Is it normal for the tender process to be bad?

[wagtail_syd]

Hi

 

This is just a question that I've been pondering while reading the boards recently. I see lots of comments about how awful the tendering process is on some boats/at some ports. Is it usual for tendering to be a drama?

 

I've only experienced 2 tender ports (Lifou and Isle of Pines) as I've only done one cruise (so far. I'm hooked and have more booked for 2016). Both times were fine. The process was very orderly and we were called shortly after getting our tickets (we were up early and got #2 and #3). Is that not the norm? When you say 'tendering was a nightmare' what does that mean? Long queues? Or the ride itself was bad?

 

Thanks.

[MrPantsOz]

I would say that it's not normal. When people complain about tenders, embarkation, customs, dinners etc the biggest problem seems to be that people cannot or will not stick to their designated times. When dealing with so many passengers they allocate times to keep things running smoothly, when people just show up thinking they can do as they please choas ensues.

[Aus Traveller]

Hi

 

This is just a question that I've been pondering while reading the boards recently. I see lots of comments about how awful the tendering process is on some boats/at some ports. Is it usual for tendering to be a drama?

 

I've only experienced 2 tender ports (Lifou and Isle of Pines) as I've only done one cruise (so far. I'm hooked and have more booked for 2016). Both times were fine. The process was very orderly and we were called shortly after getting our tickets (we were up early and got #2 and #3). Is that not the norm? When you say 'tendering was a nightmare' what does that mean? Long queues? Or the ride itself was bad?

 

Thanks.

What you described at Lifou and Isle of Pines is the normal process and what usually happens.

 

There have been comments recently about particular ships and particular ports. I think there were negative comments about ships where crew who were not accustomed to the tendering process did not run it well.

 

There have also been comments about tendering at Benoa in Bali. That port can be difficult. The ships have to anchor a fair way out and the current and seas make tendering difficult for loading & un-loading at the ship and for the ship's tenders to cope with the conditions. When we have been they they have also used a large (300-400 pax) catamaran from shore in addition to the ship's tenders, but of course the bigger boat takes a long time for people to board and later disembark. Then it takes probably an hour and a half before the catamaran returns for the next load of passengers. If the seas are too bad, the smaller tenders can't continue to operate.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[windsor26]

Tendering is usually extremely well organised The problenms arise when cruisers will not sit 4 to a bench seat or move further into the boat allowing more to come in and sit and this means the tender does not get completely full and the unlucky people have to wait for the next tender

[GUT2407]

In my experience.

 

Usually pretty smooth.

 

Tends to get worse the bigger the ship.

 

As more peop-le are tryng to get off anf they tend to not use enough tenders. EG when I was on Pacifc Princess 680 PAX they used three boats, when I was on Diamond Princess 2600 PAX the most they used was 6 and at least one Port only 3.

 

You can see the problem.

 

But then it is compounded because the bigger ships need to anchor further from shore so the tender trip takes longer,

[ozscot01]

We had 3 tender ports on a recent Voyager cruise. First 2 ports we used tickets and were ashore by 9am. Final port we had an excursion booked and were ready to go on the earlybirds. We were ashore in Bay of Islands by 8.15. A little bit early but time to explore[emoji4] I think they were using 6 tenders and I have to say it was flawless.

[Aus Traveller]

Tendering is usually extremely well organised The problenms arise when cruisers will not sit 4 to a bench seat or move further into the boat allowing more to come in and sit and this means the tender does not get completely full and the unlucky people have to wait for the next tender

I find that the crew usually ask people to move along the seat to allow more people to fit in. A person usually a fair distance from the tender counts the people as they board (using a hand 'clicker') and it is this person who determines when the tender is full.:)

[gogo65]

It also depends on the sea conditions. We tendered in Maui when on solstice and that was a slow process as it was rough. Some of the elderly/disabled passengers really struggled to get on and off. They at times were waiting up to a minute or two in between people just waiting to get on and off. That then compounds the delays.

[Beanb41]

Tendering ashore can be very much a hit and miss operation depending upon the size of the ship and sea state .

On an earlier cruise on the Solstice early 2015 we had three tender ports and all three were a shambles.

First into Esperance on Australia's south west coast: Sea state made it nigh impossible to bring tenders alongside for several hours. Problem was somewhat resolved later when a local large catamaran become available to bring passengers from ashore. It made great watching from the quarterdeck though. I was amazed that with the power available to the ship and its size the ship wasn't put into a position where it provided a lee for the tenders to come alongside. We were on one of the tenders that did manage to get alongside until tender operations were suspended. It was a great ride. There is a You Tube clip of one of the Tender rides in Esperance. Similar experience at Yorkeys Knob with high sea state and little tenders bobbing around like corks.

