes later first tenders leaving is pretty decent time to arrive, handle arrival paperwork secure the ship and get people going.

 

I was on this one Nov 30, and our original arrival was 10 when I booed a year ago, we arrived at 11, tenders moved around 11:45 or so. Departure was 6pm.

 

All it really did was necessitate people moving plans an hour back, the tender delays would have been the same either way.

 

This was my first tendering port ever. With the tenders holding only about 75 people, it will take considerable time to move 1000 people wanting to leave a ship, that's just a fact of mathematics.

 

Based on your observations, and the limitations of tendering, what suggestions might you have to make the process smoother? (serious question) as the tendering PROCESS is the same regardless of propulsion related delays or not.

Edited December 17, 2014 by cle-guy

[chrishb]

Where did you anchor? Right in front of George Town or did they need you to shuttle by bus into the city?

[cle-guy]

Our cruise anchored in Georgetown, with 7 other ships that day - even a second Celebrirty ship. :D