 

Benoa (Bali) was a big issue. Many of the crew on the Solstice were from Bali and as the ship only visits here once a year the locals were given the day off and took preferential tenders ashore. This took several tenders out of action for a while. This also is a popular port with everyone wanting to get ashore. After the crew came the Elite Class passengers and ships excursions which were next in priority. We were amongst the plebs and although we had tenders 5,6, our party took over an hour and a half to get ashore. God knows what time 35 got ashore. Coming back there were long queues to be expected as everyone was arriving back at the same time.

 

Whilst in some isolated places tenders are restricted to ships boats larger shore based tenders should be utilised where available and booked before hand. It is not rocket science as all the cruise lines experience similar issues, or don't go to the ports

[wagtail_syd]

Thanks all. Very interesting. :)

[OzKruser]

Personally I don't go on tenders anymore as I have been sick on them a number of times so we give it a miss, not the tenders fault, mine....but I have done lots of them before giving up....I agree with what's been said about the process, most of my experiences have been very orderly and timely. An interesting observation I made on a recent golden princess cruise ....there seemed to be delays with the tenders and I was sitting in The a Piazza having a lovely cappuccino watching the people milling around complaining about the delays....I could see out the window and saw the tender at the embarkation platform for a long time.... Then an officer comes on the PA and told us there were delays with boarding tenders....the delay related to many passengers who would get to the tender and then realise it was 8 degrees outside and want to get off and go and put more clothes on! This would have created significant delays. He then went on to say...." It is very cold outside, please dress for the conditions....". I sat there watching people wearing shorts and t shirts scratching their heads......I am astonished that people don't check the shore temperature before leaving the ship....I had a bit of a giggle but I imagine others who were delayed weren't giggling at these people holding the process up......

Edited January 2, 2016 by OzKruser

[goodycruising]

We were on Voyager of the Seas last November and on our tender visit to Bay of Islands at New Zealand we decided that as it arrived at 11 am we would not hurry, and let those that needed to get somewhere go off first.

 

Usually after a certain amount of time tenders will go off the numbering system and be open. It took over 3 hours to get through the numbers. We were not in a hurry, and just wanted to go off for a quick visit as we had stayed there on a land trip before. We felt that anyone that had not been there missed a lot of time available, as the distance to the dock was a bit longer than usual (compared to other tendering we have done in the past), and they only had 4 tenders with 3500+ passengers plus crew. The weather was good and it was purely due to distance and not enough tenders.

 

To me, that was not really how it should have been managed. Later on they had more tenders running over shorter distances at other tender ports.

 

We have been on other ships with Royal Caribbean where they hired local boats to help with tenders. Maybe some of the problem comes with the port set up?

 

I would have to agree that most of the time the tenders do work well, but when it is not good it is disappointing for those that may only be visiting that port this one time.

Edited January 2, 2016 by goodycruising

[bazzaw]

and there are some people who REALLY REALLY should not be attempting to board a tender when it is a bit lumpy!!!! For their own safety and that also of the staff.

[Cruise ship fan]

The only port we have had an issue with tendering is Port Arthur. There is one wharf for the tenders to pull along side, and they need to share that with a harbour cruise vessel, which would return every 20 minutes and stay there for 20 minutes. Which caused huge delays for the ship.

 

When we were in Bali on New years day 2015, the tendering process run smoothly, and the only issue was how much road traffic there was being new year and everything.

 

The slowest tendering in the South Pacific I have seen was this last Christmas on the Radiance, for some reason it took 4-5 hours to get through all the tender numbers. At Isle of Pines the captain took the ship right up to the shore so there was only a couple minutes tender ride, and the conditions weren't bad, but for some reason it was just so slow. I have been on the ship to the exact same ports several times before and it has never been so slow.

 

Lifou has also been a bad port for tendering in my experience. About 50% of the time we have been there tendering has been rough, since the wharf is so exposed. The first time we were there (on the Pacific Star) one of the tenders got beached and the ship need to send crews to rescue it off the shore. Then a couple of years ago on the Radiance they called off tendering at mid day because the tenders were almost hitting 45 degree angles just before getting to the wharf (the rest of the trip was smooth but right near the shore there was a rough patch), lucky they managed to get everyone back onboard and the ship left early.

[Layn33]

Normally the tenders are fine but on my last cruise on Explorer it was a nightmare. We couldn't get off at Isle of Pines until 1:45pm! I think it may have been the crews first time there. I also found that the gap in height between the tender and the ship was quite high and a lot of people struggled getting back onboard. I have never experienced that to this extent before. By our bext stop at Mystery Island the timing had improved and we were on the island by 9:30am. The issue with the gap however was not fixed.

 

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

Edited January 2, 2016 by Layn33

[GUT2407]

The only port we have had an issue with tendering is Port Arthur. There is one wharf for the tenders to pull along side, and they need to share that with a harbour cruise vessel, which would return every 20 minutes and stay there for 20 minutes. Which caused huge delays for the ship.

 

When we were in Bali on New years day 2015, the tendering process run smoothly, and the only issue was how much road traffic there was being new year and everything.

 

The slowest tendering in the South Pacific I have seen was this last Christmas on the Radiance, for some reason it took 4-5 hours to get through all the tender numbers. At Isle of Pines the captain took the ship right up to the shore so there was only a couple minutes tender ride, and the conditions weren't bad, but for some reason it was just so slow. I have been on the ship to the exact same ports several times before and it has never been so slow.

 

Lifou has also been a bad port for tendering in my experience. About 50% of the time we have been there tendering has been rough, since the wharf is so exposed. The first time we were there (on the Pacific Star) one of the tenders got beached and the ship need to send crews to rescue it off the shore. Then a couple of years ago on the Radiance they called off tendering at mid day because the tenders were almost hitting 45 degree angles just before getting to the wharf (the rest of the trip was smooth but right near the shore there was a rough patch), lucky they managed to get everyone back onboard and the ship left early.

 

 

Whereas I've always found Port Arthur great.

 

But then can't think of many tender Ports where they dock more than one tender at a time.

[BuzzBuzzen]

I read recently that a new or extended wharf has been completed at Port Arthur , so the tenders and the local ferry no longer have to wait for each to get out of the way. Sarah will no doubt give us a live update ! Cheers , Buzz.

[The_Big_M]

The issue I referred to recently was with the process, on the same cruise as Layn33.

 

Choppy conditions can cause issues, but usually the lines work around those or to the extent that the port may be skipped which then doesn't cause complaints about tendering, but missed ports. ;-)

 

In that case, they were running 6-7 tenders, but their operation was way too slow, disorganised, and the cruise director compounded it by given wrong instructions. For example, at the first port as numbers were issued he made the stern announcement not to go get your tender ticket "until 15 minutes before ready to leave otherwise you would miss your tender and have to join the back of the queue." I foolishly followed this instruction, went down 15 minutes before ready - then was told they weren't issuing any more tickets when I went to collect. So I asked how long before they get to the last of the tickets?

 

"Oh, about two hours."

 

Then when I went down to the boarding area as they were calling tickets, there wasn't anyone actually checking tickets! As a result tenders were actually leaving half empty... with the next tender tickets not called, and people waiting in lounges. And compounding the poor operation further, when our tender left, there was one waiting behind us to pick up, but it didn't actually approach the bay until over 5 minutes after we had left, after we had rounded the ship, so not efficient there either. They need to load and unload quickly, leaving bays empty wasted time. I remember on a Solstice cruise being so impressed with the hotel director actually going hands on driving a tender, and also directing the staff in the field as to where and when they should approach and leave. He organised the tenders brilliantly. Here it wasn't being managed at all. i.e. the drivers could do their work fine, but the thing lacking was management. The co-ordination was terrible.

 

There are many other details of deficiencies I could go into, as it just go so personally annoying, but that gives you an idea.

 

Then at Mystery Island, the worst exit I had seen arose. About 2.5 hours before finishing time, so well ahead of when the last minute rush arises, I joined the queue to leave. However, that line was massive, and it actually took 1 hour of standing in the line to get on! That's again showing issues - it shouldn't reach that state. The line went from one side of the island to the other (and then back). Added to that I saw they've taken over two beach huts to sell their own drinks, which was just tacky. So much for supporting local islanders... They did have a stand that supplied complimentary water. But when we got there it had completely run out - despite how much time was remaining! So poorly prepared.

 

I found it quite odd given that the captain has experience from operating in these waters for many years, even though it was the first of the ship's visits - but her sister ship has also operated here for a year. There was a modest acknowledgement of 'issues' in the later announcement, but it was said that it had run much better than the first tendering day. It shows the low base they worked from.